12:40 – Why “Black Sheep”?

• The younger generation questions: Why are those the values? And are these values still relevant?
• The content we put out is questioning, but at the end, still reaffirming.

20:17 – Why is diversity in creativity important?

• There is more than one storyteller in the world.
• You have to balance the creativity of the film, but also understand the business of filmmaking.
• My main job is making sure that when a director interprets a vision, it’s going to be accessible.
• People don’t see that there are so many things to balance in 

27:05 – Why is collaboration in creativity important?

• It’s important for me to protect a relationship than create a box-office hit.
• It isn’t sustainable to move without collaboration and respect.
• Don’t be an idea killer—be aware of your tendency to immediately approve or reject ideas.
• The first phase of collaboration is to entertain as many ideas as possible.
• Collaboration prospers when all ideas are heard or considered. It’s not about certain ideas “winning,” but fostering a collaborative spirit, which means being inclusive.
• Idea killers kill collaboration.
• Companies or teams are always shaped top down. It’s very important for leaders to foster this kind of culture of welcoming ideas, because your team will follow.

35:17 – Why is being mentored important?

• Look for mentors who are open to ideas of innovation and who will also ground you.
• Good mentors trust and have faith over those whom they are leading.
• Good mentors allow the one who they are mentoring to fly and will also be responsible to consider their mentees’ failures as their own.
• I’m the kind of mentor who is okay with failing fast, because I believe you’ll learn faster.

39:45 – Kriz on his biggest failure

• I don’t consider my failures in terms of what did not do well at the box office, but a failure in relationships is, to me, a failure.
• Filmmaking is not just about what you want.

43:05 – Kriz on how his faith informs his creativity

47:54 – What character of God did you discover in creativity?

• His creativity. All creativity comes from him.
• His forgiveness. Even when I get things wrong, I can still come back.
• The experience of forgiveness translates to my spirit of collaboration at work. Even when you don’t get it right, you can come back.

50:35 – How is creativity accessible to all, no matter your industry?

• Creation is just doing something with the work of your hands and putting yourself in the work that you do.
• There’s creativity in everything to do. Even having your own way of making to do list—you put a lot of creativity in that.
• Creativity doesn’t exist without you it. Making a report is creative report, because you put yourself in it.
• Creativity is not limited to the sphere of creative arts.

54:20 – How do you see your industry changing?

• The only thing that will stay the same are the values you hold dear. Even with everything changing, when your values are intact, no matter what waves come, you’re going to weather it. 

56:15 – Tips to foster creativity

The Shift is hosted by ENC volunteers Larissa Joson, Maura Alvero, and Kirk Damasco. In this episode, they interview Kriz Gazmen, creative director of Black Sheep Productions.