Those who know me, know that I am a 25+ year veteran of TV as a sound recordist but those who know me REALLY well know that I've always been on the career path (however slowly and methodically) towards being a Producer. As I move closer to that goal in recent months I am reminded of a cautionary tale from my early days when I actually did get to be a Producer for a short time.
In the early 90s I started a video production business and got the dream gig of producing the Tourism video for the City of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. I had hit a home run my first time at bat! (or so I thought) They had a stated budget of $10,000 and wanted a 5 minute overview of the city that they could send out and have for trade shows and fairs.
The payment terms were: 25% on signing, 25% on finished script, 25% on completion of principal photography and 25% COD on delivery of finished product. (remember those terms, they'll be important later)
My God! $10,000 was the wealth of Croesus back in those days! and $2500 immediately in my pocket? How could I ever lose?
They had about 15 tapes of footage they had already shot. I was to review that and add what was needed, replace outdated shots and create the video.
It was to be a summer-themed video but Council sat on their thumbs with the money until August!! So now I only had a couple of weeks to preproduce and shoot this epic.
During preproduction meetings it became painfully obvious that they had no concept of what they really wanted so it became an exercise in dragging a concept out of them.
Once a concept and some ground rules were finally settled I collected my second $2500 check and was well on my way!
I rented a camera and shot what I had to shoot over the last long weekend in the summer.
I shot over the long weekend for 2 reasons:
-1- since the Council had sat on the money so long (and Fredericton basically rolls up it's sidewalks come September) it was literally the only time I had left to shoot anything vaguely Summer
-2- I was able to rent a Betacam package from the rental house for one day and keep it for 4 days (& I shot every minute I could over those 4 days too! Days, nights, sunrises, sunsets, moonrises, moon sets, whenever. You can sleep when you're dead was my motto that weekend.)
I collected my third check.
Now on to editing.
I lucked out and found a cuts-only LINEAR offline suite (a guy who usually does weddings) that could edit window dubs on SVHS for $25 per hour (remember, this was the early 90's but even then this was an insane deal!) which was a blessing as I had to basically create the show in the editing suite. That editor taught me one lesson that remains with me to this day: "Come into the editing suite with a PLAN."
After a couple of drafts I thought I had a really tight show (the editor agreed) and showed it to the guy from the city for approval. He was thrilled with it but then coyly said the fateful words "Now let's schedule a focus group." FOCUS GROUP?!?! Oh no he didn't... Oh yes, he did. and off we merrily went to a room full of the crankiest people he could find. We showed it to them and they picked it apart! Their main comment appeared to be, "There's too much of this, too much of that. Take this or that out! "Even items we had both strongly and jointly agreed should be included in the video were commented on & if they even hinted at an objection he noted it and I had to change/remove it. CYA must have been tattooed on his butt. This guy was incapable of making a final decision without his @$$ covered six ways to Sunday! A true bureaucrat! Anything they said, he took as Gospel. In the end I was handed 10 pages of notes for a 5-minute piece! Mostly things to remove without any suggestion of what to replace it with. You would have thought I'd have been forced to commit Seppuku for having foisted such a monstrosity on the world! In the end I think only about 10 shots stayed out of my 5-minutes of very fast paced editing.
Head down in shame I returned to the edit suite to gut my brainchild. (Editor's only comment was a world-weary, "Didn't like it, huh?") When I had made all the requested cuts (and frankly, -I- didn't much like it at all when I was done) I brought it back to my client who immediately said (are you with me here?) "I LOVE it! Its PERFECT! Let's take it to ANOTHER focus group."
Oh God...
This time the focus group wasn't random folks but a group of industry STAKEHOLDERS! Like the head of Downtown Development Corporation who was MOST vocal in his demand that more shots of the Downtown Businesses be used... and the owner of the largest Convention facility who stated that the Downtown wasn't that important and the focus should be on his convention facility, not to forget the Shopping Mall manager who insisted that tons of shopping shots were just what this video needed. You get the idea, in essence, all these people wanted a commercial for their own particular needs and everyone else's wishes were secondary. This second group had almost the exact opposite reaction to the visuals as the first with comments like "Why isn't such and such shown... Why wasn't this included...?" Of course it WAS shown and included, in the first version.
Back into the suite I went for a third cut. Many of these cuts involved ADDING shots we had REMOVED in the last edit... (I know, my head is spinning too... It gets better) This time the client insists that we also include 5 on-camera testimonials from prominent citizens. (WHAT??) On-camera testimonials that we had not shot nor even planned for. A sidebar here: we had both agreed from the outset that there would be NO narration and DEFINITELY no on-camera testimonials. It would just cost too much and have to be done in both English and French as New Brunswick is Officially Bilingual. In fact, in the pre planning I had suggested testimonials and it was he that nixed them in the first place. But I digress... all it took was ONE person in the second focus group to even mention testimonials and my guy was all over it!
It was at this point where I drew the line and called the entire works to a screeching halt. I told him that shooting testimonials was gonna cost him extra. He seemed quite shocked that I would even suggest more money since I had agreed to a flat fee at the beginning. I took great pains (through barely noticeable clenched teeth) to inform him that the conditions of the contract had materially changed and without extra money he wasn't going to get his precious testimonials (nor the rest of his video). After much grumbling he agreed to such a small budget that it required me to call in many major favours to get it shot. I shot 5 locations in one day, English and French. I got friends to act for me and if you ever see it you'll see a future Provincial Cabinet Minister delivering one of the testimonials (he's the kayaker, and he's freezing because it's October).
Back into the edit suite I go to create the fourth, full version (and probably eighth when you count the versions I cut before I even showed it to him), remember, these aren't 'tweaks', these are full re-guts of the show, and to add in the testimonials he asked for.
Finally, it was ready for online but not before he hinted that he would really rather Focus group it one more time (just to be sure). I flatly refused with the lie that the Online Edit suite had been booked and we could only have it the next day or never. He insisted on coming into the online though and still tried to make changes while we were doing it. He caused so much grief that the editor asked me if I could get him to leave.
Finally comes the launch party in November. I arrive on the day with the finished product and ask for my final payment. The client says to invoice for the final amount and I'll get paid in 30 days. I anticipated this and hand him a copy of our signed contract which clearly shows the payment terms (remember them?) of 25% on signing, 25% on finished script, 25% on completion of principal photography and 25% COD on delivery of finished product. (They've paid the other 3 payments) He looks at the contract and complains that he doesn't have a check right there in his hand. I hold the DVD just out of his reach and, looking at the room full of people, I say that in that case he doesn't have a video to show all these nice people in their swanky suits. He calls someone in Accounting at City Hall and, miracle of miracles, a check materializes within 20 minutes and I hand over the video.
A princely $10,000 budget and once all was said and done: after paying shooters, gear rental & talent, hours and hours (and hours) in the offline suite (thank you Larry for only charging me $25 per hour) meetings, focus groups and an online edit my Net was $165!!!
I took my wife out to a nice supper and blew it all.
To look on the bright side of things, I could have saved up $10,000 and gone to film school and not learned half of what I learned about dealing with clients as I did doing that video.
Moral of the story? NEVER NEVER NEVER agree to do something sight-unseen for a flat fee and, if you do, spell out in the contract EXACTLY what's included in that flat fee and spell out what extras cost UP FRONT.
Man, did I learn my lesson the hard way. At least I didn't lose money out-of-pocket but that $165 translated into about 5 cents an hour for my time!
Monday, August 20, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Attention, Camera Developers
Oh Lord, when oh when will you camera manufacturers realize that SOUND is just as important as the picture?
Puh-Leeze, do yourself a favour and implement either one of these two policies immediately:
(a) commit to having sound on your camera and make it good. Consult with real, actual, working soundmen in the field who will tell you that you need balanced (can you hear me Canon makers of the 5D, 7D, a myriad of others), full-size XLR inputs (hello Red?), volume pots (hello Red again?), Lin/Mic switches with audio not permanently set on AGC (again with the 5D and 7D monstrosities) and good quality pre-amps. I will VOLUNTEER to consult.
or
(b) If you think your new camera is the shizzle, fine. Commit to having NO SOUND INPUT AT ALL and allow us soundmen to do our jobs with double-system which gives our clients better sound anyway. Have TC in and out on BNC connectors (not lemo, RED) OK I will be reasonable and suggest that you have both a camera mic for those productions that want to sync to a scratch mix with pluraleyes http://www.singularsoftware.com/pluraleyes.html or similar and one sound input for a scratch feed as long as it was only in mono and had a line/mic switch. It should only record MP3 quality as well! Hey, it's only 'scratch' right? Why only MP3? So that the bean-counters would reign in their tendency to get cute and say "Well, if it has a sound input then we really don't need double system after all..." Any producer that would use MP3 for their broadcast audio deserves everything they get! (They could still use it for transcription and picture edit!)
I'm insisting on double-system now for all shoots involving Red or 5-7D cameras and am sticking to my guns even if it means losing gigs. I'm not putting MY day-rate on the line for someone else's camera's inferior sound quality!
Even still, I sometimes get caught by showing up and, oops, there's a Red. That's why I always carry an H4 recorder with me and roll even if I'm tethered to a Red. Not too long ago I got a call that the sound was missing on some files shot on a Red (!) Luckily, I had the backup. (turns out it was an issue in the transfer, my sound was there, but it just goes to show you... unreliable)
Thank you.
Puh-Leeze, do yourself a favour and implement either one of these two policies immediately:
(a) commit to having sound on your camera and make it good. Consult with real, actual, working soundmen in the field who will tell you that you need balanced (can you hear me Canon makers of the 5D, 7D, a myriad of others), full-size XLR inputs (hello Red?), volume pots (hello Red again?), Lin/Mic switches with audio not permanently set on AGC (again with the 5D and 7D monstrosities) and good quality pre-amps. I will VOLUNTEER to consult.
or
(b) If you think your new camera is the shizzle, fine. Commit to having NO SOUND INPUT AT ALL and allow us soundmen to do our jobs with double-system which gives our clients better sound anyway. Have TC in and out on BNC connectors (not lemo, RED) OK I will be reasonable and suggest that you have both a camera mic for those productions that want to sync to a scratch mix with pluraleyes http://www.singularsoftware.com/pluraleyes.html or similar and one sound input for a scratch feed as long as it was only in mono and had a line/mic switch. It should only record MP3 quality as well! Hey, it's only 'scratch' right? Why only MP3? So that the bean-counters would reign in their tendency to get cute and say "Well, if it has a sound input then we really don't need double system after all..." Any producer that would use MP3 for their broadcast audio deserves everything they get! (They could still use it for transcription and picture edit!)
I'm insisting on double-system now for all shoots involving Red or 5-7D cameras and am sticking to my guns even if it means losing gigs. I'm not putting MY day-rate on the line for someone else's camera's inferior sound quality!
Even still, I sometimes get caught by showing up and, oops, there's a Red. That's why I always carry an H4 recorder with me and roll even if I'm tethered to a Red. Not too long ago I got a call that the sound was missing on some files shot on a Red (!) Luckily, I had the backup. (turns out it was an issue in the transfer, my sound was there, but it just goes to show you... unreliable)
Thank you.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
24 true things about me and one lie. (Guess which one)
1. I have gone to at least 8 public schools in my lifetime. (my family moved a LOT!)
2. My dream job would be "Professional Problem Solver" (I guess they are actually called "Consultants" but I hate that word...) because I think I have the ability to see the bigger picture and suggest creative, out-of-the-box solutions that people might not arrive at themselves because they are too close to the situation. Second to that I want to do something creative. I want to point to something that people actually like and say, "I made that." Third, I would love to be an astronaut.
3. NOBODY beats me up more that I do when I make a mistake! Depending on the magnitude I can stew about it for DAYS. Mind you, I rarely make the same mistake twice.
4. I hate revealing details about myself. This list, therefore, took far too long to write. Not that I like to maintain mystery, just that I think that my life is so uninteresting to others.
5. I play goalie three times a week. I hadn't played since High School but just got back into it about 2 years ago. I play on 3 different ringette teams.
6. I think ringette is a far better sport than hockey! Don't know what ringette is? Wiki it!
7. I always have a "Plan B" (and usually a "Plan C, D and E as well) Someone said that made me a "commitmentphobe"
8. I spent entirely too much (time and money) on my cellphone (Apple iPhone) but it is an indispensable tool to my work. I have a minor freak-out if it is out of reach. Leave the house without it? Fuggeddaboudit!
9. I would rather be too cold than too hot. If you're too cold you can always just put on layers but if you're too hot all you can do is strip naked. If you're too hot after that you're out of luck! Humidity KILLS me!
10. I once stole my Dad's 1927 Model T Ford out of the garage and took it for a half hour joyride around the neighborhood with my friends. I was dead afraid the whole time but thrilled at the same time. We brought it home when it was running low on gas.
11. My dream car is a Bricklin. DeLorean lovers suck gas!
12. I own a PT Cruiser convertible. I can't wait till the first semi-warmish day in early Spring when I can drop the top and cruise for an hour!
13. I never want to retire! I think that if I rest, I'll rust. I'm just going to find something I can do with my mind instead of my body.
14. I cry at movies (but play it off like I got popcorn salt in my eye or something)
15. I'm trying to lose weight.
16. I now wear contacts about 50% of the time but when I do I need reading glasses and that SUCKS!
17. Stephen King is my favourite author. I'll bet if we knew each other we'd be friends.
18. I am very slow to really get angry but when I'm there watch out. I will F you up!
19. I'm a lover not a fighter. (but remember #18)
20. George Carlin (RIP) is my favourite comedian. I like (and share) his no-nonsense take on the world.
21. As a result of moving around so much as a kid I have very few 'friends'. I have lots of acquaintances but really shallow attachments.
22. I've been to every continent except Australia and Antarctica.
23. I wear baseball hats almost every day. I have a huge collection that is nearing (if not already) 100 hats!
24. I go a little nutzo at Christmas and spend WAY too much.
25. I drink way too much coffee. Sometimes 3-4 extra large from Tim Hortons (Timmies rocks, Starbucks sucks, get over it!)
Well, now that's done! OK guys, leave a comment and tell me which one you think is a lie. I promise I'll tell you if you are right.
While you are at it why not do one yourself?
2. My dream job would be "Professional Problem Solver" (I guess they are actually called "Consultants" but I hate that word...) because I think I have the ability to see the bigger picture and suggest creative, out-of-the-box solutions that people might not arrive at themselves because they are too close to the situation. Second to that I want to do something creative. I want to point to something that people actually like and say, "I made that." Third, I would love to be an astronaut.
3. NOBODY beats me up more that I do when I make a mistake! Depending on the magnitude I can stew about it for DAYS. Mind you, I rarely make the same mistake twice.
4. I hate revealing details about myself. This list, therefore, took far too long to write. Not that I like to maintain mystery, just that I think that my life is so uninteresting to others.
5. I play goalie three times a week. I hadn't played since High School but just got back into it about 2 years ago. I play on 3 different ringette teams.
6. I think ringette is a far better sport than hockey! Don't know what ringette is? Wiki it!
7. I always have a "Plan B" (and usually a "Plan C, D and E as well) Someone said that made me a "commitmentphobe"
8. I spent entirely too much (time and money) on my cellphone (Apple iPhone) but it is an indispensable tool to my work. I have a minor freak-out if it is out of reach. Leave the house without it? Fuggeddaboudit!
9. I would rather be too cold than too hot. If you're too cold you can always just put on layers but if you're too hot all you can do is strip naked. If you're too hot after that you're out of luck! Humidity KILLS me!
10. I once stole my Dad's 1927 Model T Ford out of the garage and took it for a half hour joyride around the neighborhood with my friends. I was dead afraid the whole time but thrilled at the same time. We brought it home when it was running low on gas.
11. My dream car is a Bricklin. DeLorean lovers suck gas!
12. I own a PT Cruiser convertible. I can't wait till the first semi-warmish day in early Spring when I can drop the top and cruise for an hour!
13. I never want to retire! I think that if I rest, I'll rust. I'm just going to find something I can do with my mind instead of my body.
14. I cry at movies (but play it off like I got popcorn salt in my eye or something)
15. I'm trying to lose weight.
16. I now wear contacts about 50% of the time but when I do I need reading glasses and that SUCKS!
17. Stephen King is my favourite author. I'll bet if we knew each other we'd be friends.
18. I am very slow to really get angry but when I'm there watch out. I will F you up!
19. I'm a lover not a fighter. (but remember #18)
20. George Carlin (RIP) is my favourite comedian. I like (and share) his no-nonsense take on the world.
21. As a result of moving around so much as a kid I have very few 'friends'. I have lots of acquaintances but really shallow attachments.
22. I've been to every continent except Australia and Antarctica.
23. I wear baseball hats almost every day. I have a huge collection that is nearing (if not already) 100 hats!
24. I go a little nutzo at Christmas and spend WAY too much.
25. I drink way too much coffee. Sometimes 3-4 extra large from Tim Hortons (Timmies rocks, Starbucks sucks, get over it!)
Well, now that's done! OK guys, leave a comment and tell me which one you think is a lie. I promise I'll tell you if you are right.
While you are at it why not do one yourself?
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Vegas, Baby!
Hey, look, a new post in this blog (couldn’t let a WHOLE year go by could I?) Just got back from my third trip this year to Las Vegas. Before you start thinking I’ve turned into a complete degenerate gambler these three trips were all for work and only one of these trips was on my dime, the other two were paid for by clients.
I had visions of cruising the Strip with Sammy, Dino and Frankie. The reality was a bit more eye opening.
The first trip in April was to attend NAB the National Association of Broadcasters annual convention and trade show. To say it was enormous would be insulting to enormous things everywhere. There was every conceivable toy and gadget for our profession. It was a true, geeks paradise. The audio hall alone took up one wing of the Las Vegas Convention Centre and had every mic, transmitter, accessory and mixer known to man. I was in gear overload and used that time to actually play with the toys I’d only ever heard about or seen on the web. It was great to actually talk with the manufacturers of equipment that you are about to make a purchasing decision on. Discussing pros and cons and future design ideas with the guys who actually make the stuff rather than dealers who have a vested interest in selling you the stuff, warts and all, was intellectually refreshing.
My second and third trips were for the TV show Guinea Pig, produced by Frantic Films out of Winnipeg. How shall I describe Guinea Pig? The host, Ryan Stock (a circus performer by profession) explores the extremes that a body can endure in the name of science. Let me tell you, this guy has put his body through a lot for this show. We were in Vegas standing in a parking lot for 10 hours in 91 degree heat while he attempted to set a World Record pulling a car with a sword down his throat (I won’t tell you if he does it or if he gets hurt, it’s up to you to watch the show) Some of the things he’s done in the past however are getting hit with a taser, 36 hours in the desert without food or water, immersing himself in an ice chest for extended periods of time, parachuting and the list goes on (the show is in it’s third season on Discovery) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztUhRpBAU3g&feature=related
My trips to Vegas aren’t done though. I am in the process of producing a ringette tournament there http://ringettedestination.com and so I’ll be back next April (making a fourth trip in just over a year) and I may have to go for a quick planning trip down there in March just to tie up some items. Perhaps I should just rent an apartment there…
As a quick vacation destination it can’t be beat. There are more shows and attractions per square mile than in Disneyworld (my personal favourite vacation spot). Las Vegas has slowly grown southward from the old downtown (Four Queens, Binions, Golden Nugget and others which is now commonly called the ‘Fremont Strip’ or the ‘Fremont Experience’ as it is now closed off to car traffic and completely covered by a large LED display that plays shows every half hour; to the area around the old Dunes and Frontier (now both gone) Circus, Riviera, Sands etc to further south and the major resorts now of Treasure Island, Wynns, Venetian, Mirage, New York, Paris, Mandalay Bay, Flamingo, Bellagio, Luxor and others. The strip is even beginning to spur off sideways at Flamingo Boulevard with the Rio and the Palms. For non-gamblers a walking tour of Vegas at night provides ample amusement.
The thing about Vegas though is that I can only seem to take it for about three or four days at a time before my mental circuit breakers trip over and I just gotta get out of there! Its not the gambling, I can handle that in moderation and never gamble beyond my means ($50 at the penny slots does me fine although I am learning the finer points of blackjack) but it goes beyond that. Vegas is a pretty woman that you don’t want to meet without her makeup on. In the daytime the city looks decidedly seedy. This is definitely a nighttime city. I definitely would not want to live there. The first time I went I stayed at the Imperial Palace and what a dump that was! If you do stay there and are offered an upgrade to a strip-view room do NOT take them up on it! You don’t see much and outside your window is a nightclub that blasts music until 4 am! I had to sleep with earplugs in. The next two times we stayed in Circus Circus. People had warned me about this hotel as well (the word ‘dump’ being thrown around again) but I found it quite pleasant, although a bit off the ‘Strip’
One of the best stories of Vegas for me is what my friends started calling the $20 story. I got grifted. I was playing the penny slots waiting for my friends to show up when this disheveled guy reels up to me and sits down. He starts in on how he was at the tables and won big but was so drunk he just had to get out of there and go home. Unfortunately he didn’t have cash for a cab. He handed me a $100 chip and asked if I’d trade it for $20 for a cab (telling it here doesn’t do this guy’s act any justice, I’d award an Oscar to him any day, he was convincing in his ‘too drunk to know what I’m doing’ act.) Ironically, I fell for it and bought his magic beans for $20, discovering later on that the chip was a worthless souvenir sold in the shops of Vegas for $1 or $2. Far from being all that upset about it though I just chalked it up to the old maxim of “When a man with experience meets a man with money the man with experience will get the money and the man with money will get the experience.” I still have that chip and kept it in my pocket the rest of the trip. I’d touch it every time I made a bet as if to say, “Make sure you’re not being foolish.” I may have it made into a necklace or something. Someone once said, “When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.”
Loud and clear.
I had visions of cruising the Strip with Sammy, Dino and Frankie. The reality was a bit more eye opening.
The first trip in April was to attend NAB the National Association of Broadcasters annual convention and trade show. To say it was enormous would be insulting to enormous things everywhere. There was every conceivable toy and gadget for our profession. It was a true, geeks paradise. The audio hall alone took up one wing of the Las Vegas Convention Centre and had every mic, transmitter, accessory and mixer known to man. I was in gear overload and used that time to actually play with the toys I’d only ever heard about or seen on the web. It was great to actually talk with the manufacturers of equipment that you are about to make a purchasing decision on. Discussing pros and cons and future design ideas with the guys who actually make the stuff rather than dealers who have a vested interest in selling you the stuff, warts and all, was intellectually refreshing.
My second and third trips were for the TV show Guinea Pig, produced by Frantic Films out of Winnipeg. How shall I describe Guinea Pig? The host, Ryan Stock (a circus performer by profession) explores the extremes that a body can endure in the name of science. Let me tell you, this guy has put his body through a lot for this show. We were in Vegas standing in a parking lot for 10 hours in 91 degree heat while he attempted to set a World Record pulling a car with a sword down his throat (I won’t tell you if he does it or if he gets hurt, it’s up to you to watch the show) Some of the things he’s done in the past however are getting hit with a taser, 36 hours in the desert without food or water, immersing himself in an ice chest for extended periods of time, parachuting and the list goes on (the show is in it’s third season on Discovery) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztUhRpBAU3g&feature=related
My trips to Vegas aren’t done though. I am in the process of producing a ringette tournament there http://ringettedestination.com and so I’ll be back next April (making a fourth trip in just over a year) and I may have to go for a quick planning trip down there in March just to tie up some items. Perhaps I should just rent an apartment there…
As a quick vacation destination it can’t be beat. There are more shows and attractions per square mile than in Disneyworld (my personal favourite vacation spot). Las Vegas has slowly grown southward from the old downtown (Four Queens, Binions, Golden Nugget and others which is now commonly called the ‘Fremont Strip’ or the ‘Fremont Experience’ as it is now closed off to car traffic and completely covered by a large LED display that plays shows every half hour; to the area around the old Dunes and Frontier (now both gone) Circus, Riviera, Sands etc to further south and the major resorts now of Treasure Island, Wynns, Venetian, Mirage, New York, Paris, Mandalay Bay, Flamingo, Bellagio, Luxor and others. The strip is even beginning to spur off sideways at Flamingo Boulevard with the Rio and the Palms. For non-gamblers a walking tour of Vegas at night provides ample amusement.
The thing about Vegas though is that I can only seem to take it for about three or four days at a time before my mental circuit breakers trip over and I just gotta get out of there! Its not the gambling, I can handle that in moderation and never gamble beyond my means ($50 at the penny slots does me fine although I am learning the finer points of blackjack) but it goes beyond that. Vegas is a pretty woman that you don’t want to meet without her makeup on. In the daytime the city looks decidedly seedy. This is definitely a nighttime city. I definitely would not want to live there. The first time I went I stayed at the Imperial Palace and what a dump that was! If you do stay there and are offered an upgrade to a strip-view room do NOT take them up on it! You don’t see much and outside your window is a nightclub that blasts music until 4 am! I had to sleep with earplugs in. The next two times we stayed in Circus Circus. People had warned me about this hotel as well (the word ‘dump’ being thrown around again) but I found it quite pleasant, although a bit off the ‘Strip’
One of the best stories of Vegas for me is what my friends started calling the $20 story. I got grifted. I was playing the penny slots waiting for my friends to show up when this disheveled guy reels up to me and sits down. He starts in on how he was at the tables and won big but was so drunk he just had to get out of there and go home. Unfortunately he didn’t have cash for a cab. He handed me a $100 chip and asked if I’d trade it for $20 for a cab (telling it here doesn’t do this guy’s act any justice, I’d award an Oscar to him any day, he was convincing in his ‘too drunk to know what I’m doing’ act.) Ironically, I fell for it and bought his magic beans for $20, discovering later on that the chip was a worthless souvenir sold in the shops of Vegas for $1 or $2. Far from being all that upset about it though I just chalked it up to the old maxim of “When a man with experience meets a man with money the man with experience will get the money and the man with money will get the experience.” I still have that chip and kept it in my pocket the rest of the trip. I’d touch it every time I made a bet as if to say, “Make sure you’re not being foolish.” I may have it made into a necklace or something. Someone once said, “When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.”
Loud and clear.
Friday, January 11, 2008
My Confession (Bless me Father, for I have made a career)
OK, I have a confession to make. I bullshitted my way into this business. I didn’t mean to. Like most things it (a) just happened and (b) seemed like a good idea at the time.
I’ve told this story so many times that I’m no longer at risk of being taken for a poseur (that and 22 years experience) so here goes:
I had done some sound mixing along he way in high school, mostly for friends who had garage bands.
Typical conversation,
“Do you know how to operate a sound mixer?”
“No.”
“Do you want to?”
“Well…”
“I’ll buy you a beer.”
“Sure!”
After I went away to University I didn’t think about sound again until May of 1986. I was home from school and taking a shower at my parents’ home when the phone rang. As we all do, I jumped out of the shower naked and dripping (sorry for that mental image) and grabbed the phone. On the other end was a voice that seemed to belong to a man in a great hurry because the conversation went something like this:
“Hello”
“Hi, it’s me. Say, that gig is yours if you want it.”
“Huh?”
“It’s Blair. The gig recording sound on that film we talked about is yours if you want it.”
“Uh, I think you have the wrong number.”
“Oh, really? Sorry…”
“No problem but hey I’ve done some sound too so if that guy doesn’t work out give me a call.” (why I said that I still don’t know. It just popped out of my mouth…)
“You do sound too? Hmmm… why don’t you drop by the studio and we’ll chat.”
Not having a summer job yet, nor anything else better to do that day I dropped in. We chatted a bit about films in general and his in particular. To be honest, I was just stringing this guy along because I was interested to see what the inside of a real, live film studio looked like. For the uninitiated, they’re dark, smell slightly gamey and have weird creatures huddled in corners mumbling to themselves and smoking funny, twisted cigarettes. I would later come to find out that these poor souls are called ‘Grips’ (they could have been Morlocks as far as I knew)
The guy (who I later found out was Blair MacIntyre – the producer of the film) gave me a tour around. When we got to the equipment room he pointed to a piece of gear that looked to me like something out of a Soviet Russian Gulag and said, “That’s our Nagra recorder. It’s not a 4 or 4.2 it’s just a version 3 so I’m sure you’re familiar with how it works.” I stared at it for a second and then realization struck me. Somehow he thought that I was a film sound recordist and he was thinking of hiring me for his film!
An ethical person would have stopped right there and said he wasn’t the guy and had no experience. Fortunately, while I generally feel I’m an ethical person, I was also a person without a summer job at the time so the prospect of having someone pay me to hang around a film set all summer kind of appealed to me.
Turns out, in conversation much later, I find out that Blair didn’t much like the other guy but he was the only sound recordist available at the time. Luckily, I was Johnny-on-the-spot and got the job. I think he was so happy not to work with this other guy that he would have taken anybody at that point. (flashback to high school… “Do you know how to operate a sound board?” “No.” “Do you want to?”) I don’t know who the other guy was that I stole a job from and I don’t want to know. I’ve asked Blair never to tell me and he hasn’t. And if you think it was you just keep your comments to yourself because it was 20 years ago for crying out loud and apparently you were an insufferable pr!ck back then…
Where was I? Oh yeah…
Thinking fast and inferring from his previous statement that this Nagra thingy was (a) a recording device of some kind and (b) kinda old, I took a chance and said, “Yeah, it looks pretty old. Mind if I take it home for the weekend to clean and calibrate it?”
Looking at the possibility of free servicing for his equipment he did what any producer of small (mini, micro) budget films would do. He said “Sure” and I took it (and the Sennheiser boom mic) home with me.
Once home it took me at least 5 minutes to figure out how to turn it on and a further hour(!) to make my best guesses as to what the various switches and knobs did. It took me at least that long if not longer to figure out how to thread the tape on through all the wheels and rollers and capstans and heads etc. I spent the better part of the day just trying to dope out this beast and figure out which end of the shaggy thing I should point at the thing that makes noise. This was in the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth, there was no internet and to figure out how something worked (when you had no manual but are a cocky S.O.B.) you just had to fiddle with it and pray you didn’t break it too badly while you did.
Finally I was able to get sound recorded onto the tape reel that he gave me and (armed with a head full of knowledge gleaned from a one-time speed read of a book I found in the library called something like “Elements of Sound Recording”, I arrived Monday on location. The story of the filming of “The Vacationers” (don’t bother looking for it, small budget doesn’t even begin to describe it) is for another blog but the point I was trying to make was I came in with absolutely no experience. For those not in the know, film is NOT a learn as you go type of job. You are expected to get it right the first time, every time (and when you don’t, you’d better have some pretty good reason right on the tip of your tongue).
Fortunately, I didn’t make too many gross blunders that summer and I did meet my wife (she was a bag lady and I was impersonating a woman. Story upon request).
Showing just how incestuous this business really is though, one of the actors on “The Vacationers” was in pre-production to direct his first documentary for the NFB called “Groundwater Pollution – The Underlying Threat” and the camera operator was scheduled to work on it too. They seemed to like me and asked me if I wanted to record sound on it. Wow, no experience one month and the next month already elevated to NFB status!
One thing led to another, one project led to another, one contact led to another and I have been working in this business for 22 years and my entire career can be traced back to one wrong number!
I’ve always took pains to stress to others that I’ve felt incredibly blessed and lucky to have been given the chance to start at the top. Lately, a friend told me that I shouldn’t look at it that way. He felt that I should be proud of the fact. He said (and he’s right) this business is so competitive and (let’s face it) cut-throat, that producers would not hesitate to fire someone showing incompetence and once that was done (because of the abovementioned incestuousness) word spreads quickly and I wouldn’t get hired again. He says I must have been doing something right to make an entire career. Maybe we’re both right; I should feel both proud and blessed that I have a job I love, doing loads of interesting things, meeting cool people and feeding my family in the bargain.
I’m lucky, in more ways than one.
I’ve told this story so many times that I’m no longer at risk of being taken for a poseur (that and 22 years experience) so here goes:
I had done some sound mixing along he way in high school, mostly for friends who had garage bands.
Typical conversation,
“Do you know how to operate a sound mixer?”
“No.”
“Do you want to?”
“Well…”
“I’ll buy you a beer.”
“Sure!”
After I went away to University I didn’t think about sound again until May of 1986. I was home from school and taking a shower at my parents’ home when the phone rang. As we all do, I jumped out of the shower naked and dripping (sorry for that mental image) and grabbed the phone. On the other end was a voice that seemed to belong to a man in a great hurry because the conversation went something like this:
“Hello”
“Hi, it’s me. Say, that gig is yours if you want it.”
“Huh?”
“It’s Blair. The gig recording sound on that film we talked about is yours if you want it.”
“Uh, I think you have the wrong number.”
“Oh, really? Sorry…”
“No problem but hey I’ve done some sound too so if that guy doesn’t work out give me a call.” (why I said that I still don’t know. It just popped out of my mouth…)
“You do sound too? Hmmm… why don’t you drop by the studio and we’ll chat.”
Not having a summer job yet, nor anything else better to do that day I dropped in. We chatted a bit about films in general and his in particular. To be honest, I was just stringing this guy along because I was interested to see what the inside of a real, live film studio looked like. For the uninitiated, they’re dark, smell slightly gamey and have weird creatures huddled in corners mumbling to themselves and smoking funny, twisted cigarettes. I would later come to find out that these poor souls are called ‘Grips’ (they could have been Morlocks as far as I knew)
The guy (who I later found out was Blair MacIntyre – the producer of the film) gave me a tour around. When we got to the equipment room he pointed to a piece of gear that looked to me like something out of a Soviet Russian Gulag and said, “That’s our Nagra recorder. It’s not a 4 or 4.2 it’s just a version 3 so I’m sure you’re familiar with how it works.” I stared at it for a second and then realization struck me. Somehow he thought that I was a film sound recordist and he was thinking of hiring me for his film!
An ethical person would have stopped right there and said he wasn’t the guy and had no experience. Fortunately, while I generally feel I’m an ethical person, I was also a person without a summer job at the time so the prospect of having someone pay me to hang around a film set all summer kind of appealed to me.
Turns out, in conversation much later, I find out that Blair didn’t much like the other guy but he was the only sound recordist available at the time. Luckily, I was Johnny-on-the-spot and got the job. I think he was so happy not to work with this other guy that he would have taken anybody at that point. (flashback to high school… “Do you know how to operate a sound board?” “No.” “Do you want to?”) I don’t know who the other guy was that I stole a job from and I don’t want to know. I’ve asked Blair never to tell me and he hasn’t. And if you think it was you just keep your comments to yourself because it was 20 years ago for crying out loud and apparently you were an insufferable pr!ck back then…
Where was I? Oh yeah…
Thinking fast and inferring from his previous statement that this Nagra thingy was (a) a recording device of some kind and (b) kinda old, I took a chance and said, “Yeah, it looks pretty old. Mind if I take it home for the weekend to clean and calibrate it?”
Looking at the possibility of free servicing for his equipment he did what any producer of small (mini, micro) budget films would do. He said “Sure” and I took it (and the Sennheiser boom mic) home with me.
Once home it took me at least 5 minutes to figure out how to turn it on and a further hour(!) to make my best guesses as to what the various switches and knobs did. It took me at least that long if not longer to figure out how to thread the tape on through all the wheels and rollers and capstans and heads etc. I spent the better part of the day just trying to dope out this beast and figure out which end of the shaggy thing I should point at the thing that makes noise. This was in the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth, there was no internet and to figure out how something worked (when you had no manual but are a cocky S.O.B.) you just had to fiddle with it and pray you didn’t break it too badly while you did.
Finally I was able to get sound recorded onto the tape reel that he gave me and (armed with a head full of knowledge gleaned from a one-time speed read of a book I found in the library called something like “Elements of Sound Recording”, I arrived Monday on location. The story of the filming of “The Vacationers” (don’t bother looking for it, small budget doesn’t even begin to describe it) is for another blog but the point I was trying to make was I came in with absolutely no experience. For those not in the know, film is NOT a learn as you go type of job. You are expected to get it right the first time, every time (and when you don’t, you’d better have some pretty good reason right on the tip of your tongue).
Fortunately, I didn’t make too many gross blunders that summer and I did meet my wife (she was a bag lady and I was impersonating a woman. Story upon request).
Showing just how incestuous this business really is though, one of the actors on “The Vacationers” was in pre-production to direct his first documentary for the NFB called “Groundwater Pollution – The Underlying Threat” and the camera operator was scheduled to work on it too. They seemed to like me and asked me if I wanted to record sound on it. Wow, no experience one month and the next month already elevated to NFB status!
One thing led to another, one project led to another, one contact led to another and I have been working in this business for 22 years and my entire career can be traced back to one wrong number!
I’ve always took pains to stress to others that I’ve felt incredibly blessed and lucky to have been given the chance to start at the top. Lately, a friend told me that I shouldn’t look at it that way. He felt that I should be proud of the fact. He said (and he’s right) this business is so competitive and (let’s face it) cut-throat, that producers would not hesitate to fire someone showing incompetence and once that was done (because of the abovementioned incestuousness) word spreads quickly and I wouldn’t get hired again. He says I must have been doing something right to make an entire career. Maybe we’re both right; I should feel both proud and blessed that I have a job I love, doing loads of interesting things, meeting cool people and feeding my family in the bargain.
I’m lucky, in more ways than one.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Deadbeat Clients
Listening to: NFL Football (Patriots vs Dolphins)
Writing This: In my living room
Weather: windy
During this Christmas season I have attended a couple of holiday parties thrown by folks in the television industry. One of the biggest topics of discussion, whenever a bunch of freelancers get together, is billing and deadbeat clients. Let me share my three horror stories (I will remove enough details that I won’t get sued)
-1- Shooting a DOC series. Client was always great about paying on the day (hell yeah!) but one day he says he forgot his checkbook. No sweat, based on his past record he's good for it. I invoice via email and the next day he calls with a dispute about the hours. He claims I should only have billed for a half day (call was at 2 pm, event started at 7 pm and wrapped at 11 pm) note: I bill a half day up to 5 hours, a full day after 5 to 10 hours and OT after that and only if it has been pre-arranged as a half day first. His claim was that we only ~met~ at 2 the call wasn't at 2 but rather at 7... Hmmm well, maybe it was a mis-communication. I agree to modify the invoice and re-send it. Days pass... 30 days, no check. 40 days, I call, no answer, no check. 50 days, I call, I email, no answer, no reply, no check. Finally 55 days later he calls and books another shoot day (balls, huh?) I say "no problem but I have to be paid for the last gig first and this gig is COD. I don't take the gear out of the car without 2 checks." He hems and haws but finally agrees. I arrive and he immediately asks me to start helping unload lighting equipment out of his truck. I shake my head and hold out my hand. He grunts and writes out two checks. (remember that this was the guy who had paid on the day at least a dozen times before) We do the interview, it’s a fairly simple gig, and I leave, but because of the history I run to the bank and deposit the checks. Sure enough, the next day he calls me complaining about the sound, it's cutting in and out, it’s unusable, he wants a refund. Suspecting something I ask to hear the tape as I always monitor the return feed and if there was a problem I would have heard it. He delays and puts up roadblocks to me getting to him. I even offer to bring a deck and monitor to wherever he is, whenever. Somehow he decides to decline. Eventually he lets it slip that it sounds bad when he injests it via firewire but OK when he plays it on his camera. Aha! The problem is in his camera (ends up being mis-aligned heads) not my fault - no refund. I never did another gig for him and he left the country soon after never to return (we can only hope)
-2- Worked for a well known production company here in Toronto. They did LOTS of production. I was warned when I started that they had a reputation for late payment but I was just starting out in the biz and needed ay client I could get. At the beginning everything went fine. I was paid on schedule and sometimes early. Then the checks gradually started coming later and later until finally they stopped coming altogether. Called the Accounts Payable Dept. "Oh yes, we've misplaced your invoice. Can you re-send it?" (Did, no check). Called again "Well, we have an issue with the overtime you claimed." (Can't see how that's possible... I didn't claim any overtime on that invoice... Did you want me to add some? No check) Called again "Oh, maybe that was someone else." (Right, no check). Called again "The guy who signs the checks is on vacation" (Probably with MY money. You guessed it... no check) Finally 120 days later (yes, you read that right, 120 days later I called and said that I was filing a Small Claims action against them and was heading down to the court right now but as luck would have it I would pass right by their office on the way (true) and would drop in one last time for a grand total of 30 seconds. If I didn't have a check in my hand after that time I would head up the street and file suit. I arrived and found the door blocked open with a sandbag (this in a security building) and absolutely nobody there! Propped on the reception desk was an envelope with my name on it and a check inside. I yelled "Thank you!" to the empty office and left. Yes the check cashed but they declared bankruptcy not long after. I think I was one of the last guys paid actual money. This was the place where a shooter once walked into the accountants office and demanded payment by threatening to unplug his computer (with all the accounting data inside) right off his desk, take it down the street and pawn it if he didn't get paid (and I know this guy, he would have done it!)
-3- I was booked for two night-shoots on a Thursday and Friday (call times around 7 pm ish...). Wednesday afternoon at 4 pm the guy calls and cancels Friday. OK, it's 51 hours to a 7 pm call. My cancellation policy is clearly stated on my website ( http://www.todio.ca by the way) as: "48 hours to call 50%, 24 hours to call 100%". Tough luck for me, although I had turned down work on that day. The kicker is that on Thursday afternoon he calls and 're-schedules' that evening to the next Thursday. I agree to waive the cancellation fee cause I'm such a nice guy (translation: 'sucker') as long as the shoot is a 'Go'.
Next Tuesday rolls around and he cancels the shoot altogether. I bill for one cancelled day (the original Thursday) and he balks at paying, for FOUR MONTHS. His claim is that I agreed to waive the cancellation fee if he re-booked which he feels he did. He further claims he doesn't owe me a cancellation fee for the second booking because he cancelled outside my 48 hour window.
Cute.
What to do? I could sue him in Small Claims but that could take up to another 6 months. The amount is not really big enough ($500) to send to a billing company who will eat up 75% or so... I'm just not mean enough to report him to the BBB...
Decided to try again with this email:
“Dear Producer:
Please see to this invoice immediately as it is seriously overdue. I think I was more than fair to you and to XYZ Television in only billing you for one cancelled day instead of both days. I think it is time you were fair to me and paid for the cancelled day.
I have left numerous phone messages and emails which have been completely ignored. If this is not paid I will have no other choice than to take this to Small Claims Court with all the attendant hassle and embarrassment that would cause you and XYZ Television not to mention the additional financial impact as I will also be asking for court costs and reasonable interest.
Attached is a reminder invoice for your records.
I trust you will do the right thing and we can put this behind us.”
He sent an email back:
“The cheque will be mailed to you this week for sure. Just so you are aware, I am taking the full hit on this, even though the client cancelled at the last minute and refuses to pay for any cancellation charges. I wish you had of initially told me that you had another booking, as I would have possibly hired someone else. I guess we always learn something don't we!
Thanks.
Best Regards, Producer”
Well boo frickedy hoo! His client stiffed him. Now he knows how it feels.
Even after that message the check didn’t come. I sent him a final email saying
“Dear Producer:
You said, on DATE, that the check would be mailed that week "for sure". As of today, DATE (2 weeks later), I have not received it. I can only assume that you are not intending on paying. I, therefore, have no other option but to seek this money in Small Claims Court. However, in a final effort to be reasonable and to avoid putting you through this action and the additional liability as I will also be asking for interest and court costs, I am prepared to visit your location, XXX on Monday, around noon. If this is the incorrect address please let me know. Please have the check ready for my pickup at that time or I am prepared to immediately go and file a Small Claim action.”
For the record, the client DID pay up a day or so later so my record is still 100%. Sure he's not likely to call me again but I don't care as he wasn't even on my radar as a client. I'd only worked for him twice in the past 4 years. No great loss, just one name off the Christmas card list
I sent him a thank you email stating that I stood ready to support him in his efforts to recover money from his deadbeat client.
3 almost-deadbeats in 22 years. Not a bad track record huh?
Writing This: In my living room
Weather: windy
During this Christmas season I have attended a couple of holiday parties thrown by folks in the television industry. One of the biggest topics of discussion, whenever a bunch of freelancers get together, is billing and deadbeat clients. Let me share my three horror stories (I will remove enough details that I won’t get sued)
-1- Shooting a DOC series. Client was always great about paying on the day (hell yeah!) but one day he says he forgot his checkbook. No sweat, based on his past record he's good for it. I invoice via email and the next day he calls with a dispute about the hours. He claims I should only have billed for a half day (call was at 2 pm, event started at 7 pm and wrapped at 11 pm) note: I bill a half day up to 5 hours, a full day after 5 to 10 hours and OT after that and only if it has been pre-arranged as a half day first. His claim was that we only ~met~ at 2 the call wasn't at 2 but rather at 7... Hmmm well, maybe it was a mis-communication. I agree to modify the invoice and re-send it. Days pass... 30 days, no check. 40 days, I call, no answer, no check. 50 days, I call, I email, no answer, no reply, no check. Finally 55 days later he calls and books another shoot day (balls, huh?) I say "no problem but I have to be paid for the last gig first and this gig is COD. I don't take the gear out of the car without 2 checks." He hems and haws but finally agrees. I arrive and he immediately asks me to start helping unload lighting equipment out of his truck. I shake my head and hold out my hand. He grunts and writes out two checks. (remember that this was the guy who had paid on the day at least a dozen times before) We do the interview, it’s a fairly simple gig, and I leave, but because of the history I run to the bank and deposit the checks. Sure enough, the next day he calls me complaining about the sound, it's cutting in and out, it’s unusable, he wants a refund. Suspecting something I ask to hear the tape as I always monitor the return feed and if there was a problem I would have heard it. He delays and puts up roadblocks to me getting to him. I even offer to bring a deck and monitor to wherever he is, whenever. Somehow he decides to decline. Eventually he lets it slip that it sounds bad when he injests it via firewire but OK when he plays it on his camera. Aha! The problem is in his camera (ends up being mis-aligned heads) not my fault - no refund. I never did another gig for him and he left the country soon after never to return (we can only hope)
-2- Worked for a well known production company here in Toronto. They did LOTS of production. I was warned when I started that they had a reputation for late payment but I was just starting out in the biz and needed ay client I could get. At the beginning everything went fine. I was paid on schedule and sometimes early. Then the checks gradually started coming later and later until finally they stopped coming altogether. Called the Accounts Payable Dept. "Oh yes, we've misplaced your invoice. Can you re-send it?" (Did, no check). Called again "Well, we have an issue with the overtime you claimed." (Can't see how that's possible... I didn't claim any overtime on that invoice... Did you want me to add some? No check) Called again "Oh, maybe that was someone else." (Right, no check). Called again "The guy who signs the checks is on vacation" (Probably with MY money. You guessed it... no check) Finally 120 days later (yes, you read that right, 120 days later I called and said that I was filing a Small Claims action against them and was heading down to the court right now but as luck would have it I would pass right by their office on the way (true) and would drop in one last time for a grand total of 30 seconds. If I didn't have a check in my hand after that time I would head up the street and file suit. I arrived and found the door blocked open with a sandbag (this in a security building) and absolutely nobody there! Propped on the reception desk was an envelope with my name on it and a check inside. I yelled "Thank you!" to the empty office and left. Yes the check cashed but they declared bankruptcy not long after. I think I was one of the last guys paid actual money. This was the place where a shooter once walked into the accountants office and demanded payment by threatening to unplug his computer (with all the accounting data inside) right off his desk, take it down the street and pawn it if he didn't get paid (and I know this guy, he would have done it!)
-3- I was booked for two night-shoots on a Thursday and Friday (call times around 7 pm ish...). Wednesday afternoon at 4 pm the guy calls and cancels Friday. OK, it's 51 hours to a 7 pm call. My cancellation policy is clearly stated on my website ( http://www.todio.ca by the way) as: "48 hours to call 50%, 24 hours to call 100%". Tough luck for me, although I had turned down work on that day. The kicker is that on Thursday afternoon he calls and 're-schedules' that evening to the next Thursday. I agree to waive the cancellation fee cause I'm such a nice guy (translation: 'sucker') as long as the shoot is a 'Go'.
Next Tuesday rolls around and he cancels the shoot altogether. I bill for one cancelled day (the original Thursday) and he balks at paying, for FOUR MONTHS. His claim is that I agreed to waive the cancellation fee if he re-booked which he feels he did. He further claims he doesn't owe me a cancellation fee for the second booking because he cancelled outside my 48 hour window.
Cute.
What to do? I could sue him in Small Claims but that could take up to another 6 months. The amount is not really big enough ($500) to send to a billing company who will eat up 75% or so... I'm just not mean enough to report him to the BBB...
Decided to try again with this email:
“Dear Producer:
Please see to this invoice immediately as it is seriously overdue. I think I was more than fair to you and to XYZ Television in only billing you for one cancelled day instead of both days. I think it is time you were fair to me and paid for the cancelled day.
I have left numerous phone messages and emails which have been completely ignored. If this is not paid I will have no other choice than to take this to Small Claims Court with all the attendant hassle and embarrassment that would cause you and XYZ Television not to mention the additional financial impact as I will also be asking for court costs and reasonable interest.
Attached is a reminder invoice for your records.
I trust you will do the right thing and we can put this behind us.”
He sent an email back:
“The cheque will be mailed to you this week for sure. Just so you are aware, I am taking the full hit on this, even though the client cancelled at the last minute and refuses to pay for any cancellation charges. I wish you had of initially told me that you had another booking, as I would have possibly hired someone else. I guess we always learn something don't we!
Thanks.
Best Regards, Producer”
Well boo frickedy hoo! His client stiffed him. Now he knows how it feels.
Even after that message the check didn’t come. I sent him a final email saying
“Dear Producer:
You said, on DATE, that the check would be mailed that week "for sure". As of today, DATE (2 weeks later), I have not received it. I can only assume that you are not intending on paying. I, therefore, have no other option but to seek this money in Small Claims Court. However, in a final effort to be reasonable and to avoid putting you through this action and the additional liability as I will also be asking for interest and court costs, I am prepared to visit your location, XXX on Monday, around noon. If this is the incorrect address please let me know. Please have the check ready for my pickup at that time or I am prepared to immediately go and file a Small Claim action.”
For the record, the client DID pay up a day or so later so my record is still 100%. Sure he's not likely to call me again but I don't care as he wasn't even on my radar as a client. I'd only worked for him twice in the past 4 years. No great loss, just one name off the Christmas card list
I sent him a thank you email stating that I stood ready to support him in his efforts to recover money from his deadbeat client.
3 almost-deadbeats in 22 years. Not a bad track record huh?
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
I was sad that I had no shoes until I met these guys
Listening to: Christmas Carols on the Muzak
Writing This: In a Tim Horton’s
Weather: Grey and wet
Got an early Christmas present. I had the good fortune to spend the past week shooting interviews for “Sledheads” a documentary about the Canadian Men’s National sledge hockey team.
Here’s a sample (I really should learn how to embed this stuff… maybe in another life) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YDE2pVXyQw
To say this was a humbling experience would be an understatement. These men have overcome all the hardships associated with becoming an elite athlete (separation from family, trying to shoehorn training around a day-job, aches, pains and strains) but have the added difficulty of doing all that while dealing with their various mobility disabilities as well. Getting around in wheelchairs (wheelies) or amputations (amps) is difficult at best but winter must be particularly difficult (imagine wheeling a chair through a snow drift or ankle deep slush). Throughout the interviews, though, I never heard one word of complaint about the disability. These guys just put their collective noses to the grindstone and do what it takes to get the job done and met every challenge with a stoicism and sense of humour that I am not sure I could muster were I in their shoes (or chairs or legs). Each and every one of them better men than me for how they deal with the daily challenges and casual humiliations in their lives. The story of their recent road trip to Norway ought to be required reading for any frequent traveler who grumbles about getting on and off planes.
Here it is: http://www.gabrielfilmsnorth.com/iWeb/Sledhead/Blog/05DB28A3-62EB-4AA6-823F-20D0267AEFB3.html
We should all count our lucky stars that we can walk onto any plane in the world under our own steam (not to mention going to the ‘little room’ at the back of the plane).
The games are hard & violent but some of the best hockey you will ever get to see. I am looking forward to seeing how they do in the upcoming World Championships in Boston this March and the 2010 Olympics in Whistler.
Thanks Greg, Rosie, Billy, Todd, Herve and Jean for giving me one more reason to be grateful every morning that my legs still work and for showing me that even if they didn’t that life would still go on.
Writing This: In a Tim Horton’s
Weather: Grey and wet
Got an early Christmas present. I had the good fortune to spend the past week shooting interviews for “Sledheads” a documentary about the Canadian Men’s National sledge hockey team.
Here’s a sample (I really should learn how to embed this stuff… maybe in another life) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YDE2pVXyQw
To say this was a humbling experience would be an understatement. These men have overcome all the hardships associated with becoming an elite athlete (separation from family, trying to shoehorn training around a day-job, aches, pains and strains) but have the added difficulty of doing all that while dealing with their various mobility disabilities as well. Getting around in wheelchairs (wheelies) or amputations (amps) is difficult at best but winter must be particularly difficult (imagine wheeling a chair through a snow drift or ankle deep slush). Throughout the interviews, though, I never heard one word of complaint about the disability. These guys just put their collective noses to the grindstone and do what it takes to get the job done and met every challenge with a stoicism and sense of humour that I am not sure I could muster were I in their shoes (or chairs or legs). Each and every one of them better men than me for how they deal with the daily challenges and casual humiliations in their lives. The story of their recent road trip to Norway ought to be required reading for any frequent traveler who grumbles about getting on and off planes.
Here it is: http://www.gabrielfilmsnorth.com/iWeb/Sledhead/Blog/05DB28A3-62EB-4AA6-823F-20D0267AEFB3.html
We should all count our lucky stars that we can walk onto any plane in the world under our own steam (not to mention going to the ‘little room’ at the back of the plane).
The games are hard & violent but some of the best hockey you will ever get to see. I am looking forward to seeing how they do in the upcoming World Championships in Boston this March and the 2010 Olympics in Whistler.
Thanks Greg, Rosie, Billy, Todd, Herve and Jean for giving me one more reason to be grateful every morning that my legs still work and for showing me that even if they didn’t that life would still go on.
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