A Thought about Creative Careers and the Influence of Money
Figured I should post something as I will be job hunting soon and my website is listed in my resume!
Like any techie, this domain is reserved for my personal use. Of course I wanted to design a cool website for myself but it just isn’t a priority. Which leads to what’s currently on my mind.
I had a thought about me trying to explain why there is such a small amount of creative companies that I’d want to work for. It started with an example and went from there.
Dreamworks is making Shrek X because upper management know it will make money no matter what the quality of the end result is. The original Shrek was a huge success, so marketing capitalized on it and turned it into a franchise. This limits the creativity of the team, probably forcing the auteur to quit because of it. Upper management probably makes rough deadlines–one Shrek movie per year. The company is now crap. Just like that.
Well okay, Kung Fu Panda 2 seemed to fare well with the critics. I haven’t seen it.
Anyhow, this deterioration occurs to companies in every creative/entertainment industry. The music used in Shrek X are from popular artists because the public can recognize it, resulting in a more accessible product that is easier to market. Shrek X the video game is handed off to some game studio, restricting creativity, limiting quality due to a short deadline, resulting in more crap.
Only a handful of quality companies become large and successful companies–Pixar, Apple, Blizzard. So that leaves a few large companies and striving independent studios that favor quality over money.
I want to find a job within one of these companies, make a steady paycheck in a stress free work environment where I can cherish my work, ‘cause working hard for something I’m not proud of is dissatisfying. After securing a job, I could then use my free time to work on other aspirations–music and film–to make something of my own. Possibly create my own company, or with friends. Personally invest in myself, or pray for an angel investor. Is this the only path in such a money-whoring world? Maybe I should just forget money completely. Become a traveling artist, a bum in most’s eyes. Oh right, then I can’t support a family. Hmm… Yup, that’s the only path I can currently think of. The only path without selling my soul.