Of the many myths associated with the digital age (easier, faster, cheaper, better quality, no signal degradation, to name a few), there is nothing more onerous to me than the slightly more hidden myth which states that digital production makes creative decision-making less of a chore, and allows creatives to be … well, more creative. I think that the reverse has become true, and I feel the need to call out to industry creatives (and their clients!) everywhere to realize the potential trap in that thought process. When it comes to choice, less is sometimes more—much, much more.
Case in point: recently, a sizeable client—exactly 24 hours before their spot was supposed to go on air—asked me for a complete 180-degree turnaround on their original music. To make matters worse, this client is located in Los Angeles, while my company, Tonic, is in New York City. It occurred to me then and there that the rules have been changed, and not necessarily for the better.
Although I have no means of actually determining what happened at the client end, their thought process is pretty clear. I’m sure it went something like this:
"Peter is pretty quick, thinks on his feet [so I’m told]. He works in ProTools, so he can make it faster, slower, higher, lower, in Portuguese if we want it that way, by the click of a few buttons. Delivery is no problem, because of this FTP thing–so I don’t have to utilize my creative control in any way, and I can just wait for my boss (or bosses) to tell me if he likes the spot. There’s no need for me to make any crucial decisions any more, not until the last possible moment, anyway."
Oh boy! Freedom of choice is not the freedom to not choose. In our digital world, the promise of "instant change gratification" has turned into the slavery of not exercising creative muscles.
Now, I’m about as techno as the average bear, and I don’t want to sound like I’m pining for the "good ol’ days," but I do miss that crucial moment in the process where you had to make a decision—several decisions, in fact, big and small. Decisions such as: is the pace of the music too fast, too slow? Should we be using strings and horns, or guitars and drums, or both? Is my voiceover synced up right to the image? Is his or her voice modulated too high, too low?
It’s too simple now (or at least some think it is) to just cure what ills you by the "touch of a few buttons." The problems with this approach are numerous. Not only does it put an enormous amount of additional last minute pressure on the creative, it also puts an overabundance of faith in technology to solve creative problems. No matter how great new technology is (and it is great!), it can never—and should never—replace the functioning brain as the controller of the creative process.
So, in conclusion, I appeal to creatives everywhere: take back the process! Decide between green and blue, light and dark, fast and slow, 2-D and 3-D—make a decision or two! Encourage your clients to do the same! If you do, technology will once again assume its role as a functioning tool in the creative process—not the be all and end all of the creative process itself.
