Sometimes surfing the web leads to buried treasure. That’s how I felt when I found Lateral Action. The tag-line said it all…
creativity + productivity = success
It Just Adds Up
My wife and I are real-life Hollywood Producers. Sounds fancy, but folks in our line of work have a pretty simple job description:
Producers make stuff.
They:
- CREATE an idea for a movie, TV show, or web content…
- PRODUCE the idea, and if they do it right, end up with a…
- SUCCESSFUL piece of entertainment.
Look familiar? There’s the Lateral Action equation, adding up all over Tinseltown.
You Need the Whole Equation!
The biggest problem with aspiring writers/directors/producers/actors/you-name-its in Hollywood is that many seek success using only half the formula. So many “wannabes” come through our doors believing with all their hearts that the real blueprint to The Big Time is:
creativity = success
This faulty thinking probably infects Hollywood more than any other business. The fairy tale that “One Big Idea” can lead to riches leaves out half the equation…the execution of that idea! As Mark so aptly points out, creative thinking is not enough.
On our blog, we encourage aspiring Movie Moguls and Television Producers to follow the principals of HOP – Hands-On Producing. What’s that mean? Simply, if you want your ideas to be successful, learn how to execute them.
creativity + productivity = success
An Enhancement to the Formula
Anyone who wants to work with us has a couple of reading assignments ahead of them. A few choice posts on our blog, and one on Lateral Action: The 3 Critical Characteristics of the Creative Entrepreneur.
Two of these three characteristics, creativity and entrepreneurship, are clearly represented in the above formula. However, the third, collaboration, is an element most Hollywood newbies throw right out the window!
You all know the stereotype of the uncompromising artist whose vision bends for no one. In our business, I prefer to avoid those types.
A Hollywood production is a collaborative medium. Hundreds of people working together to achieve something great. While there needs to be an over-riding creative vision driving every project, refusal to collaborate only limits the creative potential of a production, stifling the talents of 99% of the team.
As the lead creative individual in any endeavor, one must look for the benefits that come from collaboration.
Further, as the Mark points out in his article, much collaboration can and should be with people around the globe, not just those in your immediate circle of comfort.
Undiscovered talent may lie in the farthest corners of the earth…but today, that talent is finally accessible. One simply has to be creative about collaborating. As a matter of fact, Mark’s article is a big part of the reason I joined Twitter (more on that later.)
In Hollywood, Creativity Means More than New Story Ideas
The entertainment industry is in the middle of a revolution, and it’s not the first time. To survive in Hollywood, a producer’s business models need to bend, flex, and in some cases explode into a million pieces.
When we broke into TV, it was thanks to the DV (digital video) revolution…low cost cameras that shot broadcast quality footage. Combined with Final Cut Pro or other affordable editing systems, a new workflow emerged allowing one or two people to produce a TV show that could actually make it to air.
That was revolutionary. A lot of “old school” producers were either too scared or too clueless to pay attention. They didn’t take advantage of new technology to stretch their budgets. The quality of their productions didn’t improve, and many went the way of the dinosaur.
We were lucky enough to join the revolution, take advantage of new workflows, and launch our careers.
Things have changed again.
Today, a creative kid with a $5000 camera can make a movie for the big screen, not just the small one. People carry seasons of television around on their iPhones. The internet, TV networks, and theatrical movie distribution channels are quickly morphing into one super-blob of content delivery.
About three months ago, this lead to a scary revelation. It’s been five years since we “arrived.” Guess what? Time to take a long, hard look at how we work, how the industry is changing, or we, too, could end up extinct!
So I signed up for my first Twitter account, started reading sites like Lateral Action, and went looking for the “new generation” of filmmakers and shiny toys. This wide-eyed look around makes it painfully clear that the way we watch TV, Movies, and Web content is changing at warp speed.
While the methods producers now employ for media creation and delivery may work for a while longer, they won’t work forever. What producers have to do now is…
- CREATE new ways to deliver a movie, TV show, or web content…
- COLLABORATE with the best and brightest new talent to…
- PRODUCE better content with emerging technologies, and deliver a…
- SUCCESSFUL piece of entertainment.
creativity + collaboration + productivity = Hollywood success.
Look familiar? Want Hollywood success? Read Lateral Action.
About the Author: Biagio teamed up with his wife, Joke, to produce television, film, and web content in Los Angeles, CA. They blog about producing in Hollywood at Joke And Biagio, and tweet about the biz at @jokeandbiagio.
I’m not involved in film in any way but can appreciate the points made here – in my field in the Caribbean – creative products – the creative ‘genius’ is on every corner, entrepreneurs can be found with a bit more effort but finding the collaborators is just a bit easier than finding a snowflake on beach.
So much opportunity is from not turning ideas into business (I’m a bit guilty of that too) but staggering amounts are lost because people won’t work together.
Good article – if you’re ever producing in Barbados or St. Lucia, give me a shout, I’ve helped get props for one production in St. Lucia before – cringe to mention it – The Creature – one of the worlds worst movies! It was fun being involved – we made a lot of handmade paper out of their scripts too, sold some of it back to them as gift stationery…
Oh, that should read ‘so much opportunity is lost from…
That settles it…I finally have a good excuse to enjoy Barbados…I’ll start brainstorming ideas today : )
Thanks for your comment, and glad you got to work on a movie down there.
It’s true, much opportunity is lost from sitting on ideas. Then again, a lot of opportunity is lost from executing ideas poorly. I think it’s a constant tug-of-war: unleashing your creativity versus learning to execute. Both are essential to success in any field. I think many of us are just more comfortable with one skill set than the other. Like Mark points out all over this blog, that doesn’t have to be the case (and shouldn’t!)
This says it all, “if you want your ideas to be successful, learn how to execute them.” With the internet, we have varying ways of implementing ideas. YouTube, especially; it really is what TV did to radio and what cinema did to theater. Roll with it and follow yourself.
Stefan, it’s so true. The best way to to prove your worth in almost any business is to show you can get the job done. With filmmaking, no different. Go out and execute something–anything. Worst case scenario, your project is less than good. So, do it again and again until you get good.
Great post, you really hit the nail on the head with the importance of twitter as a collaboration tool.
There are still many Old School Marketing types out there using twitter in a “pre – Cluetrain Manifesto” type of way – trying to push their value pretexts down an unsuspecting mass market´s throat and completely missing the point of connecting and collaborating. They are the dinosaurs who didn´t hear about the extinction but they are becoming fewer.
I am not at all involved in the moving picture business but rather with “still” images – as an entrepreneurial graphic designer I am able to leverage my twitter network to achieve things that were way beyond my reach a couple of years ago. There are many more like me out there and we are becoming more every day!
Watch out dinosaurs the fast moving twitterati are running around between your clumsy feet snapping at your ankles and grabbing the juiciest morsels before you even see them.
Thanks countzeero! Fact of the matter is, We, like many other in our line of work, had been ignoring the social media aspect of our business. It’s too bad, because at the end of the day, Showbiz is Show BUSINESS.
Just like any good business these days, I think we need to interact with our customers…the viewers. We started by embracing Twitter and beginning to experiment a few weeks ago.
One thing we tried with Twitter was a “Twitterview”…essentailly, we took our Host from Scream Queens and had him interview last year’s winner with questions pulled off the Twitter stream.
We saw this as a win-win…we get the word out about casting season 2 while giving our fans the chance to pose questions. At the same time, we promoted their Twitter name in the interview, so hopefully some of the ended up with some more followers.
It was important to us that this felt like a dialogue with fans, as opposed to us just promoting to them. You can check it out here:
http://www.jokeandbiagio.com/twitterview-james-gunn-and-tanedra-howard
I love the fact that you are using Twitter to achieve bigger and better things in your graphic design business. Proof that what Mark’s talking about here at Lateral Action is applicable to anyone, anywhere. Good luck with your social media endeavors!
Thanks for the reply Biagio, if I do decide to break into Hollywood one day you guys will be the first one I hit up with my “Big Idea” wish you all the best out there on the cutting edge.
As a side note, coutntzeero, when you do go “Hollywood” on all of us, don’t forget being a graphic design artist is a HUGE asset!
Hollywood’s all about the visuals…anyone with any kind of visual skills has a huge advantage when it comes to breaking in.
Designing show or movie logos, coming up with story boards, putting together killer presentations that don’t look like you used a template in MS Powerpoint…people pay big bucks for that stuff.
Just saying, we always tell aspiring producers to build on their strengths…graphic design is a pretty powerful place to start.
Just getting back to this, having made a note of advice I read somewhere over the weekend that perfectionism can be procrastination-I had to work hard to get over my feeling that ‘it’s not good enough yet’ to just get my work out and selling AND of course to not just sell rubbish either.
My point, there are so many ways we can fail to execute, and so many obstacles that can get in our way and that’s what I love about Lateral Action blog – so many discussions of how to get over those challenges.
See you in the Caribbean some day then guys!
Finola,
It’s true…fear can be a major obstacle to success. At the same time, knowing when something isn’t good enough to put into the world is a wisdom not easy to come by. My advice is to listen to your gut when you finish a pitch. Ask yourself “If I knew nothing about this project, and I saw this, would I be excited?” If the answer is “yes” go for it.
Like the wise man once said, the greatest risk of all is to risk nothing.
Daydreaming of Caribbean waters…
Biagio
countzeero, your comment really got me thinking about more ways to use Twitter to interact with our audience instead of just talking at them.
I went ahead and launched Twitter Time…a new feature at our blog where people get to ask us questions via Twitter, and we in turn not only answer their questions, but promote their Twitter name. Thanks for helping to get those wheels turning!
http://www.jokeandbiagio.com/twitter-time-take-1
Biagio
@Biagio, I think that is a great example of leveraging social networks and twitter – glad to have delivered a creative spark that led to a great idea.
cz
countzeero, thanks for the comment and for the Twitter follow!
Part of the reason I wanted to start blogging and tweeting was to expose myself to new ideas, new sources of inspiration. This thread is now a concrete example of how taking that action has lead to something new…Twitter Time at our blog being one of them (and a few forthcoming TV show ideas being another.)
I admit to being more afraid of “what all the cool kids are doing” than I should, especially for someone working in Hollywood. But by jumping into Twitter and blogging, my eyes have been opened to what I’ve been missing, and I believe I’m becoming a better producer.
Best,
Biagio
Twitter: @jokeandbiagio