Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Unwired

I'll be unwired for a few days.

Tomorrow I'm at an all-day Creative Fusion session, where they bring in numerous creative teams, give us all the same brief, and send us off to brainstorm and come up with ideas within a strict time limit.

The best (and only) Fusion I've ever participated in was with my great friend and best-partner-ever, Barb.

It took place off the coast of the Netherlands, on the tiny and picturesque island of Texel. In a shootout with teams from around the world, we actually won. Not only Gold...but Gold and Silver.

We were floored.

They made a video of the process, and Barb and I have the shocked look of having just returned from Alien base camp.

It was one of my proudest and happiest moments. The fact that we were able to produce work at all -- given that this Creative Fusion took place little more than a week after my Dad died -- is testament to some Providential guidance.

But winning wasn't even the best thing to come out of that exercise. It was seeing what the other teams came up with. It was watching how individual personalities interpreted the same brief.

We so rarely get the opportunity to see that, in this business.

It's usually one team, as many ideas as they generate, and go. Creative Fusion is a real exercise in relativity. If you're used to thinking that everyone should and does think like you, Creative Fusion will knock you on your ass.

The Creative Fusion session runs from 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. -- a real killer.

Then, the next morning, I'm off to NYC for some fun and frivolity with friends.

3 comments:

Joe said...

Franny Glass - good luck. And I really liked your post making the request to the universe. If the universe sends you a female in error - ask the universe to put her on hold for a couple of months - and ask the universe to let me know.

Blodwynn said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Blodwynn said...

I'll be sending you great idea vibes today, although I know you won't need them, minus the plethora of cappuccinos with those little yummy dutch cookies on the side.