It was a late October day like any other. I had just completed one year at Pixel Dreams—my first year as a gainfully employed creative. Just as I was starting to grasp how little I actually knew, our CEO Khalid partnered me with Linh, another young PDT member, with a deceptively simple request.
Hey, I need you guys to make something—anything—that says ‘thank you’ to our entire community as an end-of-year project. That’s all the information you’re getting. Go nuts.
No brief. No guidelines. Just an open-ended challenge.
The eye of the storm
Finally, I thought. A project where I could prove my creativity. No client revisions, no compromises, just two young minds, unrestricted. Linh and I dove in headfirst, excited by the endless possibilities.
Our plan was simple: come up with an idea, get it approved by leadership (sans Khalid, who wanted no part in the process), and be full steam ahead within a week.
One month later, we still had nothing.
With no structure, we spiralled out of control. Our ideas were too big, too ambitious, or simply unclear. We pitched everything from an automated (yet somehow personalized) email to a 1000-person audience, to a Pixel Dreams calendar, to an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine. Each time, PD co-founders Lannie and Trevor would quickly unravel the feasibility of our ideas.
We were stuck. Frustration. Dead ends. Doubt. Synonyms.
A port in the storm
After our third failed pitch session, Trevor and Lannie made a suggestion that changed everything:
Your strengths are in video and design. Use those. Change the scope from the entire community to just the internal team, and we’ll show it at the Christmas party.
It was so simple, it almost felt ridiculous. After all those sleepless nights and dead-end ideas, the answer had been right in front of us.
With newfound clarity, we moved forward. The production of the video should have been smooth sailing from there… but, of course, that’s not how this story goes.
With newfound clarity, we moved forward. The production of the video should have been smooth sailing from there… but, of course, that’s not how this story goes.
Some lights, one camera, and lots of action.
The mission, should we choose to accept it (we had no choice), was this:
- Write a script
- Shoot the video
- Edit it
- Deliver it—all in one month
A thrilling, tight timeline. And by “thrilling,” I mean mildly terrifying.
The Script
The script had to include everyone’s Pixel Dreams handle—those unique monikers that become part of our email identities. 31 names in total. Some favorites: Comet, Wizard, and 72dpi.
How do you create a cohesive story using all of these? Enter Lannie, our literary alchemist.
She was so locked in while writing, I’m not even sure she noticed me sitting beside her. It was one of those moments where you realize this is the difference that years of experience makes.
Production
Miraculously, we finished the script on schedule. Next up: filming.
This is where things got interesting.
- One camera. Liberty AKA Daniel Libby generously lent us his DJI Osmo Pocket 3—a fantastic tool, though its viewfinder is the size of a postage stamp.
- No explanations. The video was a surprise for the internal team, meaning we couldn’t tell people why they were doing what they were doing. Try directing under those conditions.
- Total chaos. Coordinating shoot times across different time zones, working around the schedules of fully employed participants during the work week, dealing with unexpected reshoots, and handling the usual technical mishaps — this might have been the most exhausting part of the project.
The Edit
This should have been the easiest step. The footage was there. There was no more scheduling, no more secrecy, just assembling the video.
But after three weeks of non-stop creative problem-solving, we were running on fumes.
I had a full-blown crisis. “We need to reshoot the whole thing. It’s not good enough.”
Lannie listened. She nodded. Then she told me to go for a walk.
Sounds cliché, right? But sometimes, the simplest advice lands hardest. That walk gave me the clarity I needed. With a refreshed perspective and the support of Linh, Trev, Lannie, and our secret weapon in the form of voiceover artist Libby, we got it done
The screening
The night before the PD Summit. The moment of truth.
I was panicking. The video wasn’t ready. The audio needed work. The colouring was bland. The edits could be tighter. I made it very clear to my team that this wasn’t up to standard.
They told me not to worry.
What do they know about video? I thought.
As the video played, my mind went blank. At its finale, the room erupted in applause. People were cheering, and to my surprise, chanting for an encore.
I couldn’t believe it.
It even moved some people to tears. That night stands as one of the defining moments of my creative journey so far.
Weathering the storm
This was the story of two professional babies just learning how to walk who were thrown onto a treadmill going Mach 7. We had no choice but to adapt. With the help of a team of equally ambitious (but more experienced) creatives, we did the impossible.
I still have moments of doubt. I question whether I’m up to the task.
But then I remember:
Lean on your strengths.
Go for a walk.
Most importantly, I remember that I have a team around me who wants to help—not to handhold but to empower. They created an environment in which I would make the same mistakes they once made. Instead of fixing them for me, they pointed me toward the toolbox.
At Pixel Dreams, I’ve done the “impossible” before.
With the right team, you certainly can, too.
