Ron Lindeboom
2
COW Coins
Forum Replies Created
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I have to chuckle remembering that all the way back in 1994 when I bought my first Media 100 and a box of CoSA After Effects, that I was soon on digvid-l and vidpro-l arguing with some of the guys there that sure, my tools weren’t up to par with the million-dollar-plus “big rooms,” but they were good enough for broadcast.
Proof?
The first three seasons of Nickelodeon’s Blues Clues were done by a guy on a Mac using a Media 100, a box of CoSA After Effects, Specular Infini-D, and a box of Elastic Reality.
But while the Avid and Discreet/D-vision guys argued that their stuff was better (which was funny, as no Avid or Discreet/D-vision edit* back then was capable of online finishing), Viacom engineers signed off approval on the then-NUBUS Media 100. A picture which, as I recall, was only 640×480 — but good enough for broadcast, said Viacom engineers.
At only 80KB per frame, it still had the best picture in the market at the time. Oh, and its slow-motion is STILL the very best that I have ever seen on any desktop system, nothing else over the years has even come close.
80Kb at 640×480 was good enough for Viacom engineers.
But I will agree with Tim, this is an OLD argument and I am glad to see that Wired finally caught up with it and think it so newsworthy.
But it makes me wonder if they have bought an Apple Laserwriter and a box of that new-fangled Pagemaker thingie, yet? They may only be 300 dpi and hardly up to snuff like a Compugraphic typesetter, but I think they are going to prove to be quite good enough. They may even change the face of print in the days ahead.
I think we’ll call it desktop publishing. Remember to watch Wired for the latest news and updates…
Ron Lindeboom
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Congratulations, Stephen.
My apologies for being head down lately but I have been hustling to get our first CD done for our new Creative Cow Records label, as well as working on the site. Along with that comes our new merchant account to handle credit card orders from around the world, and a ton of other stuff.
But busy as I am, I wanted to pop in for a second and add my congratulations.
It is an honor to have you as a part of the team.
I’m glad Kathlyn found the balloons!
Best regards,
Ron Lindeboom
Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual.
Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
РAntoine de Saint Exup̩ry -
[walter biscardi] “…and one heck of a colorist.”
But he’s so faded and pale.
Oh, and GIANT!
😉
Ron Lindeboom
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[David Roth Weiss] “You’ll have to pay for my lawyer’s donuts…”
And he likes the RREEAALLLLYY expensive ones — oh, and lots of ’em, too.
Ron
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[Scott Carnegie] “While I understand that this is correct according to the letter of the law, morally it isn’t right that he is out $ because of this.”
Just because someone does something unethical, does not give one the right to break the law, as retribution.
I can see how shoddy that defense would be before the judge.
Ron Lindeboom
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Mark, due to the COW policy that the correctly answering party must buy doughnuts all around, is on the hook for this morning’s doughnuts.
No, you cannot sell them to anyone else.
No, you are not obligated to give them to them as they did not pay for the materials.
But there is a big bright yes in here, too…
Yes, you are hosed.
Ron Lindeboom
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For my part, I do not believe that ALL RFPs are a waste of time. We deal with them here all the time and MANY of our biggest clients use them.
What I DO take issue with are the RFPs that are issued — as in the recent case here which I personally wouldn’t touch with a 10 foot pole (you are welcome to use the pole if you disagree) — that give you little-to-no chance of making any real money.
As I have said in this thread and elsewhere: busy ain’t profit. Profits are profits and back when I worked with the local banks around these parts sitting on panels that decided the fate of companies and what the banks were going to do with them, I saw the outcome of not understanding this principle, quite first-hand.
I know the way that Tim Wilson worked his RFPs and bids was quite successful. I knew him well back then and I knew how well it worked in his case.
But I have also seen RFPs not work at all well here in central California. I have seen civic and non-profit organizations use them to get the desperate to bid one against another in a race to reach the lowest figure, and that sometimes some organizations would have just forgotten the whole process and just used our No Pay jobs board if they could have gotten away with it.
Again, I am not talking about Tim’s experience or even our own good clientele that use RFPs.
What I am saying is that there are schmucks out there, kiddies. And to quote the sergeant on the old Hill Street Blues TV show: Be careful out there.
Ron Lindeboom
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[Tim Wilson] “They awarders aren’t being grinders. They’re following the law.”
As I always say, Tim: you are nicer than me.
Jobs that require this kind of blind bidding and that take the lowest bidder are repugnant to me.
You know quite well, Tim, that I have done many RFPs over the years. RFPs are not my problem.
RFPs that require a blind bid and that take the lowest bidder are my issue.
From what the poster, John Murphy, states: these bids are from ad councils if my graying cranium remembers the start of all this.
;o)
Ad councils, etc., are hardly line items in Federal Budgets and if my understanding of what he was asking is clear, these bids are the kinds of things that many municipal groups use just to GRIND.
Did I mention, GRIND?
Seen it far too much, did it for the County of San Luis Obispo, for the City of Atascadero, etc., etc., and while I learned plenty from the jobs, I would never want another one, thank you.
You may have had far better experience than mine, I was working with local organizations, as John Murphy mentions — not with the Feds that you got to work with.
I don’t doubt that you had better results than I did, as you and I have discussed this many times and your experience was fun and profitable. Ours was anything but…and though we didn’t lose money, we weren’t living in a condo on Isla Mirada in the Florida Keys either.
You go ahead and bid, Timmie. Me, I am going to go build the record company site — I know that will be a heck of a lot more fun and profitable than dealing with the cable company local ads target group. (Which as I understand John, are the people that I think he’s referring to.)
Best regards,
Ron Lindeboom
Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual.
Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
РAntoine de Saint Exup̩ry -
[John Murphy] “Ron, if you steer clear of these kinds of people, wouldn’t you be (possibly) missing out on work (that is if large-ish organisations do indeed use this method regularly of requesting quotes these days)?”
BUSY does not mean profitable.
Profits mean being profitable.
Chasing a bunch of low-ball contracts may make you feel like you are in business and going and growing…
BUT
…as many here have said, these kinds of bids are RARELY ever profitable. They are resume filler at best.
[John Murphy] “…if you want to tie-up the local area’s big players such as Councils and the likes, you have to play the game (as long as it is worth your while, that is of course!!).”
This presumes that A.) these players really are the area’s big players — and they usually are NOT — and that B.) it is worth while. This too, is usually suspect.
Our area’s Chamber, Ad Council, etc., etc., are always making noise as if they are important. They rarely are. I used to belong to all these things, now I don’t bother. I have made way more money from working with the people that I know here in the COW than I ever have from Chambers, Councils, etc.
Usually, these organizations are made up of people that are just as broke as the people who attend the mixers and functions, trying to pass out business cards and get a “love connection.” In the many Chamber, Council, Rotary, and other meetings I ever attended, I spent far more money than I ever made from the connections I made there. Me, I don’t even bother with it anymore. And I sure don’t fall for their line that they are Big & Important.
These are the same people who, for the most part, are the target of the cable company’s free production ad services department; the people that make the local ads that in most areas are so bad that they make the audience wish they had the power to incinerate them and the deck or drive they are playing on.
If that’s your business focus, then you are likely going to be very busy and very unprofitable. That was my experience.
Best regards,
Ron Lindeboom
Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual.
Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
РAntoine de Saint Exup̩ry -
[walter biscardi] “Long story short, don’t spend a whole lot of time on this as they are just trying to get the lowest priced budget. I spend about 10 minutes on a bid like this……”
I couldn’t agree more, Walter. I don’t waste my time on stuff like this anymore.
Once, I had the absolute delight of having a company come back to me with a pile of crap that they got from the person they hired with their low-ball bid.
“Can you fix it?” they asked.
“No,” I told them.
“Why not?” they asked incredulously.
“Because I would start from scratch and charge you what my original proposal said,” I said rather matter-of-factly.
“That’s going to end up costing us way more than either of the bids because we have already paid them some of the money,” they said.
“You can get your car fixed at the garage for a cheaper price when you drive it in,” I said, adding, “but when I have to drive out and tow it in and figure out where the last mechanic botched the repair, that is going to cost you a LOT more.”
To be honest, I can’t stand low-ballers, grinders, and those that want something for nothing.
Best regards,
Ron Lindeboom
Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual.
Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
РAntoine de Saint Exup̩ry