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River from Nick Jones on Vimeo.

The ability to capture a moment in time is what makes film such a wonderful art form. The best piece of encouragement I was ever given was from a man in Casablanca, Morocco, who told me in passing that what I did every day was “capturing the hand of God at work”. Many times as creatives we tend to storyboard the life out of the actual story. We plan what “the hand of God at work” will look like, instead of observing and capturing what we see. I think this robs us of authenticity and in some extreme cases, our integrity as filmmakers. Don’t hear me saying that planning isn’t important. It’s what I do everyday. To create inspired work, it takes a great amount of diligence and attention to detail on the front end. But every once in awhile, get out of that mindset and look for the stories that God is creating in front of you. See him as the incredible author and director that he is.

This video is an example of one such shoot in Steamboat Springs, CO with my good friend Chris Spradlin. I had not planned on shooting Chris our his son Cole. We were simply spending the afternoon on the river fly fishing. But in front of me I saw a great moment unfolding. A story line was coming together right in front of me, and all I had to do was be responsive and willing to capture it. Now, the editing isn’t spectacular, the film hasn’t gone through an elaborate post process, but what you see is real. And for me, I think that may be the most important thing of all.

I’m working with several organizations right now that are in the process of building their media/video production teams.  Being involved in the process has caused me to ask introspective questions such as:

What keeps me loving what I do?

What motivates me?

What couldn’t I do without?

What could I do without, but I probably wouldn’t last long?

Of course, it’s usually not a simple formula.  And it’s hard to quantify what makes a team of two people with limited resources wildly successful, while a team of twelve flounders into obscurity despite the fact that they seem to have access to whatever they need.  But, for those of you who might be somewhere in the process, here are a few observations:

Excellence vs. Perfection

There’s a misunderstanding that perfection is a project that is 100% perfect, and excellence somewhere on the way to perfection. (Maybe around 92% or so.)

For purposes of our discussion, I consider these to be two completely separate things.  Nick and I make all kinds of films and videos that we consider to be excellent, and they’re NOWHERE NEAR perfect.  In fact, of all the technically perfect films that I’ve made (years ago, during my corporate career) I wouldn’t want anyone to waste any time watching a single one of them.

Your team—and every single person on it—should be VERY CLEAR on the concept that content is king.  High-end equipment, a big crew, more siloed roles, strict delineation of functions . . . for the most part, these are NOT going to help us make excellent videos.

We cannot let the model for creating feature films or (worse yet) television advertising dictate how we tell stories and create visual experiences.

And, we have to embrace the fact that the spectrum of acceptable forms of film/video communication and storytelling has never been broader. 

If you’re filling one role, or building a team, don’t settle for team member who can’t tell a story from start-to-finish. In the church/non-profit world, one “predator” (producer/editor) who can make a video with a Flip camera that you can’t stop watching is worth a lot more than formally trained DPs and editors under most circumstances.  If your candidates (or existing team members) can’t make great content with what they’ve got, they’re not going to be able to do that much better with high-end equipment and a team of specialists.  (There are exceptions, but be sure to ask REALLY GOOD questions if you’re being told otherwise.)

Camaraderie

Camaraderie is fun to watch, and it’s even more fun to be a part of.  And neither an applicant’s resume, nor an HR department are going to have much to do with whether or not a team has it.  Is there a way to try out a potential team member?  Can you hire them on a contract basis for a number of projects?  In our changing world, that’s more & more practical.  But if they’re in a full-time position elsewhere, that may not be possible.  Can they be brought in on at least one project from start-to-finish?  If no trial period is possible, it’s important to know your chances of successfully integrating them into the team are diminished considerably. 

True camaraderie goes WAY beyond the ability for a team to work together cohesively.  And it goes beyond the type of creative collaboration that is a MINIMUM expectation for any creative team.  True camaraderie has to include a measure of competition, mutual respect, and constant, cyclical mentoring that could never be planned, tracked or mapped.

If a potential team member has an incredible resume, but doesn’t click with the team, don’t spend another minute on that decision.  Someone with HALF the resume, but is invited into the team is going to be the better choice every time.  Team leaders and managers who are blissfully unaware of these un-written dynamics (and have no sense of them whatsoever) will tend to make this mistake every time.  When the team dynamic is in place (and the immeasurable sum of collaboration, competition, encouragement, and shared learnings) any member of the team has the potential to exponentially build on anything that may have been on their resume previous to this opportunity.

The Old Guard & Young Guns

The dynamic between the generations can crush a team, or it can be one of its greatest strengths. The older generation typically enjoys the influence and respect that they’re experience has earned them.  They like influencing & shaping the younger generation & they’re inspired by the energy, creativity & fresh perspective that the youngsters bring.  And the young, energetic, idealistic team members play just as important of a role.  If the veterans think that the youngsters are gunning for their jobs, then all better.  The number of advancements in the last five years exceeds those in the first fifty years of television and filmmaking.  Our teams should be filled with people who are change junkies . . . and if they’re merely change tolerant (the minimum) they’d better be making other amazing contributions.