Smile Indias graciously sat down with the Journalixm staff and had a conversation with us about her experience in political communications. But the Ateneo Chair of The Department of Fine Arts had so much to say that we were able to get some valuable insight on the state of the creative industry from one of its movers and shapers.

 When did you realize how different your generation was from the current one?

So last year, ibinigay ko sa class ko yung personal number ko for life and death situations. The idea was, kung talagang ako ang kailangan para iligtas sila sa bingit ng kamatayan, game naman ako di ba? Sinadya ko naman ‘yun. Kasi di ba parang di natin alam kung may matinding situation, kunwari, harassment; or intern sila tapos iniwan sila sa gitna ng kung saan sa gitna ng shoot. Alam nila dapat kung paano ako mahanap. Ang expectation is, only in those instances should they use my number. Nasa sa kanila to decide kung kailangan na ako as lifeline.

So may tumawag mga 2pm umiiyak siya. Sabi ko, o anong nangyare?

Sabi niya pinag-assist daw siya sa shoot tapos pinagawa siya ng walong socmed card tapos pinapa-edit pa daw siya ng dalawang videos. 

Tapos sabi ko, o. Tapos sabi niya, it’s a lot Ma’am. Umiyak siya, tapos tumawa ako. As in nawalan ako ng EQ ang lakas ng tawa ko. A coup is a crisis. A car accident is a life or death situation. This is just work.

So I guess medyo illustrative ‘yan, ‘no, of the things that my generation considered na necessary ka umiyak or dumaing or tumawag ng lifeline. It comes with a greater awareness of boundaries and ‘yung mindfulness about well-being, which are all important things. Pero sometimes may byproduct ‘yun na medyo extreme regarding an aversion to labor, or to discomfort. This is of course a generalization, pero trend ‘yan na napansin ko over my years of teaching. Parang it’s just easier for students now to feel so overwhelmed.

How does a creative become more competitive as they enter the professional field?

Ayan, karugtong nito ‘yan. Kasi may kabaliktaran naman din ‘yang easily-overwhelmed chorva na ‘yan. Ang mga students nowadays, mas magaling na sila. Students now are actually very well-versed sa paggamit ng software, ng technology. Alam agad nila ‘yung the treatment that they want. Hindi na sobrang kailangang i-handle sa art direction or taste building or aesthetic setting. Bigyan mo lang ng pegs, or minsan sila mismo ang dami nang pegs na alam. May inspo na sila for most of the things that they want to do. 

Kailangan na lang silang tulungan mag-manage para hindi sila ma-paralyze du’n sa dami ng options na meron sila. But for the most part, at least the students here, they already know what they want to do; they already know the things they want to be good at. Magaling na silang mag-research, in fact. Di ba? Parang alam na alam na nila ‘yung gusto nilang gawin.

Again, may pero ‘yan. Kasi part nu’ng training mo as a creative is learning the mindset na collaborative ang mga project. Yes, may gusto kang gawin, malinaw sa iyo ‘yang gusto mong gawin, and if you’ve been trained well enough, you’ll know how to achieve, from a technical standpoint, ‘yung gust mong gawin. Pero ‘yan din ba ang gustong makita nu’ng stakeholders or nu’ng audience nila? What about their collaborators? Their creative directors? 

So it really is finding that balance between what they want to do, what they want to to express or what style they want to try, and at the same time being able to generate insights from conversations with people around them di ba? Being able to get out of their heads and actually listen to what the other person is asking for. That entails looking beyond your own horizon. Asking kung ano ‘yung kailangang marinig, ano ‘yung kailangang makita, ano yung kailangan maramdaman ng titingin sa gawa mo para ma-achieve ang goals mo as a creative, whether it’s in advocacy or advertising o ano man ‘yan.

I think you’ve began to touch on the difference between an artist and a creative, at least in terms of professional terminology. Can you expound on that?

Kunyari ako, for example, hindi ako sanay gumawa ng something that is just purely for self-expression. Lahat ng ginagawa ko, lagi siyang response to a prompt, or lagi siyang in response to a problem, or response to a need, di ba? And to me that is what makes me more of a creative than an artist.

Kasi hindi ko naman sinasabing kulang sa kung ano ‘yung mga creative no or self-absorbed yung mga artist. Hindi naman yun yung distinction. Sinasabi ko lang, may mga taong tulad ko na hindi necessarily bukal ng expression. Pero mahilig akong mag-achieve ng goals. And to go back to du’n sa sinasabi ko kanina, usually ang achievement ng goals, lalo na ng malalaking goals, or ‘yung may impact na hinahabol ko, hindi ‘yan maa-achieve mag-isa. You need to work and collaborate with other people who are after the same goals. Listen to them, get along with them, find a way to incorporate their own ideas, etcetera. Hindi siya parang may singular vision ka na galing sa loob mo tapos ikaw lang masusunod. Kung may gusto kang solusyonang problem, dapat marunong kang mag-collaborate talaga. Isang malaking distinction ‘yan ng creative at artist I think.