Strands of Genius: Writing Advice, Creativity v. Commerce, Sci-Fi and Strategists
Guest curated by Tristan Burrell
This year we’re aiming to highlight 50 creative thinkers that have inspired us, by giving them the opportunity to guest curate this newsletter, Strands of Genius. Tristan is a freelance strategist based in Sydney, Australia.
:: A BIT MORE ABOUT GUEST CURATOR, TRISTAN BURRELL ::
LOCATION: Sydney, AUS
PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: Freelance
Hello friends, I'm Tristan. For most of the past 15 years I've been a strategist on the treadmill of agency life between New York and Sydney, with a focus on creative connections and content. But for the last 12 months specifically, I've been on what I'm calling a 'creative gap year' - taking time out to make stuff (with a little freelance on the side to keep the lights on). It's been a mix of mild successes, and fabulous failures, but stuff was made and I loved every minute of it. Being somewhat 'out of the system' for 12 months though, my curated list of readings will skew accordingly - I hope you enjoy!
Editor’s Note (Rosie/Faris): We love the idea of a creative gap year, Tristan, and we’re so excited to have borrowed your brain for the edition of Strands. South Park + how to balance creativity and commerce + Zoe Scaman = alllll right up our alley! Thank you for sharing!
:: THE LINKS ::
WRITING ADVICE FROM TREY PARKER & MATT STONE
Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park, The Book of Mormon, Team America: World Police), are geniuses, and here they breakdown a simple lesson they've learned about storytelling. The principles they outline for 'and', 'but' and 'therefore' are infinitely applicable - from the content you make, to the strategy to write - too many 'and thens' and you have lost your audience (and likely your point). (YouTube)
CREATIVITY VS COMMERCE THROUGH THE LENS OF JOHN CARPENTER
Like all creative geniuses, John Carpenter is a walking contradiction. He made They Live! in 1988 as a commentary on consumerism and capitalism - yet it's a film designed to make him money. My favourite podcast, Blank Check with Griffin and David, provides a deep dive into this film and Carpenter himself, but in the process asks questions I'm sure have plagued us all, like how does one balance creativity and commerce? At what point does one become a sell out? Can you find creative self-fulfilment while also answering to a larger corporation? The film itself is also just really cool, and anyone in advertising should watch at least once. (Audioboom)
IS SCI-FI THE NEXT FRONTIER FOR STRATEGISTS?
In a world too often focused on the short term, this ISOLATED Talk by Zoe Scaman is an incredibly inspiring breath of fresh air. By dismantling the codes and conventions of good sci-fi, Zoe provides a toolkit for projecting well beyond the standard one to five year scope of a typical trend analysis or innovation pipeline. It's a fabulous exercise in stretching your imagination. (YouTube)
Looking for more from Tristan Burrell? Those enrolled in The School of Stolen Genius will receive a deep dive from him in their inbox shortly! You can access all our expert interviews for SOSG here.
:: AND NOW… SOME FAST FAVORITES ::
:: Book :: Codex Seraphinianus
:: Podcast :: Blank Check with Griffin & David
:: Album :: At the moment? Extension of a Man - Donny Hathaway
:: COWS ::
"My cow is not pretty, but it is pretty to me." - David Lynch
Thanks for indulging me, don't forget to have fun today!
Tristan Burrell
tristankaiburrell@gmail.com
If you're into 80's and 90's movies you can check out my 'mildly successful' podcast here:
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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
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