The Creative Lowdown April '23

Hi there!

Welcome to the new and improved Creative Lowdown!

With the new look I really wanted to create something that caught attention and was visually appealing to read! Emails & LinkedIn newsletters are fine and all... but how much more fun is this?!

I’m so excited about bringing the amazing people listed on Create Crowd in this way, I hope to help everyone connect with people that can help them get AMAZING things made!

I’m always here to answer any questions so please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Amy Marshall

amy@createcrowd.com.au

POWERFUL STORIES STRIKING VISUALS EXPERTLY CRAFTED

At JJW STUDIO, we’re riding strong with over twelve years of experience crafting visual content for brands such as P&O Cruises, Spotify, Google, Schwarzkopf and more. We’re based in Sydney, and we work with leading brands across the globe.

Founder Josef J. Weber had an early fascination for all things film from the day he turned 5! He was enthralled with the magic of cinema, and the ability to shape and move people sparked an early fascination for the medium.

At 14, Josef made his first short film on a mini-DV camera where he wrote, shot, produced, edited AND directed each one of them! Over twenty years later, Josef heads up JJW STUDIO with the same passion for shaping and moving people through the content he crafts.

With his multi-skill set on the tools, Josef steers the creative ship and can make informed decisions each step of the way for himself, his surrounding team and most importantly you. He’s applied his tremendous devotion to all sorts of visual mediums with leading brands such as Microsoft, Universal Music, AccorHotels and many more.

PRODUCER/DIRECTOR

David, Producer/ Director – Co owner Proetic Productions, has a formal education in Journalism, Film and TV production and 20 years of diverse experience in both film production and advertising. He began his career as an actor for major national brands, which evolved into a career in various production roles before further moving forward as a Director and Producer. David has simultaneously pursued his other passion in Production Design and Art Directing.

As an Art Director he has been sourced for productions such as Amazon/Disney‘s ‘The Wilds’, ‘The Stranger’ starring Joel Edgerton, Mortal Kombat and ABC’s After Taste. He recently production designed SBS series ‘Beginners Guide to Grief’.

As a Director and Producer David has created content for CFS, SAPOL, SA Water, SA Dept of Premier and Cabinet, Jacobs Creek, Clipsal, Topdeck Travel and National Pharmacies amongst others. He was recently awarded both the 2022 AADC craft award for Directing and further honoured with the AADC Masters Chair for directing. David is based in Adelaide, but has worked both nationally and internationally and is available to travel for projects.

CGI, ANIMATION, CREATIVE RETOUCHING AND MORE

PAUL GAWMAN

An award-winning Sydney-based studio with demonstrated experience in crafting visual content for multinational brands and world-class Agencies.

Detail-oriented, innovative and deadline-driven , I produce visual content for local and international audiences by using CGI, animation, creative retouching, and more.

With a passion for craft and a solid understanding of colour and composition , I blend creativity with technical ability and use a selection of 2D & 3D applications to produce beautiful and compelling visual content and add creative value to a ny brief.

With over 20 years’ industry experience, I believe in always striving for excellence, working creatively, imaginatively and passionately while embracing all that digital technology has to offer, so that my clients and brands can continue to grow and evolve.

Neon Moose is made up of one creative ‘creative’ and self-confessed word ‘nerd’. Choose Neon Moose and you get a dedicated: copywriter or content writer which makes words work, marketing consultant who loves to elevate brands while being strategic, social media manager full of ideas, results and a knack for making social media accounts shine or PR consultant helping small businesses get their word out.

Whether it’s online or offline, Moose will work creatively and strategically to elevate your business and deliver the best results.

Neon Moose is celebrated and awarded for clever copy, marketing nous, social media management and creative client solutions.

COPYWRITER SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

GRAPHIC DESIGNER ART DIRECTOR

Francesca is a Graphic Designer and Art Director based in Adelaide, South Australia.

As a student Francesca was a finalist in the 2019 AGDA awards, placing in three categories. She has recently graduated from AWARD School placing 2nd in SA with nine out of ten briefs landing on “The Wall” (being the judge’s top picks). Francesca emerged into the industry with a Freelance career (which she is still undertaking), transitioned into working in-house, eventually landing in Advertising as a Junior Art Director at Showpony Advertising and having worked at Them Advertising as a Graphic Designer she is now looking for a career as a Freelance Graphic Designer & Art Director.

Francesca was chosen as a speaker at the recent ‘AGDASA First Five Out’ and spoke about her experiences as an emerging designer. She has worked with clients such as Flinders University, Hello Sarnie, SA Health, TAFE SA, Department of the Premier & Cabinet, Wellbeing SA, Gemtree Wines, Tour Down Under, Thirsty Camel & Samuel Smith & Sons.

Liam West has been a commercial photographer since 2004. Currently based in a studio on Norwood, South Australia, he. loves shooting a wide range of subjects but these days he’s most well known for high end still life and conceptual advertising projects. He also creates 3D visualisations which allows him to produce photo-realistic images and animations and complements traditional work.

“I started my career with a Bachelor of Visual Communication from UniSA so I speak the creative language!”

10 HABITS OF HIGHLY MOTIVATED PEOPLE

We all want to be more productive and motivated. But who has the time to start a side hustle, new hobby or business? Well, believe it or not, we all can with just a little motivation.

That’s why we’ve gathered ten simple steps to increase your motivation to help you achieve your goals sooner. While these little changes to your daily routine don’t seem like much - they add up.

Brainstorm Often

Keep a notepad by your bed or use the notes in your phone to spend time each week brainstorming new ideas. Training your brain to think outside the box by finding solutions to problems through new ideas and concepts will have you motivated to try out your new brainwaves.

Brainstorming helps you come up with ideas quickly without overthinking. This allows you to get your brain warmed up, pumping ideas from your mind to paper.

If your not sure where to start, brainstorm a list of things that need doing around the house and ways those jobs could be made simpler and more time-effective. Once you’ve trained your brain to think creatively, you’ll think sessions will have you founding elaborate and ingenious ideas.

When people ask us how to stay motivated, this is one of our favourite habits to recommend.

Gratitude Journal

The power of positivity can significantly boost your motivation levels. By journaling what you are grateful for you force your brain to start looking for the good in your life.

You may be surprised at what a powerful tool a gratitude journal can be when used consistently. When you start each morning with a positive affirmation and end your day reflecting on all the great things that you experienced, your brain tricks

you into working harder for the dopamine, hit you receive when listing your gratitudes.

This motivates many people into looking for the positives in their lives and how they can recognise negative situations as positives. For example, if your boss is tough on you, you might try saying, “I appreciate the feedback, as my boss must see great potential in my work.”

Chunking

Yes, you read that correctly - Chunking. No, it’s not a new fashion or dance craze its a habit of highly motivated people whereby they break their tasks down to smaller steps. For example, instead of “write the expense report”, they break it down into writing the introduction, then the first paragraph before lunch and completing the task with mini-goals along the way. This helps you to cross off more on your list, making you feel like you are accomplishing more tasks.

Try breaking down your bigger tasks into smaller steps. Focus on each step for 20-30 minutes and then take a short break. Then focus on the next step. These little bursts of highly focused work help you to accomplish more throughout the day.

This habit is especially useful for those looking to boost their motivation quickly. If you have been feeling incredibly unmotivated, this habit works quickly to increase motivation.

Exercise Regularly

Have you ever noticed how good moving your body makes you feel? This is because, during exercise, our body releases endorphins and increases our dopamine and serotonin levels. This magic trio of natural happiness improves our mood and ability to focus on the task at hand.

Not only does exercise make us happier, but it can also reduce stress, boost our self-esteem and keep our bodies in good shape what’s not to love.

Whether it’s a full-body cardio workout, strength training or a short walk with the dog, any exercise is good exercise and guaranteed to make you more motivated.

Treat Yourself

Make sure you find time in your busy schedule to treat yourself to the things you genuinely enjoy. It can be anything as long as its something that makes you genuinely happy. For some it’s taking a stroll along the beach, others like face-masks and mani/pedis, while others enjoy a night on the town.

Whatever your treat is, make time to enjoy and do it regularly. Having something to look forward to even something small like your favourite coffee or chocolate bar acts as a motivation to achieve tasks and reach goals.

Celebrate your Accomplishments

Most of us rally around the troops when a friend achieves something big, but when we reach something ourselves, we rarely stop to acknowledge our outstanding work.

A secret of highly motivated people is stopping to celebrate their successes. Even small victories deserve recognition. Acknowledging your success is vital long-term success, happiness and self-fulfilment.

So next time to accomplish a goal, stop for a moment and celebrate your success. Be proud of your achievements, great and small. Victories come in all shapes and sizes, so be proud of yourself and be grateful for the handwork you do.

Remember your Mantra

Write out your biggest goals and turn them into a Mantra. Read this to yourself daily. Every time you feel yourself procrastinating remember your mantra, Where do you see yourself in one year? What will you have accomplished? How much money will you be making? What things that you do daily will get you to your end goal?

Remind yourself of the end goal when focusing on the daily tasks that will help you reach your goals.

Set Daily Goals

Each morning set a goal to accomplish that day. Work towards achieving that goal but starting with something easy and over time, make your daily goal for challenging.

By creating a habit of achieving a different goal each day, you will be motivated to accomplish this, regardless of your busy schedule.

By setting the goals small at first, you get into the habit of setting and accomplishing goals daily. Once you are in the pattern, it’s easier to set more ambitious goals to achieve daily. Before you know it, you are accomplishing goals at a faster pace each day.

Meditate

Mediation is often perceived as humming in the lotus position in a Zen retreat, but this is false anyone can practice mindfulness and mediation. Some of the worlds most motivated people insist that their daily 10-20 minutes of mediation is the secret to their success.

There are lots of mediation apps you can download for free, but if you think you don’t have time, try listening to a relaxing podcast during your commute or keep your phone on aeroplane mode until work starts. Both are mediative practices encouraging focus.

Follow a schedule

Create positive habits by sticking to a regular schedule. Most of the World’s Billionaires, CEO’s and highly accomplished people have daily plans they stick to. They wake up, eat, meditate, exercise, work, play, relax and sleep roughly at the same time each day.

Scheduling your days helps program your brain into behaving a certain way at certain times. It helps ensure you’re entirely focused while at work but not uptight and stressed during your play and relax time.

Following a schedule helps you remain on target and motivated. It doesn’t matter what your schedule looks like or if it fits the ‘norm’ as long as it fits your needs and helps you stay on task its a simple change you can make to become more motivated.

Download the Create Crowd app to find your next creative freelancer, production business or film crew!

Start building your own freelancer network with Create Crowd.

If you are a freelancer or creative business that would like to sign up, it’s free! You can download the app and create a profile there OR click to sign up here!