Even though I have never watched the Watchmen show itself, I still learned a lot from listening to the podcast. I find it interesting to gain more insight into Damon Lindelof and his team’s creative process. The first thing I find resonating with me is how Lindelof mentions that when he’s brainstorming about the show, he first came up with a list of adjectives to describe the original books. And by doing that, he can get a sense of the original work and hence have a clearer objective of what he wants the TV show to be like. The first time I have done this was when I took Interactive Narrative last year and my professor also taught us this technique when we were in the beginning stages of creating a project. Now I use it often and find it quick, effective, and to the point. The second idea I noticed when listening to this podcast was how Lindelof described his creation as “something sort of clicks” and it “compels” him to “get it out”. This connects with some concepts mentioned in the Do Your Work chapters and makes me realize the similarities in many artists’ creative processes. Last, I’m impressed at how many inspirations from all kinds of matters in daily life that Lindlof took and recreated in his own work. I have learned that it’s important to try to experience and receive as much information as possible and especially remember those that can resonate with you emotionally, because these might serve as the archetype or reminder for your own work.
I was a little lost towards the end because they started to discuss the specific characters and storyline of the TV show. Because I don’t know anything about the Watchmen, I couldn’t really understand their conversations.
Some of Lindelof’s inputs include:
Media: Books, TV series, Movies, Essays, both fiction and non-fiction.
As a white man himself, it’s quite difficult or sensitive for him to deal with the problem of race. He gained inspiration from all kinds of media that he’d seen before. For example, Black Panther or Killing Eve.
History: the idea of colonization and the expansion of American Ideals.
Lindlof took historical events and developments as not only his inspiration but also his reference when creating the show. By learning more about history that was not taught in America, he tried to gain a fuller understanding of the concepts of conflicts and domination.
Real life experience and family legacy.
Lindlof discussed the theme of legacy extensively in the podcast. Hearing about his own grandparents leaving Russia before people got sent to concentration camps left him with a deep emotional impact and a sense of legacy, of the continuation of history in a family. This helped him understand who he is and his way of delivering information in the show.
Inputs that I want to use for my projects include:
A topic that is deeply connected to my inner self and deals with my emotional complexities.
Conversations between my best friend and I. These conversations are the inspiration for specific concepts in my project. I would also like to listen about other people’s personal experiences.
Digital media: art, colors, games(especially adventure games/interactive story games), interactive narrative.