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.
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More