Tools don't make the artist… but here are my 3 essentials
Tools don't make the artist. Sébastien Masson opens up the behind-the-scenes of his creative routine and shares his top 3 — ChatGPT, Final Cut, Keynote — the apps that inspire him and give him a boost.
Sébastien Masson takes us behind the scenes of his creative routine: here's his top 3 of the apps he uses without moderation — the ones that inspire him, that give him a boost, and that he recommends to anyone who loves to experiment, play and create.
ChatGPT: my creative sidekick
Honestly, if you catch me mid-brainstorm with ChatGPT, it's not my buddy, I don't humanise it. It's a co-pilot that helps me structure, rephrase, challenge and visualise my ideas. I take what's worth taking, I pick and choose. In short, I go faster and further!
Having fun coding without coding (yes, even me, I get to feel like a dev) — of course there's no miracle, you have to understand the language. But it gives me a way in to create simple things that were impossible before.
In short, it's my infinite playground, where I go from idea to reality in the snap of a finger.
Final Cut: my storytelling machine
Final Cut isn't just editing software. It's a storytelling machine. I can spend hours timing a piece of music, slowing down a scene just to make the image appear exactly the way I want.
For me it's simple: Final Cut is where everyday life turns into cinema.
Keynote: my idea workshop
Keynote is normally made for presentations… except I've turned it into my secret notebook. A moodboard notebook. A drawing board. It's surely not the best tool, but it's the one that suits me. It fits me perfectly, I do whatever I want with it. A simple tool that I've completely mastered.
Cobbled-together moodboards, rough concept sketches, improvised mockups… it all goes in there. It's simple, flexible, perfect for laying down an idea that doesn't exist yet.
The little secret behind it all
Creativity isn't about "pro" tools. It's just the pleasure of playing, trying, failing, starting over. These three apps aren't software to me: they're playgrounds.
Because deep down, being creative is exactly that… playing seriously.
And you, what are you playing with right now? What are your favourite tools?