I've made the switch from the creative industry as a media composer to working as a developer in the tech space. I wrote a little about the transition last time.
This time, I'd like to talk about directors. You know, the people in charge of that commercial, movie, or TV series, that oversee all the little pieces that have very little in common but still need to work together and towards a common goal.
I've had the great fortune of working on some cool commercials, I especially remember this one with both fondness and despair, but the despair should be saved for a pint, one-on-one, I think! 🤣
Now, what do Directors (and other of my past clients) have in common with Product Owners, you say? Well, both are in charge of something that doesn't exist yet. Both need to try to imagine what the receiver of what they're making would like. And both need to know (at least a little) about many different disciplines.
"I think we need a club-like beat here!"
The answer was no. It would always have been no. And although I wanted to say that as plainly as possible, It probably wasn't the most productive way to go about it.
Instead, I often found better success in asking clarifying questions. First of all, what does this person mean by club-like? Are we talking about the rhythm, the repetitiveness, or maybe a specific type of sound?
Secondly, what is the goal we are trying to fulfill? What emotion should we evoke with the music? What steps will be taken during the grading of the picture, and how fast will the cuts be? Should they match the music in a mickey-mousing way or form a carpet of ambiance the listener shouldn't notice?
Universally, this comes down to good communication skills, whether you're talking with a product team, a director, or your wife. What are the expectations, and underlying goals?
When creating something new (often from nothing), it's imperative that you keep. Asking. Questions, until you are confident you're starting down the more-or-less correct path.
"We're starting over"
Ouch. In these situations, I've both started over, and not. Sometimes what was bugging the client was very easy to fix, but impossible for them to pinpoint. Which is understandable, I wouldn't meddle with what lens was used for the shot in question, or the makeup of the main actor - I know squat about that. So when something didn't gel with the vision in their mind, everything was wrong. However, maybe we just needed to tone down the melody or switch the instrumentation so that the dialogue would cut clearer through the mix.
Other times, I agreed that what we had wasn't working, and I had to realize that I had failed at asking the correct questions before starting.
"This is the plan, it's going to be GREAT!"
Right. The "plan" is horrendous and wrong. To be frank, the whole song/commercial/short is horrendous. It's most definitely not going to be great. In these situations, I'm not sure what would have been the correct course of action. Some projects were done, some were referred, and some were declined. I will say that as I earned more experience in the field, my name and portfolio started to influence these decisions more than when I was starting out.
I also found some peace in knowing that my first draft would be my opinion, and whatever changes were made after that point, was in fact the clients wishes.
Asking questions throughout my decade of working with music has borne fruit in all areas of my life, and continues to do so in my new world of Programming. These are basic communication skills that is crucial in every field that creates something.
I'd love for you to keep in touch if you find this interesting, I'll write about something closely related very soon! Sign up below to be notified! 😉