I smile and cringe at the same time when I hear the aphorism “back in the day” – at least when it’s used in a serious conversation. Typically, it’s a punch line.
In the late 80’s the Apple Mac II taught us to set typography. Immediately anyone could set type. We didn’t hardly notice when the stat camera darkroom was reclaimed for storage, or when you’re local type house became a Mailbox Etc. or a Postal Instant Press (similar to Kinko’s). Creative destruction is no longer a concept but a lifestyle.
(in the photo: director Jake Wiens)
You no longer have 10,000 hours to become a supremely accomplished anything. Additionally, those superbly mastered skills that worked to differentiate your business, have distorted into obscure techniques for specialized fine artists. Thus, before you can cash in on those professional skills, they’re no longer in demand. My peers surely remember the fine black and white prints on Agfa Portrega-Rapid Photo Paper processed in Bovira as a fond distant memory. “Damn, just when I was starting to get good.”
A Detroit auto-worker replaced by robots will mutter, “no shit”, when they hear a creative professional complain about digital this or CS4 that causing a downward creative demand. Craftsmanship has taken many tough hits in the form of the newest creative tools.
Can the 10,0000 hour skill of a professional compete with the 500 hour skill of 1000 amateurs? The new creative democracy yields plenty of broken hearts, but let’s looks beyond that to what the tools allow the ubiquitous creative minds to achieve.
No time to whine. What I’m suggesting is that there has been no other period when a highly accomplished professional from one field could apply their expertise to another, and do it solo. There are enough specialized skills automated by hardware and software to allow knowledge to cross disciplines, and then push those skills out to the masses like Rupert Murdoch.
Here’s a duel case study. I found Jake Wiens’ video about Valo inline skates on a Vimeo Channel. It’s one film director, producer and on-air personality distributing his content about Jon Julio: pro skater, graphic designer, skate designer, web designer, and CEO / Owner. - Bruce DeBoer
Valo Inline Skates: valo-brand.com
Jake Wiens Vimeo Channel: http://vimeo.com/jakewiens
![Isaiah Mustafa [via Wikipedia]](http://www.permissiontosuck.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/200px-Isaiah_Mustafa-100x100.jpg "200px-Isaiah_Mustafa")
December 14th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
2 things to add: 1 – The tools are insane. So good, so fast. Incredible now what a few folks with good tools, know how, energy and gall can do. Great example above. 2 – The tools don’t tell the stories themselves. The same core skills — visual, story construction, imagination — persist and are required to make the tools really sing. And the stories and the people are what still matter. Great post.