Bump The Lamp – Why Details Matter

I read an interesting article (and a short YouTube video. Watch it.) about a term coined by Disney during the filming of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” The term is called bumping the lamp. It’s where the animators thought of all the little details – in this case it was shadows cast by a swinging overhead lamp – that no one would expect but when you see it, it makes all the difference.

For me, it’s always about the details. Sloppy looks, well, sloppy. Don’t put two spaces after a period because someone will notice. Do your due diligence before getting in front of a group so you can anticipate, not react. Test the survey not only for accuracy but for design. Sloppy is easy. Sloppy is fast. But it’s striving for the details that makes you work harder and produces the best work.

At Level 7, we think about the details all the time. And not just because sometimes it’s math or we need to make sure 6 different audiences are represented or our reports are consistent. We think about the details because that’s where the insights lie. Rarely, if ever, does the “capital I” Insight hit you like an anvil to the head (following the cartoon theme of course). It’s all in the unraveling and pulling threads. It’s what makes the difference between a report that’ll make a nice doorstop and one of actionable results. It’s about rising above not because you got lucky but because you cared enough to look deeper.

And those details make Level 7 different. We do marketing research. We deal with folks who can spot a misspelling from 20 paces. Who can see that the margins don’t line up. Who can see when a question just doesn’t make sense. Our job is to make their job easier. And don’t you want that edge? You know you do…. 

So think about that a little (you don’t have to but do it anyway, would ya?). The details make a difference. Bump the lamp.