With a combined weight of approximately 11.5 to 12 million metric tons and an estimated 4 to 4.5 million stone blocks, the pyramids at Giza stand as a monument to unwavering effort.
Photo by hayriyenur
The magical moments that let audiences immerse themselves in theme parks, movies, events, branded experiences, spatial narratives, art, music – well, anything that leaves an impact and becomes a memory that stays with us – didn't happen by chance or with a snap of fingers. To become extraordinary, any kind of designed experience takes extraordinary effort.
To become extraordinary, any kind of designed experience takes extraordinary effort.
Just as there is a story at the foundation of a theme for an installation or a ride, a historical event revisited, a book or a movie, and just as there is something that sparked the idea behind them, the tale of hard work and tenacity that went into the planning, creation and production is part of the tapestry of a multi-layered narrative that adds richness and depth to the story behind the experience – as well as significant value to it.
From grandiosity to the greatness of details
Our appreciation of effort may be in awe of what we encounter. Consider ancient constructions like the pyramids in Giza, constructed by a workforce of 20,000 - 30,000 workers (not enslaved people) over a period of 85 years, with a combined weight of approximately 11.5 to 12 million metric tons, and containing an estimated 4 to 4.5 million stone blocks. No wonder this almost superhuman task has inspired speculation of otherworldly involvement. As we appreciate the grandeur of such constructions and their continued presence millennium after millennium, we can also find greatness in the delicate attention to detail and craftsmanship needed to create art like American sculptor Chauncey Bradley Ives' 1880 marble sculpture "Undine Rising From the Waters".
The 1880 neo-classical marble sculpture Undine Rising from the Waters by American sculptor Chauncey Bradley Ives is part of the collection at the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut.
Here, marble seems to become light, transparent, and even wet, like fine fabric covering a figure rising from the water. Our appreciation of such constructions and delicate features lies not only in what we see, but also in what it took to bring a vision to life. It takes lifetimes of continuously evolving skill and ways of working to achieve this level of perfection.
More recently, Walt Disney understood that guests and audiences appreciate the effort it takes to create something unforgettable. In the attractions industry, the high bar is set by those where scale and detail go hand in hand, transporting people to spaces where they can immerse themselves, suspend disbelief, and live a dream, if only for a day or even hours. Physical objects play a considerable part in the appreciation of the world we enter. Anyone who has built such elements knows that the guest navigates not only by sight and sound, but also by touch. Sturdiness matters, as thousands of hands reach out to touch things, as if to confirm they are tangible parts of physical reality. As we enter memorable spaces with meaning and magical traits, we cherish the now – we are actually here – and the how – that somebody actually built this in real life.
Thousands of hands reach out to touch things, as if to confirm this is a tangible part of physical reality.
The real value of a million light bulbs
While not disregarding what digital media and artificial intelligence can do, anyone creating experiences and entertainment should consider the weightlessness of the digital space and its objects. Because everything is created in a controlled digital realm, there are no physical constraints to circumvent and no gravity to conquer. Most audiences know this, and to the point of appreciating the effort, one may ask what is more astounding: the CGI of a million sparks in a virtual environment, or someone actually putting a million LED lights into a physical space to create the illusion of sparks.
Because the layman doesn't know the challenges of differentiating that many light sources in a virtual space, the answer becomes obvious: the real million LEDs win. When audiences sense the craft and effort has been replaced rather than extended, the appreciation drops.
So CGI can't create an appreciation of effort and an emotional connection? Of course it can, and some of Pixar's finest works prove that it represents not only great storytelling, but also a pioneering tenacity to meet, face, and overcome creative challenges on the frontier of filmmaking. There is a story behind the story, like the challenges of creating and controlling Sully's hair in Monsters, Inc., or the creative team behind Finding Dory inventing an in-story reason why Hank the octopus has only seven arms because the Pixar animators could not cleanly fit an eighth arm onto his 3D model.
There is a story behind the story.
Pixar put tremendous effort into creating the monsters in Monsters, Inc. (2001), especially the hairy features of James Patrick "Sully" Sullivan.
A different kind of effort
The audience appreciation of effort – or the depreciation of the lack thereof – extends into our current scenario of use of generative AI. Setting aside important issues such as ethics, legality, and environmental concerns for a moment, a growing sentiment is that using AI requires no craftsmanship or effort. However, those with proper training and expertise can extend their craft with AI when they maintain control over the direction of their work. Research shows that in a text-to-image process, ideation and filtering are necessary skills for the harmonious blending of human exploration and AI exploitation to discover new creative workflows. (https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/3/3/pgae052/7618478)
The effort is there, but it's different and perhaps not immediately recognisable. However, that does not mean that the level of effort is dramatically reduced. This is a point creative leaders or clients looking to reduce time and cost often miss, as do many in the relevant audiences, and they're often wrongly thought to be more positive about AI content than they actually are.
The effort is there, but it's different and perhaps not immediately recognisable.
The narrative of speed over effort is ironically amplified by those selling AI solutions and not at least tokens: With the push of a button, you can become an artist. Create a film. Make hit music. In record time, with little to no effort. And because many people don't know what they don't know, they become impressed by the polished, synthesised output they're shown, mistake it for creation, and add to the tsunami of superficial, repetitive, well-polished, low-quality output flooding the internet, even spilling into the physical world. Many users lack the skills and experience to tell good apart from the bad and the ugly, and they wonder why similar-looking flyers, over-vibratoed vocals, and word salads don't make a lasting, favourable impression, let alone impact. Being able to use the software falls short without he skills and mindset of a professional creative. The result is practice without theory or method. As stated in Integrated Storytelling by Design 2nd Edition, to successfully create with AI, we need to train our brains.
The heroes and villains of the next chapter of creative achievement
A new chapter in the story of creative achievement is being written, and we need to share it to deepen appreciation for effort among audiences, leadership, and creative clients alike. It is about integrating new technology with method and history to secure the human creator's voice and vision. It is about balancing physical spaces and disciplines with digital spaces and disciplines in hybrid, transdisciplinary ways, where convergence transforms either realm. It is about discovering new ways without losing our way.
This chapter cannot be written with the proper nuance if it is polarised into utopian selling points or dystopian visions, but as an authentic accord of the efforts made to bring stories, experiences, and places to life for posterity. If the dreamers and doers of such do not put in a real effort to create something extraordinary and memorable, they will rightfully not deserve their audiences' appreciation.
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