Who are you? A video identity exercise
Think of this like a Myers Briggs personality test, but to better understand our authentic creative selves.
You will be presented with two choices:
[Thing One] or [Thing Two]
If you take a HARD, or staunch, position write an upper case letter; if you take a soft, or leaning towards, position write a lower case letter. If you’re unfamiliar with the references, think about the choices as:
[Establishment] or [Challenger]
[E/e] or [C/c]
You’ll get the idea.
Or, you can switch with your own references and come up with your own unique personal test.
Question one: point of view
[The Beatles] or [Frank Zappa]
[B/b] or [Z/z]
In 1967 the Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heats Club Band. A creative masterpiece that mainstreamed hippy culture.
Less than a year later, in early 1968, Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention responded with We’re only in it for the money, a scathing critique of what Zappa saw as the vulgar commercialisation of counter culture.
So, what contribution do you want to make to the public discourse? Do you want to:
[Ride the wave of cultural zeitgeist] or [Share an alternative perspective]
Question two: tone
[Jane Austen] or [Margaret Atwood]
[J/j] or [M/m]
Both Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Atwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale (1985) have been studied as feminist texts that challenge patriarchy and the role of women in society.
Austen, with Pride and Prejudice, illustrates the limitations of being a woman in the early 19th century, focussing on marriage and class.
Atwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale is a far more dystopian glimpse into the future: an explicit commentary on the dangers of idealogical extremism and its impact on women’s rights.
While I’d recommend reading both books, check them out at your local public library, here’s the Pride and Prejudice audio book and here’s the audio book for A Handmaid’s Tale.
The question, then, is where do find yourself on the scale of confrontation?
Does you seek incremental change?
Or, to take a sledge hammer to the system?
[Subversive] or [Overt]
Question three: vibe
[Terminator 2] or [Clerks]
[T/t] or [C/c]
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) was groundbreaking. A milestone in high impact action cinema, lauded for its mind-blowing special effects and stunts.
Clerks (1994) was a milestone in independent “slacker” cinema, with its DIY approach and an un-bothered, true to life aesthetic.
Both films have been hugely influential for generations of filmmakers.
But “better” is in the eye of the beholder, accounting for diverse tastes in art. So this question asks, how important are looks?
[High production value] or [Low production value]
Question four: audience response
[Mainstream success] or [Walkouts]
[S/s] or [W/w]
Imagine you’re a successful artist.
Do you seek universal praise for your work? But it’s also considered safe and conventional.
Or, are you driven to challenge conventions and disrupt the status quo? With the risks, and potential rewards, that that entails.
What is your appetite for risk?
[Low risk] or [High risk]
This is abstract to dig deeper
Think of this exercise like primary and secondary sources in your research.
Undertaking this exercise, you’re discovering primary sources. The books, films, music, and artworks that inspire you.
If you only seek inspiration and guidance from YouTubers and content creators, creatives that are already doing it, all you’re going to do is reflect their inspirations and creative identity.
So, find your own creative persona.
You might like to swap out my references for things that resonate with you.
For instance, switch:
[The Beatles] or [Frank Zappa]
for
[Taylor Swift] or [Post Malone]
or
[Jane Austen] or [Margaret Atwood]
for
[The Twilight Zone] or [Black Mirror]
In summary:
[The Beatles (B/b)] or [Frank Zappa (Z/z )]
[Jane Austen (J/j)] or [Margaret Atwood (M/m)]
[Terminator 2 (T/t)] or [Clerks (C/c)]
[Mainstream success (M/m)] or [Walkouts (W/w)]
What about me?
ZmTw
I’m strong in my convictions to challenge the status quo and present new ideas.
I might be frank about my my ideas and my work, but I’m not totally blunt.
As an established creative the quality of my output is important. Mind you, I do love a good lo-fi aesthetic.
And as much as I might want to present a strong opinion, I’ve got a business and career to think about. I want to ruffle feathers, but I’m not an agitator.
What’s the point? Was this just a silly quiz?
Our social media feeds, from LinkedIn to TikTok, are saturated with content.
Audience expectations for content, like video and podcasts, has risen dramatically with the quality on offer.
And when there’s so much choice, and we’re already engaged with channels and creators that we love, it’s too easy to ignore anything new.
So any content you produce, whether videos a podcast or anything else, is going to have to stand out. It will need to be authentically you.
But there’s still a performative element. If you want to be successful when sharing your work creatively. you’re going to need to develop your creative persona.
Next, is part two: Business schools vs YouTubers
If this is your first article in this series, head back to the start