We Cause Scenes
Brainstorm 2.0 - Taking it to the next level.
We have nearly two times the agents of New York and I hope that one day we get most of us in on a mission. It is time to step it up, boil it down, and filter it out.
In reference to ideas that were less than extraordinary, an agent not to be named made a good point recently: "If I were Imporv Everywhere, I would have made us change our name too." Which gave birth to this thread, the only one with rules.
To post a mission idea to THIS thread, the following guidelines must be considered. Most of them are a matter of opinion, so use your best judgment. Here it goes:
-You must have been thinking about this mission for at least 24 hours. No "umm, how about this..."
-Think of a title for the mission that can almost sum it up. Great movies can do this and it is a good guideline. "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
(This will also help keep variations of a theme separated and clear. ex: Ikea party / Ikea musical / Ikea soap opera)
-Try to be able to sum up the idea in one sentence. Same idea as above, the best ideas can be described simply. "An archaeologist races the Nazis to find the Ark of the Covenant."
(ex: agents stage a housewarming party in an Ikea kitchen / etc. / etc.)
-Tell someone about it and gauge their reaction, agent or not. If they laugh or say: "oh my God, that would be so funny (or awesome)" then you're on the right track. If they say: "Let me know when you are going to do that, I want it!" Congrats, you've just recruited someone.
-It should be original. It can be inspired by something and it can be similar to something that has been done, but in an original way or variation.
-It must not cause even the lowest of intelligent onlookers to panic.
-It should cause awe and wonder. A good rule of thumb would be if it would be worthy of an episode of The Twilight Zone.
-It should not make agents or the general public think that they are at a fund raiser for Jerry's Kids. Leave the schoolyard games out unless it is such a magnificent tweak that it passes the test.
-It will not make people think that it might be a terrorist activity.
-It will not put any agent into a risk of being arrested.
-The venue should fit the mission. Are you suggesting 3rd street just because it is 3rd street or can it be done somewhere else? Some missions might be ideal there and that location should be saved for such, if it can happen somewhere else, be open to it.
-It should be fairly easy to set up and disband. If there is rehearsal or major prep to be done, be prepared to take those tasks on. Some missions need props, cooperation of a business, etc. and those can be great missions. But there is something to be said for a mission that disappears like a fart in the wind. ex: the freeze
-It should be fun. After the 24 hour thought process, does it still sound fun, or are you sober now?
-It should cost little or no money. Some ideas require an investment. It's usually better to make it involve things most people have and can bring rather than need to all go out and buy. You'll get more participants that way. ex: purchasing tickets to disneyland, buying costumes, etc.
-It should not be too strenuous. People have suggested piggy-back missions before. When was the last time you gave one and how far were you able to go? Try a ten minute freeze and rethink the physical aspect of your idea.
-It should not be a typical birthday party activity for an 8yr old. No tag, no duck duck goose, no red rover, no leap frog here. Keep an open mind, though. Follow the leader has proven to be really great and it breaks the boundaries of the other mentioned activities.
-It should present an alternate reality of some kind. Role reversals, context swap, irony, social commentary. IE's subway mirror was brilliant, underwear subway was funny. Each made people think they stumbled onto something foreign to them. Take it to the next level.
-Keep it simple, yet clever. Never underestimate the power of subtlety. ex: slow motion shopping or agents dressed as employees takes a moment to notice. The revelation moment is great.
-It should be guaranteed success. What I mean is a mission should not hinge on a big if. "IF a celebrity shows up, we will do this..." WE should be in control of the defining elements of the mission.
-It should be practical. Training animals or trying to be Chinese acrobats should be left to the experts. If you are one, bring it on. Will it really work, or is it something that only works on film? ex: banned x-box commercial
-The mission should be safe. All precautions should be taken to make sure that nobody gets hurt. If you have some skills that apply to a key part of the idea, then you do it.
-If it's a musical, be prepared to organize meetings 'n' such. Don't think it will be easy and if it is your idea, as mentioned before, build a team and be ready to do most of the work YOURSELF. Have the musical work with the venue somehow. ex: IE food court musical.
-Try to make it so that many agents can be involved. Small missions can be great too, but maybe more people can get involved?
-Make it extraordinary and worthy of a mission. Public limbo or conga lines would need to have a big twist to work.
-Try to make it iconic LA. Let's discover the culture here, do things that can only be done here, etc. Olvera street, union station, travel town, the getty, hollywood blvd., universal city, etc.
-Keep an open mind when you get feedback. If someone has a good idea, use it, if not, then don't. My OPINION is that: If it's you're idea, it's your mission and have full kill and approval rights. If there is total disagreement against you, then a new more popular variation has just been born and should be explored. Perhaps two missions have evolved from one!
I know what you might be thinking right now, but listen. I went to photography school and sometimes we were given assignments with strict guidelines and those were always the most interesting because it forces you to think on a different level and opens creative doors.
Now challenge yourself and go for it!
In reference to ideas that were less than extraordinary, an agent not to be named made a good point recently: "If I were Imporv Everywhere, I would have made us change our name too." Which gave birth to this thread, the only one with rules.
To post a mission idea to THIS thread, the following guidelines must be considered. Most of them are a matter of opinion, so use your best judgment. Here it goes:
-You must have been thinking about this mission for at least 24 hours. No "umm, how about this..."
-Think of a title for the mission that can almost sum it up. Great movies can do this and it is a good guideline. "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
(This will also help keep variations of a theme separated and clear. ex: Ikea party / Ikea musical / Ikea soap opera)
-Try to be able to sum up the idea in one sentence. Same idea as above, the best ideas can be described simply. "An archaeologist races the Nazis to find the Ark of the Covenant."
(ex: agents stage a housewarming party in an Ikea kitchen / etc. / etc.)
-Tell someone about it and gauge their reaction, agent or not. If they laugh or say: "oh my God, that would be so funny (or awesome)" then you're on the right track. If they say: "Let me know when you are going to do that, I want it!" Congrats, you've just recruited someone.
-It should be original. It can be inspired by something and it can be similar to something that has been done, but in an original way or variation.
-It must not cause even the lowest of intelligent onlookers to panic.
-It should cause awe and wonder. A good rule of thumb would be if it would be worthy of an episode of The Twilight Zone.
-It should not make agents or the general public think that they are at a fund raiser for Jerry's Kids. Leave the schoolyard games out unless it is such a magnificent tweak that it passes the test.
-It will not make people think that it might be a terrorist activity.
-It will not put any agent into a risk of being arrested.
-The venue should fit the mission. Are you suggesting 3rd street just because it is 3rd street or can it be done somewhere else? Some missions might be ideal there and that location should be saved for such, if it can happen somewhere else, be open to it.
-It should be fairly easy to set up and disband. If there is rehearsal or major prep to be done, be prepared to take those tasks on. Some missions need props, cooperation of a business, etc. and those can be great missions. But there is something to be said for a mission that disappears like a fart in the wind. ex: the freeze
-It should be fun. After the 24 hour thought process, does it still sound fun, or are you sober now?
-It should cost little or no money. Some ideas require an investment. It's usually better to make it involve things most people have and can bring rather than need to all go out and buy. You'll get more participants that way. ex: purchasing tickets to disneyland, buying costumes, etc.
-It should not be too strenuous. People have suggested piggy-back missions before. When was the last time you gave one and how far were you able to go? Try a ten minute freeze and rethink the physical aspect of your idea.
-It should not be a typical birthday party activity for an 8yr old. No tag, no duck duck goose, no red rover, no leap frog here. Keep an open mind, though. Follow the leader has proven to be really great and it breaks the boundaries of the other mentioned activities.
-It should present an alternate reality of some kind. Role reversals, context swap, irony, social commentary. IE's subway mirror was brilliant, underwear subway was funny. Each made people think they stumbled onto something foreign to them. Take it to the next level.
-Keep it simple, yet clever. Never underestimate the power of subtlety. ex: slow motion shopping or agents dressed as employees takes a moment to notice. The revelation moment is great.
-It should be guaranteed success. What I mean is a mission should not hinge on a big if. "IF a celebrity shows up, we will do this..." WE should be in control of the defining elements of the mission.
-It should be practical. Training animals or trying to be Chinese acrobats should be left to the experts. If you are one, bring it on. Will it really work, or is it something that only works on film? ex: banned x-box commercial
-The mission should be safe. All precautions should be taken to make sure that nobody gets hurt. If you have some skills that apply to a key part of the idea, then you do it.
-If it's a musical, be prepared to organize meetings 'n' such. Don't think it will be easy and if it is your idea, as mentioned before, build a team and be ready to do most of the work YOURSELF. Have the musical work with the venue somehow. ex: IE food court musical.
-Try to make it so that many agents can be involved. Small missions can be great too, but maybe more people can get involved?
-Make it extraordinary and worthy of a mission. Public limbo or conga lines would need to have a big twist to work.
-Try to make it iconic LA. Let's discover the culture here, do things that can only be done here, etc. Olvera street, union station, travel town, the getty, hollywood blvd., universal city, etc.
-Keep an open mind when you get feedback. If someone has a good idea, use it, if not, then don't. My OPINION is that: If it's you're idea, it's your mission and have full kill and approval rights. If there is total disagreement against you, then a new more popular variation has just been born and should be explored. Perhaps two missions have evolved from one!
I know what you might be thinking right now, but listen. I went to photography school and sometimes we were given assignments with strict guidelines and those were always the most interesting because it forces you to think on a different level and opens creative doors.
Now challenge yourself and go for it!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Agent Tuttle on -
Do a forum search for "Fake Paparazzi." It is a good idea and me thinks that it will be a mission at some point.
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Permalink Reply by Teddy on -
we all go to radio shack and you know how they ahve that secluded area with couches and the amazing surround soudn systems? we bring a microwave and pop popcorn in there and drinks etc. and have someone over there witha small cart selling way over priced snacks to us...and we'll have the room completely packed and once we finish watching a movie or 2 we leave...i know this can be added to a lot but the idea seems pretty solid and any people i raido shack that walk by will see a TON of people in the room so itll cause an impact...and we can add to it by having someone complain to the radio shack people that some teenagers are trying to sneak into the theater or someone was being extra loud etc etc. if we want to go all out we can ahve a ticket window in the front with showtimes and we all say we got a coupon for a promotional screening to be done here
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Permalink Reply by Agent Judge on -
an entire movie? you want to do a mission that lasts 90min? its a good idea but its waaaaayy to long. the thrill of it would be gone in like 30 min. sorry, maybe if we shortened the time.
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Permalink Reply by Teddy on
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mmhm, well we could watch the movie but for those who dont want to could just leave for one reason or another(work it into the whole thing if they can) and we could use monopoly money to not get in trouble...or have people bartering for the stuff (ill trade you my shoes + shirt for a bag of popcorn!)
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Permalink Reply by Agent Tuttle on
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I'm not seeing it man.
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Permalink Reply by Codename "Pheonix" on -
I see where he is going with this.. but here is my suggestion..
No matter what the movie is, we all decide its a bad movie and leave during the movie.. at the half hour. or halfway mark.. and we would then be talking about how bad it is. Now imagine if this happens to be a popular or highly sucessful movie.. and think of the people who would be in the movies who just happen to have been looking at getting said movie...
We could even get people trying to demand their money back...
Just something that I have been thinking of for a while since I read this one..
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Permalink Reply by Agent Tuttle on
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This could work at Fry's because it would start subtle. I think Radio Shack would shut it down right away.
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Permalink Reply by Teddy on
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i got an idea ive thought about doing before, but this time on a larger scale. it requires little planning, no purchasing and no IFs. we get a group of people and head over to a drive thru in invisible cars. we have people in the sopts they would be in an actual car ranging from 1 person to a bunch squeezed in and we'll have a bunch of invisible cars going through and everyone claims to not know eachother. we can have 2 cars bump into eachother, people getting rowdy and honking, the person in the front battery dies and everyone gets stuck. etc. etc.
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Permalink Reply by Jim MacQ. on
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Most fast food places now have signs at the window stating that they will not serve customers who are not in a vehicle. Skateboards and bicycles do not count. Don't take my word for it, go check. I've seen the signs. The mission will fizzle at the window. Sorry.
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Permalink Reply by joekho on -
hat about those bicylces that can fit like 6-8 people. i saw one in london the other day. they had a portable stereo blasting music and they were all dressed up. it was really funny. i was sitting in a resturaunt and it turned everyones head. im sure we can find some to rent and go through there.
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Permalink Reply by Agent Tuttle on
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Looks perfect for burning man. I personally think that a drive-thru mission would have to be super extraordinary to be good. It's just a bad venue.
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Permalink Reply by Trevin on -
Sounds interesting.
Problem is messing up real customers. To help compensate, we probably should buy something along the way.
We can hit several joints in an area. Spread the hilarity. Get more people involved. Would be really hard to do more than 3 or so cars in one drive through.
You can also do several stereotypical things like the loud bass car or the overpacked minivan full of kids car.
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