Day 325: Be an Olympic Storyteller

Listen up all you Creative Thinkers! BT are giving people like you and me the opportunity to tell the story of the 2012 Olympics. If you've a blogger, creative writer, a graphic designer or an artist, why not get invovled and share your experiences of the Olympics. However you are creative, BT want YOU to get involved.

What do the Olympics mean to you? What's going on in your area to prepare or celebrate? How could you use your creative talents to get in on the action...?

Sign up here and find out all the details.

Get Creative. Get involved.

Day 302: Kilter Theatre

Kilter are a theatre with a difference. The three things they value are sustainability for the environment, interacting with local communities and create positive change. They have taken these values and used them in what they call issue-lead plays, where they share with their audiences something they think is important.

Their production Roots Replanted was held in an allotment where audiences interacted with the play, planting seeds and learning as they 'walked' through the play. What fun!

Here's a video about how they made their play:



So, what do you care about? Being creative is a great tool you can use to share with the world the things you think are important. Be inspired by Kilter's efforts. If they can do it, then so can we. Check out their website for loads of useful links.

How could you use your creativity to make positive change...? Why not share it below in the comment box? Let's inspire each other with the ideas we have...

Day 299: Carl's Beach Theatre

Today I want to dedicate this entry to a creative friend of mine who is currently developing a beach theatre. Now that's what I call a creative thinker. What better place to harbour your creativity than on a beach in Devon?

Have you ever been to a Devon beach? I have so many fond memories of beach holidays in Devon and the idea of pitching up with just a towel to sit on and watch a performance sound just amazing.

Similar to me with my writing competition at Ralph Allen School (which is going great by the way. Tune in next week for more on that!) Carl is running his theatre-with-a-difference for his final year uni project. It's so cool to do a degree where you can take what you've got and share it with the world. A Maths degree just doesn't give you the same benefits!

Check out what Carl has planned in his blog. Be inspired by what's going on around the UK. Think about what you've got and what you could do with it...

Day 287: David Bowie

Ever wandered how massive stars like david Bowie made it to the top?

Well, now's your chance to find out. The BBC have got a 6 part radio series on the life and works of David Bowie, starting with how it all began. To catch the first one click here.

Will Mr Bowie inspire you today?

Day 279: Fanatical about films?

I have spent most of the day sitting behind Box Office at work looking through the Odeon Magazine. Some of the films coming out soon I quite fancy like, The Adjustment Bureau and The Lincoln Lawyer. They look interesting: What could be in their future that would cause them to become wanted in their present? Why would a man run a law firm from his car?

But some of the films like, Battle: Los Angeles and Unknown really didn't interest me. Why is that? Why do some of us want to see those films and some of us don't? What is it about them that makes us fancy them (or not)?

Is it their stories? Their actors or directors? Is it their marketing?

Odeon claims to be fanatical about films, but are they really? I mean, can any one person be fanatical about all films? I don't think so...

Just one of the thoughts that filled my head as I waited for the next film lover to buy a ticket from me today...

Day 266: Britain strikes back at Oscars 2011

Last night was the Oscars. All the pretty ladies glided along the red carpet in their designer dresses and all the handsome fellows strolled along in their tuxedos. What a sight.

Good old The King's Speech was waving the banner for Britain and brought us home Best Actor, Best Director and Best Film, the top most prestigious awards. Not bad, eh?

So today, my blog entry is dedicated to Colin Firth, Tom Hooper and of course, King George VI himself. Without him there wouldn't be a film!

For all of the Oscar winners see the BBC website.

Day 262: There's no business like show business...

I have spent the afternoon interviewing people to be in a short film. A short film based on my story! How exciting is that? To see these people fulfilling the roles of characters I have created is quite amazing and it has given me a new enthusiasm for my writing.

Do you need a lift in your creative work? What could you do to get it?

I never thought that thinking about acting and casting would help me, but it has. I guess being creative is about thinking outside the box.

If you are into drama, why not put yourself in the shoes of a painter? If you're a dancer, why not think about getting involved in singing/music? Could you learn anything from other creative areas?

It doesn't have to be much. It might just be talking to a friend or sitting in on another class at school/collage. Go see a play/movie/dance show/exhibition/book signing...

Remember, creativity feeds creativity!

Day 254: Arts Award. Get Involved.

If you are sitting there thinking no one cares about your creative talent. If you're wondering why the government are cutting all the Arts funding, then don't fear...

I found out about this yesterday and was SO excited. It's an award you can work at, kind of like the Duke of Edinbourgh, but for the Arts. You can put it on your CV and it even goes toward UCAS points for Uni.

I wish they had this award when I was a school! If you're between 11-25 and you wanna get invovled in the arts, this is the award for you!

Check it out here and see where it can take you...

Day 252: Christopher Lee at the Baftas, 2011

Last night was the Bafta Film Awards where the Brits tell the world what they think about this year's films. Everyone comes out in their pretty dresses and smart tucks to wow the world. There's always a few tears up on stage and, of course, the token drunk that gives an embarrassing speech.

For me, this year was all about Christopher Lee, who took home the Academy's Fellowship award. Everyone knows who Christopher Lee is, he's been acting for so long. From Dracula to Saruman in Lord of the Rings, he has kept us entertained through his acting talents. But, as he came onto the stage as a frail man with a walking stick, I was shocked. In my mind he was fighting fit with a long beard and a flowing white gown. His voice was shaky and slow as he gave his moving speech. The revelations hit me; he is an old man now.

Cinema has this wonderful power to freeze time and make people ageless. It blows them up to unearthly size and then keeps them that way in our minds. Unchanged.

I forget that my Lord of the Rings obsessed phase was nearly ten years ago. It turns out that Christopher Lee is 89 years old. I think he's allowed a walking stick! Thank you Mr Lee, for all you've given the world...

Day 239: Terrific Illusion, eh?

I got this sent to me today and I have to say, it's pretty impressive. Take a look:



I love illusions, don't you? There's loads of this kind of stuff around at the moment, what with Derren Brown and films like The Illusionist and The Prestigue. But is there much creativity involved?

What do these kind of things make you think about? I find myself really concentrating, looking for anything that could give it away. And, I HATE it when I can't work it out!

People must come up with these gags, design them, test them out. You need the right atmosphere, music, lighting...So yeah, I recon there is an element of creativity involved, hence the blog entry. You need to be a creative thinker to come up with illusions...

How do you recon it's done then?? Wanna know my theory? I don't think it's a real person myself. Watch it again, before he gets chopped in half. It's a machine, I recon!

Day 233: Oscar Nominations 2011

It's official, the nominations for the Ocsars 2011 are here!

I love this time of year. There's loads of interesting films coming out rather than just big Hollywood blockbusters and everyone's talking films!

The film industry is such a big creative machine. Just think about all the different ways you can be involved in a movie; acting, film editing, music, storyboarding, set design, costume design, animation, make up, filming, directing, script writing...the list goes on.

Even the watching of it can be a creative experience. Thinking about how it all came together or getting sucked into the character's world.

The fact that it's celebrated through different award ceremonies all over the world shows how much it's affects our cultures. So much creativity...I can hardly hold it all in my head!

So, anyway, predictions anyone...?

Day 227: Black Swan

This Friday sees the release of the highly anticipated Black Swan staring Natalie Portman. It's a psychological thriller about ballet and the conflicts between its perception of elegance and the realities behind the curtain.

The thing that stuck me about this film is how it has been born from creativity itself. This poster is the first one I ever saw for this film back in November last year. I was captured by how different it was from all the other film poster I see. No photographs, no fuss over star actors, just visuals. It's colours are minimal and full of impact.

The film is about ballet, which is creative, right? It's a film about the arts. Without the ballet, Swan Lake, this film couldn't exist and without Black Swan, the beautiful posters that advertise it couldn't exist. In fact, without swans, could any of it exist? (a topic for another day I think!)

Creativity, it seems, breeds creativity.

Just think about the things that you love creatively. Someone created that because they were inspired by something creative before that. Who knows, perhaps one day we will be the ones doing the inspiring. Our creative work will be part of the chain too...

What new creation would you like to inspire?

Day 154: Rupert the bear

Today I want to say, Happy Birthday Rupert!

Everyone knows who Rupert the bear is with his red jumper and yellow trousers. When I was a kid I used to watch him on tv and my nan had all the comic books too from when she was a child. Now he's on tv with mobile phones and scooters! How times change, but good all Rupert has rolled with it and is still entertaining children worldwide.

Can you imagine creating a bear which would touch children's lives for over three generations. He's even got his own museum. Now that's inspirational! If my stories are half as successful I'll be happy. How about you, what do you hope for? Where do you want your creative work to go...?

Just think about all the different people that have been involved in Rupert's 'career', animators, artists, writers, painters, musicians...so many people and all of them creative. Without creativity the world wouldn't have Rupert and personally, I think it would be a darker place!

I couldn't resist putting up this. Send Rupert Happy Birthday thought as you watch. Looking good for 90 eh!

Day 130: Shaun the Sheep

Today I'm going to encourage you to do a bit of role playing just to spice up your Friday.

Imagine you are a sheep. (Feel free to do as much 'baaa'-ing as you feel appropriate.) You are out on the field pretty much all day and all you do is eat grass. The occasional leaf gives another dimension to your meal...yum.

Come on, don't you think you'd get bored?

Every day I travel up to Uni and I pass a bunch of sheep in a field. Some days I think, 'man, I wish I was a sheep. Nothing to worry about. Nothing to bother you. Just chill out all day.' But, really, I'd get bored.

If I was a sheep, I'd break from my herd, who were all perfectly happy just munching, and go on an adventure!

If you were a sheep and you walked into a shopping centre, what would you think? Put yourself in the hooves of a sheep. Maybe you would wonder why there wasn't any hay in the feeding trough (the trolleys to us). Or maybe you would think that leg of meat looked...(I'll leave you to fill in this blank!)

It's fun to see the world from a different perspective sometimes. Don't get me know, I like being a human (for the most part), but what's life without a bit of imagination?

Enjoy being a sheep on this fun-day-Friday. Go about your day, thinking what a sheep would think of what you're doing or the conversations you're having.

After all, when is it not appropriate to act like a sheep!

Day 38: Film-thoughts

How do you find a creative spark to feed your imagination?

This is definitely a BIG question, one I have tried to answer in a number of different ways over my blog entries so far (still 327 to go!). There is one way I haven't really looked at in a lot of detail yet and that is films...

I am not into writing/making films myself, but watching them helps me a LOT when it comes to inspiring my creativity. Even films that seem pretty generic can show me something I've never even thought of.

If you think about it, they touch on a lot of creative ends; story writing, plots, characterisation, photography, choreography, costume design, set design, styles, fashions, ideas, current thinking...you name it, film includes it!

Are you the kind of person that thinks about the films you've watched? If so then great, if not, I encourage you to give it a go.

Do it now with the last film you saw (DVD or cinema). Answer these questions:

-Did you enjoy it?
- Why?
- What was you favourite scene and why?
- Were the characters believable?
- Do you think the script was good?
- How did the characters achieve their goal?
- Was this believable?
- What style was the film going for (ie, dark and sinister)?
- Did their clothes match the setting/time period?
- Was it deliberate?

There are SO many questions you could ask of a film and many of the answer will tell you a little bit about what you like and where it could lead your creative work.

Let me give you an example from my own 'film-thoughts.' I went to see Twilight (the first one) when it came out which lead me to thinking about impossible relationships. Bella and Edward are like a modern day Romeo and Juliet, lovers who should be enemies. They should not be together because they are from different 'worlds.'

This idea inspired a story of mine. A well-to-do guy called James from a wealthy family ends up falling for a homeless girl, Lola. As you can see this idea seems to have nothing to do with vampires and werewolves, but its the concept I've borrowed!

Get it? I hope this helps.

Give it a go yourself and see how the films you watch can inspire YOUR creativity...

Day 33: Abraham Lincoln

"The best way to predict your future is to create it."

These very true words were brought to the world by Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States and boy does he know what he's talking about!

Don't worry, I'm not about to give you a history lesson on US politics. All I'm asking is that you look at his words. Even Abraham Lincoln knew that getting anywhere meant creating a path.

Perhaps he didn't mean create in the 'arty' kind of way, but it goes to show that making things has value, whether it be our futures or a sculptor of a bunny rabbit!

Why can't we create our futures in an arty way? If 'arty' (and by that I mean creative in any way, shape or form) is your thing, then make it your future.

I'm 23 now and 'artiness' is a part of who I am (hence this blog). If I wasn't being arty then I wouldn't be Emma!

So, what I'm saying to you today (with the help of my mate Abraham Lincoln) is to creative your future by being/making what you love. If artiness makes you happy, then do it! Go for it! Keep on doing what you're doing and see where it takes you. That's what I've been doing and it going pretty well for me!

I wonder what you will create in your future...?

Day 30: Green

This is the word of the day, green.

I challenge you to come up with a creative piece inspired by the colour green.

What kind of associations come to mind when you think of green?

Some of mine include grass, my boyfriend (cause that's his favourite colour), Shrek, the environments. My boyfriend also has a t-shirt which is bright green and it says 'fight the bear' on it. I think if I were to do a creative piece it would have something to do with a ninja fighting bear who wears a green bandanna and eats only green things as part of his ninja diet!

Now, I am aware that some of your associations may differ from mine! That's the create thing about creativity, everyone has a different flavour!

What will you come up with. Take the challenge...

Day 27: A picture says 1000 words!

The next time you open a magazine, be it fashion, cars, computers, the big issue...find two random pictures which don't seem to have anything to do with each other. How do they link? How could you make a story/a scene/a dance piece/a painting using these two pictures?

It can be any aspect of the pictures that you chose to use. It's really up to you. Use it as a starting point...

To give you an example (which I so often like to do) take these two pictures:

I have taken them from this month's 'Marie Claire' Magazine. Is the girl - lets call her Sadie - looking at the sign? Is this where she is destined to go? Is this (the sign) what she wants her life to be? Is she an undercover detective, investigating the scene of a murder? Is she the murderer? Is she the next victim...or are they two separate things in the story all together?

Now, I am a writer, so naturally edge towards creating a story from these two images, but do whatever you like with them. Create lyrics, use the colours to inform your painting. Maybe it inspires your own fashion ideas?

Whatever you do with it, be creative. Find your own pictures and let them inspire you own creativity.

Go...

Day 24: Collaboration!

Today I want a talk about team-work-creativity. Yes, that's right, working together to produce a super inspiring creative masterpiece!

Who do you know? Dancers, musicians, painters, writers, actors, sculptors, photographers, animators, makers, breakers....Creativity attracts creativity, so get it together guys and gals. See what will happen if you combine your creative talents and passions.

This idea was given to me yesterday (of course) where there was lots of websites I could sign up to and collaborate with other artists. You know what I thought? 'What a FANTASTIC idea,' that's what!

Want some examples? Check out INFRA, a collaboration piece between contemporary dance choreographer, Wayne McGregor and artist Julian Opie.

or

Take a peek at this collaboration animation by David Ellis and BLU.

So, why don't you mix it up a bit. Dancers, get in contact with musicians. Artists, talk to some animators etc etc.

It's like my dad always says, 'two heads are better than one.' (I'm sure someone else said it first, but I'm going to give him the credit today!)

Day 22: Go go...

If you need inspiration where do you go? Do you go to your bedroom, on a long walk, to a gallary or a gig...?

My advise for you today is 'go'...

Preferably somewhere new. It doesn't have to be far. Go down that road you've never been down before, into that museum in your town/city, to the woods near your house...

Maybe you could venture further a field. I'm going to London tomorrow, which I do quite frequantly, but I'm will make it my 'mini mission' to go somewhere I've never been before and I encourage you to do the same. Find out something new, and write it down in your notebook.

I'll let you know what I find...

Where will YOU go? How will you be inspired?