What is a “Creative Media Artist” ?
Last month I attended the annual meeting in the film school where I teach. In this meeting, I always meet some of the best professionals in the Hellenic film industry. All these “pros” used to be my teachers a few years ago, so for me, it is a great achievement to stand by them as an equal.
Although I will always admire people like them, specialists in their sector, I never wanted to be a specialist. Since I was a kid I have been passionate about more than one thing. Whether this has been a hobby or a genre of music there are only short periods in my life when I am 100% dedicated to one thing. I think this feature is the most important key element that has defined me all these years and defines me until today.
In addition, we live in an era when evolution in digital technology, media, communications, politics & economy is very fast. This speed produces great tense in our everyday life but at the same time, it works as a fertile land for new ideas, new workflows, and new tools; exceptional conditions for defining new artistic profiles.
The time has come…
After working hard in music, audio engineering, cinematography, photography and even in the social media and digital marketing sector I feel the time has come to define the features of the Creative Media Artist.
Many people have been involved in many things during their lives but they don’t usually try to combine technical skills and an artistic point of view for a long period. For example, I have many friends and colleagues, who I enjoy working with and whose work I really respect. They used to work in audio industry and some years later, they quit to work in film industry. This is the most usual example of our times I think.
A Creative Media Artist doesn’t quit anything.
A Creative Media Artists builds a profile over the years in order to communicate his point of view and produce content or create art combining all his skills. He is not specialized in anything but he improves himself in more than one field. Of course, someone could search for superficial knowledge or a “fast food” deal of the opportunities that appear really fast in the digital media era we live, but this is not what I am talking about. A Creative Media Artist can compose music the same way he can direct a documentary or he can lead a photography shooting, the same way he can produce ideas and content for social media.
Of course, this 360º profile can’t be achieved in a couple of years. To master all these and many more skills it demands tones of work, study and years of experience. It’s not an easy role but ten years ago it wasn’t possible. This great opportunity for the new Creative Media Artist was born by the technological revolution in audio and especially video that came last.
So, the medium has changed dramatically over the last 20 years. The tools we have access to -now (that this text is being written) provide us with enormous and uncountable possibilities. Grab one!
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