July Prompt: Corona Creativity!
Jul. 1st, 2020 07:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zaniidaThe past two years I've posted a July Prompt that amounted to this: Push outside your comfort zone and create something in a medium you're not much familiar with, or not much skilled at. This year's the same (it's just the first year I've been on Dreamwidth).
It's easier to stick with what you know, so writers tend to write, artists tend to draw, vidders tend to vid, singers tend to sing. But crossing over to an unfamiliar medium can be rewarding, and there's a lot of forms of artistic expression that work well with one-shot projects. (Go to Google Image Search and look up "Awesome Bento" for an example of what can be done with food art -- it's gorgeous.) And since many of us are stuck indoors right now, without our usual outlets, it might be more important than ever to think outside the box and figure out some sort of artistic project that you wouldn't normally think to even try.
In 2018, I posted my first AO3 fan art; in 2019, I posted bead art and started making Sims versions of the cast of Person of Interest. I've made an MCU-themed crossword puzzle and created my own fic form (which we'll be delving into during August).
This year, I got my nephews together for some filming, and we managed to capture five scenes from Harry Potter and the Marvel Cinematic Universe: two fully acted, three just sitting around reading scripts, and both activities quite fun. They've already expressed interest in more such events, and even in the possibility of some cosplay videos.
Which, by the by, is a big part of what got me so interested in promoting odd and unusual fannish creativity: cosplay videos by Lokihatesyou (re-contextualizing sound bites from the films), DemonsWithTea (Loki & Thor + clips from pop songs, it's delightfully cheesy and over-acted), and Becca Bear (two random teens (?) acting out the mountaintop scene from The Avengers) -- or, if you're not into the MCU, how about Welcome to Night Vale? (Here's a super-creepy video just splicing together clips from unrelated movies -- it manages to hit that Night Vale vibe masterfully.) ElfQuest, perhaps?
These things are so much fun to watch, and from the outtakes it appears that they're also a ton of fun to create, and I want to see more of them; hence, the prompt. Even just a short video can hint at such a wealth of possibilities that it sets my brain racing, and I hope to encourage people to think in terms of even just little things they could do, rather than getting scared off by the thought that such a project needs to be A Big Thing. It really doesn't. Two friends reading a script together is fine; one fan quoting a monologue into their camera is also fine. (...this is making me want to record myself giving the speech from Independence Day. Hmm.)
(Of note: It would be possible for friends who are not able to see each other in person to still collaborate on projects like this. Just takes some work figuring out what each participant is willing or able to do, and then putting it all together in some fashion. Public viewing optional, but much appreciated.)
So: Go forth, create, enjoy! If anyone happens to take this prompt as inspiration to do something they wouldn't normally do, or something they've been thinking about doing but hadn't yet gotten up the courage to give it a try, I'd love to hear about it!
It's easier to stick with what you know, so writers tend to write, artists tend to draw, vidders tend to vid, singers tend to sing. But crossing over to an unfamiliar medium can be rewarding, and there's a lot of forms of artistic expression that work well with one-shot projects. (Go to Google Image Search and look up "Awesome Bento" for an example of what can be done with food art -- it's gorgeous.) And since many of us are stuck indoors right now, without our usual outlets, it might be more important than ever to think outside the box and figure out some sort of artistic project that you wouldn't normally think to even try.
In 2018, I posted my first AO3 fan art; in 2019, I posted bead art and started making Sims versions of the cast of Person of Interest. I've made an MCU-themed crossword puzzle and created my own fic form (which we'll be delving into during August).
This year, I got my nephews together for some filming, and we managed to capture five scenes from Harry Potter and the Marvel Cinematic Universe: two fully acted, three just sitting around reading scripts, and both activities quite fun. They've already expressed interest in more such events, and even in the possibility of some cosplay videos.
Which, by the by, is a big part of what got me so interested in promoting odd and unusual fannish creativity: cosplay videos by Lokihatesyou (re-contextualizing sound bites from the films), DemonsWithTea (Loki & Thor + clips from pop songs, it's delightfully cheesy and over-acted), and Becca Bear (two random teens (?) acting out the mountaintop scene from The Avengers) -- or, if you're not into the MCU, how about Welcome to Night Vale? (Here's a super-creepy video just splicing together clips from unrelated movies -- it manages to hit that Night Vale vibe masterfully.) ElfQuest, perhaps?
These things are so much fun to watch, and from the outtakes it appears that they're also a ton of fun to create, and I want to see more of them; hence, the prompt. Even just a short video can hint at such a wealth of possibilities that it sets my brain racing, and I hope to encourage people to think in terms of even just little things they could do, rather than getting scared off by the thought that such a project needs to be A Big Thing. It really doesn't. Two friends reading a script together is fine; one fan quoting a monologue into their camera is also fine. (...this is making me want to record myself giving the speech from Independence Day. Hmm.)
(Of note: It would be possible for friends who are not able to see each other in person to still collaborate on projects like this. Just takes some work figuring out what each participant is willing or able to do, and then putting it all together in some fashion. Public viewing optional, but much appreciated.)
So: Go forth, create, enjoy! If anyone happens to take this prompt as inspiration to do something they wouldn't normally do, or something they've been thinking about doing but hadn't yet gotten up the courage to give it a try, I'd love to hear about it!
