“If I told you you were 30 failures away from your goal, how fast would you want to fail?”
— anon
What Failing Fast Means in Video Production
We set up an interview, we shoot some b-roll’ do it well, we do it consistently’ and we know what works and have been doing the same thing for years. But we want to aim higher, get better, and make our work the best it can be. From this, The Jasper Picture Company Creative Lab was born.
Matt Jasper, Founder of The Jasper Picture Company and creator of Creative Lab, explained:
“The idea for Creative Lab was to give people a reason to fail, because the faster you fail the faster you learn. If there was a way that we could practise shots in-house before we’re expected to do them on a job, then nothing would be a surprise.”
Why We Built the Creative Lab
With the pace of the industry evolving, and with creativity, quality, and innovation in commercial and corporate video more sought after than ever, Creative Lab was designed to shake up the everyday tasks of JPC employees.
It pushes us to try something new, to pick up that DJI RS2 gimbal or Aperture Fresnel we’ve never touched before. Creative Lab urges us to think outside the box, to fail so we can grow from it.
As Matt says:
“Everyone needs to be challenged at work… otherwise we get stale. We’ve got a bunch of people here who love trying new things. And being given the freedom to do it on our time rather than the client’s time is beneficial to the client.”
How the Process Works
Each week, Matt and his team set up a challenge for the JPC Camera Department to spark new ways of thinking and approaching our work. Once each task is completed, we edit, share, and critique them together.
The aim isn’t to hover and correct as someone works — it’s to let them trust their intuition and make their own mistakes, then reflect on them later. After all, the best teacher is personal experience.
Building Confidence Through Practice
Chelsie’s First Challenge
When Chelsie first heard about Creative Lab, she said she was “very excited!” Her first creative task was to shoot a b-roll sequence of someone sitting near a window.
“For me, getting into the camera world, this was a good intro to shooting b-roll sequences and trying things for the first time before doing them on shoots.”
Coming from a producer background, Chelsie enjoys planning, so she put a lot of time into pre-production.
“I started by storyboarding the shots I wanted, based on what Emel (DOP) had taught me — different establishing shots, wides, mids and so on. I learnt that even though things might not work out perfectly when you’re shooting, they’re still all good takeaways.”
One of her biggest challenges was lens choice.
“Some of the framing didn’t look too good. But then Emel would jump in with some good thoughts, like maybe trying a different lens. Obviously I’m still learning, and sometimes there’s too much going on in my head to think of the best solution. But it was a very comfortable learning environment.”
Chelsie walked away with confidence:
“I think going into the future, shooting a sequence like that, I’ll feel much more comfortable.”
Taylor’s Creative Experiment
Taylor was especially excited about Creative Lab because he likes to be hands-on. “This is going to be a great opportunity for all of us in the camera department to flesh out some of the things I’ve been wanting to do.”
His first task was to cut a sequence using an in-camera trick.
“I used a match cut, setting up the tripod in the same spot for three shots, transitioning from morning to afternoon to night. I used colour temperature and white balance in-camera to show the time of day…I hadn’t really used white balance that way before.”
The challenge came with surprises. “The sun was a bit of an issue. It kept moving, sometimes in difficult spots. We just had to wait for the right time when it wasn’t as bright so we could get away with the effect. The sun plays a huge role in how different you can make the shots.”
Taylor recommends tools like Suntracker to plan ahead.
“Next time, I’ll plan it for a specific time of day when I’ll have more control over the sun, so the shots look their best.”
Why Clients Benefit From Our Failures
Matt says he is “blown away” each week by the output from Creative Lab.
“We don’t want to film things the exact same way as everybody else… We have a warehouse full of toys, grip kit, and lights. The industry moves fast and there’s always pressure to keep up.
For us though, it’s not just about making more content. Creative Lab helps our team build real skills so we can tell real stories, from real people, with care. It gives us space to try things, learn, and keep getting better. That way we’re not only keeping up with demand, we’re making sure every story we tell feels human and true.
I want the Camera Department to get their hands on every bit of kit we’ve got, so no matter what a client throws at us, we know we can give them the best possible product.”
The Lesson: Practice, Fail, Grow
Creative Lab proves that sometimes the best way to learn is by making mistakes and realising things for yourself, rather than being told what works best. Frequency of practice grows skills faster than anything else.
-Emel Berdilek, DoP, The Jasper Picture Company Pty Ltd
When your team embraces failure as a learning tool, you’ll find the right Melbourne videographer who shares that growth mindset becomes an invaluable creative partner.