[Tim Wilson]

YouTube? You kiddin’ me, right?

Start with the Video Hosting link at the top of this page, for 1500 or so of the best, most creative professional videos anywhere on the web. You’ll find work by Oscar, Emmy, BAFTA, etc. winners, as well as some truly stunning commercial, corporate, film, nonprofit and animation work, put together in reels that will completely rewire your brain as to range of creative possibilities in the new millenium.

YouTube. Hmph.

Tim Wilson
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[Tim Wilson]

[David Roth Weiss] “”Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy…” – John Denver”

Turns out I’m a huge fan of his early 70s stuff. Side two of Rocky Mountain High is a strong contender for number two side two of all time.

(Abbey Road is the all time number one side two, and will be until the sun goes nova. Take it to the bank. Tell ’em yer pal Timmy sent ya. And hey, I might give the number two side two to Born to Run, but the point being, I wouldn’t put Rocky Mountain High any lower than number three side two.)

It’s easy to forget now, but it’s not easy to overstate how big he was at the time. Just one example, his 1975 Christmas special had over 60 million viewers, around 3/4 of the audience of the Super Bowl a few weeks later.

Of course, anything that big can get unwieldy. Also from 1975, re: sunshine. I know that this risks permanent burn-in on your retina (sorry about that), keep watching, and play Name That Cheesy Video Effect!

But seriously. Rocky Mountain High, kids. Check it out.

Prisoners – John Denver

And here’s the fifth song in the remarkable Seasons Suite, from the aforementioned possibly number two side two.

Spring – John Denver

Sorry again about that retinal burn-in thing.

Tim Wilson
Creative Cow Magazine!

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[Tim Wilson]

[David Roth Weiss] “If you’re purpose is to provide a commentary or critique about the material even better, that’s what legitimate fair use is really all about.”

There are times when I feel like the words Fair Use should be banned from the site. The concept is poorly understood, and mostly used as an excuse when people don’t want to do the right thing.

So what a refreshing change to see, just as DRW notes, a genuinely, absolutely appropriate use!

From our good friends at the US Copyright Office:

The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use: “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations[….]

Worth noting that even the Copyright Office says not to take their word for it, though. The copyright holder may well have the last word.

Anyway, as DRW also points out, there are precious few limits to what anybody can do with YouTube videos, short of actual resale — keep that in mind before you post your stuff to YouTube, kids.

(BTW, YouTube DOES reserve the right to resell your work with no compensation to you. Better to post on the Cow, seriously.)

An individual website can be a trickier. Even in the case of scholarly fair use, these are commercial works, or personal in ways that don’t necessarily make the owner a public figure – therefore not subject to the same liberties as a video of a kid smacking his dad in the nards with a whiffle bat. Best to tread more lightly. Especially after your kid has smacked you in the nards with a whiffle bat.

But I gotta tell you, the sun is shining a little brighter in my world just because we’re talking about ACTUAL fair use….

Tim Wilson
Creative Cow Magazine!

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[Tim Wilson]

Clearly labeled NSFW language in a video that people are free to click or not click as desired, generally on topic: meets Cow standards.

Animatronic version of Bob Zelin: may or may not meet Cow standards.

Not to take anyone’s name in vain – hey Bob Z, the COO of Xtranormal is our old friend Chas Smith!

For the rest of the class, Chas was the GM of Avid Video while I was there, and a boon companion.

And to bring it right back ’round to topic, Avid was the company that inspired Bob to take up the trade of NSFW animatronics, back before the turn of the century….

Tim Wilson
Creative Cow Magazine!

My Blog: “Is this thing on? Oh it’s on!”

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[Tim Wilson]

[Todd Terry] “Have you noticed that Van Morrison is one of those people whom is only and always called by his full name?”

Kinda like Lee Harvey Oswald.

[Tim Wilson]

[Ron Lindeboom] “[David Roth Weiss] “Van Morrison — the new cure for senility…”

Yes, and his medicinal affect is so wide reaching and pronounced, that he is also the cure for boredom, as well.”

Cure?? I thought he was the cause. Certainly a symptom.

[Tim Wilson]

[David Roth Weiss] “should consider instituting a fairness policy regarding these matters in its job listings.”

I’m not worked up about this or similar because this is the OPPOSITE of grinding. Grinders expect you to work for less than what they agreed to pay you, or expect to get far more than what they should for the agreed-upon price.

“Fair” is sticking to the deal. They say up front what the pay is, and I doubt that anybody is going to get stiffed for their $50.

In my “Starting in the mail room” post a few threads ago, I noted that many of us started in this industry working for nothing, or close to it. My point was that it’s kind of hypocritical for us to pick on people who offer THE EXACT SAME JOBS that we took.

I remember getting paid $3.25/hr to be a disk jockey at a small radio station. I said – wow, I’d have paid YOU twice that to do this job.

In this particular case, we’re not even talking about a job. It’s 15 hours of rolling out carpets, stuffing brochures and telling people where the booths for “Royal Restroom of California” and “Smiles Teeth Whitening” are. These are actual exhibitors at that show. I’m teasing a little – some people need to find the best place to rent birds, and this seems like a great show for that.

For actual jobs in our field, that no/low pay stuff has always been around. It didn’t erode much of anything when we took these jobs back then, and I don’t think it is now. It’s just more visible, and it feels more insidious because we’re older, and times are tough.

‘Twas ever thus, duckies. We were having these same conversations when times were better, and I know for a fact that there were people who hated my guts 30 years ago because I worked in radio for so little money.

The great thing about getting older, more educated, more creative, and more experienced — and frankly, better looking — is that I’ve developed so many more reasons for people to hate my guts.

Yr pal,
Timmy

Tim Wilson
Creative Cow Magazine!

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[Tim Wilson]

I’ll be sure to pass that along to him. He’s written a couple more for us that also got very strong responses.

re: this particular article, it inspired the theme for the next issue, which is “Thinking Big.” His company started with three guys sleeping on couches in the office because they couldn’t afford rent for both that and an apartment, getting fed by one of their moms — and became one of the most respected small post houses in Hollywood.

I also like his very much real-world observation that part of the “digital video revolution” is that it allows very small groups people to build 50TB shared storage systems, and buy tape decks for “only” $65,000. There’s a difference between “cheap” and “good value.” The way to big success is to keep having lots of small ones, with the profits from each subsidizing the next….

[Tim Wilson]

[David Roth Weiss] “how do they justify and get away with hiring workers at rates that are not in keeping with state and federal laws?”

Even if the “intern” should be paid, it’s far from clear that they should be making minimum wage.

Not that you should trust everything you read on the internet — least of all, a blog written by lawyers looking for clients — but here’s what the Department of Labor’s website says on the matter:

“The [Fair Labor Standards] Act also permits the employment of certain individuals at wage rates below the statutory minimum wage under certificates issued by the Department of Labor:

* Student learners (vocational education students);

* Full‑time students in retail or service establishments, agriculture, or institutions of higher education; and

* Individuals whose earning or productive capacities for the work to be performed are impaired by physical or mental disabilities, including those related to age or injury.”

So now that we’ve largely ruled out students and the less than fully able, who gets covered?

Generally speaking, hospital workers, teachers, and employees of companies engaged in interstate commerce. There are some jobs that get slipped in there (workers on large farms, fisherfolk, etc.), but these are the broad classes of workers who are covered.

Any of this sound like ShowBiz Expo? NO? Then no minimum wage requirements. And even if there were, no need to pay minimum wage to students or the less than fully able.

There are many jobs that DO pay minimum wage to exempt employees (like students in retail positions), to stay competitive…but in most situations they are not REQUIRED to. (And in most of those cases, minimum wage = maximum wage.)

Finally, there are circumstances under which employers making $500,000 or more are required to pay minimum wage.

If you’ve looked at ShowBiz Expo’s website, you’ll see that there’s no way they can pull down anything like that. Most booths are $1400. Their biggest individual booth is $2500, FURNISHED, with lots of freebies thrown in (ad in the show guide, etc.) Those are the prices on the website — how many people do you think will actually PAY that price?

With only 100 exhibitors last time, and free admission (although, a whopping $10 day of show), I’d be shocked if these guys pull in even a sizable fraction of $500K.

Now, all of that said, what about the post houses, including many of you reading this, who earn more than $500,000? Are THEY (or you, if applicable) required to pay workers minimum wage?

Almost certainly not. Why? Because who else is NOT entitled to FLSA protection? Professionals, administrators, skilled computer folks, outside sales — no soup for you.

So, even if an employer is aboveboard on their use of the word “intern,” they probably aren’t required to pay minimum wage, or indeed, any wage at all.

There are lots of other nuances in the FLSA — my favorite is, no overtime provisions for motion picture theater employees — but I have this all at my fingertips because it comes up here all the time, and I can’t think of a time that it has ever applied. I’m sure that someone will correct me if I’m wrong, but applicable jobs typically aren’t the kind of thing you see posted here.

I haven’t read the entire FLSA, but I’m not sure that there will ever be a position listed in the Cow job listings that is subject to minimum wage requirements.

Yr pal,
Timmy

[Tim Wilson]

[Ron Lindeboom] “I jumped at the chance and used it to get every ounce of experience….”

And to go back to the top of the thread, if I had the opportunity to get a foot in the door AND drive…wow, I don’t know how much better it could get. To quote your friends and mine, “Beep beep, mmm beep beep YEAH!”

Tim Wilson
Creative Cow Magazine!

My Blog: “Is this thing on? Oh it’s on!”

Don’t forget to rate your favorite posts!