How many times have you come across an article with a title like "50 Million Ways to Get Rid of Writer's Block" and "Unlikely Foods that Will Jumpstart Your Writing". Being a writer myself, I enjoy the plethora of creativity advice, tips, and tricks, but I'm often at a loss as an editor. The repetition of commercial jobs or the tediousness of a project you've worked on for months can turn your once purified spring of creativity into a sludge-filled stagnant pond. Well, Vashi Nedomansky of VashiVisuals has got you covered. Check out this editor's approach to dealing with creative stagnation after the jump.
Nedomansky's blog post shows how he deals with that familiar rundown feeling that you get after days/weeks/months/years of editing. He says:
Sometimes an editor/creative person/human being needs to reboot his mental computer. Often when work crushes you down with its repetitiveness and sheer volume -- one can get stuck in a place of darkness and discombobulation. Up is down -- and white is black. I find the best way to get out of that funk is to cut something random yet with a purpose. Take something innocuous and give it your voice. Take something normal and spin it on its head.
We're talking mashups, people! By taking some random piece of footage and recutting it, dubbing over existing audio, or whatever you feel inclined to do to it, you can revitalize your creativity for editing.
To get an idea of what a mashup is, Nedomansky made 3 and posted them with his article ("Banking with Borg" is amazing.) Here is one from his article for you to check out:
Here is one of my favorite trailer mashups:
Some sources Nedomansky uses are YouTube, Archive.org, and The Prelinger Archives. After downloading your footage, experiment. Try new things. Fail. The whole point of this is to spur your creativity -- to force your brain to reboot and start anew, so trying something completely experimental or foreign to what you normally do might be the thing that gets you out of your rut.
Have you ever tried editing mashups in order to get inspired, or do you have your own methods? Let us know in the comments.
Link: Video Remixes: Edit To Reboot Your Brain -- VashiVisuals
