Christian Glawe
Forum Replies Created
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Thanks for your candor, Bob. I’ve learned a lot. I do hope that the next guy looking to put a system together will find this thread useful.
Christian Glawe
editor/compositor
http://www.IceHatCreative.com
http://www.christianglawe.com -
Thank you all for your input.
I’ve noticed that the Stardom hard drive compatibility chart:
.. lists a number of Seagate drives that would be considered “Desktop” edition drives. Granted, the drives I put in the enclosure are not on this chart (it’s from December 2010) – but it appears to me that Stardom is saying that “desktop edition” drives are compatible with the ST8-U5 enclosure.
Christian Glawe
editor/compositor
http://www.IceHatCreative.com
http://www.christianglawe.com -
Thanks for your reply, Steve.
Checking S.M.A.R.T. Status for the “degraded” drive shows some values over the threshold, but some of the threshold values are “0”, like Spin Up Time and Power on Hours Count. Do you know how these threshold values are derived, and can they be changed? Certainly, I want to know if a drive is in process of failing, but I don’t want to be rebuilding the RAID for every false “error”.
The values for the “degraded” drive are very, very similar to the “healthy” drives.
I know this is completely unscientific, but the enclosure does not feel particularly warm…
Christian Glawe
editor/compositor
http://www.IceHatCreative.com
http://www.christianglawe.com -
Thanks for the reply, Kyle.
Device Wait Time: 3
Device Wait Count: 1
Spinup Delay: 0
Would drive performance that exceed these values cause a “Degraded” warning?
Christian Glawe
editor/compositor
http://www.IceHatCreative.com
http://www.christianglawe.com -
Cold calling is very, very difficult… if you get a 3% response rate, then you are kicking butt!
But… I’ve done it before, and had some success before. Just remember that with every “no” you get, you are getting closer to the “yes”.
Here’s a few tips:
– Do your homework! Find out who the decision maker is *before* you ever pick up the phone. Find out what their business does, and figure out how you can help them *before* you call, so that you can say “Well, Mr. Prospect, I read in the paper yesterday that your company is expanding into (blank)… have you considered a new video to tell your potential customers about that?” Doing your homework, and showing Mr. Prospect that you’ve done your homework, will quickly separate you from the pack.
– Call in the morning (8:00-8:30), or at the end of the day (5:30).. you may avoid the GateKeeper this way, and get Mr. Prospect on the phone.
– Remember, they want you to help solve their problems, not give you business just ‘cuz you’re a nice guy.
I *do* think that corporate video is not what it was – everything is internet now… you must have these skills in your repertoire, or know good freelancers who can do this for you. “A video? Ehhhh… I really need a website….” is something that I bet you are hearing a lot…
Good luck!
Christian Glawe
editor/compositor
http://www.christianglawe.com
Read my blog: https://blogs.creativecow.net/blog/111
Pain is temporary… film is forever. -
You may not like hearing this, but I’d seriously consider reading something *not* related to the “industry”. I find I need to “flush my cache” from time to time… and it’s hard to make yourself do it, what with the day-in, day-out patterns we get ourselves into…
I like intelligent sci-fi (Heinlein, Gibson, etc.)…
Or… if you *must* do something “industry related”, get yourself a stack of print/logo design periodicals, and just casually flip through them… this is a lot of fun, and great way to remind yourself that this stuff is creative….
I find that most industry periodicals are nothing more than glorified gear reviews – yes, it’s good to know about the new gear… but in terms of bettering yourself as a creative artist, prolonged exposure to these things is bad for your health…
If you absolutely *must* read something industry related, “In The Blink Of An Eye” by Walter Murch is a good read…
Christian Glawe
editor/compositor
http://www.christianglawe.com
Read my blog: https://blogs.creativecow.net/blog/111
Pain is temporary… film is forever. -
Freesound is one I’ve used before, with pretty excellent results:
https://freesound.iua.upf.edu/
I agree with the “pepper” comment below – personally, I can’t stand when someone gets a little too SFX happy, and every little flash, frame push, etc… has some massive sound effect tied to it! All of a sudden, your nice little package about foie gras now sounds like “Transformers”… It really pulls you out of the story.
When I put in sound effects to go with transitions, I like to keep them relatively low in the mix… if the sound effect is noticeable, it’s probably too loud! There is a region between “inaudible” and “completely noticeable”, which is where a lot of these SFX belong….
Christian Glawe
editor/compositor
http://www.christianglawe.com
Read my blog: https://blogs.creativecow.net/blog/111
Pain is temporary… film is forever. -
Very nice reel, Tim!
As far as raising your rates – I think you need to give notice ahead of time if it’s a “new rate for 2008”. By that, I mean doing a letter around December 1st or so: “with increased cost of doing business… yada… yada….”. I think if you say, “my rate is now this, starting Monday”, you’re risking the relationship.
Another tact would be to talk to the client coming up on an anniversary of when you started doing work for them (“I’ve been working on this project for a year now….”). Sounds like this opportunity may be coming up for you.
Not knowing your rate, I don’t know what percentage increase $15/hr. represents.. but if it’s anything more than 7-10%, you may be fighting an uphill battle.
One other thought… sounds like this is a pretty comfortable gig for you. You could try just keeping your rate with them for now (or asking for a modest 5% bump), but any *new* clients are the +$15/hr. rate. See if you can attract work at the new rate. If so, you have much more leverage with the existing client (“I’m getting x for this type of work with my other clients…”)
Good luck… let us know how it works out.
Christian Glawe
editor/compositor
http://www.christianglawe.com
Read my blog: https://blogs.creativecow.net/blog/111
Pain is temporary… film is forever. -
I would issue a series of wrappers (collect all eight!), each with a picture of an Upper Crust Executive on it. I would call the marketing campaign “Take His Bonus” – for every wrapper code you enter in on the Hershey’s website, Hershey rebates you 50 cents, which is taken directly out of some board members year-end bonus!
Then, I would sit back and watch the sales soar!
Christian Glawe
editor/compositor
http://www.christianglawe.com
Read my blog: https://blogs.creativecow.net/blog/111
Pain is temporary… film is forever. -
There is a very easy answer for this. Don’t play the “for you my friend…” method of pricing.
I completely agree with this. I know some folks have said to stress that this is you “Intro Price” or “Get to Know You Price”…
The thing is, and say it to yourself now because it’s important: “You Will Never Get More Than What You Get For The First Job. Never.” It never works this way. There is no “intro” price, or “prove myself” price. There is price. Plain and simple. You can never ask for more money from a client.
If you want to do “value added service” for your clients – it’s in the little things: Professionally printed media labels, no “little” charges (shipping’s on me!), go the extra mile to help a client with a crushing deadline, etc.
But Never On Price!
The Steak and Eggs Theorum: You and I are co-workers at a post-house. One Friday morning you come in to find that I’m cooking up steak and eggs in the kitchen:
YOU: Whacha doin’?
ME: I’m making some steak and eggs for you – I had extra at home, and thought you’d appreciate it!
YOU: Oh, man.. that’s awesome! You’re the best.
Fast-forward to Next Friday. I’m making steak and eggs for you… again!
YOU: Aw… you makin’ me steak and eggs again? Thanks.
ME: Sure thing.
And it goes that way for a couple more Fridays. Now we fast-forward a few weeks. Now, it’s Friday morning, and I’m not in the kitchen. You come find me in my office.
YOU: Dude… where the &@()! are my steak and eggs??
Yes… this is how it works.
Christian Glawe
editor/compositor
http://www.christianglawe.com
Read my blog: https://blogs.creativecow.net/blog/111
Pain is temporary… film is forever.