[Steve Martin]

Hi Curt,

Obviously check with your CPA, but I would agree with the other posters. Regardless of the value you apply to your product or service, you can’t claim it as a charitable contribution – unless you give them the money.

The only “tax benefit” is that you don’t have any income to offset any hard expenses you may have incurred for the project – things like any freelance labor you might have hired, blank media or equipment rentals. Small consolation but it’s something.

But as others have pointed out, the real value to you as a producer is in the audience at the event. If you think it’s appropriate for the event, perhaps ask the charity to provide a heart felt thanks from the stage at the event to you and your company. That coupled with an ad in the program could be very valuable to you. Given that the folks who attend these fundraisers are often business leaders & movers and shakers in the community, that might lead to huge dividend for you.

You might even do a little research to find out who is on the charity’s board of directors. These are often power brokers and if any of them are good prospects, ask the organization to make an introduction for you.

Good luck!

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!

[Steve Martin]

Bill,

Pretty funny…it’s as if we were both reading the same script!

Steve

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!

[Steve Martin]

Hi Joshua,

Here’s a different way of looking at it. You can look at the situation that you are in as a paid post-graduate degree that you got paid to attend instead of paying for it out of your pocket.

If you feel that you have “graduated” perhaps it’s time for a “promotion” to a new position. If it’s a large organization, that’s often the only method by which people can get a significant raise – by getting a different job title.

Of course that presupposes that your boss has the same opinion of your skills that you do. And that they have the budget to give you the promotion you believe that you deserve.

If you like the job, the people and the company, it might be worth gentle persuation to convince them that yo’re worth it. If you’re doing the kind of things you say you are and you’re likable and work well with others, have an open and honest conversation about how much you like being there but would like to earn more.

If you don’t really like the job, consider polishing your resume and demo reel. But tread carefully. Don’t allow yourself to develop a bad attitude and “check out” mentally.

Remember, it’s a tough job market out there so recognize that all of us are replaceable – especially in this economy.

Good Luck

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!

[Steve Martin]

I like a challenge. I’ve never actually stopped to think about our mission statement.

When I read the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, the author, Steven Covey, indicated that the exercise of developing a mission statement can be painstaking process of writing and re-writing. I gave it some thought at the time, but never actually did it.

So here goes the first rough-cut. From a professional standpoint as it relates to what we do, I think my company’s mission statement might go something like:

To use technology to effectively tell our client’s stories with creativity, honesty, and integrity.

Sounds accurate, but kind of lofty.

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!

[Steve Martin]

Hi David,

First of all, how refreshing to hear from a college student who actually admits that he has a lot to learn. When I was in college I was one of those idiots who though he knew it all 🙂

You are likely to get a lot of feedback from different folks coming from different perspectives. Soak it all in and figure out what applies to you. In no particular order, here are few thoughts from a guy who does corporate production:

1) Get as much real world experience as possible. Class projects are great, but if you want to separate yourself from every other graduate, try to be different. As someone who hires people from time to time, I look for the ability to tell a compelling story. Weather that story is told with camera or in post, just make sure the it tracks well. Keep 2 things in mind: Who is the audience and what do you want them to think, feel or do upon watching your work.

2) Get out of your comfort zone. The typical college graduate reels that I see often revolve around topics, situations and issues that are popular with 20-something college students. You know, things like music videos, campus issues, dating, etc… Create things that the typical college student wouldn’t think of. Something that might matter to whoever you’re being interviewed by. One idea is to find a charity or cause that you care about and help them tell their story. They’ll be thrilled for the free help and you’ll get fantastic experience in telling someone else’s story. And let’s face it, when you work for someone else (weather it’s your client or your boss) you’re telling their story – not yours.

3) You asked, “...I’ve gained strong post skills, but not quite as much in shooting, lighting, and sound. Should I focus on my weaker areas or focus on my strengths?”

Certainly get a well rounded education and have as good a grasp as you can on the entire production process. But figure out what you love to do and really focus on that. If you love post. Dive deep into it. Look as every menu and sub menu of as many applications as possible. Play. Tinker. See what everything does. You’ll eventually come across a project that you can use it on. Edit as many different type of things you can. Learn the entire group of apps – editing, graphics, motion, sound mixing. The more you know the better. Back in the day when I was coming up – people used to specialize. that’s still true, but many editors have to wear multiple hats.

If you like production, same thing. Really understand how the camera makes images. Study the relationship between aperture, length of the lens and image sensor size affect depth of field. How different lighting techniques can completely change the meaning of a shot. Experiment. Get your hands on as many different cameras as you can. Same with lighting. Find out who the best gaffer in your area is. Offer to grip or a pa a project with him for free. Do the grunt work with a smile, but try to keep a close eye on what the director, dp and gaffer are discussing for each set-up. The see how the scene gets put together. If it’s appropriate (and you’re not slowing them down), ask them why they choose the instruments they did and learn from it.

For everything you do, keep the footage and edited sequences with notes of what you did to create it. It’ll be a valuable resource for you later.

Do all of that and many of the other suggestions you’ll get here in the coming days and by the time you graduate, you’ll be able to pick from multiple offers. Perhaps even one from me!

Best of luck to you,
Steve

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!

[Steve Martin]

Hi Walter,

Out of curiosity, was it the PEO that “cold called” you or did you reach out to them first?

Often times a good sales person will reach out to a company “in the news” and you made some news this week with the ground breaking of your new building.

This might be an example of the type of “go-getter” salesperson I am contemplating (last week’s thread). Granted, this guy isn’t going to get your business (this time) but perhaps he got you thinking about it?

I’m still investigating what I’m learning from others on that topic. In addition to the terrific replies I got here on the COW, I’ve gotten some really good insights privately from others in the business with regard to what works and what doesn’t work. I hope to be posting a follow up soon.

All my best,
Steve

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!

[Steve Martin]

Walter,

We have been using a PEO (professional employer organization) for about 18 years now. Some call it staff leasing. In effect, all the employees (including me) work for the PEO.

Unlike a payroll company or doing the payroll in house, a PEO is the employer of record with the feds and are completely responsible for withholding, reporting, etc… The other benefit is that they can offer group rates on health care insurance for me and my people along with workers comp and state/federal unemployment insurance. We’re able to offer big company benefits even though we’re pretty small.

The other nice thing is that they can offer guidance on standard HR practices and help in case you find yourself in a sticky HR type situation. Thanks goodness I haven’t had that happen too often!

So the admin hassle factor is really low for me – I can just run my business.

They charge an admin fee (typically less than 2%) of payroll on top of all the other benefits, taxes and mandatory insurances. For a small company like mine (8 employees), it’s a pretty good deal since it would cost me much more to do all of that it in-house.

It takes me about 5 minutes to do payroll and it shows up in QuickBooks as a single line-item expense. No withholding and/or reporting to the feds.

We’ve been with a national company called Gevity (recently acquired by TriNet) for the past 3 years and are currently in the process of shopping the service as we do every few years.

I hope this helps,
Steve

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!

[Steve Martin]

Max,

I just renewed my policy here in Florida (where rates are still quite high since the trio of hurricanes in 2005). What we found a year ago when we shopped the policies was that the agent plays a huge role in what you get. We switched from one independent agent to another and saved a bundle: from about $12k/year to $7k/year for our commercial building (we own it), liability, inland marine (for gear that leaves the office), employee theft and a few other endorsements.

The only thing we don’t do is rent our gear out to others. One of our people is always with our gear so that there isn’t any “equipment for hire”

I’d encourage any small business owner (production or otherwise) to speak with several different reputable independent insurance agents in your area. They should ask lots of questions about your business and what you do. That may determine which carriers they will “shop” your business to. A good agent will know who is likely to give your particular business the best deal. This is because underwriters at various carries have vastly different policies about what is or isn’t a “preferred risk.” So pick an agent that will do his/her homework and really work in your best interest.

Of course, insurance regs and policies vary by state and your mileage may vary.

Hope this helps…

Steve

Hope this helps…

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!

[Steve Martin]

Yes – good point!

Everyone one on staff has incentives. When they help bring in work, they get bonuses + they get first dibs of being assigned to the job (so long as their skill set matches of course).

Also, instead of only having a base salary or hourly wage, they also get billable hours bonus for everything they work on.

The goal is for everyone on the boat to be rowing in the same direction on a rising tide!

Thanks,
Steve

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!

[Steve Martin]

Hi Chris,

I think you are spot-on and couldn’t agree more. The key to hiring a sales person to get the right person. Someone that is wired for prospecting and is willing to do relentlessly. Anything less is just a chair warmer waiting for the phone to ring and is destined to fail.

The question then becomes, “How do I find, motivate and set that person up for success?”

I’m looking into Myers Briggs type personality testing as a starting point. From what I’ve been reading and learning, the type of person I’m looking for doesn’t get his/her emotional needs by work. They don’t care if they’re liked or not, they have the focus and competitiveness of an athlete and they don’t give up until they succeed.

I think I already kind of knew most of that instinctively, but as I focus on it in more detail and learn more about it, it’s easier to start formulating a plan of attack. Wish me luck!

Thanks for taking the time to post your comments – I really appreciate your insight!

All my best,
Steve

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!