Dream Teams

Tuesday nite, crazy windy. Best gas price $2.15 (!!).

I've been watching the "extras" on the Star Wars DVDs over the last few days. There's a running theme on the "making-of" featurettes included with a lot of the most amazing films (LOTR trilogy and Serenity are two more that come to mind) -- and it's how mindful each person in the production is of the vital contributions of the rest of the team. There's a huge amount of appreciation and respect shared among the crew members, particularly when they are working on a project that they are outrageously passionate about, and which is almost too doggone hard for them! It's wonderful to watch the special effects guys raving over the composer, the producer gushing about the costume designer, the director thrilled over the prop makers... all of them saying pretty much the same things: couldn't do my job without those guys ... exhausted but excited... wouldn't miss this for anything...

This looks like creativity at its absolute best. What a pleasure to be a part of that sort of team! And yet I hear and experience a much different thing back here in the real world -- many more stories of frustration and friction than camaraderie and mutual inspiration. What might the elements be which change a work environment from a dehumanizing place into an exhilarating one?

The first thing that comes to mind is a leader for whom everyone concerned has huge trust and respect (George Lucas, Pete Jackson, Joss Whedon... yeah, those would be folks you could probably trust to get it right...). Another thing is a project that's truly worth doing (will there EVER be another Tolkien?). And another thing would be a team of folks who know their job so well that they can work with confidence (as opposed to ego, which I think is a fraud's way of faking confidence). Must be a tough collection of things to put together. I wonder how rare it really is?

Well, as they say on the LOLcats web site... "want."

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P.S. Happy Birthday, mom...
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