When I started watching this six hour documentary I certainly didn’t expect a ‘making of’ to make six hours of great TV. I also didn’t expect it to blow my mind. Or to make me a better leader and manager.
But it did! It did all of that.
I actually think Into the Unknown - Making Frozen 2 is one of the best business documentaries out there.
I kept talking about it to everyone I met for weeks afterwards. School gates, Tesco checkout, conference calls - I managed to talk about this to everyone.
I even managed to mentioned it on The Entrepreneurs Growth Club Podcast which I was lucky enough to be a guest on this week.
If you haven’t already seen it the basic premise is that they have a deadline for when they will premiere Frozen 2 for the first time – 12 months away – and they don’t know how the movie should end. They have a few ideas but they don’t know.
My first reaction to this was slight bemusement. How could you start making a movie if you didn’t know the ending?
I ALWAYS start everything with the end in mind.
I set my goals and objectives and I like to meet them.
I figured that maybe they had a few good ideas for endings and couldn’t pick which one was best.
The whole movie is about Elsa hearing a voice and going on a journey to find out whose voice it is. In episode 2 the key people behind the scenes working on the movie all share their ideas for who Elsa should find at the end of the movie. They are all TERRIBLE.
Anyone watching a making of Frozen 2 documentary will have probably already seen the movie and know how it ends so there is no dramatic punch for the audience throughout the six hours. We know how it ends. They don’t.
And the movie ending and who the voice is seems so natural and perfect. The idea that they didn’t know what this perfect ending was at the beginning of the process BLOWS MY MIND.
But it doesn’t worry them that much. Because everyone working on the movie loves the characters, wants the best possible ending, trusts each other and most importantly TRUSTS THE PROCESS.
What kept me engrossed is the creative process they go through to get to the ending. The directors of the movie have complete and utter faith in their team of writers, animators and – crucially as it turns out – songwriters.
It showed me that if you surround yourself with the right people then you don’t always need to know exactly where you are going to end up before you set off. You can start your journey and just have faith that along the way, the pieces will fall in to place and you will get to that perfect ending.
It taught me that sometimes I need to relinquish control. Stop planning and micromanaging.
To let it go, so to speak. To step into the unknown…it’s like it has all made sense now I am older. I’ll stop it now!
If you haven’t watched Frozen, Frozen 2 or the documentary I recommend you watch all of these things asap so this blog makes sense.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on whether you enjoyed it.
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Alison Jackson-Carter is a ‘PR Pro’ who has spent her career helping people and businesses share stories. As a journalist she spent her 20s working for newspapers, ITV’s This Morning programme, Sky News and 5 News. She then moved into PR where she has worked with hundreds of household brands to increase their media profile.
Since she moved to PR she has led teams that have won awards, launched a successful podcast that has been downloaded more than 100,000 times, and achieved millions of pounds worth of media coverage for brands.
Her passion for supporting women in business led her to launch Enlighten PR where she helps small business owners and entrepreneurs raise their profile and communicate with confidence about their business. In her downtime she can be found listening to The Archers or trying to read while her children and dog climb all over her.