The Art Of Business

    In the entertainment industry, it's very easy to find people who have an artistic drive.  Artists, musicians, singers, writers, and filmmakers have a passion for what they do, and it is this passion that drives creativity and allows audiences to experience original content, offering new and exciting works of art.  However, artistic expression can only get you so far in life.  You're going to need to pay the bills at some point, and to do that, you're going to have to take your abilities and use them to find clients of whom you will need to please in order to receive a check with your name on it.
    Part of my business is to help create book trailers for clients, bringing their ideas to life that helps advertise their written work.  It's fun to exchange ideas and then figure out how to make the trailer, especially when I'm free to be as creative as possible.  There was one trailer though that I thought I had made a very emotional and captivating trailer, but the client wanted it changed--not saying they were wrong in their decision.  This was for the book Courage in the Face of Evil, which is a great read by the way, and I would like to show you the two versions of the trailer to showcase how creative differences affects the product.
    This first one is the "director's cut," meaning it's what I envisioned the trailer to be, and I like how it turned out.  I feel the voice actress did a wonderful job capturing the fear and stress of the character, and the music and sound effects add even more to the dramatic setting showcased in actual WWII pictures.  WARNING:  This version contains disturbing imagery of the Holocaust--viewer discretion is advised.

    After presenting the client this trailer, they suggested making it shorter, resulting in the lines being meshed together to create a chaotic mish-mash of voices and the addition of text being shown with the voices, which honestly does help elaborate the stressful events the character endures, but ultimately, it took out the clarity of the what was being said in my opinion.  Here is the official version:

     As you can see, my version and my client's version have similarities and differences.  I prefer what I did because I think it helps advertise the story better, though I will admit it is a bit long.  Like I've said, there is no right or wrong in this situation.  When it comes to art, you are both right and wrong at the same time.  It's all about preference.  But this is what happens all of the time in the film industry. 
   What's the point of telling you this?  It's to tell you that, being in the entertainment industry, expect to be told what to do with your art.  You may not like it all of the time, and you may even disagree with your boss/client.  However, business is business.  I chose to cooperate with my client and make them a version that they were happy with.  Do I think my version is better?  Yes, but does my client think their version is better?  Also yes.  And you know what?  I'm OK with what we released.  I still had a lot of what I made in there, and I was able to still express my art, just had to limit it.  They were happy, and I was happy.  There is nothing wrong about sacrificing artistic vision in order to please a client who has their own vision of what the product should be.
     Which version do you like better?  Are there parts of one better than the other and vice versa?  Let me know in the comments section!