By Jeffrey Hedquist
Every kind of writing assignment has its limitations. And we can refer to these limitations as the dimensions of the box. With radio, you have the immediate dimensions of 10, 30 or 60 seconds. We’re more used to writing within these boundaries of time.
And of course, creating a radio commercial has as its prime goal to sell products or services, not just to entertain, inform, or stimulate for its own sake.
But what about the other boundaries of that box? What about budget, or the limitations of time, or available talent? Sometimes the assignments with the tightest or smallest box cause us to delve more deeply into our creativity, and can be the most rewarding.
Oftentimes, the limitations of talent, time and budget can be the same limitations. It takes longer to produce a piece with multiple actors, music drops, and sound effects. This time factor very often translates into a money boundary. So the projects with tightest budgets often are those with the same limitations as the tightest time frame.
How many creative ways can you write a monologue? How many interesting ways can you write a commercial with no music or sound effects? With very few words? One which focuses on a very specific segment of a client’s customer benefit?
Try boxing yourself in even more than usual and see if that doesn’t get you to create something out of the box.
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© 2002 Hedquist Productions, Inc.
