In the Integrated media lecture this week, I learned that I shouldn’t think about what my creation should be and just focus on what I’m making. Labels can wait for afterwards. There are far more possibilities open to you when you focus on all of the things something can do, rather than what it means…. This was interesting as it was directly after the Film/ TV-1 lecture, where Jasmine taught us that the best way to write something is to begin with genre, then in integrated media, Adrian said explicitly ‘don’t begin with genre.’ Meanwhile, Jasmine laughed and put her head in her hands, knowing the two lectures had just completely contradicted each other. But let me try to make sense of this:

In screenwriting, a practice that has clear boundaries of what makes something interesting and ‘good,’ deciding genre early is important. While you are being creative in the way you are telling the story, it makes the process easier to give yourself some constraints, such as sticking to a particular genre. This ensures your story is consistent.

Alternatively, I would say integrated media is a more experimental subject. The media we are creating is not limited to one particular discipline. In this aspect, setting these boundaries can be a hindrance. Deciding on platforms, meanings and categories too early can inhibit your ability to think outside the box and create something innovative freely. While there is still creativity involved in screenwriting, there is always a box that you are in; the box of ‘screenwriting.’  So in this way, I see it is possible for both statements to be correct. In screenwriting, deciding genre first is helpful and creates a better end product, in integrated media, deciding genre early can inhibit creativity and be a hindrance.