The Imitation Game

// The Pull

There’s a quiet temptation that lives inside of me, every single day - it's something that pulls and I yearn for it.. it's a constant nagging and it doesn't go away (it happens every single time I open Instagram and start scrolling) - I see something that works - a campaign, a video, a carousel - and before I’ve even finished admiring it, I'm already wondering:

Could I do something like that?

It’s not jealousy. It’s like a kind of gravity, because theres this magnetic pull toward what’s been proven, what’s landed, what’s gathered attention in a world where attention feels like oxygen and it sets my mind alight with the possibilities - there are so many ideas out there - all good ideas that others have had.

I also say this (and this bit's important) - we don’t copy because we’re lazy, we copy because we care and most importantly because we want to be good. We want people to connect with us in the way that you (or I) connected with that video or idea and it's that connection we crave.

But there’s a line - and it’s thinner than you think.

// The Drift

I’ve noticed something over the last year - not in my own work specifically, but in the creative world around me.

Everything’s starting to sound... similar - it could be the massive influx of AI generated content (or slop as Casey would call it) with the extra long dashes and the really familiar phrases which we can all recognise a mile away - it's;

The same formats.
The same phrases.
The same rhythm of thought - clever but calculated, personal but rehearsed.

But it's not just the AI slop which is (definitely) sounds like everything else - there has been a slow drift towards the centre line for everyone elses content too - the AI drive has certainly sped that up, pulling everything towards mediocrity but then there's everyone else - they're all starting to sound the same too and I don’t think it’s because people have stopped trying think it’s because trying has become so public.

I know I do this but we watch each other’s work in real time just so we see what lands and then that very specific feedback loop shapes our instincts, our outputs and the work we produce - whether we admit it or not.

It’s not imitation in the obvious sense - it’s more like drift, a collective blending of ideas - it's like when you put milk and raspberries into a food blender - at first, you can see the milk and you can see the spots of raspberries as they float around inside - but as soon as you put the blender on, there is no seperation and you're lucky if you can find a single raspberry (my analogy for that one little creative nugget) - over time, it just becomes this slow fade from “inspired by” to “indistinguishable from" and I'm as guilty as anyone else.

// The Copy and Remix

I have to keep reminding myself that imitation isn’t the enemy.

It’s the seed - the little light at the end of the tunnel.

Every artist, writer, or filmmaker starts by echoing someone else’s rhythm until they find their own - when I interviewed Paul Tansey for my podcast (which is now over 5 years old.. I need to do something about that) - he said a phrase which has stuck with me "much innovation is actually just recombination" - the imitation of others is how we learn shape, tone, pacing in our work and it's how we absorb structure before we’re confident enough to break it.

The danger isn’t copying - the danger is then just stopping there.

Because thats when you need to realise that creativity isn’t repetition - it’s reinterpretation of what's gone before.

It’s taking something you’ve seen, felt, or admired and running it through your own filter until it becomes unrecognisable as anything but you - it's what I've done countless of times with ideas which get great feedback from others - I've taken an idea, video or thing I've seen before and then reimagined it as my own and I think thats the real work - doing the work in the remix.

// The Difference

When you copy, you disappear - you're becoming those metaphorical raspberries in the blender - you all look the same and taste the same (that's a bit weird) - but when you interpret, you expand because you're actually using your brain, using your creativity.

The first steals attention - getting into that place of glorified and manufactured attention that social media wants you to have, the second earns it - you're creating something new and using that to carve out your own space.

You can borrow an idea, a structure, even a feeling - but what gives it life is the layer only you can add: your taste, your contradictions, your context and your editing style.

I’ve realised that originality isn’t about inventing something from scratch - it’s about revealing something that only you could have made that way because maybe the idea has been done a hundred times before but it’s never been done with my scars, my style, my sense of timing.

That’s the gap between imitation and creation.

// The Rebellion

So, what if instead of resisting imitation, we used it as a compass, there is nothing to stop you from allowing other peoples work to guide you - you don't have to think of content as something to avoid, but something to move through and soak up - take in the inspiration, the ideas and the narratives but if you see a signpost that says: There’s something here that resonates - now go make it yours - do it

Watch the trend, learn from it and then most importantly you need to then break it - it's my favourite part - take the frames apart, strip the idea down and rebuild it in your own voice - I always let the reference be the spark, not the script and do something better (I realise that better is subjective but when you strip something down - take away the parts that you don't like, and keep or add in the bits that you do like)

Creativity in this era or social media isn’t about being untouchably original - it’s about remixing honestly - there is a wave (scrap that, a tsunami) of content about to arrive on socials with AI generated video - don't let that stuff drown you - you're better than that.

By all means take influence, but don't let it run your output.

// The Finale

The Imitation game isn’t something to escape from - it’s just where we all live right now, Sora2 and ChatGPT are going to be running wild over the next 6 months - they will be churning out content which is pulling us ever closer to those blended raspberries - we're all going to be looking the same.

I totally get it because the scroll is faster (I only have to look at my kids on TikTok and watch the speed of their thumbs) - the noise is louder and the pull is only getting stronger but that’s okay - we'll never be able to outrun the influence but we don't want to hit the blades of that blender either - as soon as you do, you'll stop being that raspberry and turn into everyone else.

You have to keep looking, keep learning and keep noticing what lands - don't rely on AI to tell you, keep discovering what's fun and then ask yourself the only question that really matters:

Have I made it mine yet?

Because again, that’s the point where inspiration becomes creation and you can make it yours.

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, just paint it your colour - add your tone, your timing, your messy first edit and let the world see something "original" - let the world see your fingerprints all over it.

Everyone’s looking for something real right now - they want to have that connection more than ever and the moment you stop copying and start reinventing something, people feel it - it suddenly becomes completely original again (and don't worry, you'll be copied too).

That’s your edge, that’s your rebellion and your chance to stand out (again)

So go ahead - imitate.
Then strip it down.
Make it yours.