[John Grote, jr.]

Good day Amy,

You don’t say what platform you are working, but if it is Mac, I’d recommend MPEG Streamclip. It has been a life save in pulling footage off of dvds and it allows you to pick a wide range of formats to convert to.

Cheers,

John

J. Grote, Jr.

[John Grote, jr.]

Sometimes you forget those check boxes. Thanks for the reminder!!!!

Cheers,

John

J. Grote, Jr.

[John Grote, jr.]

And just like the real world, I expect a level of professionalism.

J. Grote, Jr.

[John Grote, jr.]

Ah, but other people, including yourself, have responded in kind, without being arrogant. So, is it hard for someone to say, this is what I am doing with this particular (insert client here) and this is what they have been using.

I just don’t appreciate someone responding to me or anyone here this way and I don’t care what excuse is made by someone else about the economy, they had a bad day, or someone didn’t give them a hug. I’m a big boy, but I do expect a level of courtesy.

My point now, is not so much my question, but Bob’s response to my question. Should I or anyone else, stop posting, because Bob or for that matter anyone else thinks my question is stupid?

J. Grote, Jr.

[John Grote, jr.]

Good day Nick,

So what where his points? Please explain them to me? I must be quite obtuse to understand what solution Bob was providing.

I’ve encountered a few, not many, engineers that may have the worlds knowledge in their heads, that have been insulting, but to be insulting does no good to any of us, especially the user/operator who has to deliver to these places. I’m not asked to fix the equipment, so I won’t ask the engineer to edit. I know a few engineers that are highly intelligent and will take the time to explain things to me and other people in a way that is neither rude or demeaning. So, if he makes such great points, why doesn’t he enlighten us with his great wisdom and not his arrogance.

Have respect for the people who know nothing, and also have respect for the people that may have a clue.

J. Grote, Jr.

[John Grote, jr.]

Point well taken, hence the posting here for those people that have had to deliver to ABC, NBC, Fox, TLC, Discovery, etc and the people that may have to deal with these companies in the future. Yes, they can take anything from the mini dv, dv-cam, dvc-pro, dvc-pro hd, through HD Cam (I could keep going if you like), but depending on what day it is, or what their tech center has deemed acceptable for that week or month, it can and will change. Hell, I still pull shots off of 3/4″ tape from time to time and some clients still want a VHS tape for viewing.

Yes, I have the PBS specs, I have the Discovery/TLC specs and I have the Nat Geo specs. Why, because I am not an idiot, I am a professional. Hmm, but I do like to here what else maybe going on around the country and the world, so that I can be better prepared.

Ah, then we enter the compression schemes for making files to deliver via the web, dvd, etc. It is enough to drive a person crazy, but if I don’t ask the question to others, who will give me some sort of direction. The client?

My post was to discover what some of us out there have encountered and maybe learn something from each other.

So yes, I was the hellion that has made this statement. And guess what, small minds live in their small worlds. I’d like to broaden my horizon and my world, and to get an answer, you must ask the question. No one gave you the authority to judge if the question was relevant or not. So, if you can’t be part of the solution, then don’t answer the question. I’ve encountered enough insulting people in my life, and I don’t need another one. For if it wasn’t for the other people that wanted to help some of us along, I wouldn’t be 22 years in this business.

[John Grote, jr.]

Mark,

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

J. Grote, Jr.

[John Grote, jr.]

Grinner,

I’m not disputing the fact of supplying them with what was asked for, but the fact that I now need to tell them how to use it.

I worked for a post facility that had a client purchase a Final Cut Pro Suite, so that the client now could do a lot of work internally. Which meant that we at the post facility would get less work, which means less income. Well, I would get call from them fairly frequently about how do you do this or how do you do that? It gets to a point that I am now once again teaching someone (in this case a client, who moved one of their producers into the edit chair) about editing so that they may take money out of my pocket.

It gets old after a while. I am a professional editor for a reason and a damn good one at that, so if the client wants to hire someone with no experience, that is their problem, not mine. Now if they would like to pay me a consultants fee to teach their employee, than that’s fine. But I don’t work for free when it comes to taking food off my table or money out of my pocket.

cheers,

btveditor

J. Grote, Jr.

[John Grote, jr.]

Good day Bruce,

What you are saying is quite prevalent in todays market. A couple years ago I had an interview at a company that was doing things for HGTV and they were a little taken a back when I gave them my day rate. I explained to them that since they were looking for an Online editor to finish the show (Scopes, levels and even final audio mix), they could hire me or someone like me that has that skill set and get it right the first time. Or you could hire someone cheaper that has no idea what a waveform or vector scope is an have the show rejected, in which case you’d be calling me and paying double for you effort and also missing your air date.

I keep saying this, some of the clients want the easy button, because what a professional does, makes it look easy. But they don’t understand why they are paying you to watch a blue bar go across the screen (render time) for the 10th time. But oh, they wanted to make the font different 8 times and wind up back with the original font to begin with and twice for changing the color. Because as we well know, a majority of them have art degrees and marketing degrees too. I’m not saying that they shouldn’t have input, hell they are the client and they are paying for it, but don’t bust my ball, because it is taking so long. So, back to the easy button. It magically changes and renders it all in a instant.

I have a small but loyal client base today. I have each of them setup with their own FCP suites that meet their needs. Once in a while one of them, will hire someone to do something down and dirty, but as per usual I have to come in a clean it up.

To answer your question, I have over the years expanded my skill set from an Online/Offline linear editor (CMX & Grass Valley) to AVID (starting way back with the Optical disks) to AVID Symphony Nitris, to Final Cut Pro (since version 1), along the way Cleaner, DVD Studio, Photoshop and After Effects. A long list, but I always seem to add to it.

In the end, there will always be price shoppers, who don’t have a clue or for that matter know any better and then there are clients that do know better, especially when their show is going to air on PBS that will pay (a reasonable rate) because they do care and want the best product possible.

Think about this, do we go into the doctor’s office and tell him to drop his rates or better yet tell him that he is not preforming the exam correctly?

Cheers,

John

J. Grote, Jr.

[John Grote, jr.]

Hey Mark,

Hell, let them buy what they want since they (the client) knows better. Its just like everything else, clients want the big red easy button. Clients don’t want to hear that they have to invest money in equipment to be able to do the task that they would like to accomplish.

Yes clients, it does take money and training to get a good product.

By the way what does this corporate client do or sell? Reason I ask is that maybe we could all tell them how to better market or sell their products.

Cheers,

John

J. Grote, Jr.