Weblog:
Recently I’ve written extensively about the art of working smart and practicing smart in a discussion thread at cgtalk, and I think it will help a lot of beginners who feel lost and unsure of how to proceed down the path they’ve chosen. Although the topic is about digital art, it really applies to just about anything you can think of. When learning and practicing, do not go about it blindly and just spin your wheels aimlessly–you must have a plan and know exactly what you want out of each practice session and lesson. Don’t just work hard–you must work smart too if you want to excel faster and learn more efficiently.
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This article about Pixar is a really good read. It should be required reading for all company owners and upper management. It’s sad that most companies out there operate on the opposite principles than those Pixar operates on, and it’s no wonder that they cannot match the success of Pixar. If your heart is in the wrong place, how can you get anything right?
I’ve always been frustrated by the eternal war between the creative talents and the money people. It’s so hard for the two camps to see eye-to-eye, because they have totally different values in life to begin with. For the money people, the money is the end–their main reason for having a career, and the creative product is the means. As long as the bottom line is looking good, they really don’t care that much about the creative product (except if really bad products might damage the company’s reputation, thus having a negative effect on the bottom line). For the creative talents, the creative product is the end, and the money is the means. Their reason for having a career is to create works they can be proud of, and the money’s only purpose is to allow products to be made, while whatever money the products make will be invested back into the next creative work so they can go on enjoying the process of being creative. It’s not hard to see why the two camps don’t see eye-to-eye. Of course, there are also people who fall somewhere between the two extremes, and I think in general how good a company is depends on if the majority of the staff lean towards the money or the product. I firmly believe that the majority must lean towards the product, otherwise there would be no morale, no pride, and no joy in doing the work everyday. I have worked in companies that are like soulless factories, and I have yet to meet anyone who actually enjoys working for a company like that. The only people that seem to like it are the people at the very top–the money people. They are perfectly happy treating their employees like a bunch of slaves or cogs, and do no have the slightest foresight to understand that if you value the passion and creativity of your employees, you can become far more successful than if you didn’t. For all the intelligence the money people supposedly have, they fail miserably as leaders because they lack the necessary emotional intelligence to be good leaders.
The fact that Pixar even exists is a miracle, because they operate on the best values creative people champion, and that is so rare in the entertainment industry, where the profit often dictates the direction of everything, just like many other industries. Another company that I highly respect is Valve Software, because everything I’ve ever heard about them pretty much mirrors the same values that Pixar upholds.
Unfortunately for me, I have never worked at a company with values like Pixar or Valve, and I wonder if I ever will. Maybe I should just go on freelancing, since good companies are like endangered species–so rare and so precious.
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As we get older, we learn to see how the world really turns–witnessing history repeating itself, social structures becoming more transparent, understanding politics and the economy, learning what you can and can’t trust, and so on. From what angle you view the world in depends on your general outlook in life. I was a hopeless idealist when I was younger, and as I got older, I began to see how dangerous unchecked optimism could be, and adopted a more practical view. I had never allowed myself to get sucked into the abyss of pessimism, since that’s just not how my mind works. I would describe the state I’m in right now as being a “pragmatic dreamer.” I set realistic goals so that I won’t be crushed by bitter disappointment, and I try to put myself in situations where I know I will enjoy the process of chasing a dream, instead of it being something daunting and torturous. I got over the whole struggling and starving artist crap long ago–whatever romance it promised was not worth all the darkness. Sure, that stuff’s great for when you want to write an autobiography, but they do not add up to a happier life. I like being happy. I do not feel it makes my creativity any less substantial. But I still have enough anger left in me to draw from–anger from watching politicians lie, from the endless wars and crimes against humanity, from all the apathy, from the willful ignorance of the uninformed, and from the way humans beings treat each other in general.
Elena and I always joke about how we’d like to live the life of a recluse–to have nothing to do with a world that seems to have gone insane. Part of us really like that idea, but then we’d miss out on all the good people too–even if they are few and far between. The construction on our new home is coming along, but my studio’s been a huge pain in the neck. We’re so looking forward to moving into our new home–our sanctuary and private paradise, where everything was designed to fit our lifestyle and taste. Neither of us like going out when living in China, so our new home carries extra meaning for us than if we were still living in the States.
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I’m currently design a bank of presets for Toda Ichiro’s Synth1, which is a really nice free subtractive (I hate the term virtual analog–so dishonest) software synthesizer. It’s considered a legendary classic at this point, and I picked it to further hone my sound design skills. I’d like to fill up the entire 128 slot for the bank before releasing the bank (for free, of course), but I may not do all 128 since I’m really itching to do banks for other synths too. I really enjoy doing sound design–sometimes it’s almost as fun as composing or arranging. Maybe down the line I might even start taking on some gigs as a sound designer.
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My simulation sickness has returned. I now cannot play any 3D games without getting motion sick. Mass Effect seems OK though for now for reasons I don’t understand, while other 3D games make me ill after just a few minutes. I never used to get simulation sickness until about a couple of years ago, and now it sort of comes and goes.
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Quickie Film/TV Review:
The Wire (Season 5) – I finally finished all five seasons of The Wire, and I was sad to see it end. Although the show was not a thrilling roller coaster ride like the flashier shows, it’s a lot more profound, due to the unflinching realism. It’s really heartbreaking to see how some characters fall from grace, when their only desire was to do good, and how scums will continue to rule this world because they are not bound by the limits of ethics.
*SPOILER ALERT*
Out of all the characters that ended up dead, Omar was the one character I hated to see dead, because despite being a criminal, he had more principle and the balls to stand up for them than just about anyone in the show. When Michael became the reincarnation of Omar, it was a bittersweet moment for me.
*END SPOILER*
Shortbus – I was kind of dreading this one because I was worried it might be gimmicky due to the sex being real in the film, but it was actually a pretty interesting film, and the sex was essential to the plot development and the growth of the characters. Some really nice CG work too (that was unexpected).
Wickerman – I could not sit through this one at all. I turned it off after about a third into the film. So predictable and trite, even if I’ve never seen the original (in fact I found out t was a remake after turning it off). I also have gotten very tired of Nicholas Cage. He’s always felt like a one-trick pony to me, with the exception of Leaving Las Vegas and maybe Matchstick Men. It seems he’s got two modes–smug and pitiful, and he basically just alternates between the two.
