We'll dispense with the good news first. It seems that the Big Indie
US August Video is ON, considering that the singer just sent out news
to all her fans about it via her band's email newsletter. But I'm
waiting until I have a signed contract in hand before I let
Videostatic and Promonews shout it out as booked.
That was the good thing waiting for me when I came back from a misty
Maine island tonight, on a washing/repacking mission before a business
trip to NY tomorrow (seeing reps! Comedy shall ensue, likely). Now for
the bad thing that happened before I left.
First, understand that this 10 day trip to a family cottage on an
internet- and telephone-free Maine island was my first holiday in over
three years. (For a freelancer, you'd think every day is a
holiday but the sad reality of soldiering in the pyjama army of
paranoia is that every day becomes a work day.) Forty five minutes
before I'm supposed to leave for the drive to Maine, with the parental
co-traveller getting seriously passive aggressive on me about the fact
that I'm still on the damn internet and have made no packing motions
whatsoever... and I have not received the animatic for the Flipron "Book of Lies"
video. Indonesian animation team promised they'd have it to me before
I left, so I could review it and comment on it and the video's 31 July
drop schedule wouldn't get blown away by me actually taking some
time off for ten days to a place with no interneet.
But no. No animatic for Alex. This is one of the classic joys/troubles
of working very low budget. I regularly march up to people I've never
met and in a spirit of pie-eyed optimism and a tidal wave of
enthusiasm, hand them important parts of my project to work on for
little to no pay. You have to. This is the only way to get things
done. And you know what? People are great, because 95% of the time,
they come through as if they were made of awesome. The art designer,
Miri Katz, who, with only moderate experience stepped in at the last
minute to save my "I Loved London" shoot? MADE OF AWESOME. Ryan
Parker, who animated "Raindrops" - god, I feel lucky to have worked
with someone of that huge talent on my first animation. I could go on.
But then there's the 5%, where karma turns round and kicks you in the
ass. A disastrous novice grader with delusions of grandeur; an average
makeup woman (my usual person couldn't make it) who left her assistant
in charge of a key sfx piece while she went to the theatre, resulting
in key sfx piece's utter failure; and now, some talented Indonesian
animators who didn't really understand that deadline means, well,
deadline.
Cue panicked morning-of-departure phone calls to a great New York animation
studio with whom I had worked on a failed pitch for another music
video. (Sometimes the failures give you as much as the successes.)
They, the saints, agreed to do the animatic and redo the character
sketches in time for me to come see during my New York trip.
Cue also difficult email to the nice, enthusiastic Indonesian team who
didn't get me the animatic, pulling the project from them.
My name is mud in Surabaya right now. I'm also not winning Miss
Congeniality in Culver City, having just cussed out my film agent for
some epic meeting-related failure. Now let's see what havoc I can
wreak on New York City.
--
http://www.youtube.com/alexdecampi
http://www.alexdecampi.com
"For a freelancer, you'd think every day is a holiday but the sad reality is that every day becomes a work day." -Alex
Great insight! Thanks for explaining the reality of a world that I can't even explain to the people closest to me. If your name plus BOOKED appears on video static by a even a remotely known or buzzy band, then you will have the buzz attention that you need to get a rep in no time. On this radar blog I will eventually write a short piece about how to get the most out of your rep.