Self-Censorship: What a Shame

In recent posts, I've discussed the stealing of intellectual property, the need to charge fairly for your work, and the reluctance to present fresh ideas in a group setting.  

While very different in scope and context, they all produce something that's detrimental to any creative:  Self-censorship. 

Let me explain...

Whether you create or promote content, ideas are your currency.   When you don't feel free to put them on the table, you lose your edge.  (This goes for writing, designing, editing, you name it. )

It's easy to see why this happens.  The first few times you get burned, you learn.  Eventually, you stay to the tried and true, or what's most marketable, or what won't get you fired. 

You end up presenting ideas that don't offend, but don't excite, either.  By using the internal (and often reality-based) concept of "just give them what they want," you stop your own creative process, but everybody's happy, right?

Uh... no.

Who doesn't like vanilla pudding?

Here are some all-too-painful identifiable examples:

- Your new series idea has everything.  A great treatment, a killer trailer, and it's registered everywhere but Crate & Barrel.  However, the last show idea had everything, too, and the bastards stole it.  Now you have a pitch meeting with a successful production company.  How much do you show this time? 

- Your department has a brainstorming meeting to come up with promo ideas for the launch of "a new hit series" (that's still an oxymoron to me).  You know the winning campaigns will be 1) premise ("In the future, we will all like broccoli...", 2) lineage ("From the creator of The Cauliflower Chronicles comes..."),  and 3) reviews ("USA Today gives the new hit series, Broccoli four stalks up!").  Now, do you fight for your anti-campaign idea, all :05 teasers - "You've hated it your whole life..."?

- Your new logo concept requires three times the amount of standard animation.  Rendering time alone will be outrageous.  Do you present the idea, knowing that it's so involved, you'll have to ask for more money?

In all three examples, fear of fighting a losing battle may be driving your decision.  As Seinfeld might say, "That's a shame."

You're a creative, it's your responsibility to be creative.  If you don't like the gig, there are plenty of other occupations. 

"But, Ed," you argue, "I know what works here - Blue.  I've seen dozens try and it always reverts back to Blue.  You're wasting your time with Red or even Purple."

We can learn a lot from Tripper.

To which I reply, haven't you ever seen Meatballs?  Bill Murray inspires the entire camp against the rival camp with the immortal mantra,  "It just doesn't matter!  It just doesn't matter!"  (This was the original, of course.  The sequels just got dumb.)

The solution here is to re-examine how you relate to those making the live-or-die decisions.  Part of your job is to get others to see your vision and explore possibilities you raise.  If rebuffed at first, fight for your idea, without being dogmatic.  Who knows?  A hybrid may rear its head and be the hero.  The bonus factor here is you will gain respect for your honesty and creativity.

Bottom line: feel free to present ideas.  But don't mistake that with controlling other people's reactions.  If the idea gets shot down, that reflects on the person doing the rejecting.  If the idea is dismissed out of ignorance, same deal.  If the idea is stolen, refer to my earlier post here. 

The more original the idea, the tougher the sell, and the higher the risk.

Now, these are light bulbs!

Let the juices flow.  Explore your ideas.  Even develop a plan to sell them.  And don't be rigid.  Just because the idea's original and sounds great at 3 in the morning doesn't mean it will work in real life.

Then again, maybe it will.  

- Ed Roth
edrothshow@gmail.com

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