The idea

(use orange/warm colour predominantly)

Introduction

This is the first part of creating a video, and it’s our first module… the idea!

Your idea for a story is probably the most important part when creating content - (I do say that about a lot of parts, it’s pretty much like every part is important). If the core of the video is a bad idea, it'd be incredibly difficult to turn it into a good idea with a decent edit and some nice filming. But if you have a great idea, you can enhance it by delivering it perfectly through great visuals and a great edit. A great example is something I saw recently, Hasan Minaj’s stand-up show, The Kings Jester, and how he enhanced his jokes through effective camera shot choices. This is an excellent example because the edit of this show improves the delivery of the jokes, but if the jokes are bad, the camera angle is not going to matter.

Now I’m very aware that most of you are probably not planning on shooting a stand up show for your video. But my point was, it's the idea and message that people actually connect with, and the visuals / edit are like the pathway to actually get us there. Hey, that's actually quite a good little analogy.

Ideas and inspiration can strike at any moment and in various magnitudes. You may have been nurturing an idea for years and years, steadily developing it, or you could have come up with something just yesterday that you're eager to bring to life today.

While both ideas can be fantastic, the best idea is the one that ignites your passion to create. It's the concept that motivates you to jump out of bed and get to work on it. And sometimes, I find that the video might need a little work to get to that place. I've had great ideas sitting in my scripts folder for years, and it’s only upon revisiting them, do I find some of that energy. That might be because you’re seeing it from a slightly different perspective now, or you’ve experienced something in life that you want to include.

I’ve often experienced moments where I'm in the middle of scripting a project, and then I come across something else that instantly captures my attention, prompting me to think, "Nah, I need to create THIS today." This kind of excitement and enthusiasm for a project will manifest in the final product, and that energy for that piece will show through in the edit. 

You might be thinking, "This sounds fantastic, Sam, but I don't have many ideas." Don't worry, in the core lessons of this section, we'll explore the three primary sources you can tap into to develop your style and generate new ideas.

These are:

• Your Inspirations
• Your Perspective
• Your Character

At the conclusion of this module, you will have delved into these three themes, and...

1. Have a new perspective on how to approach your content.
2. Have 3 ideas you can use for your film

Let’s break these primary sources for video ideas down into three separate lessons. Starting with, Your Inspirations.