My Creative Inspiration: David
What’s my inspiration? Everything that gets posted in our “video inspiration” channel on slack, obviously. A more serious answer? Everything in the world around me – including my friends, work and environment.
True inspiration is hard to come by. It’s not just something that excites you, but really motivates you to become something more than you currently are. Inspiration feeds creativity and persistence, it fuels the mind and fills your efforts with endless possibilities. For me, this isn’t something that comes easy. At a young age, I found it hard to pull inspiration for things I was working on. I would always let the big picture overwhelm me and I’d never be able to pull myself away from the minute details long enough to appreciate what I had in front of me.
Finally, I learned to work down projects into smaller, more manageable pieces. That’s when I learned how to allow my surroundings to inspire me into creating something truly worthwhile.
I suppose one thing I can always count on to inspire me is music. Even as I write this, I find it hard to power through, but I find with the help of music I’m able to break through that creative block. Curious about what music I listen to? (Shameless plug alert) Go check out my last blog where I also used the power of music to overcome my writers block! Music is a great way to build inspiration, because it brings out many emotions that may lie dormant otherwise. It also helps when I edit to a particular song or beat. For example with the last video I worked on, I was feeling lost on how to edit a particular sequence. Nothing I did seemed to work until I added the perfect song for the setting. That song set the pace for the edit and helped shape the rest of the video, long after that song had ended.
I also like to draw my inspiration from the world around me. That includes everything from nature and scenery around me, to my friends and colleagues. I can remember one point in particular last month where I felt truly inspired by not only my work, but by work from the people around me. Last month I attended a meeting with PEG for the Greater Akron Chamber, an organization that focuses its resources towards regional economic development. While there I realized the impact this company’s philanthropy has on the neighborhood around it. From the sidewalk stages to the various sponsored events, it was at that meeting that I felt I was working for something bigger than myself. Sure a paycheck is nice (and necessary) but what’s the point if you don’t like what’s around you? I felt like I was a part of something that helps make this community better and, in truth, that is something that now inspires me. The idea that my work can help those around me, be it direct or indirect, sheds light onto each project I do now.
And I think that kind of inspiration will guide me for the rest of my life, because if we’re not here for each other, why are we here at all?
