Creativity blog post.

Initially the word creativity was one that I used too freely. However when we discussed it in class I began to rethink my previous thoughts. I always used the word creative when seeing a piece of unique artwork that I liked. What I didn’t realise is that this is just the beginning of its true meaning.

Before we moved on I came up with a definition of creativity, this was: Being able to create/ make something which is unique and appeals to someone else. Creativity can be inspired by anything.

 As a class we came up with the definition: An aim to explore expression and external influences (e.g. upbringing, surrounding environment and existing products) that don’t necessarily need to be original. To do with something you don’t see everyday that provokes a reaction and solves an existing problem. Creativity is making.

So let’s break it down, ‘An aim to explore expression and external influences (e.g. upbringing, surrounding environments and existing products)’. This is an important part of creativity as through creating something, whether it is a song, film or artwork, enables us to express our emotions through what we are doing and makes our resulting product meaningful and represents the way we feel. On the other hand we are also able to express our enthusiasm for what we are doing through creativity.

 

Mind mapping allowed us as a class to answer and discuss ideas about creativity.

 

1. One of the questions was: Is creativity a skill? Can it be developed?

I think that creativity can be developed as when a person finds new inspiration and influences they can build on what they have already achieved. Also a person may come up with new ideas to improve what they have already created. In my opinion creativity is a skill as it is possible to be developed and improved.

 

2. We were also asked, what is your inspiration?

Things that can inspire us are pretty much anything around us such as pieces of work other people have done, the people we mix with, ourselves, music, media and basically everything we are subjected too. We can also pick pieces of inspiration from other work and mix it into our own to make something different.

 

3. The third one was when are you most creative?

As a class we came up with some interesting ideas. These are when we have just woken up during the alpha stage, during our sleep in dreams when our imaginations have free rein, when we listen to different types of music, (especially instrumental/ classical that don’t have lyrics to disrupt our thought process). Also I think we could be most creative after a really busy (after school), when we have different thoughts flowing through our minds about what we have done during the day, as then we can throw all our thoughts and feelings into it to create a creative piece of work.

 

4. The last question was how can our creativity be developed?

We can develop our creativity by working on and improving what we have already done, we could also collaborate with other people so that you can have more ideas to improve/ develop your creativity. We can also develop our creativity by thinking outside the box so that you can create something unique. To develop it we may need to extend our knowledge on a subject so that we can use it for interpretation.

 

Shooting our short film- ‘PANIC!’

While making our first short film-‘PANIC!’ there were many decisions we had to make so that our film was suited to its title. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL4gGCRm_ZQ

 

One of the first we made was where the short film was to be shot (the location) - we chose to shoot it on the stairs outside our classroom. This idea was influenced mainly by the fact that most action and thrillers shoot similar scenes on stairs as it creates tension. We also chose to do it on stairs as we knew we could keep running down the stairs which is suitable for the title as it makes the film fast-paced. The next choice we made was the camera shot type. We decided to do it from the victims’ point of view as this means the audience empathises with the character and therefore they can relate to the scenario better, this is also is an idea we have seen in existing films. The next important choice was mise-en-scene. As a team we decided to only have the shoes in the picture as it means that the characters are kept anonymous which builds tension and makes it mysterious. For the chaser/ villain we decided to use boots as they are bulkier which make the character seem ‘harder’ and stronger. They also made a louder sound. The only sound in the short film was fast-paced footsteps and heavy breathing as this emphasises the desperation the characters feel. This was also seen in existing films. Another decision we made was the pace at which the characters were moving. We decided to have them running as this builds tension and suspense which makes the short film more interesting. Fast-paced movement is often used in action films. The fact that we used no dialogue helps hide the characters identity and there personalities which builds tension as you don’t know why the character is panicking, however by the other decisions we made, means it is possible to work it out.

 

Reflection activity

On reflection I realise that what I previously thought about creativity was so small compared to its true meaning. Creativity is a vast idea which is hard to define unless made to think about it. Once we had completed the work we needed to on this topic I helped modify my understanding on creativity and therefore I am now able to develop it further. The making of the short film enabled us to put our ideas into action, which allowed us to use the idea of creativity to make the film the best it could be.

I think that the more you know about something makes you less creative as it restricts your interpretations on the subject as you would try to stick to the guidelines. For example if you were given a task and rules you had to follow, you may not experiment with ideas as much as you would if there were no rules.