I am a musician.
The son of musicians. The father of musicians. I’ve spent my whole life immersed in music and art. Few things in my life will provoke a visceral reaction more quickly than a moving piece of art. I am quick to cry, quick to wonder. Music and art are a part of my DNA.
So…how did I end up in the technology business? How did I end up doing consulting work, helping companies become more efficient and profitable by managing their content well? How did I end up helping employees feel good about their work, knowing that they brought value to their companies by doing excellent work in a timely fashion?
Well, that’s a long story…too long for this blog. I will say this – these two fields aren’t as far apart as you might think. Music is only music when it is enveloped in structure. Depending on the type of music being played, that structure can be very loose, or intricately organized, but it IS structured. Music without structure is just noise.
The same is true of organizational content. Without structure, all the intellectual property, information, knowledge and data of an organization is just noise.
Sometimes, these two different disciplines converge. I saw an animated short film today that took my breath away. (You can watch it below.) The film, created by world-famous animator Glen Keane, is entitled “Duet”. It was done using old-school animation techniques with new-school technological innovations, and the result is amazing.
In addition to the film, there is a video explaining how they did it (also available below). In that explanation, the narrator shares that Mr. Keane did over 10,000 original drawings for the three and a half minute film. Check out the different content management solutions between 2:07 and 2:30 of the video. HE stored the drawings on a bookshelf, but the technology experts, wanting to protect these precious drawings, digitized them and organized them so they could be indexed, backed up and archived.
Enjoy the film. Wonder at its beauty and simplicity. Then remember…there is a connection between the mystery of art and the science of organization. Whatever you do, you can make your world a little more beautiful, too.
Duet
The Making of Duet