Elliot Kealoha Blanchard: Careful Collaborations

Elliot Kealoha Blanchard is a Brooklyn-based motion graphics artist, filmmaker and photographer. Operating as "Royal Color Network," Elliot has a client list that includes MTV, Nike, Pepsi, and Sony. His short films have been featured at South By Southwest and other international film festivals. Amidst his everyday creative chaos, Elliot took some time to discuss staying true to long term goals and tricks for quality collaborations.

Among Eliiot’s greatest challenges is making sure that the small decisions he makes every day are aligned with his long term goals. He explains, "we all know where we want to end up - the question is how to get there. Knowing the right jobs and right people to get involved with on any given day, and how it will play out in the future, is always tricky." Elliot’s approach is to "never lose sight of your bigger picture…every decision you make on a day-to-day basis should relate to it." He advises to us all to “be passionate, and trust yourself to make the right choices."

Elliot values creative collaboration, but only under certain conditions. "...An honest and committed meeting of minds has always been one of the best ways to uncover new directions. Having said that, there’s nothing quite as horrifying as design by committee. It’s so important to work with a small group of the very best. Anything [but the best], and collaboration risks dragging a good idea down to the lowest common denominator."

"It’s also very important to collaborate with people who don’t do what you do. Bringing together a group of talented people with complimentary - but different - skills is usually what leads to the really interesting ideas."

Elliot encourages creative professionals from across industries to value their time wisely. "Always take your clients, yourself, and your time seriously. Time passes so quickly, and it seems like there’s never enough of it. Make every opportunity you have to get something out in the world an opportunity to try something new and do something different. It’s not worth it to wait for another day. You owe it to yourself."