Some things I took away:
If you are doing film cinematographer it’s not enough, you have to learn to color correct and know the post production tools.
Don’t hold on to much to your content Hollywood thinks content is King and Trcb Olatforms do. It is somewhere in the middle.
Having too many tools maybe detrimental to your creative process as it may create in decision. Freddie Wong recount how he was inspired by Myst and their ability back then to make green scree video on modest hardware. Sometimes the limitations makes the video/art more creative.
Allan: And for people who are just starting out…
Freddie: Stop playing video games! I hate to say it. I think filmmaking benefits from life experience. Try and look at art, look at paintings. I was in Amsterdam and went to a Van Gogh museum. The use of color and contrast was mind blowing. Appreciate all forms of art. Filmmaking is a combination of the visual, sound, performance — it’s all the arts in one. You make better movies by having an appreciation for everything under the sun.
[-06:44] Allan: What would be the critical mistakes some people make when they’re starting out?
Freddie: I think it’s really easy when you’re starting out to thumb your nose at populist filmmaking. To me, filmmaking is a populist medium. A bad movie will teach you as much as good movie. I think Spielberg is the best director we have. Anytime you have an impulse to discount someone, you do so at your own creative peril. You shouldn’t ignore Michael Bay and what he is doing differently. Watch everything without judgement. The moment you judge, stop yourself. It’s so easy to feel superior. Even if they don’t know what they’re doing, they [still] have something you could study and think about.
I was listening to a podcast where a listener asked should I pursue multiple passions or just focus on one thing? How would I know which Art or Craft is really just a hobby or possibly a career?
Love this short bio about Kunio Okawara by Youtuber GundamUK. This is the guy who gave made mechanical designer for anime as a profession. I like how he was able to make the mechs seem plausible and believable. His iconic design is the Gundam RX-78 and Zaku.
I did not know that he came to Singapore to give a talk about his career.
Some thoughts by Kunio Okawara
“The way I think of my work is to realize what the director wants as close as I possibly can to his imagination. So I don’t think I am an artist but maybe more of artisan. The creation of animation is not something that only one person can do either, as it is definitely a team-based endeavor. So one person’s insistence should not delay the whole process, because a project’s schedule is very tightly planned to coincide with things like the broadcasting date and all that. My priority then is how I receive the project; understand it and then how quickly I can get to the output stage. I don’t spend too much time thinking whether the design is good or bad, it is just that I receive the commission and then my output from that.
“I never thought that Gundam would be so popular nearly 40 years on. In this industry there are always new things coming along, so I never thought it would be like this. In terms of the mobile suits variations, or MSV, there are just so many now. To the extent that there parts that don’t really make sense. What I wanted to do in regards to that I managed to do in terms of gunpla.”
Recently I happen to chance upon a video by Brandon Dayton on why he quit his dream Job at Disney interactive to make comics and art full time. I would encourage anyone wanting to do your own creative work to take a look at these videos before jumping in. He has recently released a comic Green Monk after quitting Disney.
Some Notes:
His early goal was to be an animator for Disney but ended up at Disney Interactive
His time at Disney Interactive Studio pushed him to be a be a better artist.
But he felt that something was missing from his life.
We don’t make movies to make money, we make money to make movies. – Walt Disney
Art did not make money for Disney initially, but he wanted to make the art form better.
Currently the CEO Bob Iger says Disney knows how to leverage the mind value of their Intellectual Property and make money.
But he feels that Art has become Intellectual property. That has to be mined for money. Market forces determine the value of the Art. Which sometimes feel uninspiring.
He feels that because of this there is little room for Art to experiment and is regulated to side projects after your day Job, which sometimes after a long day you do not have the motivation left to push boundaries of your art.
Some thoughts
There is no right or wrong if you do art for money or just want to make Art just to improve the form. Its important to know why you are doing it and how to make it as an artist. There is no end to the discussion.
That is why he quit his job to create art that is not market drive and see how it goes.
His advice goes if you want to purse art that is not made for IP. Save up and plan for it do have a short time period before you go in, its a challenge but it has a reward for taking the risk and he hopes that he can make money to make Art.
This reminded me about Jim Henson Book on Making Art to Make Money. Jim made art that is true to himself but also aligns with the market needs.
One other video to watch:
Brandon talks about his reason to make comics after he has went on to make art for himself.
