In Conversation with Swapan Seth
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 11:50 am
We all know Swapan Seth, perhaps one of the greatest writers/creatives in this Industry. We asked him the same question:
Swapan, what options do you think a creative person has, careerwise, after he/she becomes a CD at the ripe young age of 30-35? Not everyone gets to become National/Regional CD, and does one leave the business when one has just learnt it? Many CDs leave o start their careers as Commercials Directors and Producers, some become fashion desigers, some start their own shops...
Swapan, what options do you think a creative person has, careerwise, after he/she becomes a CD at the ripe young age of 30-35? Not everyone gets to become National/Regional CD, and does one leave the business when one has just learnt it? Many CDs leave o start their careers as Commercials Directors and Producers, some become fashion desigers, some start their own shops...
That was precisely my dilemna at 28 when I had reached nearly the top of the heap at Grey. Well, if you are a creative person with strong strategic skills and a client base that respects that, you start your own shop. That's what I did. Is there an element of insecurity in that? I think not. I think a person's greatest security is one's talents. Then again, there is no end of the road. Every day is a new lesson. So even if you end up being a CD at 30, you need to consistently exfoliate yourself. Shed old skins and skills, learn new ones. To this day, I make sure I am more updated about what's going on than most guys in their twenties. So to sum it up. Either start your own shop. Or tell yourself that I will be on the edge of all that is cutting edge. This film producer nonsense is crap. Most of them end up being miserable sods. - Swapan Seth