Creativity: Your Purpose Promotes the Process. 5 Tips for Content Creators, Fiction & Nonfiction Writers.

                      

Are you a creative person will lots of ideas?  Do you consider yourself a content creator? That’s great. We need more creative idea’s and problem solvers. In fact, the reasons why you create often promotes the process you will take. Let’s see how.

 

Identify your passion or niche

If you found a way to do something faster, better, automated something mundane or added panache to something, it sounds like you have an idea for an app, product or service, but in what area? Is it art or craft related, food based, technical or computer related, car/ auto repair or modification related? Get specific and identify exactly what it is.

 

What if you are a creative writer and storyteller?  You tend to write stories that show character interaction and growth. You may want to show a specific point of view. Theme is of essential importance. What is the take away or lesson learned from the story. The storytelling medium can be broken down into the various formats: book, play, comics /graphic novels, video games, TV shows and movies. Which one of these other formats work better? Investigate and do the research. Decide if your idea is entertainment worthy.

Get specific

Try not to be too broad and too generic. You and your audience may quickly loose interest or get easily distracted. Get granular and specific. It gives you focus. Lock down your niche, and do the research to see if the idea is truly viable. See what is happening with the general interest in that area or identify an area that may need more focus. Create your new audience!

 

Give it a new twist

Don’t let genre hold you back. Instead let it liberate you. A successful piece of entertainment is not the end all be all for that genre. Perhaps you have a new twist on an old idea. We have Star Wars and Star Trek, Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, James Bond and Mission Impossible, Dawn of the Dead and iZombie. Genre modification/mashup for entertainment can mean big rewards if done right. Products and service as well can be altered to create a new audience.

Sources of inspiration is where your audience is

Inspiration should get you motivated and your sources serve a dual purpose. Not only will it help give you a framework to springboard from, it should also point you to toward your target audience. Where you do research is where your demographic will also be residing. Check out chats on forums and groups like Facebook, LinkedIn, Reddit, Twitter, Quora and other social media sites. Check out sites that deal directly with your topic idea. Do a Google search on your category and see what sites pops up. Use Amazon to research popular categories for product, devices and apps. Kickstarter is a treasure trove of great ideas that might be the next big thing as well. Let's not forget Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr for image inspiration, and Soundcloud for audio inspiration.

 

The Recap

Your passion is something your target audience craves. It should also be your driving force to take you to completion. Remember to:

 

- Identify your niche.

- Narrow down the idea to something specific.

- Determine if the idea is entertainment, product or service.

- What is your angle or new twist to the idea?

- Get inspirational sources and note what your target audience interest are.


Click here for 11 Free Productivity Mind Hacks.

Want more writing tips and techniques?
Get our book here.

Idea Genesis is the must-have book with tips and techniques to get you creating at lightning speed.


You may also like these links as well:

Secrets to Overcoming Writer's Block

Top Ten Tips When Writing for the Entertainment Medium

Types of Story and Why it Matters

Character Types Will Make or Break Your Story

Good luck and happy hunting.

 

 

 

 

 

Free VST Plugins from EDM Productions

Hey everybody. Need some cool VST Plugins?
Check these out courtesy of Aden Russell and Simon Haven from EDM Foundations:

51 Best Synths and Effects for EDM production
Synths, samplers, EQ, effects, and more.
EDM - Free VST Plugins (Click Here)


Programming guide for the free Vital Synth 
EDM - Vital Synth guide (free) 

If you like resources like these, check out the Audio Production Resource Guide available here.

So, You're Thinking About Filmmaking?

Essentials You Need to Know + Free Resources!

The great thing about filmmaking is that it is a team sport. It requires a crew of specialists working together under a film producer and director’s guidance to create a finished work. There is a job for just about everyone. The question is where do you see yourself? Let’s profile some general areas of interest.

 

5 Phases of Production

The best way to look at this might be through the 5 phases of production which are Development, Pre-production, Production, Post-production, and Distribution.

 

 

 

Development and Pre-production

Development is the stage where the project is created and planned. In this phase, a small group of creatives and executives craft the story and associated budget. When the project is financed, it will move into the pre-production phase with an emphasis on shooting dates and the time frames for the project to be finished.

 

Pre-production is the planning stage required right before filming. In this stage scripts are finalized, budgets are adjusted, actors are cast, locations scouted, the crew employed, shooting schedules finalized, sets are designed and built, costumes made and fitted, and everything to do with the shoot is planned and tested

 

 

Some Roles in Development and Pre-production

* Casting

* Scriptwriting

* Location scouting

* Wardrobe

* Set design

* Props

* Storyboards / Concept Art

* Pre-visualization

 

Does your skill set involve any of these areas? Some questions to ask:

 

Are you an actor with experience? What kind of projects have you worked on?

Writers, do you have good storytelling and/or film experience? Can you convert a story into script formatting?

 

Do you have any experience building sets for the stage? Can you build realistic-looking, sturdy props? Craftspeople, this might be something up your alley.

 

Are you an artist with some comic book experience?  Can handle storyboarding?   Sci-Fi and Fantasy films need concept artists to help sell the idea. Do you have the skills to do this? Animators, can you create how shots would look using sketches or rough models for pre-visualization?

 

 

 

Production

Production is the actual filming process. The creative minds finally see their ideas captured on film, each day following the filming schedule. Production is usually the shortest of the five phases, even though this is where most of the budget is allotted.

 

 

Some Roles in Production

* Director

* Cameraman & Lighting

* Costume

* Hair and Makeup

 

Does your skill set involve any of these areas? Some questions to ask:

 

Can you manage a team with actors? Can you articulate what is needed to get a good performance for a scene?

 

Do you have photography experience? What is your knowledge of composition, shot types, and motion? Have you shot a short film or music video? Are you experienced with lighting a scene?

 

Do you have any experience with costumes, or hair and makeup? Cosplay and stylists might want to look into this area.

 

 

 

Post-production

Post-production is what is required to complete your project after filming. This is where the footage is edited, the sound is mixed, visual effects are added, a soundtrack is composed, titles are created, and the project is completed and prepared for distribution.

 

Some Roles in Post-production

* Editor

* Music

* Visual Effects

* Titles / Motion Graphics

 

Does your skill set involve any of these areas? Some questions to ask:

 

Do you know to edit effectively? Have you worked with Avid, Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere?  How is your knowledge of film transitions?

 

Have you ever created music for film? What do you know about music genres?

Musicians, this could be a great side gig.

 

What do you know about green screen? Have you done any photo manipulation or film compositing? How well do you know After Effects? Can you create realistic 3D models?

 

 

Distribution

Distribution is the final stage in a project for producers looking to make a return on investment. This can be from cinema distribution, selling to a TV network or streaming service, or releasing direct to DVD.

 

Portfolio

When you are ready, it is very important to be able to show off your work should a job arise. Having a portfolio site is a good idea.  Even using a free platform is better than nothing like YouTube, Soundcloud, Blogger or whichever platform can best showcase your work.

 

Don’t forget to check out the competition to honestly assess where you stand. More to come.

Click here for a free PDF of Filmmaking Resources to get you up to speed.

 Check out our follow up: Is Film School Really Necessary?

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Enjoy and share this with your friends. 

 

 

 

 

Native Instruments Bundle 90% Off (Discount Pricing)

If you are a musician/keyboardist, then you know that Native Instruments has the most highly regarded and best-sounding synths on the planet. Because of cost concerns I've been relegated to some of their free offerings like the incredible Micro Prism, Reaktor Player, Kontakt Player, and Komplete Start.

Check out these free offerings here.

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MASSIVE contains over 1300 sounds, all crafted by leading artists and sound designers.
Flexible routing and modulation controls allow for unique sound creation.

ABSYNTH 5 has more than 2,100 presets or start building your very own sound worlds using the mutator, effects, and additional sound-modulation controls.

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Presets in SUPER 8 range from basses and leads to pads and special effects. Tweak your tones all you want with a simple, modern VST 3 interface. SUPER 8 has 550+ presets – from rich analog strings and ethereal pads to deep basses, biting leads, electronic percussion, and unusual effects. Use oscillators, filters, and modulation settings that wouldn’t have been possible on original hardware.

Drop a sample into the FORM interface. Using a sample as the primary oscillator for the synth engine, FORM lets you craft complex new sounds rapidly. FORM has 400+ wide-ranging presets. They span sonic staples like bass, keys, leads, and pads, and avant-garde SFX, soundscapes, and sequences. 

Getting great kick and bass from the start makes all the difference. TRK-01 marries classic mixing techniques with innovative sound design, sequencing, and modulation, so you’re always inspired to write solid and exciting kick-bass combinations. Get your new tracks rolling quicker and sounding bigger than ever before.

 

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Contest and Competitions: Are You Giving Your Ideas Away?

Artists, designers, and content creators should be aware of contests/competitions that you tend to see on social media websites. The lure of a big payday or win might be tempting but it pays to read the fine print. In some cases, these contests/competitions are created as a way to data-mine thousands of new ideas for free with no compensation for the entrants.

Some things to look out for

Terms and conditions; do you keep the rights to your work or does it become the property of the contest creators? Is there an entry fee? Win or lose, will they be using your design or likeness for marketing purposes?

You want to make sure you keep all rights to your work. It might be a good idea to copyright your work if possible before submission. The entry fee is the way they fund/market the contest. You may be paying someone to take your idea if you are not a winner and using your design or content as free marketing.

 

What happens to all the submissions that don’t win?

 

I found myself in a situation in an A&R song contest. My work was copyrighted, but a month after the contest I heard a piece of music on the radio that sounded very similar to my submission. I contacted an entertainment lawyer and was told I had to provide a direct paper trail of how my work wound up to the artist.

 

In a lot of instances, these companies will sell the data they have gathered in these contests to a third party breaking your paper trail. The third party now has access to hundreds, maybe thousands of new ideas depending on the number of submissions.

 

Not all contests are bad. Contest or competitions through state or local educational institutions can be legitimate. Educational entities must follow state/federal guidelines including FERPA. There are usually no entry fees and you keep rights to your work.

 

 

Intellectual Property and Work-For-Hire

If you are hired by an entertainment company, any contract you sign will probably have an intellectual property clause or some kind of work-for-hire statement buried in the fine print. This states that any ideas you create while hired for the company can become the property of said company. Think Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. They fought Marvel for decades to get a cut from the Marvel characters they created which were considered work-for hire.

 

Copyright any important work you have before signing the contract. Be careful of any personal work you create while working for the company even at home. Do not show this work to anyone. When your contract is over wait the appropriate amount of time (roughly 6 months) before filing any new copyrights.

 

As an artist, designer, or content creator you must be aware of what some corporate entities are capable of and be careful.



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What is Medium?

Medium is a blogging platform that is worth a look.  Medium has a new partner program that allows you to get paid for your blog content! 


Medium allows you to read 3 locked stories for free every month as a kind gesture. After that, they lock your profile down if you are not in the partner program.  All you need to know is, there’s tons of locked stories on Medium’s platform, as well as regular people making over $1000 + per month and more from the Medium partner program.

Getting into the partner program is really simple. It just requires a subscription which is only $5 a month plus having a least 100 followers. Writing consistency is the key. See the link below on getting followers:

Getting 100 Followers

Medium vs. Google

Using Medium as a search engine gives you some fringe benefits with fewer clicks than Google when it come to content creation.

Read from the pro's

Check the follower count from your favorite writers and read the content. Top writers have an easy-to-read style. They provide valuable information in their content area and in most cases provide pros and cons on their methods, saving you some leg work.


Bonus Tip #1:

Write about applying a process you  learned and the outcome.


Search by tags and get ideas

You will see top content in each tag area already vetted by views and quality. SEO has already been applied to these articles if they are Top-ranked. Tags are considered a type of SEO too. Each writer may cover a different point of view on the same subject.


Bonus Tip #2:

Did they take the content far enough? Can you put your own spin on it? If yes, a new post idea for you! I've gotten several new content ideas this way.


"Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless and add what is specifically your own."

Bruce Lee:
Surprising Life Lessons We Can Learn from His Personal Journey journey.

Publications can give you more visibility
Pitch to popular publications in Medium. they have clout and can give you more visibility. This looks good if you plan to freelance your writing services to other gig platforms. Use the platform as a writers portfolio.



Bonus Tip #3
Flip the script. If you have enough content create your own publication. Have a niche and let other creators come to you.

• Medium has high authority
  
  
• Medium has good internal and external traffic
  
  
• Medium is cutting edge when it comes to business, social media, personal finance and content creation. 
  
  
• You learn & can earn if you post consistently 

Don't reinvent the wheel
You don't need to build your own site from the ground up and promote from scratch when you have a platform that has features and a built in audience. You must capture their attention and get the word out.


Use social media to promote your best work. Don't forget to comment and clap for your favorite writer's articles that have helped you.


If you are not a member of Medium, use my link here. I get a tiny commission, you gain access to the work of thousands of additional writers and the ability to generate blog revenue.


See the articles below for more tips:

21 Ways to Earn Money on Medium Without Getting Curated

6 Tips to Get More Views on Your Medium Stories

10 Ways to Get More Reach for Your Stories on Medium

Good luck and enjoy your Medium journey!

Tools and Tips for Artists

Think like an artist and draw character concepts from any angle & any lighting.

As an artist, I'm constantly on the lookout for tools or techniques to make the design process easier and more effective. After researching character design tips, I came across this link That suggested using Blender as a helpful tool for creating dramatic lighting for your characters.

Blender is a free modeling tool that is fairly easy to use if you know how to use the toolset. The video here shows you how this works. Once done, you can view your character from any angle and apply lighting. You then use the virtual model to sketch from.

The example shows face/head creation but you can take it to the next level to possibly do bodies as well. Check it out.




Clay Approach

Want a non-technology approach? If you are skillful with clay, you can achieve a similar effect and draw from that instead. Artists tend to think like sculptors when it comes to form. Check out this clip which shows a sculptor at work. Increase the clip speed to see how the artist builds  up the  forms and shapes faster.

Thinking Like an Artist

Marco Bucci talks about how he went from zero to pro-artist, with no art school.
This must-see clip (click here) shows the lessons he had to learn to think like an artist. Thanks to Marco for his candid and detailed info.



Like this? Get my book here with more artist resources.


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Thanks, and enjoy!

Bruce Lee: A Man Ahead of His Time

                   Some Surprising Life Lessons We Can Learn from His Personal Journey!

Bruce Lee who passed at the age of 33, was a martial arts legend and is credited for bringing martial arts movies to the mainstream. He is featured as one of Time magazine’s “100 People of the Century”. His short life with several twists of fate has a few lessons we can all take to heart.

If you have an advantage in life, exploit it.

Lee was born in San Francisco on November 27, 1940, making him an American citizen. After 4 months his parents returned to Hong Kong in April 1941 giving him dual citizenship in Hong Kong as well. This wound up being a blessing for Bruce when his parents sent him at age 18 to live with his older sister in the US. This was to avoid the frequent street fighting and bad influences in Hong Kong.

Lee’s father was a Cantonese opera star, and Bruce was introduced to the cinema at a young age. He appeared in several films as a child. At the age of nine, he co-starred with his father in The Kid in 1950, which was based on a comic book character and was his first leading role. By the time he was 18, he had appeared in twenty films.

Bruce was exposed to being a cinema star early in life.

Having good friends can make all the difference.

At age 13, Bruce found himself getting into a lot of street fights as a child.  His parents decided to find him a martial arts instructor. William Cheung, a friend and fellow kung fu student, introduced Bruce to Ip Man, a Wing Chun grandmaster. The problem however was Bruce was not considered “pure Chinese”. He was rejected from learning because of the long-standing rule in the Chinese martial arts world not to teach foreigners.  Being a quarter German on his mother's side would be an initial obstacle towards his Wing Chun training. Cheung spoke on Lee’s behalf and he was later accepted into the school.

Early 1964  Lee dropped out of college and moved to Oakland, California to live with James Yimm Lee. James Lee was twenty years senior to Bruce Lee and a well-known Chinese martial artist in the area. James Lee was for introducing Bruce Lee to Ed Parker, an American martial artist. Parker invited Lee to appear in the 1964 Long Beach International Karate Championships. At the event, Lee performed repetitions of two-finger push-ups, fought blindfolded and demonstrated a "one inch punch" which knocked martial artist Bob Baker backwards several feet. The tournament led to Bruce getting an  audition and screen test with TV producer William Dozier. Dozier later cast him as Kato in the TV show titled The Green Hornet.

The Green Hornet introduced the adult Bruce Lee to an American audience and became the first popular American show presenting Asian-style martial arts.

Have a good side hustle and maximize it.

Bruce came to America in 1959 to live with his older sister. After a short time he moved to Seattle to continue his education. His main job at the time; a live-waiter at a restaurant owned by a family friend. Bruce decided to teach he own style of martial arts called Jun Fan Gung Fu. This was his approach to Wing Chun. Lee taught friends he met in Seattle including Judo practitioner Jesse Glover,  and Taky Kimura. Things snowballed to the point where he was able to open his first martial arts school named the Lee Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute.

Think outside of the box.

James Yimm Lee a friend of Bruce (mentioned above), helped him found a second Jun Fan martial arts studio in Oakland, California. According to Lee, the Chinese community issued an ultimatum to him to stop teaching non-Chinese people. Lee refused to comply, and he was challenged to a combat match with Wong Jack-man, known for his mastery of Xingyiquan, Northern Shaolin style kung fu. If Lee lost, he would have to shut down his school, but if he won, he would be free to teach white people, or anyone else.


Bruce who had won the match concluded that the fight had lasted too long and that he had failed to live up to his potential using his Wing Chun techniques. Lee decided to develop a system with an emphasis on "practicality, flexibility, speed, and efficiency". He started using different methods of training and constantly adapted other forms of fighting including fencing, boxing techniques and other types of martial art forms. His style which he called Jeet Kune Do, emphasized what he called "the style of no style". This consisted of getting rid of the formalized approach of martial arts, using what worked and discarding what was ineffective.

Bruce who had won the match concluded that the fight had lasted too long and that he had failed to live up to his potential using his Wing Chun techniques. Lee decided to develop a system with an emphasis on "practicality, flexibility, speed, and efficiency". He started using different methods of training and constantly adapted other forms of fighting including fencing, boxing techniques and other types of martial art forms. His style which he called Jeet Kune Do, emphasized what he called "the style of no style". This consisted of getting rid of the formalized approach of martial arts, using what worked and discarding what was ineffective.

Bruce who had won the match concluded that the fight had lasted too long and that he had failed to live up to his potential using his Wing Chun techniques. Lee decided to develop a system with an emphasis on "practicality, flexibility, speed, and efficiency". He started using different methods of training and constantly adapted other forms of fighting including fencing, boxing techniques and other types of martial art forms. His style which he called Jeet Kune Do, emphasized what he called "the style of no style". This consisted of getting rid of the formalized approach of martial arts, using what worked and discarding what was ineffective.

So in 1967, Bruce was thinking and developing an MMA fighting system way before that term or concept even existed!

Work hard, be confident and opportunities will come.

Although Lee had done a season of the Green Hornet and several TV appearances, work was sparse. Lee pitched a television series of his own tentatively titled The Warrior, to Warner Bros. which was a western featuring martial arts. Lee's concept was retooled and renamed Kung Fu, but Warner Bros. gave Lee no credit according to Lee’s wife Linda Lee Cadwell. They also cast American actor David Carradine as the lead. Producer Fred Weintraub suggested that Lee to return to Hong Kong and make a feature film which he could showcase to executives in Hollywood. America was not yet ready for a non white movie superstar. Lee returned to Hong Kong, unaware that The Green Hornet had played much success in Hong Kong. He was also surprised to be recognized as the star of the show. Lee signed a film contract to star in two films produced by Golden Harvest.


“To hell with circumstances. I create opportunities.”
Bruce Lee

The Big Boss (1971) proved to be an enormous box office success across Asia and catapulted him to stardom. He soon followed up with Fist of Fury (1972), which broke the box office records set previously by The Big Boss.  Lee negotiated a new deal with Golden Harvest and for his third film, Way of the Dragon (1972), and was given complete control of the film's production as the writer, director, star, and choreographer of the fight scenes. In 1964, at a demonstration in Long Beach, California, Lee met karate champion Chuck Norris. In Way of the Dragon, Lee introduced Norris to moviegoers as his opponent. Their showdown has been characterized as "one of the best fight scenes in martial arts and film history”.

Lee began work on his fourth Golden Harvest film Game of Death, when Warner Brothers offered Lee the opportunity to star in Enter the Dragon, the first film to be produced jointly by Concord (Lee’s production company), Golden Harvest, and Warner Bros. Filming began in Hong Kong in February 1973 and was completed in April 1973. However, only a few months after the completion of Enter the Dragon, and six days before its July 26, 1973, release, Lee died. Enter the Dragon would go on to become one of the year's highest-grossing films and cement Lee as a martial arts legend. It was made for US $850,000 in 1973 (about $5.5 million adjusted for inflation today). Enter the Dragon went on to gross an estimated $350 million worldwide.

Be confident in your abilities and you may be able to do something incredible.

Though Lee’s life ended way too abruptly, he was able to transcend the film medium into superstardom. As you can see in his brief time here, he was able to do some incredible things. What can we take to heart?

- If you have an advantage in life, exploit it.

- Having good friends can make all the difference.

- Have a good side hustle and maximize it.

- Think outside of the box.

- Work hard, be confident and opportunities will come.

- Be confident in your abilities and you may be able to do something incredible.

Check out the official Bruce Lee site here.

Free PDF of Bruce Lee's Life Changing Quotes here!

Way of the Dragon Fight scene with Chuck Norris

Post originally created on Medium