Skip to main content

Notes

A Few Quotes on Alignment

Since I've been talking about alignment all week, here are a few quotes that have guided me.
Let's start with the observation:

The pain of feeling like the only way you could belong, is by betraying yourself.

Alok Vaid-Menon

If the path before you is clear you're probably on someone else's.

Carl Jung

On entrevoit le bénéfice :

Be yourself so the people looking for you can find you.

Arlan Hamilton

If there's something you find easy that other people find difficult, do that for a living. There's money in that.

Jimmy Carr

I can't make that amazing Mac'n'Cheese at the restaurant without it being also an expression of me.

Chef Babette Davis

So then we establish a discipline:

If the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise.

William Blake

Don't try to be original. Be simple. Be good technically, and if there is something in you, it will come out.

Henri Matisse

If you work that hard, maybe it's not there. The best things often come naturally.

Conan O'Brien

Then we eventually realize it might be a duty:

Because you can. And only you can. If you don't do it, it won't be done.

A. Whitney Brown

Active men are usually lacking in higher activity – I mean individual activity. They are active as officials, businessmen, scholars, that is, as generic beings, but not as quite particular, single and unique men. In this they are lazy.

Nietzsche

If you have any others, I'd love to hear them :)

How to Brief Your Video Agency?

Image
Fuite Caméra

Because most people get it very wrong.

When a company needs a video, it usually goes something like this:

  1. Some poor soul, with no particular knowledge in the field, is put in charge of the project ("Oh, come on! You made that Christmas video with the tree! It was great!")
  2. To show progress, this new manager, alone or in consultation, makes a number of decisions that will soon become irreversible: format, duration, sequences...
  3. Production compagnies are then contacted. For them, these arbitrary decisions are now input data. To prove their worth, they compete... on price.

I'm exaggerating. But not by much.

The flaws in this approach are glaring: the most experienced people take no part in the most important decisions on the subject they know best. And the final choice of provider is based on the trivial (the price), not on what truly matters: the value the film will bring to the company.

(Not to mention the unnecessary stress the poor soul goes through, having to make decisions in a field they don't know, fully aware that the result will be shown to everyone...)

Ideally, it would go more like this:

  1. At the very first hint of needing something like video content, a minimal brief is assembled. It answers the basic questions – and that's it:
    • Why do you need a film?
    • What problem should it solve?
    • What's the budget range?
  2. This information is shared with several providers who can then compete on ideas, not on price. A short phone call will be enough to see who you feel aligned with and which ideas make you go "Wow!"
  3. Go back to your real job instead of pretending you're Spielberg.

Don't forget: making a film is an artistic endeavor. Your company will gain enormously by letting the providers express themselves. However, it's up to you to ensure that what they propose aligns with your brand.

💡 And if it's a significant investment and you're unsure about the message or the brief? Call me, and I'll take care of this step. Yes: just the brief. It's a new service I'm offering, and you'll have peace of mind.

Create Your Niche (Not Just a Box)

Image
Bob Fleurs - Construisez votre propre case

Bob really enjoyed his new niche.

To be identified – by your hierarchy, networks, the public – you need to be identifiable.

People need to say about you: "He/She is the person who... [unique activity]".

BUT, contrary to what is sometimes thought, this doesn't mean you have to "fit into a box," a well-defined category that doesn't suit you. No need to "truncate" who you are / what you do to meet market expectations.

You can absolutely craft the niche that you like. Make it as vast and personal as you wish.

AS LONG AS...

You are able to communicate its value to others.

This can be scary at first. When you build something custom-made, mass-produced messages no longer work. You have to take up the pen yourself. But:

  • You are the expert – you built it.
  • You don't have to convince everyone. A handful will suffice.
  • It's so special that it will surely attract attention.

And you'll see: once you've taken the leap and tasted the custom-made, it's hard to go back.

Three-Camera Shoot for TEDxICP

Our three-camera setup for TEDxICP with Paul Chauvin, Director of Photography.

We were delighted to handle the recording of this conference, masterfully organized by the TEDxICP association of the Institut Catholique de Paris.

Featured speakers addressed the theme "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall":

  • Simon Ruiz, the first French person to participate in the "Takanakui" and the "fight of friendship" following a photo report in Peru, exploring otherness and the relationship with distant cultures,
  • Maxime Lambert, actor and director of the play "Le Jeu de la Vérité" (The Game of Truth), inviting us to reflect on the media's impact on the perception of truth;
  • Margherita Salvatore, who questions the tyranny of image and perfection by sharing her story of overcoming eating disorders;
  • Edgar de Sacy, musician and founder of the Les Nuits Blondes festival, discussing the importance of image and persona in the world of music production.

The video will be available very soon on the TEDx website.

Visions of the Future

Back in the early 90s, I confidently predicted: "You'll see, the Internet is just a fad and in ten years, no one will be talking about it!" Okay, I got that one wrong.

But regarding AI, this time, I'm sure: it's a technology with ABSOLUTELY NO future.

For more insights like this, subscribe to my paid newsletter "Visions of the Future".