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But how do you get in touch with this right brain? How can you put the left brain to sleep, and bring this creative side of yourself to the forefront? I have often found that the best way to change from left-brain to right-brain thinking is to go outside, take a break, and get some fresh air. You'd be surprised how much difference it can make if you just change your scenery even for a few minutes. It's a concept that therapists regularly suggest to their patients -- if you're having an argument, change the place where you are and you'll see the situation differently. The same thing goes for your perceptions in the edit suite. It's similar to the way you cleanse your palette with a saltine when at a wine tasting. Get outside of your head for a minute, and when you come back, think about imagination, fantasy, philosophy, and spontaneity. Open yourself up to serendipity. That's where the best editing can take place, even if you're putting together screaming car spots for tonight's 6:00 news.
Numerous experiments have shown that most children are highly creative and use their right brain extensively before entering school. Try to recapture that childlike quality, the state of mind that urges you to cling to the creative and sensual aspects of the world. In order to recapture this feeling, many creative pros use meditation to bring out right-brain activity. The theory goes that the Spock-like left brain is easily bored by repetitive stimuli and lack of input, and tends to doze off when nothing's happening. Here's where the right brain can dominate, if just for a minute or two, and you can get a flash of pure creativity.
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Your right brain has a tendency to present possibilities, so listen to it. Think of all the possibilities, and try to get beyond the solutions to editing problems to which you habitually turn. The right brain is your risk-taking side, it's the impetuous part of your mind that will let you stumble upon a breakthrough that your left-brain would never have dreamed of, if it could, indeed, dream. Some editors have been following their left brain for so many years that they have all but shut out the impulsive thoughts that are necessary for creative endeavor. Now that you're probably editing with real time effects gear, go ahead and try that idea that just flashed through your head. And while you're trying it, watch the screen for something that you may stumble upon that you hadn't planned. Too many producers and editors are so planning-oriented they never allow for those magic moments of discovery.
I'm guessing that if you're in this creative industry, and especially if you're a video editor, chances are you already have a highly developed right brain. That's where talent comes from. But don't forget to check with that left brain every once in a while, like when it's time to bring in that program at 27:48. There's no room for right-brained approximations or fantasy when you're dealing with the clock. Even so, if you practice emphasizing the right side of the brain when you edit, you'll see a whole different style of editing emerge from your suite.
Charlie White has been writing about new media and digital video since it was the laughingstock of the television industry. A technology journalist and columnist for the past eight years, White is also an Emmy-winning producer, video editor and shot-calling PBS TV director with 28 years broadcast experience. Talk back -- Send Chazz a note at cwhite@digitalmedianet.com.Prev 1 2
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