Gone in 30 Seconds

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By Jim Elkin

I remember being on this film set a few years ago and watching the 2nd assistant’s assistant drink a non fat 1/2 caf latte. Yeah, I know, everyone has an assistant. I remember watching him and thinking to myself, is this all really necessary. Do we really need all these people? What am I doing here and what’s the purpose of it all and also, I can’t believe they made my non fat sugar free chai without my extra super foamy topping. Darn it! But, I digress. The truth is I know that you don’t need 50 people to make a TV commercial. Surprised? Amazed? Want another latte? How about a cookie?

I know this isn’t revolutionary thinking. I’m a big purveyor over the years of watching agencies do their own thing by themselves. Many have created really amazing, funny, thoughtful work through video with a small internal crew for viral content and otherwise, all on their own. It’s happening more and more. So, what happens to the film production company. Well, as my favorite writer Stan Lee used to say….My dear reader, stay tuned and keep your spidey powers on alert!

I know what happens when agencies have to create spots. Call the producer up. A bunch of meetings ensue. Creative conflicts arise and are subdued. Budgets are approved. Pre-Production happens. Problems ensue. Problems are solved. Maps are given out for locations. People get lost. People are cold. People are hungry. Breakfast Burritos are unfolded. Many Lattes are needed. Candy is eaten. Extras are wrangled. Set ups are slow. Special FX always take longer. But, in the end, it all works out. Right? Well, it did. But, not anymore so much. Things are different now. The economy is different. The world is different. But, some things have changed in a good way. I shouldn’t be saying that, right? It doesn’t help me. I should be trying to get the million dollar budgets. Stay at Shutters in LA. Order room service. Trash the hotel room wearing my bathrobe and scuba fins and inhaling helium balloons. Ok, I haven’t done that personally, but I have a friend… But, I digress again. In the end, the old film production business model and you know the one I’m talking about…just doesn’t make sense to me anymore. I think it’s different now and that dear readers is a very good thing.

The truth is, should we all really make that million dollar commercial even if we could right now. Would you? Is that responsible? Can you watch the news and feel OK about it? We can all do things better. We can make it more efficient and easier. It doesn’t have to be the same process. The technology is out there with the Red Camera and more is coming very soon. No more film. No more tape. Just pure digital information. Soon, it will look just like film where no one..not even Mr. Spielberg can tell the difference. In a few years, it will take a lot less people to make it look the same way it did without all the lattes. What does that mean for us? More fun. More creativity. More of doing what you love. That’s the point, right?

What happens to all of the crew? What happens to the 50 people that it used to take to make something out of nothing become a commercial? Are they out of luck? Out of a job? I don’t think so. These are amazingly talented people. Able to do much more and rise up and all create their own niche in the new world. Expect great things from that production assistant who once brought you a latte. I think all of these labels are a thing of the past.

So, let’s do it. Let’s shoot more. Let’s spend less. Let’s overcome the obstacles. Let’s rock on. I can help. If you do have a million dollars, you can borrow my scuba fins…

Jim Elkin is Executive Producer for Roshambo. Specializing in Development of Original Content, Cable Network Identity, Brand Specialization, Film, TV, New Media, IPhone Apps, New Techno Gizmo stuff, giver of thumbs up, and baker of Elkinookies. Jim will play rock, paper, scissors with you at a moment’s notice.

Comments

  1. hmenges July 14, 2008

    I agree with Jim. On

    I agree with Jim. On everything. All the time. Because he’s always right. And it makes me look smart.

    Ah, Shutters. how you will be missed.

  2. Nathan July 14, 2008

    I agree that the process

    I agree that the process could be streamlined in many ways—I have recently worked on an indie feature film that will be truly epic, and was done with a twelve person crew on High Def for a fraction of the cost of your typical thirty second spot. There often is a lot of waste on a typical LA set. However, even as technology advances in terms of cameras—such as the Red—you will still get that shitty video look if you don’t hire the proper crew to light the image and rig your camera support. And these people will take all day to do so unless you hire the right production management staff—production managers/coordinators, assistant directors, and PA’s—to move them along in the most efficient manner possible.

    The bottom line is that we are responsible to deliver only excellent work to our clients that offers true ROI. While creativity should account for the majority of the process, there is a base level of technical support you are going to need in creating such work.

    And by the way, $3 lattes will go miles towards keeping your highly-pressured crew feeling appreciated and productive. Let’s not be cheap.

  3. M. Westfield July 15, 2008

    it takes food to move an

    it takes food to move an army, you want your army to be the best fed. I just catered a shoot on sunday for 15 ppl: water, sodas, veggie tray, grapes, chips, cookies, lunch was homemade oven-fried chicken, bacon potato salad & watermelon slices, roast pork loin with peach avocado salsa and salad for dinner.

  4. Randall Erkelens July 16, 2008

    Done both.. with different

    Done both.. with different and expected results.. I’ve enjoyed larger than two people teams to create a notched-up tone. Let’s not forget, when you hire a team, you get a team. You get experts in each of their fields of expertise. Lighting, directing, editing, production. Viral videos are great. Mini DV.. wow.. what a concept. YouTube.. here we all come.. but if I have anywhere near a real budget, I’d much rather hire Jim or anybody with experience to bring the most to the party.. and who knows.. swing and tilt lenses will come back in a major way.. and you’re going to need somebody to operate them.. 🙂

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