Creative professionals today work under such pressures, of time, budget, and creative restraints, that remote workflow processes all too often take the place of traditional face-to-face, client/creative collaboration.
There is good and bad to be said about both styles. And, what works for one firm may not work for another. Collaboration, in it’s truest sense means “working together to achieve a goal.” It is a recursive process in which two or more people, or teams, work together to realize shared goals that are creative in nature.
The word “collaboration” has a deep impact on a singular vision and how creative expression happens. I studied fine arts at school, where there was very little collaboration, but this afforded me an opportunity to develop my own creative language for future solo and group endeavors. Having a personal POV, an individual aesthetic perspective, is key to any successful collaboration. The goal is to find right-minded people who are able to push the boundaries to achieve one’s creative vision.
This is the most important aspect of our collaborative process–finding the right person(s), which is sometimes difficult. Most of my successful collaborations have been with people who are interested in and knowledgeable about art and music; they go hand in hand especially when talking about tone and motion. A recent success was a film title project for a documentary, Run to the East by Henry Lu, a director at Moxie Pictures. Since I wrote the treatment, the task was to find a designer to take the concept and realize it, which we achieved with designer/animator Salih Abdul-Karim.
After sending him the treatment, we had a meeting that lasted about 15 minutes when we found we were “on the same page.” From that moment forward the process was extremely efficient, especially when as to the dynamics of the look and motion of the titles. This does not happen all of the time, and in some ways, I enjoy learning and pushing myself when the dynamics are slightly off. There is something in the creative puzzle that, in person, can provoke successful collaboration.
Today, with Skype, Facetime, IM, email, and the like, too often collaborations are mediated. However, in my humble experience, this remote workflow fails for several reasons. The first is time, and loss of the immediacy, the spontaneity, of working together in the same physical space. The second reason is direct, face-to-face communication about the design, animation or file. Often circular conversations happen on the phone, or via IM, sometimes even in the same suite, which can quickly be cleared up, perhaps by simply pointing. The third reason is the higher quality of work that results from collaborating in person.
More importantly, working in the same space fosters bonds that forge memorable experiences, which generates new thoughts, ideas and approaches. This is a true “collective.”
Inspiration is subjective and to be found everywhere–in books, magazines, fabrics, plants, maps, music, food, wine–and when personally shared become the roots of inspiration that pushes a project beyond the initial creative and drives it to the best possible solution.
So indeed go forth, face to face, into the creative horizon.
For Documentaries At Sundance, Oscar Nominations (and Wins) Often Follow
The Sundance Film Festival welcomed back three Oscar-winning documentary filmmakers to help kick off the annual independent film showcase in Park City, Utah.
On Thursday night at The Ray Theater, "20 Days in Mariupol" filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov, who won the Oscar last year, debuted his latest dispatch from Ukraine, "2000 Meters to Andriivka," a harrowing journey to the front lines of a 2023 counteroffensive. A few hours later, at the Eccles, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, who won an Oscar for "Summer of Soul" in 2022, unveiled his Sly Stone portrait, "SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genuis)." Earlier, "One Day in September" filmmaker Kevin MacDonald also showcased his film "One to One: John & Yoko," which debuted last year at the Venice Film Festival and will get an IMAX release on April 11 before hitting Max later this year.
Some critics reflected that "2000 Meters to Andriivka," a joint production between The Associated Press and PBS Frontline, was even more powerful than "20 Days in Mariupol." "SLY LIVES!" (on Hulu Feb. 13) was called "sublime" and "illuminating" in its examination of an underappreciated, shapeshifting genius.
"I've been coming here since 2000 and I thought the coolest thing you could do would be to DJ an after party," Thompson said before the screening. "I never dreamt this for my future, so this is really humbling."
It was a full-circle end to a day that began with a slate of documentary Oscar nominations all connected to the Sundance Institute in some way. Some were supported by the Institute, some debuted at the festival as recently as last year.
"Black Box Diaries," in which a Japanese filmmaker investigates her own sexual assault, had its premiere in Park City last year and was supported by the... Read More