posted by Ian Summers on March 21st, 2006
I received a telephone call one afternoon from a photographer’s rep. It was the 80′s. I was a Creative Director. Few of us used answering machines. Voice mail was yet to become common place. There were switchboard operators. I had a secretary whose job description included screening telephone calls. I was expecting a call from my wife. My secretary was on her lunch hour. I answered my own telephone.
“Ian Summers,” I said.
“Um. Um. Um!” She stammered. “This is Lucy Arnez.” (Not her real name.) I think she expected a gate keeper.
“How may I help you, Lucy?”
“I represent Jack Spratt (Not his real name either.). A photographer from Teaneck. And we were wondering whether you were the person who buys photography.”
“What kind of work does Jack do?” I asked politely.
“A little this and a little that. Honey. We sent you a post-cawd a few weeks ago. I think we could make you look good. You and Jack could make some magic together.”
My jaw dropped.
“Whoops. Uma. Uma. Uma. I lost my place. Whom did you say I was calling?” She asked. I detected no embarrassment.
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posted by Ian Summers on February 21st, 2006
Many of you will remember my old logo which included a gremlin drawn by Alex Tiani with a call out declaring an imperative: Grow or Die! It is simple. If we stop growing, we die. We must continue to learn, to make a difference, to pioneer, to live life fully as a creative person by manifesting what we love.
The process for artists is different than in industries that are selling packaged goods. I recall being given an assignment from a company that produced bubble wrap. They were searching to expand their market by finding new applications for their product. My think tank started looking at onerous household chores such as cleaning walls or polishing shoes. We said, “What if we were to fill the bubbles with some kind of solvent for cleaning walls? What if we were to fill the bubbles with liquid show polish? What if we created a laminate with cotton wadding? What if a house person was able to squeeze a bubble releasing the right amount of cleaner into the wadding and was able to simply rub the wall clean. It would eliminate carrying pails, bottles, rags, etc. It would be easy to carry. My client was searching for new uses for their products. We found a need and filled it.
This is one way that smart businesses think. They are aware that growth demands change. They do it by innovation and invention; not through cloning.
With creators the approach is different. We create first and find a market for it second. It is essential for photographers to search inside for passion and to express it through their art. Many photographers spend more time re-packaging old work rather than creating something new. Some photographers have come to believe that younger art directors and designers are not open to new images. Speak with some of them — the most innovatives ones. You will discover they are always looking for something new no matter who it is coming from.
What’s New and Different?
One of the first things that I ask acquaintances and prospects when I run into them at Photo Plus is, “What’s new and different!” The standard answer is, “Same old. Same old.” Over the past few years some blame outside sources like the entire advertising agency world for rejecting them. Phew! It is time to re-focus on some unexpected and unexplored passions.
Creating new products does not necessarily require giving up what you have. It is not a this OR that change. It may mean offering this AND that AND…
So I invite you to ask yourself what is new and different? Look inside. What is yearning to be expressed?
posted by Ian Summers on January 21st, 2006
Whose Line is it Anyway?
Watching Whose Line is it Anyway? is always a treat. It is watching the creative process happening before your eyes. Actors take risks. Make mistakes. And have incredible successes. Actors work in teams and learn how to integrate another actor’s thoughts with their own. Thus juxtapositions develop. Improvisation is an extremely stimulating approach for developing ideas. Improvisation is a great loosening up exercise for any form of creation. Those of you who are photographers might direct models or actors through some improvisation based upon the project you are co-creating. It is a form of role playing or pretending.
The following suggestions are improvisational cues. Make up your own. Role playing improvisation is a process, not an outcome. It’s about going with first thoughts, using feelings and hunches to guide you… about seizing the moment before the energy is past, and capitalizing on the feelings in the group at the time. The benefits of using this process rather than planning meticulously are that you can get more responsive and more intense play as a result. You may also tap into insights and knowledge you didn’t know you had. And it’s exciting and very entertaining because nobody is sure what will happen next.
Ten Sample Scenarios:
1. Telephone Conversations
Telephone a friend who is ill, having a birthday, or to say, “Thank you for sending a present.” A friendly chat on the phone ends in an argument. Apologize .
2. Falling Out Scenario
Two friends have argued and won’t speak to one another. How might we bring them together again? Discuss what caused each argument and how each argument might have been avoided.
3. Flying Saucers Scenario
You hear a noise outside the bedroom window and look towards the back lawn. A flying saucer had landed. You go outside to take a closer look. Call the police to explain what happened.
4. Choosing a Movie Scenario
Pretend that you and your friends are in line at a multi-plex movie theater. Convince the others to choose the movie only you want to see.
5. Lost Your Wallet Scenario
You pull into a gas station to fill up the tank. He asks credit or cash. You tell him, cash. While your tank is being filled you realize you left your wallet on the dresser.
6. Petting
One person is a dog who wants to be petted. His master is watching a football game and doesn’t want to be bothered.
7. Fire One
A cave dweller accidentally makes fire when rubbing two sticks together and demonstrates what was done to a friend.
8. Fire Two
A cave dweller sees fire for the first time, experiments with it and finds that it hurts when touched, makes meat taste better when cooked in it and wild animals are afraid of it.
9. Sneezing Fit
You are sitting in the front row at a Broadway show. You feel a sneezing fit coming. Fight the sneeze.
10. Toll Booth
You have been in line for almost an hour to go through the toll booths at the Holland Tunnel. You are mistakenly in the EZ Pass lane and have to cut across traffic to get to the single cash lane. When it is your turn to pay your car stalls and the engine will not turn over.
