Creative Technology Hierarchy
Overview
There are several company types that you might work within or under. A Creative Technologist can exist at any point in the hierarchy-chain. And there are project structures where specific tiers of hierarchy don’t exist (eg, in a project where there’s no agency or production company, the Creative Studio will take on many of those responsibilities).
Creative Technologists can exist at every level.
- Client - The end client is a company or individual that is writing the checks and generally makes the final calls on approvals. They decide acceptance and completion of a project.
- Agency - This is the company that manages the project and all communication between the client and everyone else. They generally control the calendar and tiered approvals. They typically handle marketing, publicity, and gatekeep the budget. It is unusual for agencies to have Creative Technologists working in-house but it isn’t unheard of. More likely you’ll get agency bros who think they know about the nuances of resolution, but couldn’t tell the difference on an LED wall between 720 and 4k.
- Production Company - This is the company that manages the production / project. This includes managing all vendors and partners.
- Design/Creative Studio / Post-House - These are the companies that make the things and lead creative execution. This is the most likely place for Creative Technologists to work. A production company sometimes will have these abilities in-house.
- Some post-production company sub-category vendor: Scoring, Sound Design, VFX, Color
- Some creative partner / vendor / developer
- Some post-production company sub-category vendor: Scoring, Sound Design, VFX, Color
- Vendors - These are other companies that are involved in the project, but not leading the aesthetic efforts. These are companies like: Scene Shops, A/V Integrators, Network Integrators.
- Design/Creative Studio / Post-House - These are the companies that make the things and lead creative execution. This is the most likely place for Creative Technologists to work. A production company sometimes will have these abilities in-house.
- Production Company - This is the company that manages the production / project. This includes managing all vendors and partners.
- Agency - This is the company that manages the project and all communication between the client and everyone else. They generally control the calendar and tiered approvals. They typically handle marketing, publicity, and gatekeep the budget. It is unusual for agencies to have Creative Technologists working in-house but it isn’t unheard of. More likely you’ll get agency bros who think they know about the nuances of resolution, but couldn’t tell the difference on an LED wall between 720 and 4k.