I sat down recently with industry people to talk about writing creative content for the entertainment industry. It was a good talk, and several topics were explored.
I get the impression that the people currently making money - the TV stations and production houses, want better creative content, but are afraid that it would cost more. That their margins would be affected.
Rest assured that if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys, and if you pay anyone peanuts, they can certainly act like gibbons, marmosets, orangutans, chimpanzees and bonobos.
However, the one telling factor which no one brought up - including me - is the fact that creative people will churn out better shit, if they are given more control over their work.
I didn't start that one up cause I didn't think people would understand.
"Creative control over your own work? What the fuck is that?"
I can't tell you other people's story except mine.
I have been lucky enough to have been allowed and offered to do creative work across multiple mediums. One short story, one novel, three movies (so far), I had a hand in over 3800 hours of TV shows and countless articles.
The load was crazy and to be honest, I was burning out a few weeks back. Everything I wrote was garbage. Deleted over 40,000 words. It wasn't until recently that I slowly got my groove back.
Anyway, after going through all that, mostly to collect experience points, I have landed a job I love and now do projects I want. And projects I want to do, are cool ones. Stories that would last a lifetime, or more.
The only way I know to ensure quality is if I have control over things that come out. Or work with extremely talented people who can do a better job than I can muster.
Other than that, I'd be setting myself up for failure and heartbreak.
Oh well. We shall see what happens.
