...with
Jeremy Fisher.
Ever ask yourself, "Why don't I
get original creative ideas like I see on
TV?"
Well, since the invention of TV, there
have been about a dozen "ORIGINAL" ideas. Everything
else has been copies or variations of those ideas, movies,
magazines or other art immitating life.
Since I work with Final Cut Pro 3, Photoshop
and After Effects every day,
I've become accustomed to what my tools can do and my
limitations (not
many). But where do I get the ideas for my work?
I get them from other TV shows and commercials,
magazines, movies and life
around me. So does Old Navy if you've seen their latest
Ad campaign.
When I can, I watch TV with a pen and
paper in reach, and jot down
screen-shots for what I can do to my own projects.
MTV and ESPN have some of the best creative
minds working for them, and if
you're on a digital editing system, you can take some
of their ideas and
make them fit for the next project you have. Remember,
never steal whole
ideas, or like Robert Van Winkle, never make too close
to a copy of
something without paying whoever created the original.
One of my weekly projects is to create
a 25-second pre-open for our weekend
sports shows. I look for themes having to do with names
of teams competing,
having to do with the circumstances surrounding the game,
or names of
players highlited in the game. Is there a song, movie
or TV show that could
match? (Last year I used Raiders of the Lost Ark for the
Dolphins vs.
Raiders, and Airplane! for the Fins vs. Jets)
Next I look for graphical elements and
sound effects that work. A game
played in L.A. could have the Hollywood sign, meanwhile
a game versus the
Bulls could have the running of the bulls in Pampalona,
Spain as the
background behind your game footage.
Listen, the Lakers, Yankees and Red Wings
will continue to win their share
of championships. But as the creative mind behind your
stories and programs,
it's your job to make them each unique. Be different than
your competition
by having fun, and don't be afraid to compare a situation
in sports to a
situation outside of sports. And don't be afraid to use
your news
department's (if you are part of a company that has one)
archives, feeds and
movie EPK's to push the envelope.
Jeremy Fisher is currently
a Sports Producer/Digital Editor for WFOR, the CBS/UPN
O&O in Miami. Before WFOR he worked with Telemundo
Sports, WAMI-TV Sports (the former USA Broadcasting project),
and got his professional break in New York City with Fox
News Channel in February, 1997 on Fox On Sports Sunday
and interning under Bill O'Reilly. The graduate of Rutgers
University was born in Detroit.
React to this week's commentary in
THE ENDZONE!
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