One of Malta’s most important sayings, but yet one of Malta’s most commonly ignored ones too.
To fully immerse in this philosophical expression, all parties involved must have a strong level of trust, a good ability to let go and also a solid dosage of curiosity. Curiosity is a vital ingredient here as the minute you are letting go of a project and passing the baton, you will feel a little blinded momentarily. But do not fear that blackness.
Embrace it, allow thoughts to form and disappear, and when you open your eyes, you will not be disappointed by the result. Your curiosity is fun as you have left your canvas with someone else, who will apply their techniques, twists, and languages to it.
… that is the best-case scenario. And without wishing to sound paradoxical, the best-case scenario will emerge only after total control from you. You see when you select the other external contributors, caution must be taken.
The people chosen for the project must be cut from the same cloth. Your philosophies and brand values must never clash and should complement each other. In layman’s term: do not get a tattoo of a detailed portrait from a tourist shop on the corner. Pick your artist, communicate well, suss him or her out and then give them the creative reigns – and this, the most difficult part, is the most important – letting go…
Breathe. Change track. Focus on other projects. Then meet up – and if you have picked the right people, finally you can gasp at their impressive creation.
Sounds easy? It is not, but when it does work – you’ve hit the jackpot.
Te fit-Tazza did exactly that when collaborating with both Blacksalmon and Yasmin Kuymizakis. They had the trust to let go, completely, and they went into the vibrant animation almost blinded. To add more spice to the curry, it was the first ever time Blacksalmon has worked without using their designs, while it was the first time Yasmin and Blacksalmon collaborated too.
Blacksalmon and Yasmin Kuymizakis were chosen not only as they are experts in their fields, but also as their DNA matches Te fit-Tazza’s perfectly. Yasmin is a Sound Designer, specialising on local sounds we often hear and take for granted around Malta and Gozo. She creates her own sounds but also taps into to her environment as often as possible to infuse her work further. Blacksalmon, a husband & wife animation company, are according to Andrew “The best around locally”. A collection of animations, short forms and Gifs help their clients reach tell stories in an enriched way, and with the unique and fun style to their work, any client would be lucky to have them narrate so wonderfully.
“We were surprised by how easy it was to deal with Te fit-Tazza, despite not having our own artwork – and the final piece may look complex and hard to do, but it was the total opposite.” That there from Blacksalmon is the proof of the pudding – Il-ħobż tih lil min jaf jieklu.
Craig feels that bringing in Yasmin was “the best decision for the project” and the way she laced the sound through the animation makes it a fun, energetic composition. “The music gave the piece character,” adds Andrew, who just can’t stop smiling at this point.
Yasmin used different musical compositions to come up with the incredible piece, and the best part about it? He yells “ħobż, ħobż!” – how appropriate for the title of this blog post!
Blacksalmon felt that “the music was the missing element, and once we had it, the direction for the animation followed shortly.”
Yasmin too complimented the creative process. “They made it so easy for me as they tapped into my passion” and even in a complex idea, clarity was easy to find due to their energy.
The formula for success here: Trust, and the ability to let go, work blindly using maximum creative freedom. Ladies and gents, that is the Te fit-Tazza creative process for this piece in a nutshell.
The selection process here was critical to the trio, they share philosophies, and as birds of a feather, they flew together, in this case soaring to impressive heights, before gradually finding their feet and settling on this, the final product.
“Some companies might not like this, but in this collaboration, we had a good direction and complete creative freedom, we loved every second of it” – Blacksalmon.