WE KEEP CREATING

IN THE MIDST OF THESE STRANGE TIMES

In this strange time of worldwide lockdown that feels like a science fiction movie, the media outlet PRODU published on its website produ.com a piece based on an earlier interview with our founder, Camilo Hernández, about our process at Zykax during these challenging times we are currently living through.

Amid the global public health emergency, we share with you the original interview and then the link to read the article on produ.com.

The Interview

PRODU: How has the production business been affected by the crisis caused by the coronavirus?

CAMILO HERNÁNDEZ: Due to the current state of our first original fantasy and science fiction properties — Cosmic Flow, Plantimals, Tiz, and Delirium — to this day we haven’t suffered any major direct impact in creating original content derived from them.

On the other hand, we are concerned about the dynamics of business rounds and national and international markets we had planned to attend in the second half of the year. For now, should this global crisis continue, we are exploring alternatives that allow us to use virtual means to manage our commercial operations and seek co-production or sales of our first original content.

Meanwhile, some animation production schemes we had established in person for certain technical processes have been migrated to cloud-based tools with organizational strategies for working from home.

PRODU: How many and which recordings have had to be suspended?

CAMILO HERNÁNDEZ: None. Even before this situation, our focus and energy were always concentrated on creation, writing, concept art, and in some cases, specific animation processes.

PRODU: What is the best way to “take advantage of” or navigate this situation?

CAMILO HERNÁNDEZ: Working from home during this situation helps us stay creative, broaden our vision of our own creations, and refresh our ideas. Our premise is to take advantage of this moment to keep creating and also to pay attention to our families and those leisure or entertainment activities that stimulate our creativity.

PRODU: Is this the time to produce something new? Something more economical?

CAMILO HERNÁNDEZ: We deeply believe in the power of imagination, and we are sure this is a great time for creating original content derived from fantasy and science fiction universes and properties.

We believe that regardless of this situation, it is always wise to invest part of our time in developing new concepts with potential to become quality properties and/or original content in the future.

We know that when it comes to creating original content, this crisis is a good opportunity for developing creative phases. Moreover, we can rely on techniques such as animation, through which practically anything can be narrated with most of its production processes implemented remotely. However, commercialization and distribution processes need to be rethought in these times of crisis.

PRODU: How do you see the production landscape once the pandemic is over?

CAMILO HERNÁNDEZ: The power of imagination is the strength of our species, and as history has shown, after great crises art flourishes and the demand for original content rises as well.

Great changes in the collective consciousness of humanity are coming, and we hope they will serve to give greater value to art, original stories, and those memorable characters that remind us who we truly are.

We foresee opportunities with radical and definitive changes in the organizational models of our creative companies. After the pandemic, collaborative processes among human talent will be further strengthened, with work structures focused on efficiently managing processes remotely from anywhere in the world. Creation will happen with a force I have never seen in my generation, and all of this will result in an explosion of creative content in various formats.