Maker Moments: Embracing Versatility in My Creative Evolution

Welcome to Maker Moments, our series where we feature guest contributions to our blog from QuickFrame makers. This month’s post is written by maker Jonathan Del Gatto, the founder and creative director of Brighter Creative Content.

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The QuickFrame maker community stands out as a pretty scrappy bunch. We wear a lot of creative and production hats to deliver high-quality video with remarkable speed and efficiency.  I think our willingness to be so scrappy and roll up our sleeves is a key factor behind our ability to do what we do across such diverse brands and platforms.

Drawing from my own journey, which began in the music world and traversed through roles like colorist, commercial editor, agency creative, and now, as the Creative Director and Founder of Brighter Creative Content, I’ve experienced firsthand the transformative power of embracing versatility in my personal creative evolution.

The Benefits of a Versatile Creative Career 

My career trajectory has led me to create videos for hundreds of brands spanning most categories including beauty, home goods, pets, technology, and fashion. And while conventional wisdom often urges us to “niche down” and specialize, especially in the advertising production pipeline where I started, I’ve found my diverse experience working in many capacities with all types of brands and platforms has emerged as one of my most valuable assets.

Working across many styles of video and platforms keeps it fun, and interesting day by day. The advice to focus on a niche and specialize on specific platforms, production styles, and product categories often echoes within the creative industry, and honestly, I don’t see the advantage. My journey has demonstrated that having a deep and broad understanding of many types of products, and production styles across social media and television has been exceptionally valuable to my customers. I’ve found having a broad and deep understanding of culture and trends is much more valuable than perhaps having produced a similar ad for a customer competitor. The ability to leverage a multifaceted skill set gained from working as an editor, director, musician, and more adds a unique dimension to my creative process and, more often than not, has made me extremely efficient and concise.

I 100% acknowledge the importance of specific experience in various production areas. It’s undeniable that customers appreciate makers who understand their products and can produce content tailored to their needs. My team and I have successfully undertaken QuickFrame projects for brands including Clarins, Estée Lauder, Joybird, Gopuff delivery, and Spot Pet Insurance in 2023. This diversity in customerele and platforms has made my role as Creative Director and Executive Producer incredibly stimulating, keeping me connected across every medium and in a perpetual state of discovery and research.

When Everyone Goes Right, Go Left

A guiding principle that has shaped much of my career came from the advice of a wonderful mentor of mine who once told me, “When everyone is going right, be sure to go left.” I think my embrace of this advice explains my willingness to question the conventional wisdom of niching down. Many friends and competitors of mine have chosen to focus on specific niches, such as user-generated content (UGC), or become experts on a single platform, like TikTok. Yet, I’ve discovered that the hooks, storytelling, and production techniques gleaned from a beauty project can often prove to be invaluable when applied to, say, a technology testimonial or a food shoot.

Even if this does not hold true in every instance, the interplay between seemingly disparate creative realms adds complexity and an interesting perspective to my creative process. Plus, I guarantee discussing your recent fashion project with customers on set while you’re shooting with a technology customer will be a much more engaging conversation than recounting experiences on their competitor’s set from the previous month.

A Creative Balance 

For me, the “sweet spot” lies in finding a balance between specialization and creative exploration, and embracing new ideas and challenges. Being a creative storyteller is how I best define what I do, and storytelling transcends every project. I like to think I’m like many QuickFrame makers who thrive on adaptability, scrappiness, learning, and the art of embracing unexpected new ideas, and the next creative challenge. 

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