Building A World Together: Landmark Collaborations That Power TV, Film and Digital Media
Teamwork behind the scenes of your favorite pop culture
So much of the content we watch and enjoy is the result of many folks coming together to create something special. Collaboration is at the heart of innovation, when great minds come together in a specific way to create something bigger than themselves, and grander than something they could have done on their own.
We took a closer look at several uniquely collaborative spaces that serve as a breeding ground for creativity behind the scenes of some of our favorite TV shows, movies, and videos. From boards of directors working for one of the biggest brands in entertainment, to the indie frenetic energy of social media content houses, the gathering of minds from all different backgrounds and skill sets is the key to creating something new and awesome.
Henson Creature Shop
Jim Henson is credited with pioneering theater puppetry for television. Using flexible materials that could be manipulated more easily for expression and action versus more rigid materials traditionally used in theater, Henson’s work was groundbreaking for the screen medium. In the 1960s he gathered a group of engineers and creators and together they created a unique style of character who could be expressive and performative in ways nobody had ever seen before. Henson’s New York-based puppet workshop created multiple fantastical characters for Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Saturday Night Live and many other projects. When it came time to produce Henson’s first fantasy feature film, The Dark Crystal, he partnered with a British illustrator and assembled a team of artisans in London, calling the new entity Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. Their work combined cutting-edge technology with old-school craftsmanship, and the shop fostered an atmosphere of innovation and teamwork. Sculptors, fabricators, and animators would refine each creation through constant experimentation, while performers infused them with personality. Their work on The Dark Crystal would lead them to more film projects like Labyrinth.
The New York shop and London-based shop came together to create the 1980s hit Fraggle Rock, where they used technology like remote controls instead of cable controls, inventing the Henson Performance Control System. This led to even more innovation, using the system to produce character movement digitally. Henson’s leadership encouraged creative problem-solving, ensuring that everyone’s input—from the initial sketch to the final performance—contributed to the magic. This collaborative spirit remains in the company’s values today, more than 30 years after Henson’s passing. This spirit of collaboration made the Creature Shop a powerhouse of imagination, leaving an enduring impact on film and television.
Saturday Night Live
You may have noticed that Saturday Night Live is celebrating its 50th year on the air in 2025, and the celebrations have been massive. There is a televised concert, a live special, and countless documentaries on Peacock about the show’s origins and modern inner workings. A new feature film, Saturday Night, is a fictionalized portrayal of the show’s very first episode, and follows creator Lorne Michaels in the days and hours leading up to the very first time “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!” was heard on the air at 11:30pm Eastern time. What the film captures is that it takes a LOT of people working together in tandem (and sometimes getting in each others’ way) to put on a live show every week.
Saturday Night Live thrives on a fast-paced, highly collaborative environment where writers, performers, and crew members work together under intense deadlines to create live comedy. Sketch ideas are developed in writers’ rooms late into the night, refined through collaborative writing and rehearsals, and shaped by input from cast members and guest hosts right up through the day-of dress rehearsal. Directors, set designers, and costume teams work behind the scenes to bring each sketch to life, while last-minute changes and improvisation keep the show dynamic.
In the four-part documentary series SNL 50: Beyond Saturday Night, the synergistic DNA of the show is on full display. One episode chronicles what a week in the life of the show’s many writers is like, while another goes in depth about what it takes to get a single sketch on the air that immediately lands with viewers–or doesn’t. The show’s intense teamwork environment fosters a unique creative energy, making SNL a breeding ground for innovation and some of the most iconic moments in television comedy.
Pixar Brain Trust
The Pixar Brain Trust was formed in the early days of the Pixar studio, emerging from the collaborative spirit fostered by its founding visionaries, including John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, and Joe Ranft. The group was unofficially established during the development of Toy Story (1995), when Pixar’s storytellers began meeting regularly to critique and improve each other’s work. Rather than a top-down decision-making process, the Brain Trust thrived on open discussion, where the best ideas—regardless of rank—rose to the top.
Over time, this process became a cornerstone of Pixar’s creative approach, with directors and writers gathering to provide honest, solution-oriented feedback on films in progress and refine and strengthen each project. The Brain Trust’s influence has helped shape Pixar’s storytelling excellence, ensuring that each film benefits from collective wisdom and innovation. This culture of creative problem-solving and mutual respect has been instrumental in Pixar’s success, shaping some of the most beloved animated films of all time. Today, the Brain Trust, also known as the Pixar Senior Creative Team, is composed mostly of the directors of all of the Pixar films currently in development. During the production process for the 2023 film Elemental, Pixar films’ producers were added to the group.
Content Houses
In the age of social media, independent content creators can gain fame in the way that only movie stars would have in a bygone era. But in the 2010s, a new type of “film studio” of sorts became popular: social media content houses. These collaborative living spaces are where influencers, creators, and digital personalities come together to produce content, grow their brands, and engage with audiences. The Tik Tok generation didn’t invent the concept of the content house; the first collaborative social media content house, The Station, was founded in 2009 by early YouTube stars Shane Dawson, Phil De Franco, LisaNova and iJustine. In 2014, Disney bought their channel for $500 million. Over the years, other YouTube content houses sprung up, complete with drama and house-to-house feuds, successes and failures. Mostly, these creators shared the rent or it was were paid for by brands who grouped them together. In 2019 and 2020, TikTok content houses like Hype House and the Sway House leveraged group dynamics to maximize reach and engagement, especially as the newer platform became more and more popular.
Social media houses were all unique, and ran the gamut in terms of kinds of content and whether the house is sponsored by brands or not. While they offered opportunities for networking and rapid audience growth, they also came with challenges, including creative differences, high-pressure environments, and the fleeting nature of social media fame. Not surprisingly, houses that came together because like-minded friends wanted to make content together lasted longer than those assembled by brand managers to create content for corporations. The best houses provided an environment where creators could easily collaborate, cross-promote each other, and capitalize on trends in real time.
Now, social media content houses look very different as creators go solo, buying up studio land and lavish homes, rather than paying rent or having their rent paid for by brands like their predecessors. The building of these content studios are even the source of more content, as creators can document the procurement of these studios and create more content about the process. But the era of the social media content house was marked by innovation, creative thinking, establishment-bucking and alternative income streams in a time where social media was the wild west of entertainment.
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