The Gift of Creativity with Akira Chan & Lee Richter

So welcome today. It is a very special day because we have someone who's on this side of the camera who usually is not. He is the founder of Rare Media. My good friend Akira Chan. And, you know, he's been spending more than half his life capturing genius and a brilliant designer of video and TV. And honestly, I can't believe how lucky we are we got him on this side of the camera today. So welcome, Akira, and thank you for being here.

Thanks for having me, Lee.

So today we're going to talk about sharing the gift of creativity. Which is natural for you because honestly, everywhere I go, when I see you there, people are lined up tapping into your creativity. Even me. For years I've been saying, how can we work together? And I'm so glad that today you said yes. And I'd like you to share a little bit about what does it mean to share the gift of creativity?

Absolutely. Well, thanks, Lee. Creativity just feels like such a huge word and a huge concept. And it can be defined in so many ways. I feel, I mean, there's not a day that goes by where I don't feel incredibly thankful that I get to use my creativity with everything I do. What I do professionally, we're always in some exciting stage of development of a project with somebody who's ready to express their creativity.

Mm-hmm.

Whether it's creating a series like this or a book trailer for their new book, or some piece of art that they need to get out in the world, or a documentary, which we do a lot of documentary work on some big subject that really needs to get out in the world and make a difference. So there's creative aspects all within that. There's creative aspects to even just working with people, you know, on the technical side of things. Creating video itself is technical, but it's very creative too. You're creating something out of Right. Which is what I love to do and I've just kind of been doing for forever, it seems.

And I was so fortunate because yesterday I saw one of your documentaries being aired in a whole group of entrepreneurs and it created so much emotion in the room. And every single person turned to you and just went, wow, how did you tell that story in such a short amount of time but create such a big impact? So would you like to share a little bit about your genius around that?

Yeah, I'd love to. You know, it wasn't until recently that I realized why I really ended up on this path of filmmaking, of telling stories through video, of helping people tell their stories through video. Because I always thought, well, you know, this is common now, even more common now with the access to ways to make video and put things out there for people. But when I was 15, I picked up a camera. My friend had editing software and he was making these little movies. And I thought, wow, I didn't even know you could do that, make a movie at home and share it with people and cast friends as actors. So we started doing that at 15 and I just fell in love with it. And we were making these— goofy little films, casting our friends who were terrible actors, and we would recreate everything from car chases to dramas to little mini horror films. And I just really tapped into using that as my preferred medium for art. You know, I was always into drawing. I was always— my creativity in whatever form was always encouraged by my parents, which was really nice.

Mm-hmm.

But that was where I kind of hit my sweet spot. I said, oh, this is so complex. Like, you've gotta film and you've gotta edit and direct and then put music in, and it just combined every medium.

Right.

I thought, this is the best of everything. So I thought that was my origin story to what I now do and, you know, the business I now have and how we work with people. But it's about 5 years ago where a mentor of mine said, You may think that was your origin story, learning the technical skills, starting to pursue it, but there's probably something much earlier than that that planted some kind of seed or spark, and it was likely something you saw or experienced and not just, you know, not just choosing a path, but it was something deeply personal. So I started thinking about that, and it didn't take me very long to figure out what that was. Because when I was, um, 11, we were given a class assignment to interview a family member, and I chose my grandfather.

Nice.

So the assignment was pretty simple. You just had to write down 10 questions, sit down with them, have them answer it, and report back to the classroom like a book report. So I chose my Chinese grandfather because he was always kind of mysterious to me. We'd go and visit them, you know, once or twice a year, but he just— he was just larger than life to me. He was really kind, but very serious, very strong, and I didn't know anything about him except that he was this— just this huge patriarchal figure and, you know, this big part of the family and always had lessons to give and always had, you know, just some adventure to go on. So he meant a lot to me. So I said, let's do Grandpa.

I love it.

So I showed up with my 10 questions that I had written out, and my dad brought the video camera, the family camera.

Wow.

And he set it up to just record this interaction. And I remember him setting it up and then letting me turn it on and hit record. And I sat down and got ready to do this interview, which was gonna just be a paper interview, but now it was a video interview too. And the first question I had written down was, so Grandpa, what were you doing at my age? You know, what memory do you have from being 10 years old? And he thought about it, and there was a moment where he kind of just—

He smiled.

his expression shifted, like his energy just shifted, and he got really serious and a little bit sad.

Oh.

And he said, well, my memory when I was your age was leaving my family, getting put on a boat, and leaving my family in China and being taken to the U.S. to start a new life there. And they had essentially put him on this boat to send him To the States to start a new life. Yeah, at 10 years old.

Oh my goodness, and you didn't even know that that was part of his history.

No, I didn't.

And through this assignment and through this, you learned so much about him.

Yeah.

And you still have it on videotape.

I have it on videotape, and he— his response was really emotional too, and that's what got me. That's— I wasn't expecting that. He started crying, and this is a man who I never— I didn't think it was possible for him to cry. And he started crying, and we had this moment where, you know, I was really uncomfortable and worried about him and didn't know what to say, but I realized that in that moment, the presence of the camera, the act of sitting down with somebody and asking them the right question—

Right.

And having that really precious experience, having that really emotional experience planted that seed in me to Want to share people's stories, want to sit down with them, want to give them the safety and the right environment to really express things.

I love that you captured in the moment what a treasure it was that you have it on videotape, but also what the moment itself was a treasure. And it wouldn't have come out unless you had that assignment and you took it seriously and your dad supported you. All the things had to line up just right.

Yeah.

I bet you feel that in the real world too, as you're running your Rare Media company, that things have to line up just right, even though you're planning, even though you're going out and you have the intention for things. Because you've been all over the world and you've filmed things. You've done documentaries, like you said, which are really deep, meaningful stories. How does it feel when you go through that process of just, you know, counting on the universe to help you line it up?

I mean, first, it is, it's a sacred process. I know there's, there's a lot of ways you can make films and videos, and, you know, a lot of people— what I realized was at a certain point, I was just pointing the camera at things. If I had an assignment, I'd show up, all my gear, I'd point the camera at it and just record it.

That's kind of like what us novices do when we do our Facebook Live or something like that. We're just going through the motions, and you as a professional have now learned There's many more layers to it.

I think that, yeah, I think that's part of being creative because it's a creative act, but I realized I wasn't being creative doing what I was doing, a creative process like filmmaking or videography, because I was just pointing a camera at something. And at a certain point, I guess when I was ready or just something switched, I realized I'm not just pointing my camera at something, I'm interacting with it. Like, I'm getting— I started to move a lot more. I started to really pay attention to how I set things up, and I just became a lot more intentional and aware of things. And that's when this switch flipped, and all of a sudden I started hearing more people saying, I recognized that video you did because it had your style.

Mm.

it had this one shot that I'm starting to see you do, or it had this kind of the way it was editing and the way that it was edited and the way it moved. And that's when I realized, oh my gosh, I finally cracked— I've finally crossed that bridge from just doing a technical skill to being an artist and being creative with my creative work.

And I actually see you as an artist. I mean, I know how you pay attention to every detail. How the lighting is a character on its own, the exact lighting. You make sure that every single angle you're looking at, and that is what separates you from all the others. Not only is your heart in it, but you really have honed your craft. I've even seen you use drones.

Yeah.

And actually, like, be so creative that way. I mean, cutting edge before everyone else was, but you've even perfected that, and that's been really extraordinary.

Thank you.

And so do you want to share a little bit more about your creative process? Like, how do you set up your mindset and how do you prepare your your subjects to be ready for you?

Yeah, I'd say that it's a sacred process, taking somebody's idea and helping them bring it into form, in the form of a video or series or a film. It's really sacred because I'm, you know, what we're doing is we're taking that and we're taking their vision, and I feel responsible for making that much bigger than they even imagined and also creating some space for all the other things we haven't thought about to come in. And I like getting to that point where it's like, this is what we thought we were doing, but it's actually so much more. There's so much more to this story. There's so many more ways to tell this story where it really affects and penetrates the viewer to a place where they can really feel it and be open to it. And that's with everything from just very straightforward informational content Mm-hmm. To poetry and, you know, music and filming events and whatever it is. So my process is always kind of— we're bringing 2 parts of a mutual whole together. I'm taking what they wish to communicate and I'm bringing my creative eye, my creative vision for it, and we're merging them in a way that really feels like we're meeting each other right in the middle.

Sweet.

And creating something new.

Well, it's nice because not only are you being creative, you're also being a support because people get very nervous in front of the camera. And then all of a sudden you're almost like their little therapist having to walk them through the process and being, it's okay, it's not the end of the world. And you have a really unique perspective and personality to really make people feel comfortable. So thank you for sharing that gift.

Yeah, absolutely.

So is there anything that you'd like to share that I haven't asked you about?

Well, since our topic is creativity, there's a perspective that creativity is something that is for artists or certain paths in life, or that creativity is a destination of some kind, that it's something you have to either tap into or unlock.

Right.

And I'd like to just kind of dispel that myth. To me, it's a myth, even having, you know, the privilege or having the path of being an artist most of my life, and now that being my business and my work in the world, that creativity— like, let's just look at it from a really broad definition of an act of creation, taking— creating something where there was nothing.

Mm-hmm.

So it can be a conversation. It could be the way that you decide to dress or interact with the world that day. It could be as simple as that, but it's also as profound as you just putting your, your mark on something.

And it doesn't have to be perfect.

Oh, that's a big one. Yeah, it doesn't have to be perfect, and that's the other barrier on the other side of creativity, is because there becomes so much pressure in making it good enough or having it You know, be perfect, which is what a lot of— when you're creating something, you can fall into that trap of having to perfect, right?

People literally stop in their tracks and don't move forward because of that, the fear of perfection. And one of the things I've noted, you know, my daughter's 12 years old right now, and she's very creative. She's very creative, but they don't feel judged when they get together and they're making things. They're not worried about what are people gonna think at the end.

Yes.

And something I think happens as we get older and we put more pressure or judgment into our lives that it stops us from just being free to create. Like, you know, Easter, creating Easter eggs and being fun. You know, when we're little, it's so easy. The kids just do it. And when we're older, we spend so much time thinking about the end result. So how do you help your clients get through that process so that they don't have to be stuck in perfection?

Yes. Well, first, I have to choose not to be stuck in perfection because we have a responsibility to them to finish things in a timely way and finish them on deadline, on budget. I think that's part of just maturing as a creative artist or a creative profession that you're in is you've got to understand that there's limits. constraints, and you can do great things within those constraints. So what I'll often share with them is, look, we'll take— this is your vision. Let's expand it. Let's amplify it. Let's try some things that maybe we didn't think— different directions we didn't think we would go in. And let's just have it really have the— let's be true to the essence of it. Without creating too many rules around what it looks like or creating any creative restrictions.

Like this process right now.

Yeah, this is pretty spontaneous.

We're setting it up. We want to have fun.

Yeah.

Right? We want to share something that's valuable, but at the same time, if we were being stuck in perfectionism, we probably never would have gotten started.

Yes, and be that child. That's one of my favorite quotes from Picasso is, every child is an artist, and it's so simple.

Right.

And we still have our inner child within us, and we still want to have fun, and we still can operate that way where it's, look, look what I just made. Check this out. And you may look at it and go, wow, that is just so raw, and I don't understand what that is. But children are usually so excited to share it. They're not, you know, hiding it and perfecting it and waiting until it's good enough for approval. And I think that's a big one.

Well, I think that is a really great piece of knowledge to share with all of us, is go out, be creative, share our genius, and not have to worry about it being perfect.

Yeah.

So thank you so much today for spending this time with us and pulling back the curtain and letting us know that, you know, we all have it inside of us. It means so much.

You're welcome. Thanks for setting this up here. I mean, I feel very uncomfortable on this side of the camera, but you made me feel really comfortable.

Well, you look natural, of course, and I think you're doing a great job.

Thank you, Lee.

It is my pleasure. So all of you, go out, be creative. Why don't you just pick up paper and some crayons or some markers and just make something and have some fun? And we're gonna go do something and have some fun too.

Awesome.

Thank you.

Thanks.