[Nick Griffin]

I wrote about this in an article here on the COW about the hows and whys of making the transition to XDCam and Media 100HD. (Click my head above and scroll down to the article.)

We were going along fine with everything SD and then one day last year our biggest client announced that going forward all of their stuff was to be HD. Period.

Many others, especially those where projection is involved, still insist on SD, but other clients, once offered the option, like the idea of shooting HD even if the delivery is intended for a computer screen.

The truly surprising thing was, when all was said and done, including the recent purchase of an HD wide angle lens, that the costs to go HD were far less than I had been imagining. For many of us this is not the year for any scale of capital outlay, but if the work is there HD is quite approachable. Now if only I had some idea what to do with an essentially worthless SD camera and field monitor.

[Nick Griffin]

Alright, you sick F-ers. Does everyone have the bad jokes out of their systems? I’m just amazed at how easily people are distracted by flash and spectacle to the point where real news is bumped. Then again, in this age of news organizations doing “more with less” no big surprise that endless coverage of Michael Jackson is far simpler than following the US President to Russia and the G8 Summit.

Hey, did anyone hear that while everyone was paying so much attention to all things Michael Jackson parts of the US IT infrastructure were attacked, purportedly by the North Koreans? Scary stuff even though it was only partially successful and only for a short time.

And while I’m on a rant… isn’t it kind of incredible how few people pay attention to where the REAL talent is? Before Quincy Jones started producing him Michael Jackson’s music was pablum pop. After parting with Quincy, yet I believe still keeping his engineer Geoff Emerick, the music was disjointed and not particularly good — well engineered, but musically not so much. IMHO.

[Nick Griffin]

When real money is involved a real contract from a real lawyer is much cheaper in the long run than any problems not covered by a template. (But what do I know? I’m not a lawyer — just someone repeatedly not playing one here on the COW.)

[Nick Griffin]

Steve-
IMHO getting paid for a day is simply not worth the effort on this one. When this guy gets out he’s going to have more on his mind than dealing with you and it’s simply not worth your time to pursue him.

As to Tim’s posting, when I was VERY young I agreed to build the sound system for a dance club. (These guys wanted a radio booth so they could play records rather than pay a band every night — a couple of years later it was everywhere and called ‘disco.’) So anyway, midway through the job I ran into unexpected expenses and the club owner and his “friend” said ‘no problem’ and just pealed several hundreds of dollars off a wad from his pocket. After this happening a couple of times, my pay coming in a similar manner, and noticing that there was a fairly frequent card game going on in a back room, and noticing that people were always coming around to either pay or be paid for their part in the pre-lottery street numbers game, I realized that I had taken a job from mildly organized crime.

Here’s how I dealt with it. I did exactly what I had promised up front and provided a solid working system. Then I found them someone who could perform on-going maintenance on the system (because he was located so much closer than me went the logic) and I slowly removed myself from the situation. It was a business deal. They got what they had asked for and I got paid. Years later they were busted for running numbers and a few other things and I had not been around their business in quite some time. I got lucky because once I saw what was going on I knew that I had to deliver what was promised and I knew to get the hell out of their once it seemed that I had.

[Nick Griffin]

We put our “vanity plate” on the end, but never when the show is for projection to an audience. While we don’t ask for permission, we treat it was if it’s for granted that we can do this. If someone ever asked for it to be removed we would. Or, in the case of one client, we were told in advance that having anything other than their name and copyright was not allowed. We immediately and graciously complied. (Was it Walter who said, “your payment is your credit” because on certain jobs that’s it exactly.)

As to putting a credit in front?? No. Never. The viewers are there to see the client’s message not who created it. Unless you are a well known producer, providing an entertainment product NO logo or identifier at the head.

[Nick Griffin]

I strongly agree with Ron’s tactic of making the guy uncomfortable by bringing in the intermediary. I am however doubtful that will work because it will really come down to just how good a friend your friend is and how much he can smell in advance what’s coming. There are a million reasons for him to not be able to make the meeting.

Unlike Ron, I would still ask for the meeting. Even if you have to conceal it’s true purpose only to get it. The discomfort factor will be a real plus if the intent is to truly screw you. Just remember, the less you say and the more you make the other guy talk the better it will be for you. Wherever possible put everything into a question: “What did you mean when you said…”, “And why is that?”, “How does that work?”, and so on.

It’s extremely bold, but you might even hold up a recorder or iPhone and say “Just to make sure there’s no confusion in the future, may I record this meeting?” DO NOT RECORD IT WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE, you can without permission, but without knowledge is a crime in too many places. (Plus kind of sleezy when you’re taking the position that you’re the one in the right.)

[Steve Wargo] “Write an invoice for the difference and, if an appropriate time comes, hand one to the new company…”

Absolutely correct. You need to convert this from a theoretical discussion into one based on hard cold facts and numbers. Frankly I think the “appropriate time” is at that first meeting.

[Steve Wargo] “And if they don’t pay, sue them both.”

No, no, no. The friend didn’t have the verbal contract with Jessie, the friend of the friend did. Litigation is difficult enough without putting up something which can be immediately shot down. And don’t sue unless the money is in at least the mid to high five figures and you have the stomach for endless depositions and serious legal bills. That’s just reality. (And a pinch of oh too personal experience.)

Just a few of my thoughts on a hazy morning in Paso Robles California after having dinner with a couple of truly amazing friends.

[Nick Griffin]

I too agree with all that’s been said above and just want to interject one thought:

The references made so far to selling spots make it seem that Tim thinks that’s an easy thing and a given that it will happen and be a reliable source of revenue. It isn’t and probably won’t be.

For starters, remember that you’ll be selling in the same marketplace where the TV station will be trying to sell the exact same thing. Are you allowed to undersell them? Can they undersell you? Remember that they can also bundle your spots as part of a bigger package and then maintain that the spots are any price that they want them to be. You can’t, so you have little to no defense against being undersold.

Next is the fact that their PROFESSIONAL ad sales people likely have long-standing relationships with the market’s advertisers. Unless this is something you’ve been doing, you probably do not. People typically buy from those they know — the PROFESSIONAL ad sales people who spend 40+ hours a week building relationships and selling ads.

Lastly, if nothing else about this deal seems like a potential disaster, consider the current economy. New products (including TV shows) are highly risky in normal times. Slow times just make them more so.

[Nick Griffin]

[Aaron Cadieux] “Anyone who dare speak up against shoddy business practices,”

Aaron-
Lighten up a bit dude. We’re trying to keep you from:

[Mike Cohen] “The original poster on this thread could open himself up to something called “exposure.””

Anyone who has spent any time around lawyers, depositions, courtrooms, etc. knows how little fun it can be to deal with “exposure,” especially when it was preventable.

[Nick Griffin]

Ditto to Mr. Kolb’s thinking. Aaron may be ticked off by this late payment but this could EASILY cost you your job as well as freelance/side income.

Hey, Ron: Is there a possibility that you could redact the client name from the post?? That would certainly be a favor to all parties concerned.

[Nick Griffin]

Richard-

Mark may be correct that to some extent these clauses are designed to “weed out” the weaker candidates, but I believe another scenario, one which I have run into, is more likely.

As you yourself said:
[Richard DuCasse] “a huge bureaucracy that does not want to change anything.”

Bingo. You’ve run into a “one size fits all” agreement designed primarily for bigger companies, not individuals and not “1099 contractors.”

I believe that you are correct that the Worker’s Comp makes little sense, but you still may need to get it, if only to have your company “hire” you as an employee to meet their requirement. (Not that you’d ever be able to file a claim because as the owner of the company you can’t claim Worker’s Comp from yourself.)

Fear not, it gets better.

Yes, you are correct with the General Liability. They want to be covered if you spill a pot of coffee into their equipment. Truth of the matter is that they are no doubt already covered themselves with their own policies, they just want somewhere to go first and your written agreement with them will spell out that these type of incidents are your problem.

The Automotive Liability is another of those sorts of things designed for bigger companies and, no doubt, different job descriptions. It’s not to cover what you do on their parking lot, it’s to cover what you could do out in the real world, say delivering masters to a dub house or some other activity, where the plaintiff would be claiming that even though it was your vehicle, you were acting on behalf of the company. It’s 2 million of protection for them in this situation.

Errors and Omissions for a Motion Graphics artist?? This is more for people like ad agencies and PR firms who through their mistakes could bring about lawsuits and liability claims by generating incorrect information. Hard to see how motion graphics could create this kind of situation, but whatever.

Sorry to say that chances are they won’t be willing to bend on much of anything because (say it with me) “This is what we require of ALL of our outside vendors.”

Long and short of it is, see what you HAVE to do, determine what you CAN do and then make the decision based on that.