The Creative Power of Restrictions
The other day I was thinking about why it’s so hard to start something new. What makes a fresh page scary? What makes a blank canvas daunting? I think the way we're marketed creativity is the same thing that makes us stuck. “Endless Possibilities.” This sounds enticing but it's not helpful.
But this is the world we live in. We have access to have everything, everywhere, all at once (great movie). And from a marketing perspective, that’s a very juicy carrot to dangle in front of an aspiring creative. It definitely works. “Wow I can make whatever I want if I have this new thing? I can make anything? Ever? ” How cool!
So what’s the antidote? The power of restrictions. We do this over time as we work on things, but actively thinking about them as a tool can be helpful. A couple examples:
a) Music. Producers develop their own sample libraries over time. Audio samples that we love and keep coming back to. Creating your own sample library* with the intention of only using those samples as a challenge can be exciting. I’ve also tried to keep my VST’s minimal, and only learn a few rather than learn them all. It’s better to be a master in one VST than mediocre in a bunch. And deadlines! Set your own, or have someone set (and enforce) them for you.
b) Visuals. The other day I was discussing visual direction for Glass Petals. We were trying to conceptualize how it should look, but it wasn’t coming together. I had the suggestion of working with only 3 colours. Red, white and black. It sounds simple but it opened up our minds to what creative things we can do with one palette. For Felix shows, when I travel with my VJ, we don’t have the budget to bring a lighting person, so we give a few simple notes to the lighting tech at the club. Restricting colours fixed so many of our issues. No Yellow, no Green. Now my lighting notes are simple but it feels driven and thought out. The best part is it’s easier for everyone. No guesswork, and they can get creative without certain colours.
c) Vine. 6 second videos. This app was the king of restrictions. The videos were endlessly creative, because everyone had to work within that framework. (RIP Vine even though I know you’d have 12min uploads by now because you’d get ruined like everything else. In a way I guess I’m glad it’s dead. So we never had to see it decline.)
So next time you're stuck, try applying some restrictions. Set a timer, only use one instrument, make a Vine. Not having everything might help you think of something new.
This week was great. I finished up the Too Late Sunset mix, I love how it turned out, and that full remix album will be dropping end of June. Also had time to work on a bit of pop production I’ve been doing and another remix. And it was sunny! Sun! Sunsets! It’s all lining up baby. Till next week.
-felix
also text me if u have any good restrictions i missed!
*kudos if you already do this shit, you’re organized, we fuckin' get it!