Cory Petkovsek
Forum Replies Created
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Hi Margie, I’ve been an IT consultant for 10 years (recently transitioned to video/film). Unfortunately, most CRM software is complex and difficult to use. If you must use one, I usually recommend ACT.
However, I recommend you start with your needs, then find a software that meets those. This is one area that you do not want to get more than you need in case of growth. Most CRM software is designed for disciplined salespeople as part of a sales team.
CRM is useless without everyone committed to disciplined usage of it: inputting all contact info of all clients and leads, every contact touch, and all marketing numbers from all campaigns.
If you only have “salespeople” (your quotes) then they probably aren’t disciplined sales people who are going to record every touch. I’m not that disciplined. I record the date of the last touch only.
I recently setup a client who just wanted to share certain contacts, and a way to identify which contact belonged to whom. I had set their email up on google apps. I found a plugin that allowed them to share the contacts of their choice and a custom field allows them to identify the owner of the contact.
Start with a list of your requirements, then pick a solution based on it and what existing platform you have. Maybe an excel spreadsheet on a shared network drive will meet those needs (works for my leads list). Maybe a shared folder in outlook or on an email server is it.
Suggested needs:
– Share contacts specified by a folder/category/tag
– ID owner of contact
– One click to start an email from contact list
– Basic contact fields: name, title, company, bus addr, email, co phone, direct phone, mobile, fax, birthday, notesYou probably don’t need more than that, and smarter use of software you already use will probably meet your needs adequately. Review the feature list of your email client, your email server, and excel. Later your contacts can be imported to CRM software if you grow to that point.
Cory
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Cory Petkovsek
Corporate Video -
“Stick it to my principals” or “Sell out” is the wrong way to look at it. Such polarized thinking is what causes religious and race wars at the extreme.
In any case, they’re asking for too much that conflicts with your personal life and you made the right choice in my opinion. Good job.
HOWEVER! Don’t just walk out. Don’t quit. I would return to work on monday, as if nothing had happened. If asked, “Why did you leave, I’d say sorry, I was upset by the stress of the corporate merger, but here I am.” If you turned in a formal resignation sheet, talk with your local boss about “losing” that piece of paper. Wait until they ask you to leave; even if it is right away.
If you quit/resign, you won’t be able to access unemployment benefits. While I’m not one to promote living off everyone else; for hard workers between jobs it’s certainly a benefit.
There are other benefits as well. They may “overlook” that you didn’t actually sign the contract and forget about it, and still pay you. Just keep working. If someone comes with a contract, take it and say “I’ll get right on it” and let them go away. If they want you to sign it right there, say you need to review the contract and get back to them, then never do. If they want to wait while you read it, take a really long time, say what you aren’t comfortable with. I would avoid actually saying no to it, I’d say I need to think about the drastic conditions in here. Basically delay and stall, as long as they continue to pay you.
I’ve lost a consulting job this way. I thought they didn’t want me around after the board replaced the principals and took over the company, so I stopped showing up. However I bet had I just continued to show up they’d still have me on.
Make them ask you to leave. Meanwhile look for another job. This is not about sticking it to them. This is about not letting them take advantage of you while you maintain yourself and your family. The two concepts are fundamentally different.
For future employers, the situation will probably be the same whether you quit or are fired, because you can describe what actually happened. What is important is that you maintain a positive relationship with your immediate supervisor so he or she can continue to be a reference for you. (See point 1:polarization)
Really the first point is so critical. Even though it’s only a few words on an internet post; those who use them most likely have the same polarized thoughts throughout all aspects of their life.
Cory
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Cory Petkovsek
Corporate Video -
After effects makes such a blur easy, but most NLEs have a way to keyframe a blurred mask. One minute of video is only 1800 frames. Even if you were completely rotoscoping the blur and moving it frame by frame, you could still finish well under two days. I’m sure it wouldn’t even require that. You just need a better process. Figure out what tools you have and ask in the appropriate forum. I could do it easiest in AE, and reasonably easily (for only one minute) in vegas or even photoshop extended. These are just your base tools, there are third-party blur plugins you can get as well.
Cory
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Cory Petkovsek
Corporate Video -
My demo reel is on my website. When I’m at one-on-one meetings, I pull out a little pocket device that has all my videos on it. Have not sent out a disc.
Cory
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Cory Petkovsek
Corporate Video -
Ha! If you have to “remain discrete” about it, you already know the answer. Why ask us about it? Give me a break.
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Cory Petkovsek
Corporate Video -
I have 15 years experience in the IT industry where software certificates originated. Even there they are highly debated. It boils down to experience on the resume. Certifications are useful for managers who have no IT experience, but need to hire IT people. They can be good for entry level techs.
In the video/film industry, I would never hire a creative tech off of certifications, or resume. Their resume and their reel would get them an interview. Their personality and reel would get them a job.
Cory
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Cory Petkovsek
Corporate Video -
[Nick Griffin] “Respectfully, Cory, I disagree. An in-person lecturer has the benefit of eye contact and, as such more of a connection to the recipient. A lecturer via video does not. As corporate producers even though we are not making “entertainment,” we should be making content which retains viewers, keeps them awake and succeeds at relaying information. A single camera view for 90 continuous minutes — especially in this age of shortening attention spans — is far less likely to accomplish these objectives. (IMHO.)”
Obviously Nick. My point as stated is that the cutaways are not necessary. You are free to chose to only work with clients who want lecture DVDs produced with them in. For some clients production value is not relevant, such things are a luxury, and the end user will purchase the DVDs for the value of the content regardless of if the production value is high class or cell phone.
I’m positive you already know this so I don’t know why you would even bring up my point to nitpick it. The op specifically stated “no cutaways” in bold and underline.
You said, “we should be making content which retains viewers, keeps them awake and succeeds at relaying information” and for the most part I agree. However I’m in business first and a content creator second. Necessities (and you mentioned objectives) are therefore defined by my client and budget, not by my philosophy.
Cory
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Cory Petkovsek
Corporate Video -
Though this is an old thread; for future searchers:
You probably have dynamiclinkmanager.exe and Adobe QT32 Server.exe still loaded, though adobe has crashed or closed. Kill those first, then you can open it.
Also allow the adobe applications access through the firewall:
https://kb2.adobe.com/cps/857/cpsid_85711.htmlCory
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Cory Petkovsek
Corporate Video -
So you made something without a target plan in mind?
Are your 50 videos tied in a progressive, coherent theme like a TV episode or are they just a random selection of topics?
Is the content and narration formatted in a documentary/national geographic style or is it just a bunch of footage maybe put to some music?
Why did you choose to make 50 25 minute videos rather than a single or a few couple hour videos?
In short, who specifically would want to watch them and why? Then your next question is where do those people look for that content? There are many distribution channels for many types of content. Too many to capture them all.
You could pitch cable companies, but you need much more of a hook than what you gave us, “a series of videos that deal with matters of biology, especialy insects and spiders”.
You might see interest at national geographic or discovery, except shooting on minidv cameras will likely disqualify you even if they liked your pitch.
What might be more effective is contacting biology, insect and arachnid departments at colleges and highschools around the world and seeing if they’d pony up for a copy.
Cory
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Cory Petkovsek
Corporate Video -
I think your time frame is reasonable. However since you haven’t bid a project like this before, I assume you haven’t done a project like this before. In which case adding 30% for poor estimation is always a good bet.
Cutaways aren’t necessary for a lecture DVD. You’re not making TV shows. If these are seminar recordings where the guy is speaking on stage maybe drawing or showing visuals of what he is saying the DVD viewer will get the same experience as an audience member.
Cory
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Cory Petkovsek
Corporate Video