Why Creative Ideas Can Be Hard To Come By?
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
Frederick Douglass
Creative ideas are, by their very nature elusive, if creativity was easy everyone would be doing it. This is not the case so you need to put effort into getting new ideas for your videos, but as Frederick Douglas said without struggle there is no progress. The conventional wisdom is that creativity can be taught and it is skill just like any other. This however takes time and effort and you might need results faster than that.
Luckily there are some ways to speed up the learning process and I have listed some of the ways that have helped me do this in my video making.
1.Tell Your Story From An Unusual Perspective
One of he best creative ideas I know is to tell your story from an unusual perspective. We are so used to the narration coming directly from the brand it can become boring and staid. Think about who else can narrate your story, maybe a fresh perspective from your new employee, what about that customer who sees you in a different but positive manner? So the next time you are planning a brand video don’t just go for the tried and tested perspective, think about doing it differently. Make your video content stand out from the your competitors.
2. Use Technology Creatively
We use technology everyday as brands and often struggle to keep up with all the developments. This struggle provides a creative advantage for any brand willing to put in a little extra effort and watch for new emerging technologies to use for their video projects. This provides additional marketing value as you can get free advertising online for being the first to embrace a new technology.
A simple example of this would be to use a newly released Iphone or other brand to record your video and promote it as the “first of its kind”. You could partner this with a new anamorphic lens to have an unique video content that also promotes your brand message. The key is to ensure the production values are kept high and the resulting content is premium quality.
There are plenty of options in the technology space and all you need to do is look around for ways of exploiting these options for your own use. It can be a software option or a new camera trend. Personally I feel that vertical videos shot specifically for mobile screens are underutilised.
3. Answer The Unasked Question
Creative ideas can come from looking at a problem from a different point of view, such as asking a different question. Let me give an example, you meet somebody who mysteriously got their memory back and you immediately ask them how they got it back? However the more interesting story maybe how they lost it. My point being, this is a situation where there are two questions, one of which may provide an more interesting story.
So when planning your video project you do not always have to answer the obvious question, sometimes there is a less obvious question to ask, with a more interesting story for your audience.
4. Get Creative Input
I understand the world is full of creative and non-creative individuals and sometimes you may not be able to provide the creative input necessary for creative ideas. This is the time to ask for help, either from your immediate team or wider network. Provided it does not conflict with their professional work most creative’s are happy to share tips and often do so on their social media networks. Obviously if you want complex input there will be a charge. Often all you needed is to be pointed in the right direction and you and your team can put in serious work needed to develop the idea.
Get some inspiration from local art galleries and museums; multimedia art installations can also be a great source of inspiration. Research online what the video and Smartphone brands are doing, as they can also be a source of inspiration. Remember you are not looking to copy ideas you are looking for inspiration to develop your own creative ideas that you can use for your brand videos.
5. Search Your Archives
Regular readers of my blog will know I am a fan of repurposed video content and brand archives often hold many ideas for future content. It could be an idea you were looking at but never had the resources to execute at the time. However with new technologies this may be achievable now. It could be a series of old photographs and videos that would be perfect for a micro documentary on your brand. You could have a single image that has an interesting and relevant story that would make a great short video. It could be an old article that tells the story behind a current success. It is worth reviewing your old archives with an open mind and you may find inspiration for interesting and useful new video content.
Keep An Open Mind
“I dwell in possibility.”
Emily Dickinson
Creativity is a skill and it has to be learned and if you want creative ideas for your video content you need to be open. Nothing kills creativity faster than an unwillingness to see or do things in way that is different from the past. Keeping your mind open is a bit like brainstorming; there are “no good or bad ideas” for the idea generation stage as any idea can prompt a winning solution by idea association. When thinking about your video you should be open to all ideas as even the so called “bad ideas” might spark the mind to that great video concept. The video creative process should allow your creative ideas to evolve until they become final usable video concept.