Define your creative throughline

A Proper Brainstorm

From the Ground Up

Articulate the first version of your throughline
Share your progress in your project section to get feedback from other students

Creating Your Hierarchy: Motifs & Pillars

Drafts on Drafts on Drafts

Submit final representation of your throughline
Share your progress in your project section to get feedback from other students

Class Wrap-Up

Additional Resources

“Don’t be seen before you’re ready.” - Art Edwards
“Don’t make Life and Times, no one wants the industry album.” - Marc Gerald
This premise for this week is that creativity is non sequitur, thus, your brainstorm and underwear-tube sock coordination should be too. <<< See, non sequitur, my g.
We'll learn how to conduct a proper brainstorm by taking a look at one of my favorite characters, most creative, of all time - Killa Cam. Some skills to keep in mind:
1. Stop Editing - Cam'ron's Rhyme Book
2. Non-Sequiter - Cam'ron's Lyrics
3. Memes and the ability to laugh at yourself - Cam'ron Fashion
And just to have a non-Cam’ron brainstorm example. Here are a list of things that I wrote down when brainstorming inspiration for Baohaus. You’ll see it’s personal, non-sensical, but real... Do you.
- Baohaus Brainstorm
You'll write the first draft of your through line this week. The best way to understand through lines is to see them at work so we’ll examine The Godfather and discuss how it was built on a rock solid through line. You’ll notice that throughlines don’t need to be convoluted, complex, or never before seen. Some of the best things we’ve seen are built on simple truths that permeate the human condition.
- If possible, watch The Godfather I and II
- Throughline at work: The Godfather (pg. 13-18 of Project Brief)
- Throughline at work: Baohaus (pg. 19-21 of Project Brief)
Next Steps:
First milestone! Time to get moving on your own creative through lines. For next steps...
1. Write up v1 of your through line in 2-3 sentences or any other way that moves you
2. Describe the creative empire / pursuit you're building
3. Include your brainstorms here, too!
Post in this Discussion to get feedback from myself and your fellow creative minds. I'll call some of these out in my next Office Hours.
This week we'll work through separating motifs from throughlines.
Motifs are important. They're the mis en scene to your creative work. They drive your through line, they support it, and many times they're the things that lazy viewers/ readers remember from your work. A lof of people watched Do The Right Thing and took away that Mars Blackmon likes Jordans.
My favorite examples of motifs and mis en scene that support the through line come from Wes Anderson. Resources for this week:
- Watch The Royal Tenenbaums
- Check out Wes Anderson Motifs
Next Steps...
Tell us what you think the through line is for The Royal Tenenbaums. Post in this thread and we'll discuss.
We'll spend this week iterating on and improving our through lines.
By now, you should have watched The Royal Tenenbaums and identified the throughline vs. the motifs. There's NO right answer. What does the movie mean to you?
Now, it's time to apply that logic to your own creative empire. This week is all about putting your tale down on paper - your throughline should lead from your point of departure to your destination on a single path. But your life is complex - and that's where motifs come in. They're the things, people, and feelings you run into along the way that give your tale layers.
Next Steps...
Share your drafts here - they should be your first stab at telling us 1) what your creative empire is and 2) the throughline it's based on, along with the motifs that add color to the whole thing.

Mary Helen McNally

Author, Artist, Blogger

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