Undergoing the process

Spearheading a shoot somewhat gives an individual a chance to exercise both his creative and corporate sides while balancing the responsibility of both mediator and decision-maker during the shoot. Responsibilities vary, depending on the product, but the shoot producer acts as one of the most important members of the team that, while not seen in the final product, remain essential to the editors, model, photographer and staff.

With my job I must say that I am lucky to work with some of the bigwigs in showbiz, fashion, lifestyle and some often times politics. I am always making sure that I am focused and serious with what I'm doing. I've been in the shoot producing (for magazines) since 2008 but I never see my job in another perspective until I took the creative thinking class of Prof. Beaver Flores. Gathering thoughts with his lectures, it is Interesting to know that whenever we do our job, we undergo with certain "creative process". I learned many models of the process, but I must say that my favorite model is from Graham Wallas. In his work Art of Thought, published in 1926, Wallas identified mainly four stages of the creative process:

For me, I find it similar that shoot producing process and the individual creative process summarized by Wallas can be models of the same underlying process.

The Preparation stage is wherein we understand the problem. be able to further explore the problem and get your ideas in concrete form. This is the "brainstorming" for us in the magazine industry. From the right casting, shoot concept, creative team and outstanding location, all build up in one great idea should be first inline for pitching. It is our tasks to come up with different themes and be able to top our previous issues so that we can achieve the satisfaction of our readers.

The Incubation and Illumination stage are when we live with the problem, experiencing it and finding out ways to think of a better way to address the problem. This is where "collaboration" really kicks in or known better a the pre-production meeting. The work done in the shoot producing together with the creative team. Multiple viewpoints, insights and ideas from an engaged team ensure that you can effectively address the problem. You share with others to get deeper insights and to overcome your biases.

And lastly, the Verification stage wherein the question to be asked is "is the problem already addressed?" Verification is also built into the process by getting the important creative individual in the team involved. For us, If you’ve solved your problem and came up with bright and fresh ideas for this month, then it can be already executed or to be implemented to actual shoot.

Most of the time, a magazine shoot is judged from its output cover, but I just want to remind readers that  behind  a successful photoshoot is a creative team that undergoes a creative process. But whatever model you prefer, what is important is that the key elements of being creative must be there. 

No matter how brilliant a single person is, the power of collaboration is still very important. it allows you to harness other people’s brainpower as part of the creative process. I believe that is why we have had so much success with my collaboration with other creative people in shoot producing. 

(some photos are from www.fhm.com.ph)

You & Me Creative!

Creativity is a very broad topic. However, for me it is a never ending process. Just what I shared in the class, for as long as there are problems or situations, there will be creativity. It brings out the best in an individual. My classmates told me that there was a discussion last week about creativity and whether it is inherited or learned and discussions about Japanese creativity. With that we are asked to come up with our 3rd reflection blog.

Creativity for me is all about “Nature vs. Nurture”. Both nature and nurture play significant roles in the development of creativity of a person. Based on what I learned when I was still taking up Sociology, I would tell that a person’s creativity can be a product of both human effort and so-called will power. Human experience is affected and shaped by many variables.  So if you have creative mom and dad, there will be a tendency that their genes contain something that makes their brains perceive the world and articulate meaningful experience through whatever medium in a unique and different style. But to attribute it all to genes would be simplifying the beautiful complexity of the creative mind.

However, I believe that biological inheritance of being potentially creative is one part of the story. An individual’s early history has a significant effect. Interest and curiosity tend to be stimulated by positive experiences with family, by a supportive group or environment, with a rich cultural heritage, through being exposed to many opportunities and pressure with high expectations. In contrast, perseverance seems to develop as a response to a precarious emotional environment, a broken family, a feeling of being rejected and discrimination. Creative individuals seem more likely to have been exposed to both or all of these circumstances.

Also, I think that curiosity and drive are in many ways the “yin and the yang” that need to be combined for becoming creative. Curiosity requires openness to outside stimuli. It is playful and deals with objects and ideas for their own sake. Drive needs the inner focus, seriousness, the competitive spirit and being goal orientation. The curiosity and commitment of creative people often directs them to confront the social problems that most people are too content to leave alone. That’s why I think Japanese are full of curiosity and drive that’s why they are very creative.

I wasn’t able to get the copy of the lecture about Japanese creativity but let me just share my first hand experience with Japanese and how they are pushed to be creative and link it to the issue of Nature vs. Nurture. I have cousins who are Japanese and they go home in the Philippines once a year. Often times, we talked about how their technology differs from others. One of my cousins, Naoko Takara, told me that during the time that she was still studying, they were really thought how to be not just creative but competitive as well. She said that the generation is is behind a drive to redefine Japan as a leader in design and innovation in terms of fashion, architecture, video games, and hybrid. She said that their country is already transforming itself in ways no other major economy has by completely redefining its national mission to one of creativity and innovation. Also, Naoko told me that they are being taught and trained in school to be more creative, have a greater tolerance for risk, and want to make a real difference in the world.

To cap off this entry, I highly believe that in each one of us, we have a potential to be creative. We got it from our genes. It’s like a seed that our parents planted and all we have to do is nurture it to grow and develop. Integral part of the development is our society and its influence on how far can we go to be creative. Japan is doing a great job in etching to the mind of their people to sustain their credibility to be on top of the world in terms of being creative. As for the Philippines, I think we have a great potential, it is good that in this day and age, there is a strong influence of social media for us to be creative and be innovative as Filipinos. But for as long as we don’t imitate and create our own with Filipino heritage, we can be there on top and be competent in terms of showing to the world that Filipinos are competitively creative as well.

Am I Left or Right? That is the question!

The first lecture for my Creative Thinking class in Ateneo was indeed an eye-opener for me, its about whether we think left or Right.  I remember when I was in college, we already tackled these divisions of the brain and its function when you think and make decisions, but I never had any exercise or test that would gauge whether I think Left or Right. Two weeks ago our class had a short exercise about which side of the brain we think. For the past years, I highly believe that I have the qualities of a RIGHT thinker. Apparently, the result of the short exercise didn’t agree! The results showed that I am a LEFT thinker, WOW! I never expected it, and until now I am a bit confused if I would go for with what my belief for the past years or the result of the exercise.

They said that if you’re into creative, public relations and marketing, you should be a Right thinker. So I assume that I am one. I am a random person, I dwell on things by chance and there are times that I don’t follow certain directions because I know that there might be shortcuts to everything. On the other hand, I have a strong intuition on certain situation, most of the time I stick with what I believe and being accountable with it, however, I think broad especially when I daydream about different PR concepts and marketing strategies for my work. With all of these do you think that I am a right thinker? I still can’t get over the fact that it says the opposite. Well, I think that’s the problem with me, maybe I should start realizing that there might be a mix of a left thinker within me. I remember that there are people who think both, maybe I am one of those. On the second thought due to my confusion on the result of the class exercise,  I went thru my notes again. Then I started realizing thing and had me thinking that yes, there are times that I tend to think left.  Even though that I always think big, there are times that I start with a simple concept and stretch it wide. It is an important characteristic of a PR person to plan things out in a particular order to be able to distinguish priorities. Also, it is important for us to be verbal especially in presentations and meetings. And most importantly we should always think what’s feasible and realistic. Umm, so would I go left?

Like what I said in the class after the exercise, it really depends on us if we believe on these things but I would say that it is important that these can be our guide, a guide to know whether if which approach we can use to be able to solve situations, work and personal problems effectively. For instance, in a certain situation in which you’ll be asked to think a concept to launch a product, are you going to stat to go onto details or think big first? Are you going to follow certain template that was used before or create a new one. Overall, I think what I important here is we should know how to assess ourselves whenever we do a creative thinking to solve problems. However, not too serious, just the right amount of actualization that in cetain situation we can be a left, right or even a mixed thinker. So, for my question am I a left or right? That will remain a question. J

Reflection on the film OBJECTIFIED

"How does the design of our mobile phone, toothbrush or even the kitchen knife affect our lives? Did you to think about it? If you do, I would say that the movie Objectified will help you give a new perspective on these objects. Basically the film gave us a look inside the offices of the world's most influential product designers to see how these objects influence us that oftentimes without us even knowing it.  There are stories behind it and decisions were made, which is something that one would assume but rarely take the time to think about.

For me, a striking line by Henry Ford saying “Every object has a story”, encapsulates what the film is all about. For instance, a toothbrush handle has been carefully thought about and designed for the public. Consumer products are usually made in consideration of being user-friendly or non-obtrusive. It goes to show that most industrial designers are not the fine artists that they are often confused with. Their job is how to improve people’s daily life without people having to think about it deeply. However, based on the film, there are few companies that take design seriously at the moment but the film cited an American company that does it, which is Apple.

Mr. Jonathan Ive, Apple’s Senior VP for Industrial Design said that the best design is one that feels “undesigned” to the point where you do not know how it would be designed any other way because there is nothing left but the obvious. He added that, by removing the unnecessary elements in an object you get down to the core, which is what makes it great. Another personality that was featured was Mr. Karim Rashid a designer from New York, explains how cameras were first designed around the film. “Now we have digital cameras without film but cameras are still the same basic shape of cameras before them.” He said.

Moreover, the film shows how these designers are trying to design for the future. Designers know that we tend to want newer things that have a fresh and new look. But because designers continue to go through that process, what’s new at present by next year means nothing. Therefore, the goal for the designer is to make what looks like now look like then so they can repeat the process.

Overall, for me, this film encourages viewers to define and examine their purchasing habits and values more though rough. It is fascinating how much design goes into a chair and at the same time after billions of produced chairs that there are still uncomfortable chairs due to bad design.  I personally like the film because it reminds me to look at things around me with deeper appreciation, that these are not just useful, but were also designed or customized in accordance to my needs.