Ron Lindeboom
2
COW Coins
Forum Replies Created
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My apologies but I work from about 4am to 10pm most days and have a few million pageviews a month to deal with, a bunch of free tutorials to get up for everybody, a newsletter to produce and a free magazine to edit and design for about 30,000 people.
Oh, did I mention that it’s all free? And that I do MOST of it by myself?
Sorry if I let you down.
Sheesh.
Get a life.
Ron Lindeboom
(who sometimes loses track of things in the daily avalanche of a million things to do) -
I am sitting here in my office with a large mounted poster of the 1939 classic “The Wizard of OZ” on the wall.
The film’s direction is credited to Victor Fleming (actually the 3rd director on the project, there would be four altogether), a man who took over the project after Richard Thorpe took unsuccessful attempts at capturing the magic of the books and George Cukor came in to take over (and later left to direct “Gone With the Wind”). Victor Fleming picked up the pieces and quickly turned out a classic. He kept some shots, created many new ones, tweaked the dialog and reshot some scenes that had already been in the can. He would later leave TWOZ and complete “Gone With the Wind” after George Cukor was taken off that project, as well. King Vidor would come in and finish off the Kansas farm scenes, hardly enough to earn him the “last man standing” credit, which fell to Victor Fleming. Victor Fleming would also end up with the credit for GWTW, as he did the most on it.
From reading your post, David, I would say that you arguably did “the most” and pulled it out of the fire. The “last man standing” rule also has a variant that in Hollywood gives the credit to the man or woman who “was standing the longest” and whose vision was the one used. Richard Thorpe didn’t get the credit and when George Cukor took over, all Richard’s work was chucked as his vision of the film was just not in keeping with what the producers had in mind. When George Cukor left for “Gone With the Wind,” Victor Fleming took over and fine-tuned and crafted what became a masterpiece, a film that is today said to be the most viewed film of all time. While King Vidor’s Kansas farm scenes are indeed superb, the credit falls to Fleming, not the last man standing but the one who stood the longest and whose vision is the most pronounced in the film.
Based on this story, I’d say that the executive producer needs to admit that you are and have been the editor, and arguably the co-producer in many ways, on this project.
You may not have directed it but you sure sound like you have indeed crafted it and it is your vision that has most shaped the story at this point.
Thanks for letting me tell a story. It’s the grandpa in me…
;o)
Ron Lindeboom
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Hey Mighty Curtis,
Yes, that’s the one! Thanks for the link. I appreciate it.
Hope all is well with you and The Other Kathleen. ;o)
Have fun, Mighty One.
Ron
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Once again, I have to concur with Mark. I wasn’t saying to eschew all interest in profit for the pure art of passion — that’s an expensive ticket to the poor house.
What I was saying and hope to clarify here, is that if you only do a thing because you hope to make money from it, it will likely not sustain you when the going gets rough. If it is something that you love and are passionate about, you will likely persevere when have to pass through the fire.
Like Mark, I love our local history here in central California and have read and learned so much about it that, one day, I know I will create a show about our history and while it won’t make a bunch of money, I’ll love it. I will get grants and sponsorships from local longtime families who want to preserve their family’s place in the local history, get corporations who want to be good corporate citizens, etc., etc., and in the end, while it will take a lot of work, I know I will do it and make it work. Why? Because I am a good storyteller and when I get going with some of the stories I know that are drawn from the local area here, people often ask me where I learned these things and are very drawn into the story. Being a big tourist area of California, we sometimes overhear tourists in the local restaurants talking about things and Kathlyn and I introduce ourselves and tell them stories in which they often are completely engrossed in the tale. I always tell Kathlyn that we’re “test marketing.”
If you love something, you tell the story well; if you don’t and are just doing it for the money, not only does the commitment lack if a test phase comes along, but you also often come off stiff and mechanical in the story/idea itself.
Think about the ways that you can draw people with money into your passion but don’t forget that the story/idea is the primary — if you do that, the money often just follows.
Best regards,
Ron Lindeboom
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I forgot to mention that were you able to dig into this guy’s past, I would guarantee you that you are not the first person that he has done this to.
Clients work through relationships and you earn your way into their sphere of influence and circle of friends. Grinders always swim alone and if they are such great “producers,” then why on earth was he without a support system and/or network and needed to hire someone he now claims is a total fraud??? I think it goes without saying, as to who is the real fraud.
Ron Lindeboom
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He can argue fraud but that is meaningless. Do you edit? Yes. Do you own the tools of the trade? Yes. Have you had previous experience that he was presented with for references, etc.? Yes. So where in hell is the fraud in this???
Editing is an art, not a science. He can bemoan your technique but that is hardly fraud. Even if you are the worst editor in the world — which I highly doubt — you have done due diligence to work on the project as per your agreement and with the tools of the trade needed.
Fraud it is not. Not in the slightest.
This guy is desperate and clutching at straws to try to scare you into giving him the work.
If you give it to him for anything less than the full amount owed, I will guarantee you that you will never see another cent.
Ron Lindeboom
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I find that people are only ever really committed to and are sustained in the crunch by things they are passionate about or really believe in. Money often is far down the list on what keeps a person going in the fire. I said that as while it may seem a good question to ask others what they are doing that works for them, I would ask you: What do you love? What are you passionate about? What story do you have to tell that you wish you could tell and that you think about most of the time?
If you have something like that, then seek out those in your area that share that story and see what you can do together to bring it to fruition.
That’s where I would start. But hey, that’s just me. I am sure that others here have their own and better ideas.
Best regards,
Ron Lindeboom
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[Chris Cardinal] “When that courier shows, wish him well and say you have one thing for him to carry — another copy of the invoice.”
Gosh Chris, I am humbled in the presence of greatness.
;o)
What a line! You should be a writer.
Boomer
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Hi,
No, as both Walter and Andrew have pointed out, it’s quite expected that we’ll see our tutorials used — sadly, sometimes without much of a change made to them. The saddest cases are when nothing in them are changed.
I remember when George Polevoy’s Flowing Text tutorial first came out, we saw major Hollywood movies come out with absolutely NO changes to his AEP file, they merely swapped out the words Creative Cow for say, Last Destination, or something like that. ;o)
It’s just the way the AEP file circulates, as the old saying goes.
But thanks for pointing it out.
Best regards,
Ron Lindeboom
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Page turn is a question that has been dealt with repeatedly in the past here on this forum and you can do a search using the “Advanced Search Engine” wherein you can type the words “page turn” or “turn” and set the date range to include the archives, setting the forum selection for the After Effects forum. You will get many answers doing that.
Best regards,
Ron Lindeboom
creativecow.net