What was the biggest challenge posed to you by a recent project? Or share insights to a recent project you deem notable. Briefly describe the project, why it was particularly noteworthy or what valuable lesson(s) you learned from it.
We’ve always pushed ourselves into new ideas and new formats. One of our long-time clients, FIS, approached us with a completely new challenge: an opening conference experiential film spread across eight different screens stretching over 200 feet wide. A mix of different sizes, aspect ratios, and perspectives — the eighth screen was overhead floor projection.
When working on such a complex project, there are so many moving pieces you have to keep in mind. You’re juggling the technical needs with the story goals. There’s a lot of back and forth between the how and the why. And then there are moments where you just wonder, ‘how is this going to come together?’ You can’t see it in context until the screens are built and you’re at the walkthrough.
So, you just have to trust the process, trust the team, trust the vision, and keep pushing. From the words on the page to the ideas discussed to the sketches, it all starts coming to life. You start to see and feel the experience how the audience would. That’s when all the stretching and pushing past your limits pays off. You’ve surmounted the challenge; something that seemed so big and new is now behind you.
Then you move on to the next one and push again. A bit stronger, a bit wiser, and a bit more ready for the next challenge. View the work here: https://vimeo.com/tigerlilymedia/emerald-2022?share=copy
Are you involved in virtual production or experimenting with AI, AR or other emerging disciplines or new technologies? Have you engaged in any real-world projects on these fronts? If so, relative to experimental and/or actual projects, briefly tell us about the work & what you’ve taken away from the experience.
We’ve done a lot of research and experimented with different platforms early in their development stages. Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, Runway, DALL-E 2, and, more recently, Firefly. The tools are now maturing to a point where they’re truly more and more viable for real-world production without large complex pipelines around them.
They’ve also more or less developed their own “looks”. We’ve zeroed in on Midjourney, Firefly, and Runway as tools to explore. We’re looking at Midjourney as our scratchpad, another way to think and brainstorm. Firefly is interesting because it’s trained on licensed images instead of scraping the wider web. Our artists are keen on that and the ethical issues are absolutely at the forefront of our consideration.
For the last half of 2023 and beyond, we’ll be exploring how they can integrate with our current pipeline. Especially going beyond still asset generation and moving into motion applications with Runway and other tools.
I think the trick is finding how they work for you and enhance what you already do well. I can easily see a world where the “AI-style” becomes a thing. A derivative and iterative look that repeats in various forms. Which is inevitable of any new look that captures the zeitgeist..
Where it can be really exciting is how people will integrate it more seamlessly into the work they do. That’s the area we’re interested in and we have a few projects in the pipeline that are testbeds for this approach.
Does your company have plans for any major diversification and/or expansion/investment in technology and talent this year and if so, what? How will this investment or diversification add value to what you can offer to clients? If instead you have already realized any actual expansion, made such an investment and/or diversified significantly recently, share those developments with us along with what they mean to your staff and clients.
We recently celebrated 20 years as a company and, as part of that reflection, we looked inward at the core of who we are. We brought in some outstanding partners in business growth mindset and PR, which began a process of refining and redefining ourselves.. This effort really goes beyond business and marketing and gets why we do what we do. Which has been reenergizing and exciting.
This renewed focus will provide real value to our clients because we will have a clear lens to look through. Sometimes the bells and whistles, the trends and the tech, as essential as they may be, can cloud vision. The simplest things are the hardest to do. Having a clear vision that is aligned company-wide and serves our team, our clients, and their stories is the best investment we can make.
This is the foundation we can use moving forward to embrace and fold in all the new and exciting developments happening with storytelling.
Gender pay disparity, sexual misconduct and the need for diversity & inclusion are issues that have started to be dealt with meaningfully. While the industry has made strides to address these issues, there’s still a long way to go. What policies do you have in place or plan to implement or step up in order to make progress on any or all of these fronts?
As a woman-owned company that is made up of 50% minority staff, we’ve always championed diversity and inclusion. Even with that being a longstanding principle, we are looking for ways to improve. We want to bring in more voices from different socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as other underrepresented groups, to continue developing our variety of voices and perspectives.
We plan on attacking this in multiple ways. All future staff positions will be considered to further our overall diversity and inclusion. We’re also looking to diversify our partners to identify directors, artists, and other creatives that represent different cultures and people beyond what is in-house.
Beyond these initiatives, we think the most important area of improvement is the work. Continuing to tell diverse stories from underrepresented voices. And doing so by hiring and empowering those same voices. Encouraging our staff to embrace their histories and put their voice into the work. Living it as if it was no different than breathing.
