SummaryIn this episode Daniel is joined by Thomas Kragelund and Tejs Rasmussen to talk about the background and history of Creative Force. Before founding Creative Force, Thomas and Tejs founded Pixelz along with Janus Matthesen. While providing retouching services to e-commerce studios, they learned that each studio had different methods for tackling the complexity of creative production, and often that meant introducing more complexity. Creative Force was born out of a desire to reduce complexity in the studio, and enable the teams doing the work to focus more on being creative. Key TakeawaysThomas and Tejs met during the early days of e-commerce. Thomas headhunted Tejs to work as a designer for his e-commerce consultancy.In the early days of e-commerce, if wanted to launch a web store, you talked to the head of IT. It was considered a technical issue to be solved.After building some store fronts, Thomas and Tejs observed that product images that were being used were lacking in quality, they decided to bring a solution to market in the form of Pixelz.Pixelz started off with a phone and an FTP site, and was built up from there.Amazon came to Pixelz and became a client, enabling lots of re-investment into  the company, and being able to scale upIn scaling up, the team discovered that flow production was the key to serving more customers, faster and with better quality. Pixelz learned all of the same lessons that production of physical goods  learned, but with some different challenges.Learning lessons from Pixelz really shaped the view and perspective that became the Creative Force philosophy.Links & ResourcesThomas Kragelund on LinkedInTejs Rasmussen on LinkedInCreative Force on LinkedIn, Creative Force websitePixelz on LinkedIn, Pixelz websiteGlossaryFlow Production - Flow production is also known as continuous production. It is defined by the continuous movement of items through the production process. Large numbers of the same goods are produced continuously in this production process. There is often an opportunity for a high level of automation on a flow production assembly line.CreditsProduced by: Creative Force - creativeforce.ioEdited by: Calvin Lanz Sound - clsound.netHosted by: Daniel Jester - danieltjester.com

SummaryJoining Daniel for this episode is Tracie Smith of Zumiez to discuss ways to build cross-functional relationships between the studio and other departments. As content creation shifts from being a service that is performed on a transactional basis, to a more strategic part of a businesses plan to capture market share, we need to build better relationships between the studio and external stakeholders. Key TakeawaysContent production will go from being transactional task that needs to be completed, to a more strategic part of the business.When studios are too siloed, the effect can be negative in both directions. Outside of the studio, people are unaware of what the studio does or how it impacts the business. Inside the studio, employees feel cut-off and like the work they do isn't important to the business.Your company culture plays a large part in your ability to make cross-departmental connections. The stronger and better defined a culture you have, the easier it can be to bridge communication gaps.Supporting internal creative needs for your company is a great way to get your studio involved in  helping other departments and share skills. Things like employee of the month portraits can really help build positive culture AND elevate the profile of the studio team.Hosting an open house in your studio can help build interpersonal relationships across departments that can help make meetings and future projects more efficient through more effective communication.Effective communication helps make it easier to keep goals and expectations aligned.Links & ResourcesTracey Smith on LinkedInZumiezCreditsProduced by: Creative Force - creativeforce.ioEdited by: Calvin Lanz Sound - clsound.netHosted by: Daniel Jester - danieltjester.com

SummaryRob DiCaterino joins Daniel to discuss post-production at scale and how to demystify the process for key stakeholders in your organization. Key TakeawaysPost production is an often misunderstood element in an already complex process. Post Production encompasses everything that happens to an asset after the production (photo/video shoot) has occurred.Post Production does include retouching and photoshop work, but also MANY technical steps are included as well. Before an image is ever opened in Photoshop, many technical aspects of the asset need to be addressed or confirmed. A big part of post-production is Quality Assurance - Making sure the images are correct in every way. Post production needs to be involved in the content production process as early as possible. Every decision that happens in pre-production and on-set can have a HUGE impact on post production teams, and often can result in budget overruns or missed deadlines. To keep post-production on time, and manageable, you MUST have a process in place that is followed. It sounds like common sense, but it is often overlooked. A robust process with automations can help prevent errors in a process that moves quickly and simple errors are magnified. SET EXPECTATIONS FOR POST PRODUCTION. This is critical to a smooth process and staying on budget and hitting your deadline. If you're going to promise to the client, provide the resources to meet that promise. Links & ResourcesRob on LinkedInPost Production in Creative ForceGlossaryMetadata Tagging - In content production assets can be "tagged" with text information that helps describe the image or usage. This text info stays with the image and carries through to asset deliveryRounds of Review - An opportunity for a client or stakeholder to review images after editing and make notes or changes. Technical Image Requirements - All of the objective characteristics of an image. Pixel Dimension, Resolution, Aspect Ratio, Metadata, Colorspace, etc. CreditsProduced by: Creative Force - creativeforce.ioEdited by: Calvin Lanz Sound - clsound.netHosted by: Daniel Jester - danieltjester.com

SummaryCurren Calhoun joins Daniel for this episode of The E-commerce Content Creation Podcast and we discuss his approach to identifying, implementing and supporting new and existing technology in your photo studio. Key TakeawaysTechnology in your studio should be an enhancer. It should enhance your production process and allow creatives on your team to create. Anything that can be automated, should be automated. No one should be spending time on repetitive tasks.Evaluate your own process before trying to identify or implement new tech. Your process needs to already have the non-value add steps removed, otherwise the new solution enhances those issues. Look for solutions that allow you to work the way you want to work, but also be willing to adjust your workflow to take advantage of the tools available. Being able to "translate" creative needs and ideas to numbers to sell a necessary tool, is a vital skill to support your team. You need an advocate for tech in your studio, because things change so quickly and workflows can be interrupted easily. Educated and engaging your IT team can help smooth tech transitions and help improve support for the studio team. Links & ResourcesCurren on LinkedInCreditsProduced by: Creative Force - creativeforce.ioEdited by: Calvin Lanz Sound - clsound.netHosted by: Daniel Jester - danieltjester.com

SummaryJoining Daniel for this episode is Shanna Ferris, video production specialist and new member of the Creative Force team. We touch on some best practices for developing video content, engaging your teams across workflows, and how to create a unified presentation between stills and video. Key TakeawaysIf you're trying to introduce video, take the time to strategize. Define your goals and expected outcomes, avoid treating video like just another strategy. Providing value with video can mean something different depending on where the video is used. An added dimension to video content is accessibility, and should be considered as part of your strategy. For video content that is cohesive to other visual content, reducing silos in your org is absolutely key. Video content production really necessitates more transparency in your teams to improve communication and add value to the customer. Consolidated asset review can make your content more cohesive, and provide opportunity for cross-functional relationships.Video production is more accessible to studios than ever, because technology, including hardware, has made it very simple and inexpensive to product high quality content. Data and reporting are vital to understanding if your strategy is working, and learning how to increase velocity in your production. Pilot, test, and iterate, whenever possible. Links & ResourcesShanna on LinkedInCreditsProduced by: Creative Force - creativeforce.ioEdited by: Calvin Lanz Sound - clsound.netHosted by: Daniel Jester - danieltjester.com

SummaryAli McLeod of Saks Fifth Avenue joins Daniel to talk about trust, transparency, and professional fluency and their roles in your relationship with your creative teams.  We discuss earning the trust of your team, building a culture of trusting each other, and how curiosity can help earn trust and drive professional growth. Key TakeawaysA key part of earning trust is to understand your team and its roles. Shadow your teams and learn about their roles if you don't have experience with their role.Spend the time learning the process inside and out. Not just what is being done, but how and why it's being done.Keep up with your process, but be careful not to get lost in the weeds.Listening to your team and helping remove even minor barriers, can help build trust and encourage growth.Leaders should keep open office hours, discussion is always on the table.Jumping levels should not be scary, the studio environment should be collaborative. Any person of any level should feel able to collaborate with anyone else.Read the book Radical Candor by Kim Scott, and then practice it in your studio.Links & ResourcesAli McLeod on LinkedInSaks Fifth Avenue on LinkedInCreative Jobs at SaksReading ListRadical Candor - Kim Scott - Build confidence in having difficult conversationsTrust Rules - Bob Lee - Basic guidance how to build and gain trust with a team or colleagueOne Minute Manager - Ken Blanchard - Advice on feedback and coachingLeaders Eat Last - Simon Sinek - Trust building and leadership through real life examplesCulture Code - Daniel Coyle - Guidance on how to build culture at your companyCreditsProduced by: Creative Force - creativeforce.ioEdited by: Calvin Lanz Sound - clsound.netHosted by: Daniel Jester - danieltjester.com

SummaryColleen Devanie of REI joins Daniel to talk about agility and adaptability when complex processes are made even more difficult by business interruptions. We learn how to essential data is to make sure your process is agile and adaptable. As Colleen put it, you cannot be agile with guesses. Key Takeaways"If you're doing it right, your content supports the business in more than one channel"Data is the key to understanding efficiency of your process, when you have multiple inputs that cross each other and supply multiple outputs.Building a style guide that allows for flexibility is a key way to  build agility into the process.Having a team that is passionate about the product can help support agility in imaging, creating images that the customer needs to see, even if they aren't called out in the style guide.Sometimes we think of agility as synonymous with cost savings, but sometimes its means creating the ability do the work that adds value to your customers.Having options, like dial knobs, that allow you to maintain your content needs while shifting responsibility to vendors or changing standards based on the business needs, is key to overcoming dramatic business disruptions.Being agile means having a process that your team can follow, but allows you to pivot when the business needs change.You can't be agile with guesses, you need data to make sure the levers you're pulling are working.Links & ResourcesColleen on LinkedInREI on LinkedInREI Talent Portal - Create an account, and please remember to maintain the accuracy of your information to help producers when they are casting. CreditsProduced by: Creative Force - creativeforce.ioEdited by: Calvin Lanz Sound - clsound.netHosted by: Daniel Jester - danieltjester.com

SummaryLindsay More Nisbett of The Line Studios joins Daniel on this week's episode to discuss how to plan for and successfully deliver versatile content that can serve many needs across many channels and the impact this agile imagery can have to improve customer experience.Key TakeawaysCustomers come to your site to understand your product. You can learn from your customer how they WANT to understand your images.User Generated and Influencer content can provide low-cost contextual details on your product for your customers.Large-scale business interruptions can force a studio to pivot rapidly to other ways to produce content, such as influencer or crowdsourced content.Your brand will also dictate what types of agile content you can employ.D2C retailers can create agility in their content by building a community that understands their brand voice.Lindsay will come back to discuss strategies for effective user-generated content campaigns.Building a foundation of agile content requires extensive pre-production planning, and the role of content or brand director can play a big part.Engaging stakeholder teams in pre-production can illuminate content needs across channels and ensure that assets are captured according to specific needs.MM LaFleur realized a 40% cart capture increase attributed to refreshed, thoughtful, and agile imagery.Capturing social content during marketing and/or ecomm shoots can ensure brand adherence even on social channels which can sometimes be difficult to maintain.Links & ResourcesLindsay More Nisbett on LinkedInThe Line StudiosThe Line Studios on InstagramThe Line Studios on LinkedInThe Line Studios' speaker series on emerging trends in e-commerce creativeCreditsProduced by: Creative Force - creativeforce.ioEdited by: Calvin Lanz Sound - clsound.netHosted by: Daniel Jester - danieltjester.com

SummaryCarrie Crow of Hello Fresh joins Daniel to talk about some things she learned when Hello Fresh was acquiring brands and rapidly expanding, along with their content needs. We discuss how it's ok to get it wrong at first, and learning your lessons quickly. Carrie quickly realized that her team and space needed to be modular and nimble, constantly growing their skillset and capability while anticipating what future creative requests might be. Key TakeawaysIt's ok to get it wrong at first, but fail fast and move on. Leverage your learnings and always review or hindsight your work.Rigid team structures and processes make it almost impossible to adapt when your company grows overnight. Cross-training teams to make sure that any one creative team member can produce content for any channel is important to agility and business continuity. Offering the opportunity for your teams to build portfolios is a great way to attract top talent and engage teams. In NYC, if you need a tiger on set, Carrie can help you out. When planning is difficult, you can always look at the worst case scenario and determine a plan.Links & ResourcesCarrie Crow on LinkedInHello FreshEvery PlateGreen ChefFactorGlossarySteve Giralt - Visual Engineer, Director, and Photographer at The Garage which is NYC based content studio that specializes in engineering incredible video content through the use of robotics, AI and human ingenuity. CreditsProduced by: Creative Force - creativeforce.ioEdited by: Calvin Lanz Sound - clsound.netHosted by: Daniel Jester - danieltjester.com

SummaryJoining Daniel on the show this week is Terence Mahone of Farfetch. When Terence took on his role at Farfetch, the directive was simple: Go out and create a culture of continuous improvement. We talk about the need for senior leaders to be willing to build the structures that can allow ground up engagement and idea generation. We also talk about the importance of fluency around a directive, and how understanding the language can help prevent fear or doubt in your teams. Key TakeawaysThe best implementations of continuous improvement starts the process with the ground level team, but senior leadership has to be on board to build the structures and create the environment.Fluency in the process is important. You can assuage fears by teaching your teams the language.Listen to learn. As a manager, listen to learn, invite your directs to speak freely and listen to learn. Work to ask questions in a way that doesn't feel like a deflection. The words we use and our tone of voice matters when it comes to getting buy in for ground up idea generation. Build a system to quantify the effect of process improvements, and provide meaningful feedback. Links & ResourcesTerence Mahone on LinkedInCan Lean kill creativity? No. Overview of Six SigmaContinuous Improvement - KaizenGlossary5 Whys - A root cause analysis technique to determine the root cause of a given problem and help identify a solution. Read more here. Gemba Walk - The action of going to see the actual process, understand the work, ask questions, and learn. Read more here.CreditsProduced by: Creative Force - creativeforce.ioEdited by: Calvin Lanz Sound - clsound.netHosted by: Daniel Jester - danieltjester.com

SummaryThis week Clair Carter-Ginn of Forecast Agency joins Daniel to discuss the post-pandemic era of e-commerce content, what that means for casting, and the efforts to expand representation that will shape content in the future. Key TakeawaysSome trends in casting we saw pre-pandemic, have accelerated now that studios are beginning to open up again.Content planning will be a huge benefit, with so many micro-channels of marketing all with specific content needs.Talent usage is as important as ever with so many diverse channels for content. Buy more usage than you think you may need.Influencer marketing and using relatable talent to share more than just product assets will continue to be a strategy, but bringing back more art director control as in person shoots start up.Diversity continues to be an important effort in casting, even with complicated sample availability. More and more brands are following the lead of other industries and making budgets to include more diverse talent.Links & ResourcesCreative Production Day by Henry Stewart EventsClair's LinkedInForecast Agency on LinkedInForecast Agency's WebsiteForecast Agency on InstagramAdditional Reading on Diversity in Fashion - Vogue BusinessGlossaryDE&I - Diversity, Equity, and InclusionUsage - Modeling contracts usually have stipulations about how and where an image with the model can be used. Print and Ad Campaigns sometimes costs more than digital or social. This is negotiated up front as "usage"Influencer Marketing - Using an individual with social media clout and/or large followings to represent a brand, not only in images but usually inclusive of their personality as well. Law & Order - A long running fictional television series depicting the criminal justice system in NYC, known for its specific format, style, and easily recognizable intro and bumper sound effectsCreditsProduced by: Creative Force - creativeforce.ioEdited by: Calvin Lanz Sound - clsound.netHosted by: Daniel Jester - danieltjester.com

SummaryJoining Daniel this week on The E-commerce Content Creation Podcast, Dallas based producer and founder of The Producers Agent, Kaylah Key. We discuss effective and sincere networking in the creative production industry and how she launched The Producers Agent in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Key TakeawaysEffective networking is about making a sincere connection, and building a relationship, not just simply cold calling.Effective networking can have an impact on relationships between team members on set, which is critical to efficient production. Reach out to people in a sincere way. Interact with them based on who they are and their unique perspective, not just because of their role or stature. Links & ResourcesKaylah Key on LinkedInThe Producers Agent WebsiteThe Producers Agent InstagramGary Vaynerchuk on NetworkingCreditsProduced by: Creative Force - creativeforce.ioEdited by: Calvin Lanz Sound - clsound.netHosted by: Daniel Jester - danieltjester.com

SummaryJen Bakija joins Daniel to discuss how to advocate for your creative team in a challenging environment.  Jen has built warehouse based studios from the ground up, and staffed them with high performing teams in the face of temperature challenges, dust and grime, loud warehouse noise, and DC safety policies. Through all of this Jen advocated for and supported her team in any way she could, finally building out a more controllable studio environment with extremely low turn over in her core team.Key TakeawaysOpen up lines of communication with external stakeholders who can impact your day to day (for example: FC leadership for warehouse based studios)Be honest with talent about the environment the studio exists inDon't be afraid to give your team what they need to be comfortable and productiveGood leadership and supportive management can help overcome the challenges of operating and staffing a studio in challenging environmentsThe excitement of having ownership of a new effort can help engage teams and make them more willing to take on challenging projectsCardboard boxes create their own dust! Seriously!Links & Resources 

SummaryJason Hamilton of Bed Bath and Beyond joins Daniel to discuss what the future of e-commerce content could look like. We discuss the early days of product rendering, its evolution, and how today's creative teams likely fit into to this new generation of content. Key TakeawaysComputer Renderings have the potential to overtake traditional e-commerce  imagery  as the process gets cheaper and fasterRetailers in home goods and other traditionally large items are using renderings already to save costs associated with photographing huge productsThe process for creating rendered product images can look a lot like a traditional photography process, except virtualCurrent photographers, stylists and other studio teams can provide invaluable input to help aid rendered imagery. We expect todays studio teams to play a big role in the future of rendered imageryLinks & Resourceshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonjhamilton/Additional Reading: https://kulturehub.com/cgi-vs-photography-market/Ikea Case Study: https://architizer.com/blog/practice/details/see-how-ikea-3d-models-the-rooms-in-their-catalogs/LinkedIn Learning - Shoe Rendering: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/modo-product-visualization-shoe-rendering/render-a-shoe-model-in-modoGlossaryCGI: Computer-Generated ImageryRendering: The process involved in the generation of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional image from a model by means of application programsCreditsProduced by: Creative Force - creativeforce.ioEdited by: Calvin Lanz Sound - clsound.netHosted by: Daniel Jester - danieltjester.com

SummaryTony Baker, Director of Product Imaging at Stitch Fix joins Daniel in this episode of The Ecommerce Content Creation Podcast. We discuss his short tenure with Stitch Fix before the COVID-19 Pandemic shut down most creative production in the United States, how he supported his teams through the uncertainty of the pandemic, and how he leverages lessons and tools from his time at Amazon, Nike, and Stitch Fix to understand his teams, who they are, and what drives them. Once the picture of his team begins to focus, you can begin finding and creating opportunity for your creative teams.Key TakeawaysEngage your teams one on one. You need to learn who they are, so you can support their passion.Data can help you understand and encourage your team, when collected and used well.Positioning your high volume production studio as a way to allow creatives to learn techniques can be a great way to balance asset needs with team growth."Simple done well" is one of the hardest things to master.Links & ResourcesTony Baker on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonybaker615/Stitch Fix is launching a new studio in Atlanta Georgia. You can check out current job openings here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stitch-fix/jobs/

SummaryDaniel is joined by Linda Wallace to discuss managing relationships between creatives, particularly when faced with rapidly changing work environment. Linda was with Nordstrom through the shift from film to digital, the 2008 recession, and the 2020 pandemic, each of these major industry upset moments giving her an important perspective on managing how your teams interact with each other. Key Takeaways"A team is not a group of people that work together, a team is a group of people that trust each other" -Simon SinekSee, hear, support, and challenge your teams to build trustFear and creativity cannot exist at the same timeCuriosity breeds creativityHonest communication and truly listening to your team can help them feel supportedLeading with vulnerability can help your teams understand that they aren't aloneDeveloping a healthy sense of self awareness can help you support your colleagues betterChallenges (or hills) can be difficult but offer us valuable new perspectiveLinks & ResourcesYou can connect with Linda  by email at [email protected] or through her LinkedIn account here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindawallacestudio/ On Fear and Creativityhttps://www.forbes.com/sites/carolyncenteno/2018/04/18/fear-shrinks-your-brain-and-makes-you-less-creative/?sh=1496ec0c1c6dGlossary