The Learning Studio and the College of Arts and Sciences teamed up with two ACU professors to present “Assembly Required”, a new documentary highlighting the growing importance of creative collaboration within the workplace. 

As more companies make the shift from individual-focused productivity to team-based success, the power of creative collaboration has become much more prominent within industries. 

In 2019, Mike Wiggins, professor of art and design, began applying for his faculty renewal leave while trying to come up with an idea for a project he would work on. After having previously worked on workshops in the Learning Studio a few years prior, Wiggins landed on the idea of directing a documentary. 

“We had played with the idea of doing a film on creativity,” said Wiggins, who was chair of the Department of Art and Design at the time. “It was obviously too broad, and there’s probably lots of things out there on creativity. So I had come up with the idea of collaborative creativity – creativity in the context of teams.” 

Wiggins pitched the idea to Dr. Kyle Dickson, director of the Learning Studio, and who Wiggins had worked with in the Learning Studio. 

“We thought exploring collaborative creativity was important and timely,” Dickson, professor of english, said in an email. “And that was before COVID-19 changed the nature of work. Now, understanding the power of teams has only become more essential.”

The film was directed and produced by Dickson and Wiggins. It was shot and edited by Nathan Driskell, media production assistant in the Learning Studio, and, filmmaker in residence in the Learning Studio, Matt Maxwell. 

The documentary presents interviews with notable executives from companies such as Pixar, Google and X along with authors, production and fashion designers. The film highlights the challenges and power of creativity and how it applies to a team’s overall success. 

However, the process of creating the film was not that simple, Wiggins said, and the filmmakers saw their fair share of challenges along the way. 

“For every interview you see, there were probably 10-20 other people that I reached out to try to get an interview with,” Wiggins said. “One of the big challenges was just getting people to say yes. The other challenge was we had to film almost all of the interviews outside. They were almost all at people’s homes rather than their places of business.” 

The documentary begins its rollout this spring and has been accepted at film festivals in Boston and Berlin. 

“I’m proud of the ideas that came to the surface in the film,” Wiggins said. “I think the main themes in the film are important for all disciplines that an educational system like ACU might promote.”