Creativity is not only the evolutionary growth of ideas but also the amalgamation of multitudinous elements to create an idea that is bound to flourish.
In working with 3 other people on making a music video over a period of five weeks, I have learnt that the best ideas are never somebody’s sole creation but are produced and executed when we work in groups.
The project began with my group members and I each bringing in to class one self-made object, each of which initially seemed to be unrelated to the rest. However, two of these (Kanye West shades and a song) inspired us to make a music video. This was new for me because it was the result of four lines of thought collaboratively stimulating creation. I could never think of making a music video on my own, let alone produce one.
The team. BTW I'm the guy wearing the waistcoat.
Another highlight of the project was the diverse ideas coming from each of us to collectively, rather than sequentially, develop the project like dots in an impressionistic painting. This helped make the music video more dynamic and relatable to larger audiences; because the music video was about showing people that loneliness was universal, in order to remedy their feeling it was important to show its multiple facts. No individual is capable of empathizing with everything. Once again, working in a group helped facilitated this. All in all, input from each individual did not have much significance but when coupled with input from others, the result was grander.
In addition, feedback and criticism from peers was necessary during all stages of the project. Often we were questioned about issues pertaining to the project and we could not answer. For example, we were asked what the purpose of making the video was, which we eventually had to devise. Feedback enhances our creativity and elucidates the missing elements in our processes and goals. Consequently, the internal peer critiquing was successful, as it was a source of constructive developmental ideas and destructive criticism for elements that just didn’t work.
On the other hand, we found that due to working in a team, the brainstorming dragged on for a while and many ideas unintentionally tended to digress from our goal. In order to solve this, we found that placing a limit on suggesting new ideas that modified our goals solved our problem. This coerced each group member in only putting forward ideas that enhanced the video and develop the idea rather than change it.
The culmination of 5 weeks of work - the final display at the Invention Mob fair.
Besides this, I realize that due to past experiences, I initially took on a very autocratic role in the group and immediately placed my self in a managerial-like position. It took me a while to realize that I had to be more open-minded and flexible with my group members, thus let everyone lead the progress equally. In the future, I would like to assume the role of somebody who didn’t lead but who rather made sure that group members were doing what they needed to do in order to achieve the final goal of the project. This would allow for creativity to flourish within the group and make sure that the action doesn’t stagnate.
To conclude, when working in a group the creativity takes place collectively rather than sequentially. I suppose that team work is required to bring together components synergistically to achieve a more significant goal, however, individual work is required as well in order to optimally develop each component to enhance the synergy created.
Both images are courtesy of myself
Amit Garg 