How I Created Content to Keep the Boss Happy!
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In
A
Nutshell
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I Created Motion Graphics
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It starts from a simple campaign idea and the official communication that our digital agency would receive from the client’s creative agency, followed by meet ups to understand the idea behind the whole thing, come up with a sequence that would clearly portray what needs to be communicated before –
M o v i n g A h e a d -
With the action plan.
I would write the narrative with a complete -
Three
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Act
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Structure
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Show it to my boss for possible tweaks, make revisions, move back and forth to get the revisions approved, make some more revisions to the revisions -
Move
Forth
&
Back
to get the revised revisions approved -
Then finally have the luxury to go back to my desk and recollect my thoughts before brainstorming a rough reference for the visual style of the video via clean storyboards which I would always opt to create using a fine combo of Adobe Photoshop and Power Point so MY BOSS and i could get on the same page.
This bit of my job required the least amount of revisions, which meant fewer temptations to think I’M SO GOOD AT WHAT I DO, I’LL THREATEN TO RESIGN TO MAKE HIM NOT ASK ME FOR MORE REVISIONS before coming back to reality and doing whatever necessary to get the job done.
I would then collaborate with the Graphic Designers to work on the still elements that I would later import into After Effects to animate everything with beautiful transitions and fast paced movement while making sure the timing of the final video makes sense before wrapping up everything with some sharp SFX and an appropriate music score –
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The
Time
Would
Finally
Come
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To show the video for the first time to the boss -
Where we would pin point the scripting and visual elements that made sense in the storyboard phase, but didn’t really workout in the final product :’(
So I would jot down all the tweaks, head back to my desk thinking ‘Why I didn’t come up with that’, implement the changes while contemplating hard and get back to the boss with the -
Finalized
Final
Product :p
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This is where he would usually approve everything -
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Except
The
Music
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An area where we never saw eye to eye
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I come from a filmmaking background with an intense taste for Christopher Nolan’s movies and I usually opt for some calm ambient cinematic music score, while my boss is the exact opposite with a taste in UPBEAT and happy rhythms, which makes sense given his approach towards life that led him to drive a company in his 20s.
I would then collect a bunch of tracks that would satisfy his craving for a music score that lifted him up and probably lifted the client up. He would give me his pick, I would implement, show the -
Final
Finalized
Final
Video -
To which he would usually respond with a -
‘Good to go mate’ -
Before forwarding it to the client who happens to have a very mature mind set -
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He doesn’t ask for revisions just because he can, which does nothing except satisfy egos.
He would ask for revisions only if he felt they were absolutely required for the video to be a bit more aligned with the brand’s voice -
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Otherwise the response we usually got out of him -
Even
In
The
Happiest
Of
Times
Was a simple
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‘Okay’
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Which was cryptic for good job, please go live
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This is where a Motion Graphic task would normally end –
But
Not
Mine
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Since the accounts I was working on were Oman based, I had to do an Arabic version of the video.
This may S O U N D simple, but once you begin working on something like this, you forget all the pain points in your life because this one takes the top spot -
And
All
The
Spots
That
Follow
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Once the Arabic adaptation is wrapped, they move on to the Arabic content verification department in Oman where at least five to ten percentage of the Arabic needs minor adjustments in all cases for which I would brutally pull out some of my hair, go back to my desk and be done with it on the same day -
Now
This
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Is
Where
My
Job
Would
End!
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The boss would treat me with a cup of cappuccino at the place of my choice and prompt me to get ready for the next story -
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If you’re working or planning to work in a creative department, do yourself a favor and put up a sticky note in front of your work desk that says -
‘80% of creativity is planning for how to be creative’
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Before Doodling
Image Manipulation
Editing
Animating
Presenting
Or performing any task that requires you to be creative -
Don’t just go with the flow of the moment -
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Rather
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Go
With
The
Flow
To plan the flow
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Planning has always been my best friend and execution has always been my 2nd favorite cousin.
This basic 101 led me to make a name for myself in a fast paced environment like the one I currently exist in and it will do the same for you.
Wrap up whatever project you’re working on and before jumping on to the next one –
Make
A
Plan
To
Learn
How
To
Make
A
Plan
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P.S. The next chapter is about how I switched my job role within my workplace from a Motion Graphic Artist to a full-fledged Digital Marketer, eventually leading to a higher salary. So if you craving to know how I made it happen –
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here you go -
