I’ve written before about using the Internet to produce a film project. My friend Andrew Lavigne is a filmmaker in Vancouver who has done a great job of leveraging social media and the Web to produce his documentary film, “With Glowing Hearts.” Andy’s film has its first screening February 12th in Vancouver.

You probably don’t know Jocelyn Towne. I didn’t know her either until about 2 weeks ago, when I came across a tweet about her. You see, Jocelyn is making her first movie, called I am I. And like all independent filmmakers, Jocelyn’s first step is to get some financing.

Enter Kickstarter. For those who are not familiar, Kickstarter is an online fundraising tool for creative projects. It’s all-or-nothing funding, meaning if the project doesn’t raise its entire goal, it raises no money at all. That might seem like a down side, but it’s not. As Kickstarter states in their FAQ, if you set a funding goal of $5,000 and you only raise $2,000, then nobody pays. That way, you don’t launch a project with partial funding, and have the expectation from your backers that you’re going to build a $5K project with $2K. Makes sense.

Anyhow, the good news for Jocelyn was that she already had a funder, who was willing to give her $100,000 to produce her film – IF she was able to raise $100,000 on Kickstarter by January 6th. Now, before you go getting all “must be nice”, I should probably say that yes, as an indy filmmaker just starting out, she’s fairly well connected. Her husband is actor Simon Helberg, who plays Howard Wolowitz on the hit TV series The Big Bang Theory. Helberg is acting in the film, along with another popular actor, Jason Ritter. So, the skeptics out there might begin to say things like, “Well, it must be so easy for her then…she lives in Hollywood, AND she’s got fame and money on her side.”

Not so fast. Any way you shake it, $100,000 is a lot of money to raise in a short amount of time for any indy creative project. Jocelyn might have a few leverage points the rest of us don’t have, but when push comes to shove she’s in the same boat as everyone else trying to get a creative project off the ground. And you know what? You’ve got leverage points too, so let’s forget the celebrities and just focus on that.

My point is, you can have all the celebrity in the world involved – but there’s not a soul in Hollywood or Vancouver or anywhere else that will give you a dime for your project if nobody is interested in seeing it. Ultimately, in order for anyone to fund anything, you have to get them interested. You have to get them to care.

That’s why am I so enamoured with this project – because once you get inside it, you can’t help but care. I’m watching closely as it comes together, and I’m learning a lot.

Find your big voices.
During the Kickstarter campaign, Jocelyn and her gang worked their butts off to get people to care about it. Did they leverage people on the project with large, committed followings on Twitter? Sure they did. But like I said, we all have our own leverage points. Maybe you have a friend or family member who has a large voice in their particular community. I know people here in Ottawa who have large voices in the music scene, for example. Other friends of mine know people in the political scene who can get people to pay attention. You don’t have to know a celebrity to get attention on social networks. Find the people who know and trust you who just might be able to speak into the community you’re trying to attract. Oh, and by the way, having a big voice doesn’t necessarily mean having a huge following. It just means having a following that’s paying attention.

Make it super personal.
OK, so I checked out Jocelyn’s project. I read the synopsis. I watched her behind the scenes video, and after hearing her talk about how much she wanted to make the film, I was intrigued. I made my way to the Kickstarter donation page, and then I saw it. A big, long list of donation amounts, and a whole pile of things that people will get depending on how much they give. Denominations range from $1 to $10,000 and payoffs include everything from a mention on the film’s web site to Jocelyn and cast members attending a screening in the donor’s home town. We all know that incentive is key, and this crew have it mastered. I decided on the $20 denomination (it might have been $50 or $100 but, you know, holiday bills and all!), and when I saw that for that amount I’d get a DVD of the completed film, I was pleased.

But here’s where it gets interesting.

I pledged my 20 bucks through Kickstarter and put it out of my mind. I figured, come January 6th, if the film is financed, that would be great, and sometime in the next couple of years I can expect to get a DVD in the mail. Sweet.

Then about 20 minutes later, I received an email (via Kickstarter) from Jocelyn herself, personally thanking me for my donation, and for my retweets on Twitter. It wasn’t a form letter, it was a personal note, from the creator of the film to me, and only me. It was genuine and sincere. Now, I could see the $1,000, $10,000 or even the $100 backers getting a personal note. But gosh golly almighty, I only gave $20!

There are about 900 backers on the film altogether, and I’m happy to report that Jocelyn DID raise the $100,000. Amidst the excitement of the campaign, it appears that Jocelyn also took the time to personally reply and thank each and every person for their donation. That is admirable. She’s also reached out to me and many others on Twitter to say thanks.

Additionally, I’ve learned that as a group, the film’s Kickstarter backers will be getting regular updates on the film’s progress via email. People who gave $20 or more will have access to a password-protected area on the I am I web site to get behind the scenes footage. In other words, we’ll be part of an “inner-circle” of the film, so to speak.

What does this say about the filmmaker? A lot. It tells me that this is much more than just a “take the money and run” situation. This is about building a community of supporters that are much more than just wallets.

What’s the payoff to Jocelyn and her film? Well, you can bet that when the time comes for the film to be released, me and about 900 other people are going to be doing whatever we can to spread the word about it, because we’ve watched the story unfold all along. We’ve been there from the start. And that level of loyalty, when you’re trying to get any creative venture off the ground, is GOLD.

We can learn a lot from watching how other people develop their creative projects. I know I’ll be keeping a close eye on this project as it ventures forward, and drawing as much inspiration and as many lessons as I can.

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I was back in college the first time I heard about the concept of mindmapping. My Project Management professor showed it to us, as a way to brainstorm all the things that needed to be done to successfully complete a creative design project. That day, my eyes were opened to a new way of doing things.

I’ve always been a visual thinker. I can write up lists till the cows come home, but nothing really solidifies in my head until I see it represented in pictures. That’s why my notebooks often look more like abstract art than handwritten notes. Boxes, arrows, squiggly lines and doodles help me to really understand what ideas look like.

I teach creative subjects in a creative environment to creative students. Many of them are just like me – they think in pictures. Many of my students are also like me in that they sometimes have a hard time getting focused. Their minds wander, they get too many ideas, and they end up not realizing their full potential. I’m sure you have students like this too, especially if you’re teaching creative types in a creative setting.

For creative project development, there is no better tool, in my opinion, than the mindmap. Mindmapping is far and away the best method of getting out of a creative rut, focusing on the right ideas, and the first step in kicking off any sort of creative project. It’s useful across fields of study and for any kind of project. It’s a technique that I think all teachers should really consider passing on to their students.

So, where to begin? Well, I could send you searching all over the Web for mindmapping tools, techniques and how-to’s to pass onto your students. But like me, you don’t have a lot of time, so my friend and colleague Mark Dykeman has done the hard work for you.

For those of you who don’t know Mark, he’s the Brain behind the award-winnning blog Broadcasting Brain, and the head of the Ka-tet at the creativity blog Thoughtwrestling, at which I’m privileged to be a contributor.

Mark is an expert on mindmapping techniques, and he’s compiled his knowledge into a wonderful e-Book called Unstuck, Focused, Organized – Using Mind Mapping. It’s an easy to follow, step by step guide that will help you learn the techniques required to use mindmaps to their full potential. The steps in the book can be easily passed onto your classes.

Here are some of the things people are saying about Unstuck, Focused, Organized – Using Mind Mapping:

“Dykeman’s new book is for people who are at their wit’s end, who don’t know what to do, or are having trouble getting started. It’s a book intended for people with the very messy challenge of — what to do with my life. It’s also a book for those of us who are more visually/diagramatically wired. Not all of us can run our life from a plain old fashioned to-do list!” — Gregg Fraley, Jack’s Notebook

If you choose to pick one up, not only will you get the 50 page e-Book, but also the added bonus of Mark’s audio interviews (and transcripts) with three creativity and content experts – mindmapping guru Chuck Frey, Remarkablogger’s Michael Martine and entrepreneur and creative super hero Chris Brogan. These interviews provide tremendous insights into creative process and are the perfect teaching aids.

The eBook is available to purchase for just $37.00. But, Mark decided that mindmapping is such a valuable skill for educators and their students, that he’s decided to offer the eBook to to teachers and students between now and December 31st, 2010 for just $30.00. So, you can purchase the book here (affiliate link) and enter the promo code suzemuse7 and you’ll qualify for the discount.

I really hope you enjoy the e-Book, please leave a note in the comments and let me know what you think!

[photo credit: sirwiseowl]

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I wasn’t always a writer.

In the 11th grade, I had to take after school English tutoring because my grammar was so atrocious. It was my only hope of passing the class. I worked my butt off with my “its and it’s”, and my “there, their and they’re”.  My teacher told me that in the end, I’d probably pass the class, but I’d never really be much of a writer. I just didn’t have an “aptitude” for it. I got the C+ I needed and moved on.

I didn’t write for years after that – unless it was absolutely necessary. I dreaded anytime I had to sit down to write a letter, or put together a script for a college class. I certainly never wrote for fun. Every sentence was a struggle. Mostly they’d come out in very boring, flat phrases, with simple words. They certainly didn’t paint a picture of anything interesting or striking.

Oh sure, I was good at other things. I had an “aptitude” for music. I could teach. I was very organized, and extremely creative. I ran with the things I was good at, and had some good success early in my career. But all along, I wished I was a better writer. I wanted to enjoy it. I had all these ideas swimming in my head and I wanted to know how to write them down so they made sense. But the voice of my teacher still rang in my head “You’ll never be much of a writer.” It’s amazing how one negative experience can hinder so much.

Today, when people ask me what I do, I usually say “I tell stories”. I now identify myself on this blog, and on my other online presences as “a writer”.  I’ve found my voice. It wasn’t easy, but for anyone with a desire to express themselves (and in my experience, that’s just about everyone), it is totally doable. Here are some ways you can start to find your voice. And this doesn’t just apply to the written word, either. Gary Vaynerchuk talks about DNA in his upcoming book, Crush It!. Some people are programmed to be writers. Some are programmed to be in front of the camera. Some are visual artists. Others are musicians. Finding your voice is finding that way that you uniquely express yourself.

Practice practice practice. Nothing comes easy. Even people who seemingly ooze natural talent still have to put in hours and hours and hours of work. My friend Greg Wyard is one of the most talented musicians I know. He can play anything on an acoustic guitar. I mean ANYTHING. Like Bohemian Rhapsody. You have to hear it to believe it. Greg is a totally natural talent. He was truly born with a gift. But does he come by it easily? Not at all. He’s been playing for more than 30 years, and to this day, he STILL practices up to 8 hours a day.

Malcom Gladwell says you have to do something for 10,000 hours before you can be considered an expert at it. So if you really, really want to find your voice – you have to practice your craft, a lot. Don’t believe me? Go read Jon Swanson then. He’ll tell you everything you need to know about deliberate practice.

Fear is for wusses. It’s really scary to put yourself out there. To write something that you know other people will read. To put yourself on video or create a work of art that other people will see. Your biggest fear is that people will think you suck. If you don’t try at all, you can’t fail. That’s a nice, safe place to be, right? Too bad it’s boring as hell.

I was told to my face that I would never be much of a writer. Imagine my fear of putting fingers to keyboard and starting to write this blog two years ago. I thought all my ideas were dumb. I thought my bad grammar would make me seem like an idiot. But I did it anyway. I decided not to care what people thought. I did it, and still do it, first and foremost for myself. Because I wanted to practice. Because I had something to say (even if it was to myself). Imagine my surprise when people actually started to respond positively to what I was doing. Suddenly, my fear had been replaced with pride.

Don’t be a wuss. Sit down, and just start. You’ll be amazed where you end up.

Don’t strive for perfection. Imagine if we were all perfect? If every idea we had was 100% solid, and nobody ever made an error? Imagine how dreadfully awful that would be?

One of the things I love about writing this blog is when people disagree with me. It gets me fired up to have someone tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about. It makes me downright giddy when someone gives me new ideas or a new way of looking at things.

Expression of ideas, whether it’s the written word, video, audio, music, or visual art, is about bringing something out that is inside.  Five people could write a blog post on “Finding Your Voice” and they’d all be completely different. Your voice is unique, and that means that people might not always see things the same way. A piece of art that I like may look horrible to someone else. That’s the beauty of living in an imperfect world. We all perceive things in our own way. Don’t try to be perfect at any of this. Just try.

Finding your voice is about digging deep, sometimes to a place that will make you a bit uncomfortable. But once you’re there, you’ll find richness beyond your wildest imagination. Take the first step. Sit down, and do it. You won’t be sorry.

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I’m heading downtown this morning to spend the day with the wonderful gang at SAW Video Co-op. I’m on the Board of Directors there, and today is what’s known as a “Visioning Retreat”…which is really just a fancied up term for creative planning, I think.

I don’t know exactly what to expect, but I’ve been to lots of these kinds of sessions before. I find them to be quite a bit of fun, when done well. I have no doubt that this session will be great – these guys are a class act.

Before I head out, I wanted to jot down a few ideas on creativity. Creativity is something that lots of people get apprehensive about. “I can only be creative when I have complete silence.” “If I’m not feeling it, it won’t happen.” “Most other people are far more creative than I.”

We have lots of excuses for our lack of creative energy. I make them all the time. Someone once told me that procrastination is a direct result of not having enough information. If you don’t know, you can’t do. Kinda makes sense, eh? So how do we get over the hurdle and get into a creative mindset? Here’s a few things I’m trying.

Clean the closet. It’s next to impossible to have a creative thought if you’re busy worrying about everything else you need to do. But don’t sit there saying to yourself “I’ll work on my creative thing as soon as I get X and Y done,” because you’ll never get to Z, I promise. The best way I’ve found to get things out of my head is to get them onto a list. Get a clean sheet of paper and a pen (Yes. Low tech here, people!). Write down everything you need to do. EVERYTHING. Once you’ve got your list, put it away. There. Now you have a blank slate. Create!

Have lots of dumb ideas. Seriously. I have dumb ideas all the time. Ridiculous, even. I know it’s dumb as soon as I think of it. But I make note of it anyway. (Tech tip – I am a fan of Evernote for this, because I can jot it down from any computer, handheld device, etc. and it’s all synced up all the time). Because what might be a dumb idea today could be a brilliant move in 6 months. That’s happened to me a lot. Come up with lots of dumb ideas, because for all the dumb ones, you’re going to get some real gems.

Many hands make light work. It’s true, there are some things in life that are just better when you do them with someone else. (No, I’m not talking about that. But think what you want.) It’s fine to be a creative loner sometimes. Writing this blog is my independent creative outlet (though I get lots of inspiration from you all). But really, I can’t think of anything I like more than sitting in a room full of creative minds, shouting out ideas, playing off one another, and making something brilliant. It’s a wonderful feeling, to be supercharged with all the creative energy that a group can have. If you need to get fired up creatively, grab some friends or colleagues, lock yourself in a room for a few hours and see where you end up. It works.

Well it’s about time for me to head out. I’m excited for today, and for all the new ideas and creative moments we’ll have. I’ll leave the rest up to you, okay? If you have thoughts to share on how you spark your creative energy, share them with us in the comments.

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