Ask any artist what is the most frustrating thing about their profession? Not owning their content and having any rights to it is definitely going to be in the top 3. Artists don’t like to get into nitty gritty of copyright laws and ownership deeds. For them it’s all about the art and the minute it becomes about anything but, the art takes a back seat and either they quit or shift their focus. In today’s time being an artist and being a business savvy individual goes hand in hand and hence today I am going to connect with you regarding creating your content.
Truth about creating your own content is not having to rely on other people. If an artist knows the various aspects of production and business, he/she is bound to become a better artist. Standing in front of a camera or middle of the stage waiting for somebody to instruct you without knowing why you’re expected to do certain things in a certain way can loose it’s appeal over the time and does not give much room for improvement either. For instance, if an actor knows how does a camera work and what lighting is best for what mood and how editing actually happens it makes her perform in a much better and precisional way as she knows exactly how what she does is going to reflect in the camera. Knowing your lines and bringing out the emotions is no more enough. You need to get in there and know all aspects of the production. This stands true for any performing art form out there.
When you create your content you get a say in it’s outcome. How many times have you performed fantastically on stage but the camera guy completely screwed it up and now you no longer have a decent footage of your own performance to replay it and see what worked and what didn’t. And even if it did turn out well you cannot share it or display it as you don’t own the rights to it. There are tons of artists out there who has worked on various projects and tried uploading their work on platforms such YouTube and Vimeo, only to be told that they don’t own it and hence cannot upload it on their own channel. So in the end you have an account which is useless due to the “copyright strikes” and even if you wish to display it, an official permission is required which in itself is lengthy, tiresome and frustrating. In such cases having your content can prove to be beneficial and very empowering as you own the rights to your own art. No drama. No legal paperwork. Just you and your art on a tape for you to show it to whomsoever you want and whenever you want. If you’re an artist then there is no greater joy than this.
