I can't stand my work.
Hmm, maybe I should clarify. Let me say that, once it's done, all I can see in the work that I've touched is all the stuff that I'd change if only I had a little more time or foresight.
All the stuff that I've posted, for instance. Each piece filled me with dread as I was looking at it, shooting it, writing about it and posting it. Each one reverberated with choices I wish I could have back.
And that's true for the stuff I really like, the pieces that are smart or push the edge.
The Ascenda spot for instance. As much as Ted is a good actor, as much as we got so much of what was in my head onto film, as much as I love the in-situ product benefits, I simply can't stomach the music. I have no idea what we were thinking. It's bad. It so overwhelms the spot for me that I almost think it was the track, rather than the end of the tech boom, that killed the campaign.
I'm glad I can't remember who did the track for us, because I could never work with them again. I seem to have blotted out the entire post process of that spot.
Or the Smarties box design contest microsite. It really bugs me that we didn't put a skip intro button on the flash intro. We sure as hell should have. I must have been so enamoured of the flash that I violated pretty much everything I believe about usability to force people to watch it over, and over, and over...
Sigh. I've come to accept the fact that there's always going to be something I want to fiddle with, something that's not right, or not good enough, even after it's live or on air on in mailboxes.
Doesn't make it any easier. So, I guess, don't look back. Really.