The Creative Lockdown
Throne Room of the Mountain Gods. Skardu 2016. Photo by Vince Emond
When launching a business, it’s important to come up with long list of worst case scenarios. A list of everything that may go wrong, and protocol put in place to mitigate those challenges. One challenge that we forgot to put on that list was a global pandemic. Our months of sales, pitching, and relationship building vaporized in front of us in the matter of 5 days. It was shocking to say the least.
So, we inevitably put the launch on hold and into survival mode (just as most of the creative industries did) as we figured out how to adapt to the new normal.
Learn Some New Skills:
Initially, acting as a director and producer on short documentaries/branded content in the outdoor industry completely stopped the steady stream of work in its track. The only viable option here was to rapidly start exploring opportunities. This energy and effort went almost exclusively into refining pitches and applying for grants from provincial and federal funding bodies including Creative BC, Telus, and Canada Council. I can’t understate the value of working on and practising writing skills. It can be a painstaking process that makes you want to pull your hair out, but ultimately it is very rewarding. Although not every application was a success, I played a development role in KIDDO’s Precious Leader Woman which was chosen by Telus for 250K in project funding, I was recommended for funding for my interactive Karakoram VR project through the Canada Council, and I was awarded a Digital Originals grant for Throne Room of the Mountain Gods from Canada Council. (I won’t mention the countless others that didn’t make the cut). It is a numbers game. You must practice and keep submitting as many grants as possible. It is important not to get discouraged and constantly check and validate your creative ideas. What a learning process!
Dusting Off The Fingers
I come from a background in post-production. My first job out of university was working the assistant editing night shift on an Arctic sailing series for TVO / ARTE Germany called “The Polar Sea”. Throughout the years this skillset has become invaluable for opening up job opportunities, in-field opportunities, travel, and overall versatility throughout the production process. 2020 was a return to the post-bay in a big way. I had come fresh off the heels of editing the NatGeo VR series “Into Water” in 2019 and I was ready for action.
I started following up with former employers, clients, and of course putting my sales hat on. This was instrumental in helping me fill in the gaps between contract gigs. There was less story driven content in the edit bay this year as most organizations were dealing with severe budget cuts, so I really had the opportunity to polish my “commercial” chops. A few organizations I had the opportunity to work for were Sherpas Cinema, Cohaesive, Destination Think!, Mica Heli, Parks Canada, and Travel Alberta to name a few. I’m very much looking forward to some more story driven content in the near future.
Join The Crew:
Being a production “multi-tool” really paid off in the past year. Whether I was field producing, line producing, editing, DIT, sound mixing, I had the great fortune of joining some of my favourite people in the field on small shoots. During my early 20’s I was thrown into almost every role imaginable and this paid off on productions that ran on a shoestring budget. Being able to execute on several roles at once turned out to be the saving grace for many clients. One example being Travel Alberta’s backcountry horse riding trip:
A Note On Values:
Although 2020 was a challenging year professionally, there is a lot to look forward to in the future. Much of the work that I have omitted from my portfolio was work that was done out of purely survival reasons. This includes work for big industry clients and car companies, blue-chip fortune 500 companies, and international agencies. While I don’t project these feelings onto other people, it just doesn’t sit right with me prioritizing projects that don’t actively help push social and environmental causes. Having had the incredible privilege to travel so much of the world at a young age it has instilled in me a roadmap towards the kind of projects that I want to continue to pursue - projects that protect, inspire, and push artistic limits. It is easy to get caught up in an endless stream of survival work and tell yourself that the act of being busy is in itself fulfilling. With the re-launch of Arcade Motion this coming spring, our roadmap will be actively steered towards projects that aim to make the world a better place. I think it is the creative professional’s responsibility to do so. We play an active role in shaping culture and public values. What kind of future do we want to create?
Don’t forget to get outside and explore this beautiful planet!