Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Hyper Island has been around for almost 11 years now. Mattias Nyström from Crew 1, co-founder of Great Works is an example of an old school Hyper Island student still going strong:
As yours was the first ever Hyper Island Crew, how did you find out about school?
I was studying at the University at the time when a friend of mine saw an article in 'Ölands bladet'. Since I didn't really like studying at a University I jumped at the opportunity of trying out a new experimental education.
What have you been doing since your graduation?
After Hyperisland I moved to London. I was there for 6 years working with a couple of agencies but unfortunately only one still exist - the OTHER media. The others either crashed during the .com years or have merged into larger networks.
Once back in Stockholm I met the guys I founded Great Works with. At the time I joined their production company - Speedway Digital Army.
How many people co-founded Great Works?
We were 5 people that started Great Works in its current form. A sixth person joined as a partner and recently we joined a japanese network called TYO Group.
How many people currently work at Great Works - including your offices in Stockholm, Barcelona and NYC?
Around 50 people are employed. We are also always having a bunch of freelancers involved in every office.
What knowledge from Hyper Island have you brought with you in your work life?
There is always a solution to a problem - Hyper Island fueled my curiosity to find that solution.
In the "Why Hyper Island" film, your Barcelona based co-worker Kristian Lundquist says the following about Hyper Island students:
"I think they have a very interesting background in the network they come from. ... It seems all the crews still are in contact somehow" - what value is that to the students and you as an employer?
Hyper Island students seem to help each other when they have a problem to solve - be it finding a production team, solving a technical problem or recruiting someone for a job. It's a huge value.
Why does Great Works hire graduated Hyper Island students?
We try to hire the best talents wherever they are from and believe in a mix of backgrounds. However, some really good people are coming out of Hyper Island so having studied there is an excellent first filter in a hiring process.
Any final words of advice to up and coming digital media industry talents?
Keep experimenting. Do what you can to push the world forward!
Thank you Mattias!