The Diary of an Uncreative Video Producer
I’m not very creative.
There I said it.
I tried to write a song once, and it was slightly less sophisticated than “Mary had a little lamb,” but slightly more inspired than most Nickelback songs.
I’ve been working in this industry professionally for a decade, and I’ve been hiding that secret from anyone whom ever gave me money to be just that. Sure, I can handle my way around a video camera. I can cleverly compose a shot, and every once in awhile I surprise myself with a cleverly timed edit, but beyond that, the portion of my brain that is supposed to be full of visual effects, logo animations, and all other After Effects nonsense just has a sign up that says “See other window.”
The television industry has a funny way of attracting us non-creatives. We don’t really want to be bankers, but we don’t want to be sidewalk painters either. We want to make a decent living, and we don’t want to suffer too horribly for our craft. I separate film people from TV people here, because film folks are frankly, born to suffer. TV non-creatives like myself think, “Hey, working at a TV station sounds kind of cool. I saw Anchor Man.” Then inevitably, after some time not having to do anything particularly creative at your job, someone sits you in front of a computer and says, “Make something cool.”
Then comes the anxiety. Avid, Final Cut, AE, Motion, which one’s better? Who the hell cares! I don’t know what I’m doing!
The worst feeling in the world is the feeling of “file/new project” in After Effects or Photoshop. Have you ever noticed how blank and unfriendly the start up screens are? White or checkerboard patterns peppered with hundreds of buttons, that when you hold the mouse over them, reveal more buttons! What the heck is that martini glass with the curly cue stem? Oh, the polygonal lasso tool. Of course!
And then you calm down. You focus. You’re determined to find something inspiring in that vast wasteland that is your creative mind.
“Oh, there’s that lower third idea I made in 2002! Nah, I can’t go back to that well again,” you say dejected.
Then that other voice speaks to you. The one you listen to most.
“Go on google and steal something. Don’t reinvent the wheel.”
“Again?” you say. “We always do that.”
“Yes, and this time try not to use clipart. They’re starting to get wise,” says the voice.
“Am I really allowed to just use these photos anyway I want?” You say.
“Yeah I think so, once they’re on the interwebs they’re free.”
And the cycle continues.
So, what’s a girl like me and guy like you to do with our lives? Can we go on trudging through these projects watching tutorials? Probably. Can we just farm this stuff out to creative professionals profitably? I wish. But until then, I will dream I’m an ad executive in the 1950’s, coming up with “Drink your ovaltine!” while other people in suits exclaim, “Genius!”
Photo by Keri Smith
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And thus an Executive Producer is born, or even if I dare say a General Manager….
You have given me hope Dan.
OUCH!! That hits a little too close to home. However, artists always search for truth, so maybe you’ve crossed that boundary? Grandma Moses was “fill in the blank years old” when she started. Ahh yes, the mantra of the perpetually mediocre. A theory (to which I subscribe) states that the % of truly creative people in the general population is and has always been fixed, no matter how great and cheap the tools become. The film “Amadeus” plays this out wonderfully, see it if you haven’t.
Erik,
Thanks for the comment. John is always telling me to see that movie. You may be right about the percentage of creatives in the world. It’s probably like the ratio of left handed people in the population, it never changes.
Wow, this article is totally me sometimes. Especially trying to recycle old parts/templates from past projects to save time.
What’s the best fix for creative block?
Marshall,
Vacation is my answer.
Joe
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