John Cleese on Creativity

[Brian C. Miller]

John Cleese on How to Be Creative (http://www.petapixel.com/2012/04/13/john-cleese-on-how-to-be-creative/)
Very interesting video!
Things learned:
Creativity has nothing to do with intelligence, as it is a mode of behavior. Creativity never happens when you are in a "closed," stressful and concentrating mode. It happens when you are in an "open," relaxed and playful mode. It requires space, time, more time, confidence, and humor.

And there's a lot of lightbulb jokes.

So what do you do to get your creative juices flowing?

[Old-N-Feeble]

This link works better for me... John Cleese On Creativity (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmY4-RMB0YY)

Ya' gotta love John Cleese. :)

[William Whitaker]

That hits home on so many levels!

[Adrian Pybus]

Thanks for the link. That was very enjoyable!

[Mark Barendt]

I like it.

[cosmicexplosion]

well that sums up the need for not being surrounded by critics or negatrons. self included.

[Shen45]

I enjoyed this as well. Liked be prepared to be open but when you make a decision stick to it. His illustration about jumping a gap summed it up for me.

Thanks for posting Brian. For me creative doesn't come easily = or at all. But I suppose one thing with 5x4 is shoot more than a single shot of what is in front of the camera but be prepared to start each new shot as a new iteration with a new view. Sadly we don't have a clear button on our brain and seeing a clean slate again can often be impossible when we have imprinted the world's greatest image already. 90% of the time I carry a viewing frame and after a shot is finished further wander the area looking behind, in fact anywhere other than where I have already shot from. We actually have to give our selves permission to be different to our normal style - whatever that is. Be prepared to exaggerate your "normal", you may feel uncomfortable to start with but within a short time that discomfort may transform your old restricted position and could become your new norm as you experiment more. I sometimes have a very bad habit of imprinting a single vision of what is going to be before me, being dissatisfied and packing up even before exposing film because I have predetermined [ pre-visualised :) ] from a distance and some small thing doesn't work. I once read about a beautiful white wall and a very small black spot and a group of people were asked what they saw. Very few saw the beautiful white wall.

Oh and the notion of critiquing someone's work does nothing, Nada, zip to help a photographer develop his creativity. It may highlight what someone else perceives as a black spot but as Cleese summed up in the final 2 minutes these are "control" mechanisms. Creativity is not a technical issue. Technical specifications do not equate to creativity but often the technical aspects of any craft can fall in behind the creative thought process and when they do spontaineous thoughts on a subject can arise.
It is often the horse and cart syndrome. We confuse technicals with creativity, becoming enamoured with film, developer, shutter lens - you name it and eventually falling prey to technical overload and paralysis.
Critiques can often be just a veiled suggestion of "If I had ....", no matter how illustrious the critique. Few understand the difference between critique and criticism. Critique can have a place between trusted peers but creative thought and approach by its nature is individual. Critisism can often just be a black spot hunt. There are a multitude of images of myriad styles by a vast number of photographers on this form that I sometimes view and wonder "what the". It doesn't matter, as the photographer wasn't setting out to satisfy me, he/she was exercising their own creativity and ultimately satisfying themselves first and foremost. If I derive something from that image then that is a bonus. Creativity has to be individual and if it doesn't appeal to everyone, so what. Creativity isn't always completely different to that which has gone before but in most cases will be different to what you have done before.

Shooting as a commercial photographer to my mind can often be a whole different kettle of cats. Your creativity can often be constrained by the last 2 minutes of Cleese's video.

Finally and hypothetically if Weston or Adams or insert your favourite super star photographer posted regularly on this forum or you sat one on one with them would you critique their work and would they give a stuff anyway.

If you haven't watched the Cleese video it is well worth the 36 minutes.

[Mike Anderson]

That was very good. I especially liked his condemnation of solemnity - "solemnity, well I don't know what it's for" I think is the quote. But the whole talk is great.

[John Kasaian]

Thanks! I needed that.

[Andrew O'Neill]

"Creativity has nothing to do with intelligence, as it is a mode of behaviour...."

So, so true.
Hey, how many photographers does it take to change a light bulb?

[Brian C. Miller]

Just one, but there has to be a crime scene in front of the camera.

[John Kasaian]

2,764. 1 to call Carole Miller at Floutots so she can talk him through it and 2,763 to post suggestions:rolleyes:

[Vaughn]

Because of that video I was 45 minutes late for work -- but I just told them I was being creative...

[Andrew O'Neill]

...and I couldn't finish marking a bunch projects by my graphic design students...but most of them approach their work in closed mode, anyway. :rolleyes:

[Steven Tribe]

Oh no - not Cleese again! Or is this a older video?

Apart from his excursions into rather tacky advertising (introduced by himself as being necessary because of recent divorce costs - the one after Connie Booth, I think) he has worked in many series of pocket philosophy management films since 1969. Never with any substantial or original content.

This "creativity" nonsense is just a popularisation of other peoples' rather more thoughtful insight and theories and Cleese is just continuing his acting career.

For insight into artistic creativity, I would prefer to hear Terry Gilliam. His contributions to Monty Python age much better than the rest of it.

[DrTang]

some people can only create with a lot of pressure and under a severe time constraint..and with all hell breaking loose all around

[GSX4]

And now for something completely different.

[Scott Walker]

some people can only create with a lot of pressure and under a severe time constraint..and with all hell breaking loose all around

Very true, I think I have done some of my most creative thinking while upside down in the engine compartment of a race car as the rest of the crew pushed it up to the start line.

[Shutter]

"Creativity has nothing to do with intelligence, as it is a mode of behaviour...."

So, so true.
Hey, how many photographers does it take to change a light bulb?

None. We're all lazy bastards, we simply extend the exposure!

[Jim Cole]

Great video! I wasn't sure what to expect from John Cleese, but it made perfect sense and reflected my own issues with getting creative.