Visual Plan for “What Exactly Is a Thought?” Video

This guide breaks down each scene of the video, offering visual ideas along with tips for sourcing and editing stock assets in Pictory Pro and Canva Pro.

1. Ever notice how a simple thought can shape your entire day?

  • Visual Idea:
    • Depict a character with changing facial expressions throughout the day (e.g., happy, neutral, worried).
    • In the background, show subtle transitions from morning to night (e.g., sun to moon or a clock ticking).
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Search for “changing emotions” or “daily transitions.” Use zoom-in on the character’s face as expressions change, and overlay time-lapse elements like a clock or sunrise.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of a person’s facial expressions or a daily routine, overlaying time-related transitions (e.g., clock ticking or sun/moon in the sky).

2. Stay tuned to uncover the secrets behind what thoughts are, how they develop, and why they often seem to take on a life of their own.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Animate a magnifying glass zooming into a brain or thought bubble, uncovering hidden icons or symbols (e.g., gears, lightbulbs, question marks).
    • Create a sense of mystery by using fog effects or faded visuals that slowly reveal themselves.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Use a magnifying glass icon layered over a brain or thought bubble, revealing icons like lightbulbs or gears. Animate using zoom and fade effects.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of a magnifying glass focusing on abstract brain visuals. Apply zoom-in animations to show the discovery of thought-related icons.

3. Thoughts: The Basics

4. Thoughts are the foundation of our mental landscape, much like the 1s and 0s of binary code in the computer world, constantly shaping and defining our mental health and well-being.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Show a digital landscape of 1s and 0s slowly transforming into thought bubbles or abstract symbols (e.g., hearts, lightbulbs, exclamation marks).
    • Illustrate the transition from binary to emotional or conceptual thought.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Use a binary code background with animated thought icons emerging. Create a flowing motion where binary numbers morph into thought-related symbols.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of binary code transitioning into symbols, overlaid with visual effects showing a digital-to-human thought connection.

5. They can be reactions to our experiences or continuations of already established thoughts, taking shape on a “cerebral canvas” where we visualize and explore potential directions.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Imagine a canvas inside the brain where thoughts appear as rough sketches or abstract shapes, then gradually become clearer and more refined.
    • Show a flow of thoughts evolving in different directions, as though being painted or drawn on a mental canvas.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Use a brain icon with a blank canvas inside. Animate the sketching of abstract shapes that evolve into defined thought bubbles or arrows.
    • Pictory Pro: Overlay animated drawing effects on stock footage of a brain, simulating the visual representation of thoughts being sketched on a canvas inside the mind.

6. From Snapshot to Story

7. Imagine your mind as an old camera, capturing mental impressions from every experience.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Start with an old-style camera clicking and creating a snapshot. The snapshot could represent a thought or memory.
    • Show the snapshot gradually morphing into a more colorful, detailed image.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Use a retro camera icon with a simple photo frame. Animate the transition from black-and-white to a colorful thought or memory.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of a camera flash and overlay the visual transformation from a basic photo to a rich, detailed image that symbolizes memory processing.

8. These impressions are stored as crystallised residues, carrying both visual and emotional attributes.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Depict crystallized thought fragments or memories floating in space, carrying both images and emotional symbols (e.g., hearts, tears, or exclamation marks).
    • The thought fragments can glow or pulse to symbolize their emotional weight.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Search for crystal or glass-like objects that hold both visual elements and emotion icons (e.g., hearts, tears). Use glow effects to enhance emotional charge.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of floating memory fragments or crystal visuals layered with symbols to represent both visual and emotional aspects.

9. Initially, a thought may be an unprocessed, factual memory—an “original slide.” But our mind doesn’t usually leave them in this state.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Show an unprocessed mental slide (black-and-white, simple), gradually evolving into a colorful, detailed thought or memory as the mind processes it.
    • Transition from a static memory to a more dynamic, emotional recollection.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Use a slide frame that starts in black and white and animates into full color, showing the thought becoming richer and more detailed.
    • Pictory Pro: Overlay stock footage of photo slides being transformed from black-and-white to colorful images, using transitions like fades and color bursts to symbolize thought processing.

10. Instead, it processes, tweaks, and refines them, turning our thoughts into a more detailed and enhanced (or sometimes distorted) projection.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Show a thought bubble expanding, gradually becoming more detailed. As the bubble grows, it can either become clear and refined or distorted and exaggerated.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Use a thought bubble icon and animate layers being added, symbolizing refinement. Apply blur or twist effects to show distortion.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of growing and warping thought bubbles, transitioning between clarity and distortion with filters and layering effects.

11. A polished story that can either capture the essence of the moment or change it altogether.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Show a memory being polished like a gem or photograph, becoming clearer and brighter.
    • Depict the memory either maintaining its original state or shifting into something different (e.g., a distorted or exaggerated version).
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Use a photo or gem icon being polished, showing it becoming clearer or changing form. Animate the transition with sparkle effects or blurring for distortion.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of polishing an object (e.g., a crystal or photo), overlaid with effects that change its appearance, shifting between clear and distorted states.

12. These mental records are always just beneath the surface, ready to be relived through various triggers like conscious recall, automatic responses, or habitual thought patterns.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Show memories or thoughts hidden beneath the surface, like objects floating just under the water or behind a thin glass. Triggering actions, like a light touch or ripple, cause them to surface.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Use a water surface effect with thought bubbles or memory icons beneath, triggered by ripples or taps. Animate fade-ins or bubbles rising to symbolize recollection.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of water surfaces with reflections or objects underneath, combined with ripple effects to show memories surfacing.

13. The Emotional Layer

14. More than a simple image, every thought carries an emotional charge—a lingering feeling or sensation that connects us to the original experience.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Depict a thought bubble with emotional waves or energy surrounding it, each wave representing different emotions (e.g., warm colors for positive, cool colors for negative).
    • Show the thought glowing or pulsating, symbolizing its emotional impact.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Animate a glowing thought bubble with pulsating waves or energy fields. Use color gradients to represent different emotions.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of glowing or pulsating objects, overlaid with colorful emotion symbols (e.g., hearts, lightning bolts) to show the emotional charge surrounding thoughts.

15. When we replay our thoughts, we’re often trying to recreate the emotional experience, to relive the sensations they once brought us.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Show a looping playback of a thought bubble or memory, with the emotional intensity fluctuating (e.g., the thought dims or brightens as it’s replayed).
    • Depict the emotional colors fading in and out as the thought is replayed.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Use looping animations of thought bubbles replaying, with fading colors that represent emotional highs and lows. Add soundwave icons or heartbeats for emotional emphasis.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of looped memory clips with color filters or overlays that fluctuate in brightness, symbolizing emotional shifts during recall.

16. At first, the emotional charge can be strong and fresh. Unfortunately, over time and repetition, the richness of those sensations begins to fade.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Show a bright, vivid thought bubble slowly losing its color and energy, fading into a more muted or grayscale version.
    • Add elements like vibrant textures becoming flat or blurry, representing the loss of emotional intensity.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Use color-to-grayscale transitions on thought bubbles or memories. Animate textures going from sharp and colorful to flat and muted.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of colorful scenes fading to grayscale, overlaid with visual effects that show the gradual dimming of emotions.

17. To recapture the original emotional impact, we often refine or exaggerate our thoughts, blending in other snippets of information to enhance the overall effect.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Show a thought bubble expanding or intensifying, with additional fragments or symbols (e.g., hearts, exclamation marks) being added to amplify the emotional effect.
    • Illustrate how the thought grows in complexity, with enhanced visuals or layers added to the original memory.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Animate a growing thought bubble, with icons or symbols representing emotions being added. Use amplification effects like growing brightness or added visual details.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of growing bubbles or objects with layered animations, adding emotional or sensory elements (e.g., soundwaves, symbols) to amplify the thought.

18. This process of refinement is similar to how binary code can be developed into more complex digital outputs.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Show binary code (1s and 0s) transforming into complex, colorful thought bubbles or digital representations of emotions and memories.
    • Illustrate the evolution from simple data to complex, vivid outputs, with visual effects like color gradients and overlays.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Use a binary code animation that gradually morphs into colorful, animated thought bubbles. Apply color transitions to represent complexity being added.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of digital transformations, with binary numbers evolving into vivid, animated emotions or thoughts.

19. What starts as a simple memory can become a highly modified, emotionally charged projection.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Depict a simple, black-and-white memory that transforms into a colorful, intense projection, with emotional elements like fire, lightning, or heartbeats being added as it evolves.
    • Show the memory becoming more vivid and dynamic, representing its emotional charge.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Use a black-and-white photo or thought bubble that morphs into a colorful, intense image. Add animated emotion icons like hearts or lightning bolts to enhance the effect.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of simplistic scenes transforming into more vibrant, emotional projections. Add layered effects like flashing lights or color bursts to show intensity.

20. When Thoughts Get Out of Hand

21. Unfortunately, this constant refining and enhancing can lead to a pretty big problem: distortion.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Show a thought bubble slowly warping or twisting, with its smooth edges becoming jagged or blurred, symbolizing distortion.
    • Use effects like wavy lines or ripples to convey the idea of mental distortion.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Animate a thought bubble icon gradually becoming distorted using warp or twist effects. Add a blur filter as the distortion intensifies.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of shapes or images warping, overlaid with subtle ripple or glitch effects to represent the distortion of thoughts.

22. Where the more we refine and exaggerate our thoughts, the further we move away from the original memory itself.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Illustrate a thought bubble drifting farther away from an original clear memory. As it moves, it gets more complex and chaotic, symbolizing the widening gap between memory and distortion.
    • Show arrows or lines representing the increasing distance between the original memory and the exaggerated thought.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Use distance effects (e.g., smaller, faded thought bubbles) moving away from the original clear memory. Animate additional chaotic elements being added to the thought as it drifts.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of growing distances or objects moving further away, combined with overlays of chaotic lines or patterns as the memory becomes distorted.

23. Before we know it, that simple thought has morphed into something more intense, but not necessarily more accurate.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Depict a small, simple thought bubble gradually morphing into a larger, more intense, colorful projection that’s visually overwhelming or chaotic.
    • The larger bubble could have sharp edges or glowing effects, representing intensity.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Animate a small thought bubble growing larger and more complex, with vivid colors and sharp edges representing the intensity of the morph.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of objects morphing and growing, overlaid with intensifying effects like glowing or flashing lights to show the transformation.

24. What was once a clear mental impression has become a distorted projection, shaped by our desire for emotional fulfillment.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Show a clear image or memory being gradually overlaid with distorted layers, as if different emotional elements are being added to it.
    • The image could have fuzzy or stretched sections, symbolizing how it’s been warped to meet emotional desires.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Animate a clear photo or shape being distorted by adding exaggerated layers (e.g., blurry sections or stretched lines). Use glow or wavy effects to show the emotional influence.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of clear images being distorted, combined with emotional overlays like hearts, lightning bolts, or tears to symbolize the emotional influence.

25. Over time, each replay can significantly change the story, for better or worse.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Illustrate a memory being replayed like a film reel, with each repetition slightly altering the details or colors, symbolizing the gradual change.
    • Show subtle differences between each replay, like shifts in color, lighting, or added elements.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Use a film reel or playback animation that repeats, with small changes in each loop (e.g., color shifts or added details). Apply subtle animations to represent the changes over time.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of film reels or looping animations, adding visual effects to show how each replay of the memory introduces slight distortions or changes.

26. This can either satisfy or frustrate us, depending on how well the replayed thought aligns with our mental ‘tastebuds’.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Depict a thought bubble connected to tastebuds, with visuals of satisfaction (e.g., smiling faces or thumbs-up) and frustration (e.g., angry faces or lightning bolts) depending on the outcome.
    • Use color contrasts (e.g., warm colors for satisfaction, dark colors for frustration) to highlight emotional reactions.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Use tastebud icons connected to a thought bubble, and animate the bubble turning into either a satisfied or frustrated face based on the outcome. Apply contrasting color palettes to emphasize emotions.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of emotion reactions (satisfaction or frustration), layered over a thought bubble connected to tastebuds, with mood-based overlays (warm tones vs. dark tones).

28. By understanding the process of thought formation and refinement, we can begin to take control of our mental landscape, and thus better manage our mental and emotional well-being.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Show a person meditating or calmly observing thoughts, with chaotic thought bubbles transforming into more orderly, calm shapes around them.
    • The transformation of chaotic to calm thoughts can be illustrated with fading colors or smooth transitions.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Animate a meditative figure with chaotic thought bubbles becoming orderly and fading away. Use calming color transitions to show control over the mental landscape.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of meditation or calm scenes, overlaid with chaotic thought bubbles transforming into peaceful, organized shapes as the person gains mental control.

29. Now, instead of letting thoughts run wild, we can step back, see them for what they are, and decide how much we want to believe or act on them.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Depict a person standing back from a swirl of chaotic thoughts, with a pause button symbol appearing, allowing them to filter and organize thoughts.
    • Illustrate how thoughts go from wild, disorganized shapes to clear, simple icons that can be managed.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Animate a pause button overlaying chaotic thoughts. Show the transition from wild swirling thoughts to more manageable icons, using clarity filters and organization effects.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of people stepping back from chaotic environments, layered with thought bubbles calming down or becoming more manageable after pausing.

30. So next time you find yourself caught up in a whirlwind of thoughts, take a moment to ask: “Is this really what happened, or just the version my mind keeps playing?”

  • Visual Idea:
    • Show a person standing in a whirlwind of thought bubbles, with some faded or distorted and others clear. Have a question mark appear, prompting the person to reflect on which version is real.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Animate a whirlwind of thoughts surrounding a character, with a question mark hovering above them. Use blurred vs. clear effects on different thoughts to indicate reflection.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of whirlwinds combined with floating thought bubbles. Add question mark overlays and a fading effect on distorted bubbles to suggest self-reflection.

31. It’s a small step, but it can make a BIG difference.

  • Visual Idea:
    • Show a small action (e.g., pressing a button or taking a breath) leading to a massive ripple effect or transformation in the person’s environment, representing the big impact of small changes.
  • Execution:
    • Canva Pro: Animate a small gesture like a button press, with large ripple effects spreading out across the scene. Use transformation effects to show the positive changes in the environment.
    • Pictory Pro: Use stock footage of small actions leading to big changes, with ripple animations or environmental changes representing the large impact of small steps.