CREATIVE PRODUCER, JAY WHITE AND PSYOP WILL BE CELEBRATING THEIR ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY IN JUNE. PSYOP IS A HARDCORE ROMANTIC SO IT’S SET TO BE A CUTE ONE.
JAY’S WEEKEND RITUALS TEND TO DANCE WITH THE WEATHER. WHEN IT RAINS, HE WRITES. WHEN IT SHINES, THE OUTDOORS CALL TO HIM. AND, OF COURSE, THERE’S MEAL PREPPING WHEN DISCIPLINE STRIKES.
HIS FIRST PASSION IS WRITING, SUSTAINED BY A NATURAL AFFECTION FOR STORYTELLING. HAVING STARTED HIS CAREER AS A 3D GENERALIST, THEN STEPPING INTO EDITING, COMPOSITING AND EVENTUALLY DIRECTING AND PRODUCING, HE’S ACCUMULATED A RANGE OF SKILLS THAT HE LEVERAGES BOTH PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY. BUT HIS CORE INTERESTS DRIVE AN EVOLVING DESIRE TO CRAFT EXPERIENCES THAT CAN EFFECT CHANGE IN OTHERS. JAY EXPLAINS “TITLES AND MEDIUMS ARE LESS SIGNIFICANT TO ME, NOW; INSTEAD I’VE BEGUN DEDICATING MYSELF TO CLAIMING SPACE WHERE I CAN CRAFT EXPERIENCES THAT CHALLENGE TRADITIONAL NOTIONS OF WHAT CONSTITUTES CONTENT, HOW IT SHOULD BE CONSUMED, AND WHAT IT SHOULD BE SAYING”.
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NON-FUNGIBLE TOKENS HAVE BECOME NOT JUST A NOVEL CLASSIFICATION OF GOODS, BUT A DEEPLY CONTROVERSIAL PHENOMENON FOR OUR CULTURE. IT HAS BEEN A MAJOR EVENT FOR OUR PERCEPTION OF OWNERSHIP AND ACCESS IN THE DIGITAL REALM. AND WHILE IT HAS TRANSFORMED CREATIVE AUTONOMY, IT HAS ALSO REGURGITATED CAPITALIST IDEALS THE PREMISE OF DECENTRALIZATION MEANS TO COUNTER.
CRITICS OF NFTS ARGUE THAT THE SALE OF A DIGITAL TOKEN MEANS NOTHING FOR THOSE WHO CAN’T BENEFIT FROM THAT SALE. WHAT HAS THE EXPLOSION OF CRYPTO WEALTH AND NFTS DONE TO ADDRESS THE EXTREME INEQUITIES OF OUR TRANSNATIONAL ECONOMY? ITS INTANGIBILITY ONLY AMPLIFIES DIVISION BETWEEN THOSE WITH ACCESS AND CAPITAL, AND THOSE WITHOUT.
ADVOCATES SAY THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE NATURE OF MARKETS. AND THE CAPITALIZATION OF DIGITAL TOKENS IS NO DIFFERENT THAN THE PRIVATE AUCTIONS THAT HAVE EXISTED FOR CENTURIES. MEANWHILE NFTS, EXISTING ON AN OPEN PLATFORM FUELED BY SOCIAL NETWORKS, GIVE CREATORS ACCESS TO A MODEL THAT CAN BOTH EMPOWER THEM AND UPROOT TRADITIONAL NETWORKS IN THE PROCESS.
IT IS, AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE, A MARBLE OF POSSIBILITY AND DISAPPOINTMENT. BUT OUR RESPONSIBILITY LIES AS MUCH IN THE SHAPING OF THESE NEW IDEAS AS THE CRITICISM THAT KEEPS THEM IN CHECK. BRANDS, NEW AND OLD, ARE GEARING UP TO PARTICIPATE IN THE REALM OF DIGITAL TOKENS, SOME MORE SUCCESSFULLY THAN OTHERS. STILL, WHAT FEELS LIKE THE NEW GOLD RUSH IS STYMIED BY THE CONFUSION OF WHAT THE NEW GOLD IS EXACTLY AND WHERE TO MINE IT.
THE ACCESS TO EXPERIENCE THAT COMES FROM A COMMUNITY CREATES THE VALUE INDIVIDUALS CHASE IN THAT COMMUNITY. POPULAR NFT SPACES LIKE BORED APE YACHT CLUB ARE ALREADY CAPITALIZING ON THIS THEORY AND HELPING TEMPLATE JUST ONE VERSION OF THIS PROCESS. STAKE IN BAYC IS MORE THAN AN ITEM IN YOUR DIGITAL WALLET. IT’S A KEY TO A PRIVATE COMMUNITY WITH EXCLUSIVE EVENTS AND GOODS, ALL WITH THE MILIEU OF STATUS THAT COMES WITH IT.
WHAT THE GENERAL PUBLIC DOESN’T REALIZE IS THAT WE ARE WITNESSING THE “METAVERSE” DEVELOPING IN COMMUNITIES LIKE BAYC; THE SPACES ARE INTRINSICALLY LINKED. UNFORTUNATELY, THE MASSIVE INVESTMENT IN VR AND AR TECH HAS HIJACKED THE CONVERSATION UNDER THE INCREASINGLY TENUOUS IMPRESSION THAT MASS ADOPTION IS AROUND THE CORNER. VR AND AR PLATFORMS WILL BECOME ONE FACET OF THE LARGER METAVERSE, AND EVENTUALLY DOMINATE IT. BUT LIMITATIONS OF PORTABILITY, CONVENIENCE, AND COST STUNT THE NEAR-TERM VIABILITY OF THIS TECH AT SCALE.
INSTEAD, FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE, THE PREVAILING PORT OF ENTRY INTO THE METAVERSE WILL CONTINUE TO BE OUR EXISTING TECHNOLOGY. WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING IS THE BURGEONING NETWORK WHICH LINKS THAT TECHNOLOGY, WEB3, AND HOW IDENTITY AND EXPERIENCE WILL BE TOKENIZED ACROSS IT.
A SIMPLE EXAMPLE HAS AN ONLINE STORE GIFTING YOUR WEB3 PROFILE AN NFT. WHEN YOU STROLL PAST ITS BRICK-AND-MORTAR COUNTERPART, THAT TOKEN TEASES YOU WITH A TIMED REWARD JUST FOR STEPPING INSIDE. IT COULD BE A DISCOUNT, A SWEEPSTAKE ENTRY TO SXSW, OR AN EXCLUSIVE DROP WITH A NEW MUSIC VIDEO (REPRESENTED BY ITS OWN TOKEN).
REWARDS PROGRAMS, OF COURSE, ARE NOTHING NEW. WHAT IS NEW IS THE DEEP, SEAMLESS INTEROPERABILITY THAT COMES WITH IT. B2B AND B2C WILL MELD AS BRANDS LINK WITH ONE ANOTHER ACROSS WEB3 TO ELEVATE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES. THE INTERACTIVE REALM IS ALREADY PROVING THIS WITHOUT THIS TECHNOLOGY. ARTISTS, BRANDS, RESTAURANTS, VENUES, AND MORE ARE ALL LOOKING TO COLLABORATE ON CREATING MEANINGFUL, COMPLEX EXPERIENCES THAT CONNECT THE PHYSICAL WORLD WITH THE ONLINE, AND BACK AGAIN.
THIS WILL BE TRANSFORMATIVE FOR STUDIOS LIKE PSYOP. WHILE THE ECOSYSTEM OF CREATIVE MARKETING IS CHANGING, THE OLD GUARD OF THE AD INDUSTRY ARE BEING FORCED TO ADAPT TO NOVEL TRENDS AT AN EXPONENTIAL PACE. ALL THIS, WHILE STILL RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS THAT HAS BEEN PUNCTURED BY JOLT OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING THAT HAS BECOME, AT BEST ADJACENT, AT WORST AN ENTIRELY SEPARATE INDUSTRY.
LEADERS LIKE ARMAND WEERESINGHE, OUR EP OF INTERACTIVE, ARE HELPING SHAPE THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT EMPOWER OUR TALENT TO EXPERIMENT, BUILD NEW TOOLS, AND DISTILL NEW FORMS OF EXPERIENCE. AND THE NEW TOOLS LIKE GENERATIVE AI THAT WE’RE WITNESSING EXPLODE IN POPULARITY ARE THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.
ULTIMATELY, THE BURGEONING CREATIVES THAT EXCEL ARE GOING TO BE A DIFFERENT BREED, LEVERAGING SKILLS THAT REACH ACROSS PROGRAMMING, DESIGN, ARCHITECTURE, EVEN SOCIOLOGY. WITH VISIONARY LEADERSHIP THIS EVOLUTION WILL EQUIP PSYOP AND ITS PARTNERS TO MOLD THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND PROTOCOLS OF THIS NEW REALITY.
