We all know the feeling–you’ve been handed a project brief, or a generic idea from a client, and you need to create an original, intriguing, mind-blowing topic for a video. But not matter how much you think, your brain just doesn’t want to come up with anything. Here at Bold Content, we love coming up with ideas for clients, and we have several strategies to combat this type of writer’s block. We discuss briefs with each other, and bounce ideas off different departments–but one of our most favourite methods is to listen to our ‘creative playlist’. Each employee has their own music they like to listen to. We have collected the favourite songs of several employees to create a top list of songs to inspire creativity. These are our go-to tracks when we need to come up with something particularly creative. You can read through them below, or check out the Spotify playlist here.
Our Selection
Dana, our Junior Producer, recommended these songs. She says, ‘I chose these two tracks because they’re a good sample of the type of music I listen to at work. They’re classical pieces, and don’t have any vocals. I like to listen to classical soundtracks when I’m trying to concentrate, because it helps me block everything out, but the music itself isn’t distracting. (I also like dubstep, but that’s a story for another time.) I particularly like listening to The Lord of the Rings, because they are some of my favourite films of all time. I grew up watching them, and a lot of my creative writing I did growing up happened while listening to the soundtracks. I guess I’ve made it a habit of using my imagination when I’m listening to this type of music!’
Our managing director, Adam, had one recommendation from the double-act Fred V & Grafix: ‘The title track from their awesome new album, this song allows you to close your eyes and be transported to another ethereal dimension when your creativity can abound. The musically gifted duo have created a drum and bass track that is exciting and moving at the same time. When you switch off your conscious brain and allow yourself to be absorbed by the music, you can imagine a universe of stories all waiting to be told.’
One of our editors, Emma, recommended violinist Lindsey Stirling: ‘She’s a great artist to listen to when focus is key; especially when I need to listen to my edits, the instrumental songs work great for me, and they help bring life to an edit for me, before it’s even been started.’
Our business development specialist, Noam, recommended some ‘creative’ songs to inspire creativity: ‘This Australian band pushes out anywhere from 3-6 albums a year. Each album has a theme or concept which is kept throughout. I find throwing on any album in its entirety is a fantastic push for creativity. The upbeat rock and the 7 piece band always inspires new thoughts.’
Another of our editors, Agata, had these recommendations: ‘I’ve got a wide range of songs that put me in a creative mood. It depends on what I’m working on, but at the moment, most of them are instrumental pieces. Better not to have lyrics when you’re trying to edit dialogue!’
Why not create your own office playlist and let us know? We’d love to know what makes your brain tick!
If you enjoyed this playlist, you should check out this one by AdWeek: Ad Songs, Not Bad Songs