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10 tips to overcome creative block: take a digital detox, download new plugins, set creative challenges, get enough sleep, wake up early, complete monotonous tasks, switch up your surroundings, go with the flow, take notes for inspiration, and avoid fixating on small steps.
November 23, 2021
Working in creative industries provides many exciting opportunities, which come with their unique sets of challenges. Unfortunately, we all run into different kinds of creative blocks when coming up with ideas, and they can be tough to overcome. This is more commonly known as writer's block; it happens to everyone. It's an entirely natural part of the creative process and is certainly nothing to be ashamed of. I have personally experienced it many times. Don't worry, though; we have come up with our 10 Top Tips for helping you overcome your creative block!
Before we jump in, it may be helpful to identify why you're experiencing a block, as this will help you tackle it. The most common issue we creatives face is the mental block. You may find yourself stuck in an internal loop, failing to explore alternate ways to deal with the same problem. Your mind might feel drained of ideas, and forcing ideas only causes you to spiral. There is also an emotional barrier. Creativity can be intense! You may not be happy with your current sounds, and this can also cause you to spiral down into a rut. Alternatively, you might find that you need a switch-up in your schedule. Maybe your current work/life balance isn't quite right, and you need to take more/less time away from work. You could be working too early or too late; you might not find optimal working hours without experimentation. Finally, you could be feeling overwhelmed by the increasing amounts of work or ideas that you have. Sometimes it helps to break projects down into small, manageable parts and finish what you started before jumping around multiple sessions.
Taking a walk through nature is a fantastic way to escape technology. Time away from all screens will help your mind refocus. This will also help you to avoid retracing similar steps that initially lead to the block. Taking a walk with some fresh air will help your brain reset. Perhaps try changing out of your 'studio clothes'. An outfit change may help you detach from your work in the studio, thus giving you an easier reset.
Treat yourself! Going on a little shopping spree for some shiny new plugins is sure to spark up the creative furnace. Take some time to browse through YouTube videos, blogs and websites that showcase new plugins, and find a couple that you think you'd enjoy. Try to find something that you can have fun experimenting with, not something you feel could help your work. I find that creativity often comes naturally, so planning to find plugins to help with said work may land you back where you started.
Leading on from section 2, it's always great fun to set yourself an unrelated challenge using your new plugins. Some examples could include: creating a drum kit out of biscuit samples or manipulate some sounds with as many plugins as possible. Again, try to keep it different to your work. Alternatively, try something completely different, like making some musical vegetables. Perhaps a carrot recorder? Corn shaker? Or even a drum kit made from watermelon and coconuts. Get creative! Here's a great tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn5O3_C1sqw
It's possible that you're not getting enough sleep, which negatively affects your creative output. Maintaining a robust sleep schedule is essential for maximising your productivity. Try to avoid any caffeine intake 7+ hours before your bedtime. This will ensure you get to sleep easier and deeper.
Many producers tend to be night owls, and while you may think this helps with your creative output, it does not. If you are stuck in a rut, it might be time to start becoming strict with a schedule and waking up early. Working in the early hours of the morning should boost happiness and productivity. Try starting your day with a cold shower. This stimulates your blood circulation and gets you invigorated for the day.
Creative work takes its toll on the brain. Taking on a simple and repetitive task will aid an internal reset. There's a lot of things you can try. Washing the dishes is a great example—any housework that might need completing gives your creative muscle a chance to relax.
If you're often working from home, and after months and months of working in the same room, it might be nice to give your studio a fresh look. It always helps to have a change in scenery, but as most of us are stuck in the studio, it may help to re-decorate the room!
When we create sounds, it's important not to put too much pressure on ourselves to come up with something. If one day nothing comes, and you're staring at a blank sheet of paper or an empty screen, then try again on another day - it'll come! Sometimes it'll work, and sometimes it won't.
If you're like me, inspiration will often come at completely random times. Lots of ideas can pop into your head when you're not working, so it's always helpful to have a mini notepad nearby to jot ideas down. Alternatively, you could use voice notes on a smartphone. I find it easier to speak to my phone or hum a melody to save for later. That way, when you are stuck for ideas on a rainy day, you can scroll through your phone in search of any little golden nuggets you may have recorded in the past!
Sometimes it can be pretty easy to become fixated on tiny steps before finishing off a project. If nothing comes to you, then just put something down! When you're really far into a project and just think that you can't go any further, it can be easier to put anything down, make a note of it, and move on to the next part of the session. When you return to the nitty-gritty sections, working on them in isolation may be useful by opening it up in an empty session. That way, you can work on complex parts without the rest of the project in your view.
That concludes our Top Ten Tips for overcoming the creative block! We hope you enjoyed reading this article and that our tips will help you out in the future! Remember that these tips will work on a personal level! Some will work for you and some won't. So try out as many as possible!
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Here are 5 inspirational quotes from Hollywood sound veterans
November 23, 2021
We could all use a little more wisdom in our lives, so here are 5 great quotes from Hollywood sound veterans.
"By manipulating what you hear and how you hear it - and what other things you don't hear - you can not only help tell the story, you can help the audience get into the mind of the character." ~ Walter Murch - Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, The English Patient
"There's no excuse for having a mental or creative block in sound. You can just go out and collect things in the real world - they make the sound, not you. It's very restricting to always use a library for sound effects. It's much more interesting and freeing to go out and record new sounds because you never know what you're going to get." ~ Gary Rydstrom - Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, Finding Nemo.
"I've always found that when you're trying to create illusions with sound, especially in a science fiction or fantasy movie, that pulling sounds from the world around us is a great way to cement that illusion because you can go out and record an elevator in George Lucas's house or something, and it will have that motor sound." ~ Ben Burtt - Star Wars, Wall-E, Super 8.
“If a sound makes the audience think about somebody creating that sound then it’s the wrong sound.” ~ Dane Davis - The Matrix, Treasure Planet, Sinister.
"Having grown up a musician, I am avowed of the idea that all organized sound is music. I see my work in movies every bit a composition as those of Beethoven and the Beatles. I just happen to use dissonance, specious melodic content and arrhythmia to it's fullest advantage. My works are no less considered, designed, creative or manipulative. They just aren't hummable." ~ Mark Mangini - Fifth Element, Bladerunner 2049, Mad Max Fury Road.
We hope you enjoyed these quotes!
This article provides five essential tips for staying productive while working from home
November 23, 2021
With the current restrictions on daily life, many of us are now working from home. However, it can often prove difficult to avoid distractions and stay on track. To help you with this, we have put together a list of practical suggestions to keep you productive and make the most of the current circumstances.
One of the biggest challenges people face when working from home is having the discipline to actually do the work.
Left to their own devices, people are likely to choose the path that requires the least effort. We are creatures of habit and when you are so used to being at ease in your own home, it can be difficult to get in the same mental zone you would be in the studio or office.
Getting properly dressed is the first step to achieving this. It may seem like a little thing, but by getting dressed first thing you are beginning your day by accomplish a task, and this sets the tone for the rest of the day. You are also sending a signal to your body and mind that its time to prepare for work.
If you know you are working from home tomorrow then take the time to plan out your day. It doesn't have to be complex, just outline the tasks that need to be completed and allocate the appropriate time to each.
By having a plan you are removing any barriers that will prevent you from getting your brain into work mode. It also makes you accountable to yourself, as at the end of the day you have a clear illustration of whether you did the things you said you would or not.
You can conclude each workday by writing out your plan for the following day. Cyclical habits such as this can be extremely effective at keeping you on track when there’s no-one there cracking the whip.
Don't spend time doing things that aren’t the things you need to do.
Sounds easy right?
This is perhaps the most simple tip but also the most difficult to implement. There are a ton of distractions around the house, and that before you even take into account the Internet.
Write down all the things that are likely to distract you, and then find a way of mitigating it. You can put your phone out of reach or in a different room if that's an issue for you. Or you could keep some snacks and drinks in your working area to stop you having to leave to go to the kitchen.
If you don't need the Internet to complete the work, use an app such as SelfControl or Freedom. These tools allow you to block Internet services, keeping you away from distracting websites, videos and other such things.
Basically, make use of anything that helps keep your mind focused on the tasks at hand.
Setup your workspace in a way that works best for you. This is especially important for those who are new to working from home. You are going to be spending a lot of time in here, so create an environment that is comfortable and invites your best work. This is one of the big advantages of working at home, as you have complete control over the way things are laid out.
If you have already established your home recording setup, now could be a good opportunity to de-clutter and rearrange things. You’d be surprised at the positive effect this can have on your mindset.
Break your workday down into segments and schedule breaks in between. This will reinforce the sense of structure and create mini deadlines to complete tasks by.
Spend your break time doing some light exercise or watering the plants. Take a nap or read a book. By regularly spending a short time away from your work, you will stay mentally fresh and ready for the next task.
We hope you found this article to be useful. Have fun working from home and stay safe.
This article discusses the often-overlooked issue of noise pollution, its impact on human well-being and wildlife, and the importance of preserving peace and quiet in our increasingly noisy world.
November 23, 2021
In recent times issues such as climate change, deforestation, and species extinction have dominated the global conversation around the environment. However, one area that doesn't get talked about often enough is noise pollution and the impact of man-made sounds.
If there’s one thing we can all agree on, its that sometimes you just need some peace and quiet. For the majority of human history, relative silence was a factor of everyday life. Your soundtrack was the ebb and flow of nature, birds singing, leaves crunching underfoot and the wind blowing through the trees. Even in the noisiest of places such as jungles and rivers, peace and quiet would never be far away. It is undeniable that our brains have evolved to inhabit this sonic world. However, as we continue to distance ourselves from nature and the sonic world that we are attuned to, there is a danger that we are damaging our own mental and physical well-being.
The fact that sonic warfare exists shows us the profound and visceral effect that sound has on our bodies and minds. Since the dawn of the industrial revolution through to modern consumer capitalism, we have built a world in which it is increasingly difficult to escape the constant barrage of man-made sound. To live in a 21st-century city is to bathe in an oppressive torrent of traffic, construction, and electrical hum. A constant background assault on our minds and ears that the brain has not evolved to cope with. It is easy to imagine the negative effect this has on our stress levels.
We must ask ourselves what kind of world do we want to inhabit, and what do we want that world to sound like? Animals such as whales, dolphins, and bats rely on sound for navigation, hunting, and social interactions. Their entire physiology is specially adapted to a sonic world that we are rapidly invading. We do not yet fully understand the impact of man-made sounds is having on our own species, let alone the impact on these animals and their habitats. It would, therefore, make sense to tread with extreme caution.
When we think about conservation, we tend to picture endangered animals, exotic creatures and fragile ecosystems, but sound rarely comes into the picture. The intrinsic value of peace and quiet bares no price tag, but like any animal, the consequences of extinction are the same. Once it's gone we can never get it back. Sadly, we may be approaching a time where fewer and fewer people know what it's like to walk through a forest with only the sounds that nature has given us.
Ask yourself this. When was the last time that you heard nothing at all? Not the wisps of distant traffic, not the sound of construction or aircraft overhead. When was the last time you sat there in silence, truly alone with your thoughts? As climate change becomes an ever-important political issue, it is crucial that we fight to make noise pollution a prominent part of the conversation as well.
This article provides tips on maintaining work-life balance and staying healthy while working in audio post-production, emphasizing boundaries, breaks, and self-care.
November 23, 2021
It is very important to be organised and have a schedule when running a creative business. In order to maximise your time, you need to have a standard start and end time to your day. This helps set daily goals and create a level of balance. You should allocate certain evenings in the week to particular tasks, such as work backup, blog posting and client calls.
Even when it’s crunch time, and that deadline is a week earlier than expected, you have to have a cut off point that allows you to wake up the next day fresh and ready to work. Always remember that your loved ones may not be as passionate about your profession as you are, it is important to switch off and speak about other subjects with them.
As well as taking a lunch break each day, you should have periodic short breaks to rest your ears, eyes and stretch your legs. Not only will this make you more productive, but it is important for your health. Drinking water is also crucial when staring at computer monitors all day, in order to protect your eyes and keep them hydrated.
If possible, exercise in the morning and on your lunch break, to help keep your heart moving throughout the day during long sessions at the desk. Push-ups and lunges in the morning get your muscles engaged, especially when your joints go stiff after a week in the studio. During lunch, star jumps and stretches help refresh your body before returning to work. Gym sessions with weight training can help strengthen your lower back and legs for when they have to stay static at your desk. Try to take either a day or half day off a week, to give your brain a rest, spend time with loved ones, and to help you generate new ideas for current projects.
In post production, constant communication with clients is crucial in providing a quality service. We usually perform our client calls during evenings, so that it doesn’t impact the rest of our working day. Answering emails when you wake up allows you to focus on the rest of your day with your clients up to date with milestones. This being said, you have to know when to take an evening off, and just relax to have a clear head for the next day.
What are your top tips for staying healthy in post production? Comment below and let us know.
