Groove Guild’s short film “Talking About Music” illustrates the sometimes chaotic nature of virtual collaboration.

Good creative doesn’t just happen. Every detail of even the briefest ad is subject to a committee, especially when it comes to the music. And when creatives can’t exactly hash out their ideas together in a singular workspace, they have to rely on the same tools that many of us have leaned on over the past year: clear communication, bottomless patience and Zoom. It’s a seamless system, right?

Naturally, these virtual brainstorming sessions come with their own limitations, especially when it comes to the sometimes difficult task of verbalizing music. Creative music agency Groove Guild found a way to distill those trials in a hilarious short film titled “Talking About Music.” Here, we see a collective of creators remotely collaborating via a packed Zoom call as they try to nail down the perfect sonic branding moment for their client. But how exactly should that sound?

“Think, like, ’90s hip-hop, meets dystopian future, meets abandoned mall in Japan,” Elias Constantopedos of dating app Hiyoume suggests. “If Lady Gaga wrote a song for Death Grips, but then it was performed by Daft Punk covered by Green Day,” creator Brennan Urbi also floats to the team.

The film brilliantly captures the intricate language that teams often develop with each other in order to get the job done. While music can be a sensory experience that is, at times, very hard to articulate, the end of the short reveals the beginnings of a song that manages to rise from the cacophony of input—a melodious step up from Ella Nemcova’s suggestion for something that can only be heard by rare Botswanian birds.

The film speaks to the enduring challenges of remote collaboration and a creative music agency’s commitment to landing the right final product for their collaborating brands.

“Talking About Music” also features a number of cameos from industry creatives and producers, including Lego creative director Juan Carlos Gutierrez, Verizon creative director Joel Bloom, Hill Holliday vp creative director Daniella Tineo-Cohn, Boundless CEO Jessice Daponte, WaterTower Music vp of Marketing Joe Kara, and Crossfade Partners CEO Jon Vanhala.

Read the original article here.