Hugh Garry

Storytelling tips from Ken Burns

"The common story is 1 + 1 = 2... The real genuine stories are about 1 + 1 = 3. That's what I'm interested in" says filmmaker Ken Burns in this short film on the art of filmmaking and storytelling. Watching it I was reminded of a quote in Storytelling Tips from Ira Glass "You have to be really a killer about getting rid of the boring parts and going right to the parts that get into your heart. You just have to be ruthless if anything is going to be good. Things that are really good are good because people are being really, really tough". I don't think there is a wasted word in this entire video that punches you you in the heart. 

"We live in a rational world where 1 + 1 = 2. And it does. But the things that matter most to us, some people call it 'love, some people call it 'God', some people call it 'reason', is that other thing where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. And that's the 3. There are great stories everywhere. Abraham Lincoln wins the Civil War and then decides he has time to go to the theatre. When Thomas Jefferson said 'We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal' he owned 100 human beings he never saw the hypocrisy, never saw the contradiction, and more importantly never fit in his lifetime to free any one of them. That's a good story. The stories I like to tell are always interesting because the good guys always have really serious flaws the the villains are very. compelling."

The Descriptive Camera

 

So simple, very brilliant. Watch the video and find out more about it here.

Let them play

One of the saddest things about our educational system is that schools are too keen to turn moments of 'play' into moments of 'learning'. The crayon becomes the pencil then a pen. The lego becomes the exercise book then the ruler and protractor. As Ken Robinson said in The Element"

“Imagination is the source of every form of human achievement. And it's the one thing that I believe we are systematically jeopardising in the way we educate our children and ourselves.” 

When I watched Caine's story I struggled to hold back the tears as it reached it's conclusion. In part they were tears of joy for such a remarkable story, but also tears of sadness that his days of play may soon be behind him with his creative spirit dampened by an industrial model of education the sees work and play as polar opposites.

Less Cowbell

The Futureheads have a new album out this week. It's called 'Rant'. What's remarkable about it is it's an a capella album. A brave move for a rock group that have a strong fan base and four studio albums under its belt.

At this stage of their career bands can live or die by their next move. They've come through the 'difficult second album' phase, been touring for a decade and need to do something that is different but is more of the same. Usually the answer to that dilemma is 'more cowbell'. Or in other words, lets do more of the same but bigger. More guitars. More drums. More noise. And lets do it louder.

As mentioned in my previous post '4 lessons in creativity from The Artist' taking stuff away is always an option:

Creativity is about subtraction. What you remove is as import as what you add. If you're making a blockbuster like Transformers and you add more robots, you simply have a film with more robots. If you're making a film like The Artist and you take away the voices you have something 'remarkable'.

What's really interesting is that when you combine elements in a creative way (such as rock bands and a capella) to create something new interesting posibilities that arise as a result. For example you could argue that it took the arrival of broadband and Flash to make Youtube a reality. In this case touring the album becomes a completely new experience for the band and the audience. Not only is the cost of the tour reduced because they have less gear (on ticket price) but the venue's they can now play a different kind of venue. 

It's great to see the creative side of 'the industry' taking bold steps in risk averse times. 

Imagine... The trailer

 

I love the idea that books now need trailers. I read so many books based on trailers I've stumbled across rather than reviews. Never a great fan of reviews. Recommendations yes, but not reviews. 

I'm looking forward to getting stuck into Jonah Lehrer's new book 'Imagine' and wondering why I'm holding off putting the finishing touches to my own book on the same subject. I clearly need to give myself some restrictions to make sure it gets completed before I find myself back in work with no time to think. Perhaps I should make the trailer first detailing what's in the book and when it will be finished. 

Sorry, just thinking out loud. Watch the trailer. Read the book. Feel free to let me know if there is any need for another book on the subject or if it has all been covered by writers who can actually write, unlike myself.

He who seeks beauty will find it

Last night I went to see Bill Cunningham New York, one of the best films I've seen in such a long time. Bill lives a life of simplicity in a world of excess and glamour. He shuns the limo lifestyle getting around New York on his bicycle. He has few clothes and gaffa tapes them together when they fall apart. And he refuses meals at the celebrity dinners he attends most evenings in favour of a $3 diner sandwich.

Throughout the entire film you're constantly questioning how such a man survives in an industry that is so at odds with his own values. In a film sprinkled with touching moments the one that stood out for me was when it was revealed that BIll parted company with Women's Wear Daily because they had changed the copy of an article to poke fun at how people were dressed in some of his pictures. For Bill there was no 'In' or 'Out', just 'In'. There was no 'Cool' or 'Uncool', just cool. Why be derogatory about something that should just slip by unnoticed. Socialite Annette de la Renta later notes, “I don’t think we’ve ever seen a cruel picture done by Bill.” It's a cruel business, with questionable morals, which is why it will never be see in light as other art forms. If only it had Bill's values.

Here's a few moments of brilliance from the great man:  

"Everyone has taste, but they don’t have the daring to be creative."

"I let the street speak to me."

"If you don’t take money, they can’t tell you what to do, kid. That’s the key to the whole thing."

"Money is the cheapest thing. Freedom is the most expensive thing."

"It’s as true today as it ever was, he who seeks beauty will find it."

"The wider world perceives fashion sometimes as a frivolity that should be done away with in the face of social upheavals and problems that are enormous. The point is, in fact, that it’s the armor to survive the reality of everyday life."

4 lessons in creativity from 'The Artist'

 

I went to dinner on Sunday with a friend who told me that people in Liverpool were walking out of the cinema when they discovered that The Artist was a silent film. I shouldn't be surprised though. I'm sure there were couples choking into their popcorn in multiplexes all over the country when the realised that a silent movie actually means no speaking and no colour. Not even 3D!!! What was Hollywood thinking?

I was delighted to see it scoop a handful of Oscars last month. It's a brilliant and engaging film packed with lessons in how to be creative in whatever it is you do. Here are 4 to be getting on with:

1. What is not constrained is not creative. If you are faced with a blank sheet of paper to fill try add some restrictions of your own. 

2. Creativity is about subtraction. What you remove is as import as what you add. If you're making a blockbuster like Transformers and you add more robots, you simply have a film with more robots. If you're making a film like The Artist and you take away the voices you have something 'remarkable'.   

3. Talent imitates, genius steals. Borrowing from what has gone before is no bad thing. Singing the Rain was a brilliant movie.

4. Rethink deadness. Just because technology moves forward doesn't mean old ideas are bad ideas. 

 

Lean Startup: From the boardroom to the Whitehouse (SXSW12)

The Mind & Consciousness As an Interface (SXSW12)

Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think (SXSW12)