inspo

Although we’re a media company that has some pretty creative stuff in our portfolio, we do not have an endless well of creative resources. Sometimes it feels that way (I'm so impressed by my coworkers' ability to communicate, create, and problem solve), but if my coworkers’ experiences are anything like mine, we all have our bouts of creative blocks. Even when our minds are not drawing a complete blank, it doesn't mean we have a fresh, full plan in place for a project. The vision unfolds slowly, but what are the things that help nudge us along the way?

I was curious to see how we at CVWmedia, operations and production alike, get inspiration for the work we do here every day. Some of our inspiration is taken from daily observations, the content we consume after hours, browsing stock asset sites, or the life-changing magic of sleeping on it.

Each week before our Weeklies™ review of the past week’s projects, we kick off with an inspirational video. We try to take turns sharing, but there aren’t any parameters, as you’ll see. If we didn’t make it, and it’s cool–it’s fair game!

Here’s a little spread of inspo videos from past (and one future) Weeklies™:

Morganne:

This is a cool video that a friend of mine shared with me a while back that I haven't shared yet. It's made by an artist called Cee-Roo who has also made several similarly styled videos.

I love that this artist took audio and visuals and meshed them all together to create a really unique experience for the viewer. They could have easily just taken video of their visit to the country and added a soft music track behind it, but the way the experience was edited changes everything. It evokes an emotional response where there might not have been before, and I love that something as simple as thoughtful and unique editing can create that.

Becky:

I shared this when it was released, and I think it’s cool for a few reasons: Lamar + Nik were actually OU students not long before this (they were in classes with our former videographer, Chase O’Hara), and there’s at least one scene in Norman included. It’s a really ambitious, tedious concept that requires not just postproduction skill but lots of actual real-life production to make it work. It seems like such an obviously good idea, but I’d never seen it done before. Extremely analog digital video production.

Jordan:

I get a newsletter from School of Motion, and this video was in it. I liked it and figured others would too. (Editor’s note: Jordan shares a ton of interesting videos that speak for themselves!)

Micah:

This video came to me for a few different reasons. One, I'm really into Star Wars, and two, I'm currently building a new computer. What do I stumble upon in the process? Of course, an ad that is showing off the collector’s edition of a video card that just so happens to be Star Wars-themed. It also has some really cool rendering and camera techniques going on, so I ended up nerding out pretty hard on this video for a multitude of reasons!

Kevin:

I posted this amazing animated music video earlier this year, ironically when it was like 18° outside and sleeting. I follow Jeff Lynne’s ELO on social media, and they shared it when it was released. It instantly seemed like something everyone at CVWmedia would enjoy animation-wise, and since we’ve been doing a fair amount of animated music video work over the past year or so, the timing seemed perfect.

Me, Olivia:

My favorite video series that cover my passions of film, television, and learning what makes people tick are W Magazine’s “Screen Tests” and The New York Times’ “Anatomy of a Scene.” Often times I don’t fully understand the mechanics of what I’m seeing, but I still get a visceral reaction to it, and in that way, I can act as a litmus test for the average viewer. That’s also why I like showing what inspires me to a more technical audience and learning the how’s and why’s from the artist’s account, directly.