Gabby Douglas won the gold medal for the United States in the Women’s Gymnastics All-Around Competition at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. She is the fourth woman from the United States and the first African American woman ever to do so. The night before her historical personal achievement, the U.S. Women’s Olympic Gymnastics Team took home the gold as well. The moment that the entire team accepted their medals was unforgettable. The National Anthem playing, gold medals around their necks and smiles on their faces. Years of preparation, drive, focus and an insane amount of sacrifice led to that inspirational moment.
That moment had me thinking about the attributes of success. Success is the product of tireless work and a team of goal-oriented individuals. These women had three things I think any team of champions needs: talented coaches, competitive teammates and personal ambition. After pondering the successes of the U.S. Olympic Team, I started to think about successes that were a little closer to home.
Windsong Productions is approaching its one-year anniversary. With the world’s economy in such disarray, this is an accomplishment to be thoroughly celebrated. Like the U.S. Olympic Team and Ms. Douglas, the road to this milestone has too been filled with preparation, drive, focus and again, incredible sacrifice. Everyday, this talented team of directors, producers, editors and writers spend hours working tenaciously toward a single goal: creative innovation through video production.
From my point of view, most of the attributes that make Windsong Productions great parallel that of the U.S. Olympic Team. Under the wing of our Creative Director, Byron Watkins, the team unitedly shares a vision. He essentially is the coach of Windsong, constructively critiquing and forging the road to success for his staff, the “teammates.”
Each of the staff is responsible for their part in the success of the team. Similar to the variety of events featured in gymnastics, there are also many areas of video production that facilitate a project’s success. The women of the U.S. Women’s Olympic Gymnastics Team trained relentlessly to reach that podium. It is the hope of each staff member at Windsong to consistently execute and improve their level of knowledge in each step of production, making a well-rounded, recognizably talented crew.
The crew’s main goal is working towards the pinnacle of success. But in the field of video production, how is that success measured? The U.S. Team’s successes are quantified in two ways: medals and the work they put forth to reach their level of skill. While awards are shiny and sometimes gratifying, they are not the reason we work as hard as we do. It is our purpose, “to tell good stories and tell them well,” that pushes this team to succeed every day.
Most dream of what it would be like to stand atop the Olympic podium. However, to reach a personal or professional success, one must work every day at their respective craft. This is what makes a champion, a champion. A climactic ending is never without a thrilling story. For me, Windsong is an accomplishment in itself; to tell the amazing stories of others while having such a unique story of its own. So, cheers to Windsong, may the years to come be filled with many successes, little or Olympic.
– Gue
