Inneresting 34
issue 34
January 9, 2021
"Everything that is new is thereby automatically traditional."
Jumping Out Of The System
The Farnam Street newsletter recently shared a list of links and quotes about creative rule breaking. Specifically, they talk about "jootsing." It's a method of learning the rules of an art form to find novel ways to break them.
Breaking rules you don’t know exist is not a statement. It’s a common refrain that much of modern art could be the work of a five-year-old. Yet while a five-year-old could produce a random combination of elements that looks similar to a famous work of modern art, it would not be creative in the same way because the child would not be jootsing. They wouldn’t have an understanding of the system they now sought to subvert.
This play between learning what’s worked for other artists and finding your own unique touches also gets covered in this clip with Ira Glass. He talks about how people are drawn to create because they have good taste, but get frustrated when their own ability doesn’t match up to the examples they most appreciate.
Billy Collins spoke at a White House poetry workshop about learning to find your voice by trying to adapt the work of writers you admire:
“Okay, I didn’t write that poem, let me write a poem like that, that’s sort of my version of that.”
(Bonus: The video of the workshop also features a performance from Aimee Mann.)
Release the Hughes Cut, You Cowards!
While this video argues for the release of an extended “John Hughes cut” of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, it also showcases the clever cuts and omissions of the edit that made it to theaters.
The video compares scenes from the final cut with script materials from previous drafts (many of which were shot). Even after moments with additional context and character beats were removed, the story still makes sense, and the characters still have an emotional draw for the audience.
Highland How-To: Shortcuts to Making Your Own Cuts
Highland 2 offers several ways to trim material from your script without completely erasing it from your file.
If you want to leave a grayed-out version of some material in your document, but block it from being exported or printed, just highlight the text and press ⌘ Command + Y to Omit that text.
Or if you want to trim that text out, but keep it safe for later, you can use the Bin. Highlight your text and press ⌥ Option + ⌘ Command + X to Cut Text to the Bin. Any time you want to revisit what you trimmed out, just press ⌘ Command + 2 to open up the Bin sidebar.
For more tips on how to get the most out of Highland 2, check out our Knowledge Base!
Other Cool Things
Right in the center of Quote-Unquote’s Venn diagram of interest in Filmmaking and Programming comes this video, where Max Piantoni explains how he used an Apple IIc to duplicate a fake computer program seen in the James Bond film A View To A Kill.
CJ Chilvers has a suggestion for how your phone can help you reduce stress. He made a simple iOS shortcut that can open up a note to yourself, reminding you how to calm down/stop overthinking/etc. It’s a good way to give advice to your future self!
And that’s what’s inneresting this week!
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