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Professional v Amateur
I’m certainly not whining here, just want to share business wisdom. A great prior thread about client-vendor relationships can be read here. . Here’s another take on being a professional taken from Dreams with Sharp Teeth. Warning on some rough language.
Steve
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14 Replies
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I think I know whay he wants/needs a check so bad. He’s kind of douchy.
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Wow!! Have to say, I respect his position.
Arnie
Post production is not an afterthought!
https://www.arniepix.com/ -
Harlan is absolutely right in all the points he makes.
So is Grinner… kind of douchy.
I think Harlan needs to seriously consider breaking the pills in half. Or doubling up on them. One or the other.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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Harlan has always been both brilliant and… difficult. But he’s not wrong. He’s also a very vociferous advocate for the professional writer. He hates working in TV and film becasue he’s been burned so many times.
Now, for a hoot, got to Amazon and get a used paperback of “The Starcrossed”, which is about a future LA writer working on one of the first 3-d episodic TV series, a science-fiction retelling of “Romeo and Juliet”.
It is in reality a thinly-veiled tell-all behind-the-scenes description of the horrendous process Harlan went thru as a writer for a Canadian Sci-Fi TV series called “The Starlost”. In the book he sends up LA in general and the TV production community in particular, and the reason it is so GD funny is all the incidents in the fake sci-fi book are based on things that really happend on the actual show.
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He certainly doesn’t mince words.
If I ever work with him I’m not sure I’d want him to sit in and supervise the edit session… He can probably make grown men cry.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.
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He is uncompromising. People can look at that in different ways as a good or bad thing. You can tell I’m a fan of his, but I’m not sure myself that we would get along if we met socially or on business. Two egos that large cannot both occupy the same space and time; he’d probably smash my jar:-)
BTW, read his unproduced script for the movie of “I, Robot”. (published in illustrated book form) It is awesome, and a crime it hasn’t been made.
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Actual synopsis of a phone conversation I had a couple of years ago:
Me: Hello, this is Mike.
Caller: Hi, this is Jane Smith. I’m a producer for “major science and health cable channel”. We are working on a show about colon cancer. I was wondering if you have any stock footage of colonoscopy.
Me: Hmm, maybe. Where are you located?
Caller: We’re in LA.
Me: Don’t you work with any of the hospitals out there?
Caller: No, not really. We weren’t allowed to film any actual colonoscopy procedures. Do you have any?
Me: Maybe. We really don’t make a habit of selling our footage. Most of it isn’t licensed for that.
Caller: Oh. Well I wasn’t thinking of buying footage. I was hoping you might be able to give me something to use. We’ll give you credit of course.
Me: Really, you don’t have a budget for this? Don’t you work for “major science and health cable channel?”
Caller: Well yes, but they don’t really give us any money.
Me: I see. Well I can’t just give you footage. And as I said, most of our stuff is not for sale anyway. Sorry I can’t be of more help.
Caller: Oh gee whiz. Well can you suggest anyone I could call.
Me: You’re the producer honey. Produce.
Ok, I didn’t really say that, but I was thinking it!
Me: Why not call one of the biggest most well known hospital in Los Angeles. I’m sure they could lead you in the right direction. Or call Katie Couric. Her colon is all over the internet.
Caller: Blank stare coming through phone.
Me: Well, good luck to you.
Scene.
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Yep, people everywhere are looking for a free lunch. The problem with free lunch is it often consists of undercooked hot dogs and weak iced tea. It may satisfy your hunger for a little while, but you’ll have an upset stomach later.
Mike
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He’s not incorrect but giving a gal a hard time on the phone is wrong. It’s as easy as passing. We all take and pass on gigs all the time. Nobody has to be an angry asshat about it.
Poor old guy needs a beer, a bowl or a blow job. Dadgum, I can’t imagine being on a set or in a suite with a tool that fussy.
I was cracking up when he busted out with “I gave an interview… a very interesting interview…” lol
While he may have given an interview, I imagine how interesting it was revolved around who was watching. I didn’t make it though this entire rant, let along a babblefest about Babalon. -
The best part if this video is that somebody took his interview and put it in the web for everyone to see for free so there is little chance he made any money for this interview.
There are no “technical solutions” to your “artistic problems”.
Don’t let technology get in the way of your creativity! -
I say this as a huge fan of his writing, I actually think he is kind of wrong on this. He wasn’t being asked to work as a writer for free. The dvd producers wanted to use an interview that he had already sat down for. If he was concerned about being paid, before giving the interview would have been the time to ask.
If was being asked to work as a writer for free, that’s worthy of this eloquently obscene rant.
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