McCreery at iuaes jasca 2014

May 18, 2014

Conditions of CreativityBy John McCreery ([email protected]) at IUAES-JASCA 2014

Classic Model

✤ Genesis 1: 3 “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”

✤ One almighty individual, one big idea, effortless execution

Current Reality

✤ In today’s corporate world, creativity, a.k.a., innovation, is the work of teams

✤ Ideas are proposed and debated by multiple individuals

✤ Material conditions constrain execution

✤ Thus, for example, 70% of Japanese TV commercials last only fifteen seconds, with only eight seconds allowed for spoken words

Academic Debates (1)

✤ Arthur Danto (1964) - Art requires an “art world,” a knowledgeable audience that validates the work as art

✤ Howard Becker (1982) - Groups produce art (jazz ensembles for example. Even individual artists depend on others who supply their materials and purchase their work.

✤ Richard Cave (2000) - Art requires contracts that take into account the uncertainties of artistic production

Academic Debates (2)

✤ Pierre Bourdieu (1984) - Art resembles sport.

✤ Art is a field with defined boundaries, specific positions, and goals.

✤ Players compete for social, cultural and economic capital

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In the Japanese advertising world

Maki Jun on Teams

✤ Te-amu (手編む) - Hands joined together like those

gripping a baseball bat. Specialists working together to hit a home run.

✤ Koshiki (個識) - A collection of individuals with distinct

personalities

✤ Kosei no shoutotsu (個性の衝突) - Where individuals

clash

Professional Expertise

✤ We imagine a system in which each professional contributes a piece of the finished product

✤ But coming up with ideas is more complicated

✤ Copywriters come up with ideas

✤ But so do we, say art directors

✤ Creative directors just want good ideas; anyone can have one — even an account executive

Personalities

✤ Diverse personalities increase the likelihood of creativity.

✤ But they also increase the likelihood of conflict

✤ Thus, most creative directors say that you have to be careful of who you put together on teams

✤ But Sasaki Hiroshi, Japan’s most successful creative director, prefers serendipity

Managing Conflict

✤ Creative Directors play several roles

✤ Catalyst - sparking interaction

✤ Clown - breaking tension

✤ Coach - supporting from the sidelines

✤ Commander - insisting on high standards

Providing Direction

✤ Clear goal-setting can be important

✤ But it mustn’t be too specific

✤ Creative directors who insist on “Do it my way” rarely produce great work

What kind of team is best?

✤ Depends on the project

✤ For routine work, a familiar team is best; the members know what they need to do. The job gets done more efficiently

✤ For competitive pitches, a newly formed team may be better, increasing the probability of coming up with fresh ideas.

✤ But the risk of meltdown is also higher

✤ Freelancers tend to prefer familiar teams

A Producer’s Perspective

✤ According to Nakajima Shinya, a truly great and enormously respected producer

✤ When you ask invite talented experts to work together on a project

✤ Be humble

✤ Ask nicely

✤ Say thank you

Thank you