Born at the intersection of necessity and opportunity, “source agnostic” is a different way to think about creative video production—one that frees your creative concepts from traps, brick walls, and dead ends.  So, what does that really mean? We thought you’d never ask.

What’s the source of source agnostic? If the goal is to get all the way to amazing—and it always is—the “how” is always far less important than the “what.” The former focuses on technique, the latter on a powerful end product and brilliant results.

How does it work? Think of it like Batman’s belt. It’s all about having the right tool at the right moment, always ready at hand to save the day. Or make the film.   

What tools are you talking about?  Whatever leads to the creative solution that serves the core idea—live action, CG, animation, motion graphics, stock, or a combination. Believe us, that belt isn’t just there to hold up the Batman’s belly fat.

How do you approach source agnostic production?  As ever, it’s idea first followed by the search for its most eloquent expression. There are always going to be multiple pathways in view, and that’s where being agnostic about which you follow is so liberating.  

What’s a good example? For a major Silicon Valley construction firm, we wanted to get the audience reflecting deeply on what it means to be “a builder.” To evoke those emotions, we decided to weave in the fascinating visual poetry and choreography of nature—from a spider building its bejeweled web to the intricacies of a spiral seashell. The fact that stock was the only way to address that was neither here nor there.

Why is this different? Along with enabling a relentless focus on the idea and leading to breathtaking images, the other big benefit is how casting a broader net gives you far more coverage options. That translates to having the widest range of choices in the edit suite, a massive quality, impact, and budget helper.

What got you thinking this way?  Over the last few years, we’ve had a series of projects that required us to answer the eternal question, “how do you deliver on amazing, when 3 shooting days gets cooked down to 2 or 1? Having been there and done that, we started thinking, “hey, maybe this is the future.” 

Isn’t this really all about AI? Not yet, but it will be. Right now, AI is super thin in terms of creative output—the stuff looks artificial, fake, often overly perfect. As it overcomes those hurdles, though—call it a 5- to 10-year transitional period—it’s going to turn source agnostic into the rule instead of the exception. Right now, AI is terrific for image search and boarding, and that’s damned impressive all by itself.

Got any other source agnostic examples?  Funny you should ask. Take a look at the brand launch for FDB’s Vela health IT network (https://jefloebdirects.com/#/fdb-vela/) and our own brand manifesto (https://jefloebdirects.com/#/manifesto/) and a very unusual political ad—that’s right, political (https://jefloebdirects.com/#/nextera/).