#5 Creative Thinking

Making meaningThis is an honest effort on my part to talk about the process of creating work that says what you mean, or to put it another way, keeping your work within the boundaries you've set according to your personal values and goals.The book that sparked this introspective podcast is Darkroom to Digital, by Eddie Ephraums. The supplied link takes you to the Amazon page. Eddie's home page is still under construction.I spend a few moments talking about Socrates and his statement "the unexamined life is not worth living" because it encapsulates the need of the creative individual, if not every individual, to consider the meaning and purpose of their life. You can read a concise summary of his trial here.On page 26 Eddie’s book I look at 5 questions he asks himself as an artist, to clarify his goals. I highly recommend it, regardless of what medium you work in. His writing style is straight forward and concise. It’s the kind of writing that brings new understanding each time you read them.Taking chancesI feel like I'm still getting my bearings creating this podcast. I also feel that perhaps it was premature to wander away from concrete and technical matters, such as production issues and class schedules. And yet, I've also made a commitment to myself to experiment and take risks. That includes embracing the sure possibility of failure.A couple of quotes I often think of regarding failure are "if you're going to fail, fail boldly" and the other is "It isn't the falling down and failing that is the problem, it is the falling down and not getting up". I could do a podcast on interviews with people on failure, how they cope with it, what it means to them, failures that have shaped their lives. Not a bad idea.Introspection and soul searching are going to occur from time to time throughout this podcast as I try to figure the meaning of what people are telling me and whether it's something I can, or should integrate into my own life. Chapter TimesDiscovering Meaning in your work  :12Darkroom to Digital - about the book  :52The unexamined life  2:195 guides for creativity  3:575 guides quote  4:36What I'm saying, what are people hearing  4:55Developing your vision  8:04Sharing your vision  8:26Avoiding sidetracks  9:47Closing remarks 11:11Next week  12:55Production NotesI was having some problems with the audio going into the red in Garageband. I didn't see any distortion in Soundtrack, but it was hitting 0db continuously. I used the Levelator from Gigavox media to see if it made a difference. The audio sounded fuller and I can see it made changes, but it was still running too hot. I looked at the modified audio in Soundtrack and the levels looked fine. Maybe there's a setting in Garageband that's off.I'm going to trust Soundtrack, and by extension Levelator and put the podcast out as it is. Let me know if you think the levels are still too high. If anyone has any experience with Levelator let me know how it's treating you. I don't want to rely on a black box, I want to know how to control audio in a program like Soundtrack Pro or Pro Tools. Right now, I'm going to be satisfied knowing I'm not blowing out anyone's eardrums.Send comments or emails.