I was a blank slate when it came to automation. The term was alien, and the reality? A colossal, humming future right before my eyes. It was daunting, yes, but the real challenge? Surviving the awe, then spinning this behemoth into a tale.

Our journey with JR Automation started small – recruitment videos, a sizzle reel. But then they wanted more. A video series for their new website launch, aimed at specific markets with curated messages. A showcase of their prowess, their scope, and the people powering it.

Finding a story is like mining gold. We start with a chat, a few brainstorming rounds. Teaming up with DropDrop’s creative producer, Michael Medici, we soon realized how dynamic their operations were. Our narrative had to be fluid, ready to morph on a dime. Because sometimes, the story you start with isn’t the one you end up telling.

Especially if it comes to an industry I’m still catching up on. When we realized our questions weren’t moving the ball forward, we decided to do a bit more listening. Slowly as their marketing team opened up more, that started to inform us on a direction for the project. We talked philosophically. What drives them to do what they do. What resonates with their human spirit. The experience of creating something from scratch and seeing it in the real world. Soon, my right-brained mentality was finally connecting with their left-brained sophistication… the more we listened, the more our direction became clear. The human element behind this technology.

Flexibility was key. Ensuring proper time for all revisions needed, we thought would be important here. Especially with respecting confidentiality. This is an industry that will often literally be making products that are secret. One of my favorite shots even, it turns out. I had it all lined up with the perfect phrase and note in the piece… then during post-production while I was in the middle of the edit, we got the word… gotta get rid of it.

Adapt. Keep going. 

I’m not an engineer. So right brained. But sometimes it’s fun walking into the unknown like this. Creating a space for others to open up & tell their story. Let them take over in a way, and not be too rigid in my ideas of what it should be. Taking time in our conversations really gave me flexibility and opened my mind a little more as well. To find the common ground of these left/right brain perspectives where new & exciting things can happen.

Artificial intelligence may someday still overpower us, but with a bit of collaboration and creativity… us humans might actually be alright.

Definitely grateful for this collaboration with the good people at JR & our DropDrop team.

Think. Solve. Create.