We live in a world of information saturation and sense overload. How will your work stand out? Is it remarkable? I included this TED talk (above) from Seth Godin because he explains this idea more eloquently than I could ever do so. I saw it many years ago and watch it every year or so.

And to be clear, remarkable does not mean amazing or wonderful, it means, does it warrant ‘remark’.

Youtube is filled with videos that routinely get millions of views, videos that are remarkable back flipping cats, remarkable idiots jumping off walls and breaking a leg or remarkable weddings with families dancing down the aisle. In of themselves, certainly not great art, but they are ‘remarkable’.

I raise this now as last week we examined all our possible projects for 2013 and finally settled on one project – it was the script that we all felt was most remarkable. It was the one we felt would get people talking, critics criticising and hopefully, a film industry wanting to know more about those people who made that film with those ‘remarkable’ moments.

It’s a common problem I see in so many scripts and films that get sent to me. They may be well written or produced, they are just quite samey – I’ve seen it, read it, felt it all before. It is ‘unremarkable’… to me at least. I want to be shown something new, experience original and feel something unique. I often hear the argument that nothing is new. Well there are no new tools in story telling for sure, but remember, music has only a few notes, yet ever year someone manages to re-arrange those notes into a remarkable tune that EVERYONE comes to know. Great art? Probably not, but remarkable for sure. The Paralympics were inspirational, but filled with truly remarkable people and stories – that is why 2012 will be remembered far more for the Paralympics than the Olympics. LOL Cats is a multi $million brand based on remarkable photos of cats with captions.

So ask yourself, is your script or film remarkable? If not, how can you make it so? Can you push the boundaries? Can you go to the places others have feared to tread? We would all love our work to be beautifully polished, with great acting and lovely cinematography… but is that remarkable in of itself? No. Don’t kid yourself about this stuff. Good just isn’t good enough.

Audiences and the industry are hungry for something new. As someone on the lower rungs of the ladder, my aim in 2013 is to give them something they will never forget.

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones
My movies www.LivingSpiritGroup.com
My Facebook www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker
My Twitter @LivingSpiritPix