Script consultant Dr. Linda Seger explores the creative breath, the moment before we begin our creative work, and how writers and artists can use it.
As artists, we spend years learning and doing our art. We practice, rehearse, take lessons. We put our focus on the creative act, whether painting, writing, photographing, dancing, sculpting, composing or playing music.
Yet, there’s another part of our creative work that gets far less attention, but can be just as important. It’s the moment before we start. Sometimes this moment can be filled with anxiety – rushing to get to the computer to write, the flurry of words, trying not to forget the idea or the phrase that will make our work brilliant. Trying to get the painting on canvas, the musical notes on the page, to capture the idea and the form.
But this moment need not be frenetic; the frenzied moment can actually work against the flow of our work. Instead, this can be the moment when we prepare for, and set up the conditions for, the flow of the creative process. It’s the moment when we take a breath, gather ourselves, center ourselves, and dwell in a space of silence. It’s the moment when the pianist sits before the piano, and then slowly raises her hands. Or the artist takes a moment to take in the dimensions and look of the empty canvas, before filling it with form. Or the writer stares out the window, not so much deep in thought but deep into the quiet before the thoughts come. Or the photographer stops for a moment before or right after taking the photo, to hear that small voice that says, “turn around, the photograph is behind you!”
We might think of this moment as Centering or Gathering. For those who are spiritual, it might be the moment of Tuning In to the Creator, or getting in touch with the Creative Energies that we see as implicit in life and in the creative act. One of the descriptions that might ring comes from the first book of Genesis in the Bible. Right before God created the world, right before the Light began and all the other splendid creations, we’re told, “The Spirit of God was moving over the water”. Sometimes the word used is “sweeping” but the more correct translation is actually the word, “hovering”. The Spirit hovers before the moment of Creation much like an eagle hovers over her nest. She broods. She warms the egg right before it’s hatched. It is not a violent motion, like a lightning bolt or a Eureka clap of thunder, but a moment of waiting.
This is a tender image. It implies standing still. It’s calm. There’s no sense of hurry or the frenetic whoosh-whoosh that sometimes comes when we approach our work with desperation or fear. Sometimes this moment is one of seasoning, or waiting, or letting something simmer. We move into the rhythm of the process, almost as if the creation we’re about to do has to first be breathed into us. In some spiritual teachings, it is said that true creativity and true change can only happen in the space between the in-breath and the out-breath. That’s where the magic happens.
I first became aware of the importance of this moment at the Maui Writers Conference many years ago. I was sitting in the audience, waiting to hear a speech by an inspirational speaker named Dewitt Jones. Dewitt was a professional photographer and motivational speaker. His topic was Creativity. I watched him right before he spoke, sitting in the front row over to the side. He seemed remarkably calm. There was a sense of solitude around him. It was clear that he was not creating a space for people to come up and talk to him, but creating a quiet space out of which he would speak. Something was happening there, and I was fascinated because I was still rather new at giving keynote speeches and had few role models. I later reflected, “What was he doing in that space, and how much of that beautiful and flawless speech was attributed to those moments he took before he began speaking?” I wondered how to tune into that quiet voice that sometimes led us into unexpected directions, or simply surrounded our art work with the presence of the Muse. (6.) Real Stunts Verses CGI. Does it matter? It helps a film’s buzz if you hear they did not use CGI for the dangerous stunts and they look impressive. Then again, if you can find a new way to do extreme kung fu stunts using CGI, go for it! Crouching Tiger used lots of wire action for the tree top scenes and no one complained since the fight scenes still looked real for that set. Think also of strong acrobatic stunts throughout the story to get in and out of difficult situations that could get even more extreme with a little CGI.
(7.) Symbolic Stunning Settings for Each Scene. You really need to make a list of what sets you have available, would love to use or can drive to, that look amazing on film in a never before seen way. If you live near a stalagtite cavern, you would want to do a fight scene in there with nice lighting. Sets are part of unique genre elements, but seem especially important in kung fu films to add flavor. Think of dangerous places to fight that look beautiful or have strong graphical visual and emotional styles.
8) No Subtitles Please. If you want your movie to do well in the west avoid using subtitles. People do not like to read while watching a film and will miss things visually. Shoot in English with no over dubs either, since they sound funny, and wreck the true emotions of the real actors, if the added voices are off even a little.
The biggest trick to doing a great kung fu film these days is doing an original one with a strong lead actor who has an amazing screen presence. You also want to make sure you choose unique and visually stunning settings and genre elements, and have lots of little twists in your story every few minutes. Kung fu films do not have to feel like a formula, they just have to do something new and unexpected while meeting all the other basic fight film requirements.
Sherri Sheridan teaches storytelling techniques to digital filmmakers and animators with her books, classes and workshops. She’s also the creative director at Minds Eye Media in San Francisco (www.mindseyemedia.com), where she directs, produces, animates, writes and designs projects for a wide range of clients. Sherri is the author of the books, “Maya 2 Character Animation” (New Riders 1999) and “Developing Digital Short Films” (New Riders / Peachpit / Pearson 2004). Recently, she created a 20 hour DV workshop based on the books called, “Writing a Great Script Fast,” available at www.MyFlik.com. Some master piano teachers spend time with even proficient pianists discussing the approach to the piano – that moment of sitting quietly at the piano, opening up the space before the playing began. It is the pregnant pause – filled with anticipation and possibilities.
The image of this waiting is almost like a glassblower preparing to create the glasswork. The breath comes into us that enlivens us, that speaks through us. Sometimes we might think of gathering our thoughts, but in this moment, the mind is more empty than full. It is expectant without being desperate. This has little in common with cramming for a test, or filling our mind with form and content. We don’t push or tug at it. We are preparing to let it happen.
For those of us who are Spiritual Creatives (and perhaps many of us are) we might call this the moment the Spirit breathes into us so we can let the breath out into the New Creation. Artist Dean Andrews calls it “circling the fire”, a slow circle before actually digging into the project. She calls the frenetic moment “vacuuming the garage” which seems to accomplish very little.
For a few, this waiting and letting it happen might come naturally. But most of us have to practice learning to wait, as much as we practice our art. We prepare for the Opening, for the Flow, and learn to work out of the Quiet. Out of the Hover. Out of the Creative Breath. Dr. Linda Seger has been exploring the integration of creativity and spirituality for over 30 years. She’s an international speaker, writing consultant, and the author of 12 books, including Spiritual Steps on the Road to Success: gaining the goal without losing your soul and Making a Good Writer Great. She has M.A. degrees in drama and religion and the arts and a PhD in Drama and Theology. Her websites are www.lindaseger.com and www.spiritual-steps.com.
Keep learning filmmaking
Want more lessons like this? Join StudentFilmmakers free for live webinars with working pros, and stream on-demand filmmaking classes in cinematography, directing, screenwriting, sound and post.
