Making it in a "Winner-Takes-All" Market

Good art often stirs controversy. Why? Because art delves into real human emotions and real life. REALITY CHECK! Real life is not full of rainbows, butterflies, and unicorns all the time. It can be most of the time, but it is definitely not all the time (damnit did I offend someone already?). It is all the challenges that we face and learn from, that makes life so special. Or maybe I am just a dark, twisted, person :) who knows. Life can be offensive. It’s offensive that people in Tibet, Darfur, etc are being persecuted. Does this mean we do not report these offensive issues? That we pretend they do not exist? I would hope not. 

I am an artist. It is my job to offend…to bring out issues that I observe and to put a different spin on them to affect people in some form or fashion. Not everything I address fully reflects my opinions (or I wouldn’t have any friends, jk) because most of the time I try to address both sides of the issue and try to see the bigger picture. So I do not apologize for what I do as an artist. 

Which brings me to the music video. This is a video that is meant to be fun. The issues addressed do not represent UT as a whole or anyone in particular, but rather an overall MBA experience. It’s a video I want to make viral, to show the world that MBA Class of 2012 has a good sense of humor and can have fun. I do not apologize for this. 

MRS degrees. They exist. Period. There are less this day in age for sure, but the fact is… they still exist. Most people don’t even know what a MRS degree is.

MRS degree: a woman that goes to college to get married.

So, does this mean I believe UT is full of MRS degrees? No. Absolutely not. I respect the women that are in my program. They are beautiful, hardworking, and independent. As one of these women, WE KNOW what we are. We know we got here by our hard work. If someone is offended because I mention MRS degrees, then maybe this is a positive thing because we know we are not. If you are TRULY confident about what and who you are… no little video is going to take that away from you. Right?

So with these words :)  I am going to further encourage everyone to pass along the video “Gettin’ My MBA” because McCombs needs a viral video and Class of 2012 did an incredible job.  Be happy everyone. 

Watch the video! Laugh, develop a sense of humor, or be offended lol. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG6dSJia8Gw&hd=1

So, before I even got into business school, I had the vision to make an MBA based music video. 

Why? 

I want it to go viral. 

Why? 

It’d be f-in’ cool to have a viral music video. And, I have never made a music video before.

The music video could not have been possible without the help of some key members. I realized during this project why MBA schools do not have a lot of videos. It is SO F-IN hard to get volunteers. We are all so damn busy. So I cannot repeat enough how I am VERY  appreciative of everyone who helped out. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Production for the music video took approximately 5 days, mainly because we only spent about 2 hours at each shoot. So… 10 hours to shoot and get a 3 minute music video. The ratio of time spent to final product is ridiculous.  In addition to 10 hours of filming, it probably took me at least 50 hours to edit (that’s being conservative). So let’s do the math. 

50+10 = 60 hours * 60 minutes =3,600 minutes

3 minutes/3600 minutes = 1/1200  (CRAZINESS)

But I love it. I love everything from the pre to post production process. I love selecting my cast, finding crew, production, editing, etc. I have literally spent a few days where I finished my analysis of market homework or ops and sat in front of the computer for hours straight before realizing that I had not only forgotten to eat, but also forgotten to sleep. SUPERWOMAN bitch! 

Why does it take so much time? Details, details, details. Even though most people may not consciously notice these details… details are what “differentiates” a good movie from a bad one. So hopefully people will notice the cool little “shake” effects I added that took me hours to figure out. :) 

So please… watch my video. It will be released at midnight, Dec. 1 on http://www.mothtoflamefilms.com 

Please support my crazy dream to be a successful, Hollywood filmmaker by sharing the video with the world. That is the best compliment to a filmmaker.

I LOVE making films. There is nothing compared to doing something you are passionate about.

My younger brother recently pointed out the amount of time I have spent using sites like YouTube. My biggest problem is how addicted I am to checking my YouTube page to see how many hits I have generated for each of the videos I have uploaded (super pathetic, I know). I mean seriously, checking my page every 5 minutes is not really going to show me that many more hits (unless it’s viral), but for some reason I find a need to do so. 

There is definitely pressure for an artist to get his/her material seen. The more people like our stuff, the bigger of a chance we will make it. The entertainment industry is a market that is purely driven by consumer preferences. There are so many people in this industry that everything is relatively elastic. By elastic, I mean there are always many other alternatives. As a result, until you are one of the few who dominate the market, you are easily replaceable. It is a very depressing thought.

I am trying to figure out a way to combat this need for validation as an artist. I should feel confident in my abilities and not give a shit about how many people love or want to view my stuff. But this seems like a contrary notion because the reality is, if people do not want to watch/view/support my work, then the success of my work is virtually next to nothing. So the bigger picture is not really my addiction to YouTube, but my addiction with public validation of my work. Anyone out there have any suggestions?