Learning to Let Go + Boosting your Creativity
As someone who designs frames, I find that creating a look is basically just translating a mood into an image form. But how does that work? How can I capture the essence of a feeling? There’s a great way to achieve this - here’s my process (hint: it’s letting go, but we’ll get there):
»Without understanding what makes those suggested emotions tick, how can that work?«
I still knowingly fall for most of the dirty tricks that filmmakers throw at me - I cry, I laugh, I get scared - I’m super impressionable! But, amongst all the aspects of a film, the mood and the atmosphere that an image emits, hits me with the strongest and most vivid impression. Remember that diner scene in Mullholland Drive or how the entirety of Soderbergh’s Solaris felt? (oh, yes - I much prefer Soderbergh’s to Tarkovsky’s version) Or in animation - Miyazaki’s work, Ghost In The Shell, Disney cartoons before the 00’s, Dragonball Z even - if you pause and look at a frame in each of those, the suggested mood is protruding through the screen! I’m sure there’s lots more in both categories, but these picks are the ones that are (still) screaming at me the loudest. I’d be great if I could somehow harness those moods for my own works! But without understanding what makes those suggested emotions tick, how can that work?
My mind was a constant machine gun of thought, sensation and ideas.
It was chitchating all the time and I though the only way was to listen and participate.
What is letting go? It’s generally a mental state achieved by not engaging with sensations that your mind is throwing at you. Before I started practicing meditation, my mind felt like a constant machine gun of thought, sensation and ideas. It was chitchating all the time and I though the only way was to listen and participate. I honestly didn’t even know there was an option not to. In meditation, we train to anchor our attention on the breath, which allows our mind to calm down and we can then slowly distance ourselves from the mental chatter. Eventually, by repeating this process daily, the chatter gets quieter, less intense and seems less interesting to pursue.
»By training how to be observers, we’re not so heavily influenced by our internal life. «
By not actively reacting to our mind (which IS letting go), we can feel/recognize our thoughts and sensations more clearly even as they pop up. We acknowledge them, but let them go instead of engaging with them. We learn to filter our thoughts. The fun part is that this doesn’t even necessarily require practicing meditation! For instance, actively listening to others when they talk (and asking questions!), instead of thinking what you want to say, is another simple way for you to practice letting go and being more mindful. Or not reacting to the urge to be bitchy when we feel that we’re being attacked personally (because it’s probably not about us at all). By training how to be observers, we’re not so heavily influenced by our internal life. Letting go of something gives way for new things to come forth.
»Understanding our impulses, thoughts and feelings makes us better in translating them to others.«
Not always reacting and thus, understanding our impulses, thoughts and feelings makes us better in translating them to others. Finally, if applied to designing frames – by being able to inhibit and deconstruct the mood I want to convey, things start to reveal themselves: is it light/dark, vivid/colorless, soft/hard, centrally positioned/out of place etc.? It’s become almost like a formula, where understanding the mood guidelines builds such a strong foundation, that it leaves more space to enjoy and be creative in. It’s like building your own creative sandbox! And generally, as a result and with daily practice, being mindful makes its way into all aspects of our daily lives, no matter how we decide to train it. And being a better version of oneself should never be too much to ask of ourselves, right?