In case you haven’t seen the brilliant new OK Go video, take a look:
The band has produced amazing videos before, of course: this one, this one, this one, and this one. It’s enough to make us think we should be producing mind-blowing videos like theirs. It’s enough to make us think those guys are geniuses and we just don’t measure up to that kind of creativity. It’s enough to make us think our work is not OK.
And that’s not OK.
Yes, OK Go makes remarkable, game-changing music videos, but you’re not allowed to compare your work to theirs. Want to know why? Because your work is a week in, week out occupation. And those OK Go boys? They release an incredible video every year or two.
Their context is one of big bangs. They have a big idea, they push all their chips to the center of the table, and they pull of something huge. Then they wait another year or two and try to do it again. But that’s not you, right? Your rhythms are weekly. You produce on a smaller scale because that’s the only thing that’s sustainable. If you had a year to ideate and execute a single idea, you could make something great. I know you could. But that’s not your job.
So we must enjoy OK Go but refuse to compare ourselves with them. Deal?
Who has time for comparisons anyway? Sunday’s coming …
