As I write this, I'm waiting for Jason to give me notes on the HEY Calendar walkthrough video I just submitted.
I'm equal parts excited and scared.
As any video editor will confess, sometimes you spend so much time on a video that it sinks into your bones. For the last 3 days, this video was my sole focus. At first I was just 'doing my job,' but at some point in the process, that turned into 'creating something good' to 'wow, I want this to be great.' You know it's crossed the latter threshold when instead of playing Red Dead Redemption last night, I logged back into premiere to continue tweaking and finding ways to elevate the video.
Just one more graphic. What about a different song here? Is the information too rushed? How can I make this 10% better?
I said it would be done by Thursday. It's Friday morning, and I just got over the past-due-meets-perfection hump. Exported the best thing I could possibly make, uploaded it, then reminded myself of the golden rule of collaboration:
I'm equal parts excited and scared.
As any video editor will confess, sometimes you spend so much time on a video that it sinks into your bones. For the last 3 days, this video was my sole focus. At first I was just 'doing my job,' but at some point in the process, that turned into 'creating something good' to 'wow, I want this to be great.' You know it's crossed the latter threshold when instead of playing Red Dead Redemption last night, I logged back into premiere to continue tweaking and finding ways to elevate the video.
Just one more graphic. What about a different song here? Is the information too rushed? How can I make this 10% better?
I said it would be done by Thursday. It's Friday morning, and I just got over the past-due-meets-perfection hump. Exported the best thing I could possibly make, uploaded it, then reminded myself of the golden rule of collaboration:
Once I send this out, it's no longer mine.
Let go of that cool music drop. Let go of that phrase you love. Let go of everything.
There's a chance you missed the mark entirely and have to start all over.
There's a chance you hit the bullseye.
It's likely somewhere between, which is fair, because I've been alone, swirling around the vacuum of my own sensibilities. If this were my thing, it would be perfect and done. But it's going to be our thing, so it's time to meld minds.
No matter what the notes are, it's not my job to judge how much I agree or disagree, but to figure out how to make them work.
It's no longer mine.
It's no longer mine.
It's no longer mine.
This doesn't mean I'm wholesale surrendering all creative effort and energy. It means I need to switch from creator mode to collaborator mode. I have a vision. He has a vision. It's highly unlikely if not impossible for those visions to match right out the gate.
But after working with Jason for a year and a half, I'm hoping it's close.
If not though, oh well. I did my best to interpret his vision, then create my own around that. After all, people don't want exactly what they want. They want others to elevate what they want, then show them what they didn't know they wanted.
If he just wanted his version, he'd make that. Which he did. Now he wants our version.
Clear your mind of all hopes and expectations. Prepare to land on a new planet and figure it out.
This is collaboration.
There's a chance you missed the mark entirely and have to start all over.
There's a chance you hit the bullseye.
It's likely somewhere between, which is fair, because I've been alone, swirling around the vacuum of my own sensibilities. If this were my thing, it would be perfect and done. But it's going to be our thing, so it's time to meld minds.
No matter what the notes are, it's not my job to judge how much I agree or disagree, but to figure out how to make them work.
It's no longer mine.
It's no longer mine.
It's no longer mine.
This doesn't mean I'm wholesale surrendering all creative effort and energy. It means I need to switch from creator mode to collaborator mode. I have a vision. He has a vision. It's highly unlikely if not impossible for those visions to match right out the gate.
But after working with Jason for a year and a half, I'm hoping it's close.
If not though, oh well. I did my best to interpret his vision, then create my own around that. After all, people don't want exactly what they want. They want others to elevate what they want, then show them what they didn't know they wanted.
If he just wanted his version, he'd make that. Which he did. Now he wants our version.
Clear your mind of all hopes and expectations. Prepare to land on a new planet and figure it out.
This is collaboration.