Applying the Scientific Method to Your Creative Process
Question. Hypothesis. Procedure. Data. Result. Conclusion. In school we all learn some variation on the core process used to conduct an experiment. This doesn't just relate to science fair activities or lab research: it represents an increasing of clarity, or a gain of resolution on a given topic. We believe that creativity is a means of answering questions through metaphor, driven by curiosity. Each conclusion leads to a question of what's next, as the cycle continues. Having these six stages as a theoretical compass can help to get unstuck from a creative rut, like the feeling of seeing your dot on a GPS app when you're lost downtown.
The 6 Stages of Creative Resolution
1. Question
The potential of an idea has no limit, nothing to create friction. This first stage is of full-abstraction, a nebula of thoughts and imagination. It's often the stage that happens subconsciously or spontaneously, sometimes in the moments before falling asleep or midway through another project. This is where most projects get stuck because they lack momentum. Any artist can relate to the difficulty of surpassing the idea stage, which is where questions of "What if" are often overpowered by logistical questions about how it can be pushed into reality.
In video production, this stage relates to the development phase. Before talking budget or specifics, we are pondering what's possible. In the nebula, nothing is too big or too small, and it doesn't matter if it's been done before. Asking big questions often leads to greater potential on how to take the next steps. The force that pushes a question to a hypothesis is intuition.
2. Hypothesis
Coming up with a hypothesis, in the context of a creative process, is the first moment that an idea gains velocity. This phase is often entangled with the question stage, as you look for answers on how to make ideas real. A hypothesis can be as simple as a preferred approach or a timeline, or it can be as clear as a full vision for the final product. Brainstorming solutions, spit-balling, throwing things at the wall, this proactive step is how creative momentum begins.
This phase is where logistics enter the equation. As it relates to client work, this means we are showing what the project will entail and what the outcome can be. The more we continue through the cycle, the stronger a hypothesis can be. It becomes an educated guess about how the idea can become realized, based on past experiences. The force that pushes a hypothesis to a procedure is initiative.
3. Procedure
The procedure is the execution of a plan. In executing a project, we are following a set of guidelines that we developed earlier. This phase of production can be highly collaborative and improvisational, or it can be nose-down and regimented, depending on what is needed to get things done. The stronger the legwork we put in, the easier the procedure can be.
This is where ideas become actions. It can be a single focused day, or a sporadic month of creation. You can set yourself up for success so that the procedure is the easiest part of the project. When it comes to video, we try to blend improvisation with a guided process so that we feel confident at every step, but emboldened to take risks when appropriate.
The force that pushes a procedure to data is productivity.
4. Data
The collection of data is where we gather the raw crumbs with which to shape the final product. Regardless of the creative format, digital or analog, we store potential within data.
Data are sensitive to loss (and that's actually a good thing). They are the tangible units of information that are a product of the procedure, and a manifestation of the idea and hypothesis. The perceived value of data is what turns an inexpensive memory card into a highly valuable asset. This is true to any 21st century citizen: your device is more valuable to you when you have stored potential within it. The time and energy that we store within data makes data management an important phase of a creative project. If you're a painter, then data management means keeping your canvas inside if storm clouds are overhead. If you're a video creator, you keep two copies of data in one location then a third copy in a different location. Cloud storage is one way to not just secure data, but secure your potential energy. Once you feel sensitive about losing data, you are invested in the project and you're halfway to completion.
The force that pushes data to a result is clarification.
5. Result
A result is the tangible, focused arrangement of data. By the time all data is captured and you are moving into creating a result, the procedure and the hypothesis matter much less than the true momentum of the project. It can be 1% or 99% different from the original intention, depending on the process that was outlined. If you are tasked with visiting an uncharted frontier, it would be silly to think you have a clear idea of what you're going to find. But if the process was strictly guided, the result might be bit-for-bit what was imagined. After going through the cycle many times on different types of projects, our hypothesis and result become more closely aligned, and the method of creation is strengthened.
The force that pushes a result to a conclusion is inference.
6. Conclusion
In school I had trouble distinguishing between result and conclusion. If something has come to a result, doesn't that also mean it's concluded? The difference is that the result is an outcome of the data, while the conclusion is an answer to the original question. The conclusion is what we have learned from the result. If you're conducting a survey, a result could simply be a number like "92%" or "115 dolphins" while the conclusion could be the basis of new legislation or a prediction about the future.
The force that pushes a conclusion to a question is curiosity.
Experimentation Drives Creativity
The creative cycle is all about trying new things and using past experiences to inform a future approach.