THE SPARK
"When you know you know and when you don't you don't" - Taylor Swift
Sparks aren’t ideas - - they’re just messy little zaps of creativity that bounce around in your brain until something sets off the electricity and then BAM! - suddenly they are alive, and real and full of possibility.
When we were developing Blue’s Clues, we knew it wouldn’t be REAL until we found our host. I’m not lying when I saw that hundreds of actors auditioned. They were all talented, and funny - but something was always missing. I would lay awake at night after these casting sessions wondering - was the spark of an idea any good? Is it too different? Could an actor embrace our curriculum and make it feel as playful and engaging as it was in my head? Do we just cut our losses right here and pivot?
The spark was fading fast.
Then Steve walked in.
He wasn’t the typical children’s TV personality. In fact, he has famously said that he thought it was a voice over audition and had to re-calibrate - and WOW - he sure did.
He didn’t “perform” for the camera—he connected with it.
During his audition, he looked directly into the lens - - like really, really, really close to the camera . The closer he got, the more I leaned in. The more I leaned in, the longer he paused, and I couldn’t help but answer him back. He really understood the idea of waiting for a child to respond. He was comfortable in the silence - in the pauses - as if he was truly waiting for help.
The spark was ignited into a fully fleshed idea - and we knew we had something special. Everything really started to click from there. The pilot was shot, the animation was done, and everything else in between started to flow.
AND IT WAS SO MUCH FUN.
Because when you know you know.
I tell that story to anyone who will listen because it’s true that creativity is about the process - and playing and being messy and experimenting in that process. Just like any good story we always go through the process of :
THIS IS GREAT! I LOVE THIS SPARK!
NO ONE WILL LIKE THIS. WHAT WAS I THINKING?
WAIT, THERE IS SOMETHING SPECIAL HERE!
I’M GOING TO JUST GO WORK AT THE GAP.
REPEAT STEPS 1-4
AH! THERE IT IS! A CLUE A CLUE! I MEAN, WE HAVE A SHOW!
As you create, remember that the process of doing something different, and ground breaking and innovative means that you will want to give up at some point.
But don’t. Keep playing. Build with it, write it down, sketch it, talk it out, meet with people who can bring your vision to life. The best ideas are discovered through doing, iteratively, not just thinking.