In my spare time, I dabble in the improv arts, and one of the first things any improvisor learns is the rule of ‘yes, and …’. The principle is simple – accept all ideas proposed from your team and build on them no matter how crazy they may seem. The value of ‘yes, and …’ around The Second City is obvious. Ensembles take a simple idea and ‘yes, and …’ it until the perfect picture is painted and the audience is entertained and satisfied by the story. I love this philosophy on life because it amplifies everything. The world is truly your oyster when you take this approach to creating. ‘Yes, and …’ forces you to take anything life throws at you and build something solid on top of it.
I know what you are thinking, ‘Wait – did Bridget get her personal blog mixed up with the Bottle Rocket Media blog? What does this have to do with video production?’ I didn’t! (Not this time at least!) ‘Yes, and…’ is something you hear daily (or hourly, if I am being honest) around the Bottle Rocket Media office. It is an age old improv tenet that we have adopted to guide our problem solving and creative process. We use this approach to design our effective, unique and memorable stories. Whether it is recruitment videos, or product shoots, we know how to take an idea to the next level.
Recently we were designing an invitation to our taco party, and naturally we decided to include video. We started with a simple concept, a looped video of cheese sprinkling on a taco. A few ‘Yes, and…’s later and we have the masterpiece below. Why have just a taco, when you could have a unicorn eating a taco? Throw us any idea, suggestion, scenario and we will ‘yes, and…’ the heck out of it.
Bouncing between The Second City and the office, I see my improv life and office life colliding more often than not. In addition to ‘yes, and…’ Bottle Rocket Media embodies the ensemble attitude. We truly are a team and everyone dives in to contribute equally to all projects, but also we support each other in our personal interests. The “I got your back” culture keeps us growing and having fun in all aspects of our life.
Everyone who knows me knows I am an improv evangelizer. I think everyone everywhere should take at least one improv class. The benefits are endless, the friends are lifelong, and the teachings are useful in every part of life. Seeing so many of the wonderful qualities translating into my Bottle Rocket life is one of the many reasons I love it here.
Now, Zip, Zap, Zop anyone?