Many of us struggle to find
those perfect creative ideas for films. I myself have struggle with this
process over and over again. Then, I read Mitch Ditkoff’s “14 Ways to Get
Breakthrough Ideas.” After reading this I began to realize how simple the most
creative and brilliant ideas could come about. I found myself amazed by how
right he was about how great ideas are created. I felt like each of the 14 ways
are very useful for trying to conjure up that breakthrough idea and are very
similar, if not the exact same way, I have come up with my ideas.
- One suggestion from Ditkoff’s list that I found intriguing was #7, Listen to Your Subconscious. A lot of our ideas come from our subconscious because our subconscious is continually working on ideas that I floating in our head but are just taking their time to finally reach our conscious. Our ideas come at the most random times because it is a time when you aren’t straining yourself to come up with the most brilliant idea ever. Ditkoff even says, “If you study the lives of people who have had Eureka moments, you’ll note that their breakthroughs almost always came after extensive periods of intense, conscious effort. They worked, they struggled, they noodled, they gave up, they recommitted—and then the breakthrough came. And often at unexpected moments.” Ideas come when you are least expecting it. I have acquired my ideas from either my dreams or when I’m daydreaming, which means my ideas come about through my subconscious. Anytime I feel like I have prefect an idea I always feel like I can’t come up with anything and that I only want to pull my hair out instead. But at the times when I’m just listening to music or daydreaming in one of my classes is when my most creative ideas hit me. I would implement this suggestion into my life by just keeping my mind open and not trying to strain myself into finding the most creative ideas of all times for a film because most likely I won’t.
- Another one of Ditkoff’s suggestions on his list is #8; Take A Break. In this suggestion, Ditkoff states how when you are stumped or is struggling with an idea, you should walk away from it for a while. I agree with this because the times I’m struggling with an idea, homework, or anything that has me frustrated, I will step away from it for a while, so I can get a clear mind. Most of the time I will workout or go for a long run; it helps me think about something else and it makes me feel like I’m running or working out my problems and frustration. Then when I return to my work again I feel refreshed and ready to accomplish things. Taking a break can be the best thing for a creator because without one eventually you will feel irritated with yourself for not coming up with something; you might become discouraged with yourself to a point of giving up completely. A break can equal success and less hair pulling.
- Third and last of Ditkoff’s “ 14 Ways To Get Breakthrough Ideas,” is # 10; Hang out with Diverse Groups of People. Ditkoff suggests that a way to come up with a story or an idea is to hang out with different groups of people. He states, “If you want to increase your chances of getting a breakthrough idea, you will need to break the bonds of the familiar. Hang out with a different crowd. Go beyond the usual suspects. Seek the input of oddballs, mavericks, outcasts, or, at the very least, people outside of your field.” I believe this to be true because some of the best ideas can come from someone you meet. The people you meet might have an interesting background or a unique personality that could become one of your characters for a movie or TV show. The more we break out of our comfort zone of our friends and venture out and meet new people, the chances of our creativity will increase. It can be hard trying to meet new people but it can also be for the best. In most cases, you don’t have to necessarily go by yourself to meet new people; you can bring your old friends too. The best way I will implement this suggestion into my life is to venture to different cities and try and find interesting people. By doing this I could come up with a movie idea just based on someone I meet randomly in a random city. Overall, I feel this suggestion is similar to students starting their first year of college. When we first start out we want to make as many friends as we can, so we don’t feel a lone in college; since we are without our parents and our oldest childhood friends for the first time. By having that motive you begin to make friends with all different types of people because they may seem interesting to you and you think maybe it would be fun having them as your friend. I know when I came to college I wanted to break out of my shell and meet as many people as I could; that’s what I know I have to do again, in order to enhance my creativity.
I decided to choose suggestion #11; BRAINSTORM. This suggestions prompt,
which was at the end of the reading, stated,
“What is the
topic of your next group brainstorm? Who will you invite? Who will facilitate?
When?”
- The topic that will be at my next group brainstorm will be about coming up with the main plot/story line for our Episodic Soap Opera and what other horror film ideas that anyone has to share with the group. To this brainstorm I will invite all of the group members that were in my 48-Hour Shootout group and a couple people that went on the Spring Break LA Trip with me this past spring break. I will facilitate this gathering; I will contact them through Facebook or talk to them in person. Our next group brainstorm will occur this Sunday via Skype.
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