Our readings this week began with some sobering comments about how copywriters very rarely write TV ads. They go to say how commercial production is becoming a multi-million dollar industry and that big-time producers are now directing TV ads. I guess this point has nothing to do with my blog except for the fact that it got me thinking. "So what if I never get the chance to produce a film ad!?" I would rather be the person who came up with the original concept in the first place. One good idea or concept can take you miles, but no matter how much you dress up a lame idea it still will suck.
Let us take the magical world of Mr. Potter as an example. J.K Rowling had an idea that she wrote down on a napkin. 20 years later, that same idea is now a global brand worth about 15 billion dollars. The Harry Potter Series still makes millions off of the books, movies, and now the theme park that opened this summer! (Which I will be visiting as soon as proper funding comes through.) All this to say however, that when I watch a Harry Potter movie or dream of visiting the theme park, I don't think "Thank you David Heyman!" (producer of Half Blood Prince.) or "You have given me so much happiness Alan Gilmore." (Art Director of World of Harry Potter.) No I do not. Instead I think "Wow J.K. Rowling, you rock!." And why do I think this? After all, the people mentioned above really did do fantastic work and do deserve credit. BUT without the idea of Harry Potter, without that first little handwritten napkin note, there would be no Harry Potter movies, theme park, action figures, etc. And so, by default, when someone says "Harry Potter" you think J.K Rowling (or how wonderful it would be if we could actually fly on broomsticks while playing quidditch, but that's besides the point).
I come to two conclusions. The first is this; write down every single brain child you conceive. You never know when it could be turned into something big. When you are inspired, drop everything and go with it because it might not come back for a while. Thinking creatively is not a skill you can just take a course on and learn. It is a lifestyle, a way of looking at the world. The second is to develop exceptional writing or communication skills and then surround yourself with talented people. If I have an 'out-of-this-world-better-than-sliced-bread' idea, and I am not capable of creating a way to communicate it to anyone else in an effective way, then it sucks because it will just die inside of me. Develop a creative lifestyle and be able to communicate your 'golden' ideas via the best of the best (and if the best of the best happens to be yourself, then all the better!).
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