small, specific, and real
What makes something compelling in any form, mediated or not? Popularity means an audience but in that crowd, people form the connection.
Memories are not big. They are made of glances, touches, sounds, tastes, and smells. Shared transient moments that resonate in our heart.
Stories we love have details that are unique and individual. They’re the seeds inside narratives that grow – a time, a place, a person.
Authenticity is vital. We crave the truth on many levels and when someone shares something, they are vulnerable and it is a leap of faith.
Twitter started me thinking about this as it forces you to cram things into a very small and specific box of 140 characters.
Constraints boil things down to what is essential in the same way that maple syrup is formed from boiling the sap from the maple tree.
We connect with things that are small, specific, and real. It’s the essence of good storytelling as we share mediated bits of ourselves. It’s a bigger challenge to tell larger stories and there is always the risk that something that is too intellectual and too complex will not connect. The recognition of things that are true and honest is a joy we experience in photography, in films, in music and in writing. The true skill of an artist is to arrange the small parts to create a more powerful big picture or experience.
What does this actually mean and how can you use this theory?
When you’re writing a blog post that will be big and rambling, maybe pick the thing that motivated you to post and write about that and limit it to very specific and small details. Embrace constraints as you can expand the discussion later through comments and email.
When creating a podcast don’t make it too big (in the educational context don’t do a podcast about “editing”, but about how to edit a scene between two characters by watching their eyes). Stories and anecdotes are the key elements as you share things that are tangible and true.
When taking a photograph you should capture a very specific moment in time and place. When you get it right, it’s magic and true.
Keen insight, also concrete and small. I shall take it to heart as I continue to create my blog articles. Thanks Chris (ps Now I understand why I enjoy your photography so much)
Thanks!