I was jazzed! My company had been invited to pitch a new television series to a major cable tv network. What's more, the idea for the series had come from the network, they had funded the development costs, and I was the ONLY producer invited to pitch the show toh the top brass.
The reason I was the only producer pitching the network their own show was because I had a long time prior relationship with their executive vice president and he'd pushed us to the top brass. I can't over-stress how important it is to cultivate and maintain strong friendships in every area of your life. If they're genuine (people quickly see through networking strategies camouflaged as artificial 'friendships') your friends and long time respected acquaintances will often be the keys that unlock doors of opportunity. You have to walk through with the goods, but your friends get you there. It's been that way for 99% of the jobs I've ever landed as a writer, producer, or director.
Back to the big meeting...
The network flew our presentation team to their headquarters, put us up at a five star hotel, and the next morning we were ushered into a richly appointed conference room on the executive floor of the network. We set up our charts, checked the PowerPoint, layed out glossy Pitch Notebooks at each chair. We were ready.
At the appointed hour, a dozen or so top brass arrived. After idle conversation over gourmet coffee and Danish pastries served on silver platters, the network president arrived and the meeting started. I began my well-rehearsed presentation. Suddenly I glanced over at the President. His head was buried in the notebook in front of him. Instead of listening to my phenomenal sales presentation, he was hurriedly flipping through the pages till he reached the last section. I instatntly knew what he was doing. He had looked till he found the budget and from that moment on, he didn't hear a word I said. I sensed I was in trouble. I was right!
At the end of the presentation, the President got up, shook my hand and quickly left the room. After a brief discussion with the other brass, cordial goodbyes were shared and we flew home without a deal or even the promise of one. What seemed a 'done deal' evaporated that morning. I didn't know why...till later.
Six months after, another producer was invited to pitch the same series -- same concept, same show, different outcome. He got the job and for a budget twice as much as we had proposed! My friend, the executive vice president, called me to tell me what happened. At their pitch meeting, the second producer didn't include a budget in any of the materials handed out up front. In fact, they handed out nothing until after their live presentation that pitched their vision for the show. They got everyone excited, including the network president. Once they were all emotionally engaged in the creative concept and the production credentials of the producer to implement it, agreeing to a budget was an easy sell. They had sold the dream first...paying for it was just after-the-fact necessary housekeeping.
I learned a valuable lesson through that experience. Once you get people energized by a vision, a concept, a dream, they'll go the distance to find a way to pay for it and make it happen. It's a tried and true principle in retail sales. Convince someone that they MUST HAVE whatever it is you want to sell them, and they'll find a way to pay for it. "Sell the sizzle" is the way one producer put it!
Don't mistake this to mean you don't have to do your homework and have a thoroughly vetted production plan, budget, schedule and everything else 'due diligence' requires. At the end of the day, if they do say 'yes' you'll have to perform on time and on budget if you ever want to work for this producer or network again (or with anyone they know!). But make sure you also never forget that before they ever buy your project, they will have to buy your dream first. That's what you sell. The rest is housekeeping!
Friday, March 18, 2016
Sunday, November 22, 2015
"SO IT'S THANKSGIVING"
It's been my privilege to travel over much of the world, including four complete circumnavigations of the globe (shades of 'Around The World in 80 Days' sans the balloon). I've worked in many of the world's great cities and some of the most remote corners of the earth. The downside to all that experience is the time it has taken away from home, from my wife and children, from dear friends, and church, too, usually for weeks and often for several months at a time. Somehow my loving wife Gloria and my remarkable children (they really are!) have managed to stay close together. I credit that to God!
But no matter where I travel and what I'm doing, there are two events at home that I do everything possible to make sure I don't miss -- Thanksgiving and Christmas! While I think of EVERY day with my darling Gloria as a day of celebration (which is a good thing were I to confess how many anniversaries I've missed), Christmas and Thanksgiving are the two occasions when we celebrate our entire family. Over the years I've missed maybe 4 Thanksgivings - but not one Christmas (though I've come close a few times)!
One of the Thanksgivings I DID miss found me in Manila, preparing for directing the television coverage of a Billy Graham crusade (one of the week-long speaking missions he conducted in almost every major city of the world). Hundreds of thousands attended those meetings in the Philippines. As Thanksgiving approached, the hotel chef announced he would be serving a tradional Thanksgiving dinner. For a young homesick director, this conjured up wistful images of home. The menu promised roast turkey with stuffing and all the trimmings, cranberry sause, pumpkin pie. I could hardly wait. But with the first bite I was reminded of Dorothy in Oz. We were certainly 'not in Kansas'. We weren't even near America and it sure wasn't a 'traditional Thanksgiving dinner'. An 'A' for effort, but it all tasted Philippino by the time it came out of the kitchen! I ended the day more homesick than ever.
I encourage you to identify those marker days in the calendar that mean the most to you and to the people you care most about. It could be your anniversary or your mom's birthday or like me, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then make every effort to protect celebration of those occasions from the temptation to never turn down work or to never raise your voice to suggest a schedule change that could allow you to be home on the days that matter most to you and those you love. Most people will respect you for it - maybe even change something to make it happen for you. Even so, I've missed a few Thanksgiving celebrations, but those I love knew how much I wanted to be there.
It will be hard to keep a perfect record if you're successful as a filmmaker, television, or live event professional. On more than one occasion I've flown out the day after Christmas to load in a New Year's show somewhere. That I've never missed a Christmas is a blessing from God for which I'm grateful. There will ALWAYS be opportunities, even creative ones, to keep you away from what is ultimately the most important part of this life - the people we care about and who care for us. But when all else fails, when the phone doesn't ring and no one is hitting your website or checking out your LinkedIn page for job referrals, it is the people who have loved you all along that will still be there for you. Don't take them for granted or the chances you have now to be with them, to celebrate them, to enjoy them, to GIVE THANKS for them...That's what I'm doing this Thanksgiving!
But no matter where I travel and what I'm doing, there are two events at home that I do everything possible to make sure I don't miss -- Thanksgiving and Christmas! While I think of EVERY day with my darling Gloria as a day of celebration (which is a good thing were I to confess how many anniversaries I've missed), Christmas and Thanksgiving are the two occasions when we celebrate our entire family. Over the years I've missed maybe 4 Thanksgivings - but not one Christmas (though I've come close a few times)!
One of the Thanksgivings I DID miss found me in Manila, preparing for directing the television coverage of a Billy Graham crusade (one of the week-long speaking missions he conducted in almost every major city of the world). Hundreds of thousands attended those meetings in the Philippines. As Thanksgiving approached, the hotel chef announced he would be serving a tradional Thanksgiving dinner. For a young homesick director, this conjured up wistful images of home. The menu promised roast turkey with stuffing and all the trimmings, cranberry sause, pumpkin pie. I could hardly wait. But with the first bite I was reminded of Dorothy in Oz. We were certainly 'not in Kansas'. We weren't even near America and it sure wasn't a 'traditional Thanksgiving dinner'. An 'A' for effort, but it all tasted Philippino by the time it came out of the kitchen! I ended the day more homesick than ever.
I encourage you to identify those marker days in the calendar that mean the most to you and to the people you care most about. It could be your anniversary or your mom's birthday or like me, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then make every effort to protect celebration of those occasions from the temptation to never turn down work or to never raise your voice to suggest a schedule change that could allow you to be home on the days that matter most to you and those you love. Most people will respect you for it - maybe even change something to make it happen for you. Even so, I've missed a few Thanksgiving celebrations, but those I love knew how much I wanted to be there.
It will be hard to keep a perfect record if you're successful as a filmmaker, television, or live event professional. On more than one occasion I've flown out the day after Christmas to load in a New Year's show somewhere. That I've never missed a Christmas is a blessing from God for which I'm grateful. There will ALWAYS be opportunities, even creative ones, to keep you away from what is ultimately the most important part of this life - the people we care about and who care for us. But when all else fails, when the phone doesn't ring and no one is hitting your website or checking out your LinkedIn page for job referrals, it is the people who have loved you all along that will still be there for you. Don't take them for granted or the chances you have now to be with them, to celebrate them, to enjoy them, to GIVE THANKS for them...That's what I'm doing this Thanksgiving!
Thursday, October 1, 2015
'THE BASEBALL BAT..."
I was sitting on the edge of my bed at the Holiday Inn in Asheville, North Carolina, mulling over my flat-lining career as a director and the lack of progress I was making toward my goal of directing feature films, epic television dramas, even mega super-star music specials (they still made music specials back then!).
Why was I on a bed in Asheville, North Carolina, the undisputed film capital of nowhere? I was in town to direct television coverage of the Billy Graham crusade. That was part of my dilemma. I had been directing Billy Graham specials for over a year and getting no closer to my perceived creative Hollywood mega-star director goals. I had reached a creative stalemate, a plateau from which I saw no progress on the horizon. I was the ripe old age of 26.
I distinctly remember what happened next. The thought crossed my mind that what I was doing was dull and boring (those exact words)! Now I hasten to preface the rest of the story with a disclaimer. I have never physically seen God or heard an audible voice that others in a room could hear. But what happened next was just as real as if I had. I suddenly sensed the presence of someone else in the room and then it seemed that God himself (or possibly the Angel Michael acting on orders) hit me across the side of the head with a grand slam slugger baseball bat as God literally shouted at me, "Don't you EVER call what I give you to do dull and boring!" The voice continued, "If you are doing what I have you doing, it is because there is nowhere else I want you to be or to be doing it right now!"
It could not have been more real to me! I was devastated. I fell to my knees, begging God for forgiveness for my stupid arrogance and ingratitude for what He had done for me, how He had blessed me. I vowed that I would always, from that night forward, be grateful for whatever task He chose for me to do. A warm peace seemed to settle across my spirit and I drifted off to sleep.
The following evening, I was back in the director's chair at the Asheville Billy Graham Crusade. The music was the same, the entertainment value had not improved, nothing had changed...and everything had changed - because I had changed on the inside, though I didn't yet know it. I WAS aware that I felt good about what I was doing, that somehow I felt more professional, more engaged, even excited about my work. I couldn't explain why.
Two weeks later, Walter Bennett, my boss and the executive producer of the telecasts, called. Walter had just hung up the phone with Alan Chapman, a television executive who occasionally sat in the control room at the crusades. Alan had been in Asheville. He wanted to know what had gotten into Tom, who seemed to be more on top of his directing than he had ever seen me before. He had been impressed both by my performance as a director and by my professional attitude that had inexplicably greatly improved. He wondered why?!
I knew why! Tom Ivy had not lost his drive or determination to creatively grow and exploit new opportunities, but he had lost his ambition to do so at the expense of the mission at hand. Directing that Billy Graham crusade had become the most important creative opportunity of my life for those five days.
In the seven years that I continued to direct Billy Graham telecasts, there was little that changed in the predictable format or staging of the programs. But I can honestly say that not once did I ever again sit down in the director's chair without feeling this was the most important assignment, the most creative opportunity of my life. I have tried since then to apply that principle to EVERYTHING I do in life and to every relationship I have.
Let me bring this story home to you. Students and young professionals often ask me how you get a break in the tv/film business, how do you advance in your career. That's for another discussion -- but if after you've done all you know to do, as little or much as that may be, I encourage you to rest on THIS truth: If you have asked God to guide your life -- to superintend what you do and who you know, where your life and your career is headed -- if your desire is with all your heart to serve His kingdom purpose in and through you, then rest assured that where you are right now, what you are doing today, IS precisely where He wants you and what HE wants you to do...even if it SEEMS to be far from the place you think you should be or want to be. God may be wanting to teach you something important here -- or wants you to help someone else who He will bring across your path. He may have you here to introduce you to someone who will someday figure in the future He has planned for you. Only He knows WHY he has you here. You don't need to know - not right now. But if you trust Him and His perfect grace and purpose for you in everything, you'll discover a remarkable peace in your dream for meaning and achievement. In the end, He'll get you where He wants you to be...trust me! But on the way, may I also offer this bit of experienced advice? Don't wait to learn this until YOU have to feel a spiritual baseball bat hit you up the side of the head to get your attention, like I did!
Why was I on a bed in Asheville, North Carolina, the undisputed film capital of nowhere? I was in town to direct television coverage of the Billy Graham crusade. That was part of my dilemma. I had been directing Billy Graham specials for over a year and getting no closer to my perceived creative Hollywood mega-star director goals. I had reached a creative stalemate, a plateau from which I saw no progress on the horizon. I was the ripe old age of 26.
I distinctly remember what happened next. The thought crossed my mind that what I was doing was dull and boring (those exact words)! Now I hasten to preface the rest of the story with a disclaimer. I have never physically seen God or heard an audible voice that others in a room could hear. But what happened next was just as real as if I had. I suddenly sensed the presence of someone else in the room and then it seemed that God himself (or possibly the Angel Michael acting on orders) hit me across the side of the head with a grand slam slugger baseball bat as God literally shouted at me, "Don't you EVER call what I give you to do dull and boring!" The voice continued, "If you are doing what I have you doing, it is because there is nowhere else I want you to be or to be doing it right now!"
It could not have been more real to me! I was devastated. I fell to my knees, begging God for forgiveness for my stupid arrogance and ingratitude for what He had done for me, how He had blessed me. I vowed that I would always, from that night forward, be grateful for whatever task He chose for me to do. A warm peace seemed to settle across my spirit and I drifted off to sleep.
The following evening, I was back in the director's chair at the Asheville Billy Graham Crusade. The music was the same, the entertainment value had not improved, nothing had changed...and everything had changed - because I had changed on the inside, though I didn't yet know it. I WAS aware that I felt good about what I was doing, that somehow I felt more professional, more engaged, even excited about my work. I couldn't explain why.
Two weeks later, Walter Bennett, my boss and the executive producer of the telecasts, called. Walter had just hung up the phone with Alan Chapman, a television executive who occasionally sat in the control room at the crusades. Alan had been in Asheville. He wanted to know what had gotten into Tom, who seemed to be more on top of his directing than he had ever seen me before. He had been impressed both by my performance as a director and by my professional attitude that had inexplicably greatly improved. He wondered why?!
I knew why! Tom Ivy had not lost his drive or determination to creatively grow and exploit new opportunities, but he had lost his ambition to do so at the expense of the mission at hand. Directing that Billy Graham crusade had become the most important creative opportunity of my life for those five days.
In the seven years that I continued to direct Billy Graham telecasts, there was little that changed in the predictable format or staging of the programs. But I can honestly say that not once did I ever again sit down in the director's chair without feeling this was the most important assignment, the most creative opportunity of my life. I have tried since then to apply that principle to EVERYTHING I do in life and to every relationship I have.
Let me bring this story home to you. Students and young professionals often ask me how you get a break in the tv/film business, how do you advance in your career. That's for another discussion -- but if after you've done all you know to do, as little or much as that may be, I encourage you to rest on THIS truth: If you have asked God to guide your life -- to superintend what you do and who you know, where your life and your career is headed -- if your desire is with all your heart to serve His kingdom purpose in and through you, then rest assured that where you are right now, what you are doing today, IS precisely where He wants you and what HE wants you to do...even if it SEEMS to be far from the place you think you should be or want to be. God may be wanting to teach you something important here -- or wants you to help someone else who He will bring across your path. He may have you here to introduce you to someone who will someday figure in the future He has planned for you. Only He knows WHY he has you here. You don't need to know - not right now. But if you trust Him and His perfect grace and purpose for you in everything, you'll discover a remarkable peace in your dream for meaning and achievement. In the end, He'll get you where He wants you to be...trust me! But on the way, may I also offer this bit of experienced advice? Don't wait to learn this until YOU have to feel a spiritual baseball bat hit you up the side of the head to get your attention, like I did!
Monday, September 15, 2014
'WHAT I EXPECT FROM AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR"
The other day I ran across something I put together after working with a young assistant director who seemed to care more about getting my job than doing his. He was actually a very talented young professional, but his attitude earned a proverbial 'DO NOT HIRE' mark in my book, sad to say. It was because of him I decided to write up a summary of what I expect from an AD for anyone wanting the job. If you are an assistant director now or aspire to be one or to be a director someday, this may be helpful. If you're a director now, feel free to copy it, add to it, and make it your own orientation tool for new staff. Enjoy!
2. ...Your professional opinion
3. ...Absolute loyalty to me as the director (no taking the crew side in a conflict, even in jest)
4. ...No 'Director' attitude (when it's your job, you'll understand)
5. ...Your sense of humor (if we don't have fun, we should change professions)
6. ...Your service to the production, to the cast and crew, to me!
7. ...Your help to foster a creative, energized set for everyone.
8. ...Your care to make non-professionals and newcomers feel welcome and important.
9. ...Your acknowledgement that ultimately I'm the boss! (When YOU'RE the director, you'll be!)
10. ...Your recognition that EVERYONE is important and has a contribution to make to the process.
Follow these ten rules and every director will want you. What's more, you'll have more fun while you work harder than ever before in your life. Ultimately you'll be amazed at the doors that will open to your future. Trust me...!
WHAT I EXPECT FROM AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
1. ...Your creative genius.2. ...Your professional opinion
3. ...Absolute loyalty to me as the director (no taking the crew side in a conflict, even in jest)
4. ...No 'Director' attitude (when it's your job, you'll understand)
5. ...Your sense of humor (if we don't have fun, we should change professions)
6. ...Your service to the production, to the cast and crew, to me!
7. ...Your help to foster a creative, energized set for everyone.
8. ...Your care to make non-professionals and newcomers feel welcome and important.
9. ...Your acknowledgement that ultimately I'm the boss! (When YOU'RE the director, you'll be!)
10. ...Your recognition that EVERYONE is important and has a contribution to make to the process.
Follow these ten rules and every director will want you. What's more, you'll have more fun while you work harder than ever before in your life. Ultimately you'll be amazed at the doors that will open to your future. Trust me...!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
"IT CAN'T BE REAL!"
That's what I said as I walked into the hotel room in Skopje, Macedonia where my cinematographer and friend Don Piper was watching what was obviously a staged CNN newscast inside a movie. On the screen was what appeared to be an Irwin Allen disaster movie. A towering New York skyscraper descended from the skyline in a billowing cloud of smoke. The special effects were more realistic than anything I'd ever seen. But it WASN'T a disaster movie and there were NO special effects. It was real. I was watching the World Trade Center collapse on itself in the aftermath of the only foreign attack on American soil since the War of 1812. It was still morning in America on September 11, 2001.
I doubt many Americans cannot recall precisely where they were on that fateful morning, now more than a decade ago. My friend and cinematographer / editor Don Piper and I were in our fourth week of an around the world shoot for what would become a six part biographical documentary tv series called "GREAT SOULS", based on the book and hosted by veteran journalist DAVID AIKMAN. We had come to Skopje because it is the birthplace of Mother Teresa, one of the six remarkable individuals profiled in the series. This was our last stop before our final shoot in Poland to film segments for episodes on Pope John Paul and Holocaust survivor / Nobel Laureate Eli Wiesel.
I had gone into the city for some souvenir shopping for the family back home. My first encounter with this tragic day in America was when I walked into Don's hotel room and saw the World Trade Center collapsing. Don looked up, an ashen expression on his face as he said, "America is under attack". Still, it took awhile for me to accept the fact that it was really happening. We soon learned that all international flights into the United States were cancelled as well. Thousands of Americans were trapped in Europe for weeks. As it turned out, the ban was lifted on the very day of our own scheduled flight to New York.
I will never forget the conversation I had with an Airline representative when I went downtown in Warsaw to reconfirm our flights home. The young woman was not unkind when the 9/11 attack came up in conversation, but her comment surprised me. She said, "I'm sorry for those people who died. But maybe now you Americans will appreciate what the rest of us in the world go through all the time." She made me appreciate how protected we Americans really are from the conflicts of the world. May we remain vigilant so that we never have to experience ANOTHER 9/11 on our shores. May we never forget what an incredible place of safety we have in America and determine to always honor it, protect it, and serve it. And may we be equally dedicated to care for the suffering of those around the world who have yet to taste the freedom under God that is at the core of what makes the United States of America still the most wonderful place on earth!.
I doubt many Americans cannot recall precisely where they were on that fateful morning, now more than a decade ago. My friend and cinematographer / editor Don Piper and I were in our fourth week of an around the world shoot for what would become a six part biographical documentary tv series called "GREAT SOULS", based on the book and hosted by veteran journalist DAVID AIKMAN. We had come to Skopje because it is the birthplace of Mother Teresa, one of the six remarkable individuals profiled in the series. This was our last stop before our final shoot in Poland to film segments for episodes on Pope John Paul and Holocaust survivor / Nobel Laureate Eli Wiesel.
I had gone into the city for some souvenir shopping for the family back home. My first encounter with this tragic day in America was when I walked into Don's hotel room and saw the World Trade Center collapsing. Don looked up, an ashen expression on his face as he said, "America is under attack". Still, it took awhile for me to accept the fact that it was really happening. We soon learned that all international flights into the United States were cancelled as well. Thousands of Americans were trapped in Europe for weeks. As it turned out, the ban was lifted on the very day of our own scheduled flight to New York.
I will never forget the conversation I had with an Airline representative when I went downtown in Warsaw to reconfirm our flights home. The young woman was not unkind when the 9/11 attack came up in conversation, but her comment surprised me. She said, "I'm sorry for those people who died. But maybe now you Americans will appreciate what the rest of us in the world go through all the time." She made me appreciate how protected we Americans really are from the conflicts of the world. May we remain vigilant so that we never have to experience ANOTHER 9/11 on our shores. May we never forget what an incredible place of safety we have in America and determine to always honor it, protect it, and serve it. And may we be equally dedicated to care for the suffering of those around the world who have yet to taste the freedom under God that is at the core of what makes the United States of America still the most wonderful place on earth!.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
"I'M UNREASONABLE"
What's it like to work for Tom Ivy (or WITH Tom Ivy as I prefer to think of my working relationships)? You'd have to ask some of those who've endured the experience to know for sure, but to start with the monicker that 'I'm unreasonable' would probably describe how more than one person has at some point labeled their relationship with yours truly! Hopefully, somewhere along the line most of them formed a different opinion, but it hasn't always been the case - and probably more my fault than theirs. In any case, here are some insights, okay, 'confessions' about how I work and what I expect of those who work with me. I don't promise anything easy...but hopefully an experience that is ultimately rewarding for ALL of us in the end...
2. I pay attention to details. They are important. Don't try and change me but I'll listen to a better idea.
3. I expect you to see the big picture and not get overly distracted by minutia.
4. I demand excellence of myself and expect it of my co-workers
5. I will push you but also try to help you achieve YOUR best, not mine or someone else's.
6. I expect 110% effort at everything you do, but don't kill yourself or be stupid about it! It isn't worth it..
7. I erased the words 'no' and 'impossible' from my dictionary.
8. I expect you understand the expression 'There's always another way'
9. I work 24/7 when I'm prepping and shooting a project - (expect a call at any hour).
10. I often repeat myself and state the obvious to make sure I've correctly communicated. It's okay!
11. I appreciate and value opinions, but I'm the boss! (This is a benevolent dictatorship, not a democracy).
12. I welcome constructive criticism to my face but I will not tolerate it behind my back.
13. I demand honesty. If you have a problem, don't hide it. I might be able to help - or at least understand.
14. I care about you as a person more than what you do as a professional.
15. I will never be able to afford what you are worth to me, but I'll make every effort to see you paid fairly.
16. If you're not having fun doing what you are doing, you should do it where you can or change professions.
17. Don't take me, work, or yourself too seriously, but never mistake casualness as a license for disrespect.
18. I value the opinion and contribution of everyone and I expect you to do the same if you work with me.
19. Be quick to accept responsibility and slow to pass blame. I try to model this and hope you will too.
20. We might have so much fun that we hate parting when it's all over. Don't resist the feeling.
WHY I'M DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH: A Tom Ivy Confession
1. I'm a perfectionist.2. I pay attention to details. They are important. Don't try and change me but I'll listen to a better idea.
3. I expect you to see the big picture and not get overly distracted by minutia.
4. I demand excellence of myself and expect it of my co-workers
5. I will push you but also try to help you achieve YOUR best, not mine or someone else's.
6. I expect 110% effort at everything you do, but don't kill yourself or be stupid about it! It isn't worth it..
7. I erased the words 'no' and 'impossible' from my dictionary.
8. I expect you understand the expression 'There's always another way'
9. I work 24/7 when I'm prepping and shooting a project - (expect a call at any hour).
10. I often repeat myself and state the obvious to make sure I've correctly communicated. It's okay!
11. I appreciate and value opinions, but I'm the boss! (This is a benevolent dictatorship, not a democracy).
12. I welcome constructive criticism to my face but I will not tolerate it behind my back.
13. I demand honesty. If you have a problem, don't hide it. I might be able to help - or at least understand.
14. I care about you as a person more than what you do as a professional.
15. I will never be able to afford what you are worth to me, but I'll make every effort to see you paid fairly.
16. If you're not having fun doing what you are doing, you should do it where you can or change professions.
17. Don't take me, work, or yourself too seriously, but never mistake casualness as a license for disrespect.
18. I value the opinion and contribution of everyone and I expect you to do the same if you work with me.
19. Be quick to accept responsibility and slow to pass blame. I try to model this and hope you will too.
20. We might have so much fun that we hate parting when it's all over. Don't resist the feeling.
Friday, June 15, 2012
"I'M GLAD IT'S RAINING,TONIGHT..."
Unless you're shooting a remake of the black and white classic "Last Picture Show" or "How The West Was Won", West Texas doesn't jump out at you as a place to create intense drama, as a place to go to create ANY kind of drama, unless you enjoy wide open spaces, cows, and oil fields. Not that it isn't a fine place to live and raise families. It's just not at the top of the 'best film locations' list of the DGA (not that such a list actually exists - but if it did!)
I was in Lubbock with a television crew, covering Billy Graham's West Texas Crusade. We had flown in six studio cameras (back when each one was the size of a small refrigerator!), a full remote control room, and enough television cable to circle the state (well, not quite the state...but a lot!). Our control room was set up in a semi tractor trailer behind the grandstands of the University football stadium where the Graham meetings were being held. As we prepared for the opening night, storm clouds began to darken the sky. The forecast was for rain -- predicted for just about the time Billy Graham would be speaking. We wrapped the cameras in plastic, erected umbrellas over the viewfinders, and hoped the the forecasters got it wrong. They didn't! As thousands of Texans crowded into the stadium it began to drizzle. By the time Dr. Graham stood up to speak it was a steady rain. By the time he was half way into his message, it was a 'Texas gully-washer'. Translation: a torrential downpour. The rain was pounding so hard on the metal roof of our control room I could barely communicate with my crew on headset. My cameramen were spending more time wiping water from their lenses than lining up shots. On stage, someone held an umbrella over Dr. Graham as he persevered on to the end of his message. By now the football field between the stage and the grandstand was a small lake.
Dr. Graham ended his message and then gave the invitation that he has given in cities around the world, for those desiring to have a personal relationship with God to come forward, stand in front of the stage, and join Dr. Graham in a prayer. The choir began to sing "Just As I Am" as Dr. Graham stepped back from the podium and waited. I aimed my cameras toward the aisles. I need not have. No one moved. The choir sang another verse. Still the field was empty. Then Dr. Graham stepped forward and said "I'm GLAD that it's raining, tonight!" ('You're the only one', I thought to myself!) He continued. "...Because if you come forward tonight in this miserable rain across this wet muddy field, you'll know that you were serious about giving your life to Jesus Christ. Your decision will mean a lot more to you than if it were dry and you were comfortable. So I'm glad it's raining!"
The choir began to sing again. And still no one moved...until, I saw him...a boy...not more than twelve or thirteen...a crutch under each arm, rain pouring down on his face...walking across that wet muddy football field toward Dr. Graham. It was the most moving moment of the seven years I directed Billy Graham crusade telecasts around the world. I cried. Just about everyone in the control room cried. Half the stadium was in tears. And then, taking their cue from the courage of this young man, dozens, then scores, finally hundreds of others got out of their seats and followed his example. It was a moment I will never forget -- nor will the thousands of people who sat in that football stadium to witness the faith of a young cripple boy who inspired hundreds of others to follow him to find God on a cold stormy night in West Texas. It may never make the list of great film locations, but it was one that night, and I'm glad, eternally glad, I was there!
I was in Lubbock with a television crew, covering Billy Graham's West Texas Crusade. We had flown in six studio cameras (back when each one was the size of a small refrigerator!), a full remote control room, and enough television cable to circle the state (well, not quite the state...but a lot!). Our control room was set up in a semi tractor trailer behind the grandstands of the University football stadium where the Graham meetings were being held. As we prepared for the opening night, storm clouds began to darken the sky. The forecast was for rain -- predicted for just about the time Billy Graham would be speaking. We wrapped the cameras in plastic, erected umbrellas over the viewfinders, and hoped the the forecasters got it wrong. They didn't! As thousands of Texans crowded into the stadium it began to drizzle. By the time Dr. Graham stood up to speak it was a steady rain. By the time he was half way into his message, it was a 'Texas gully-washer'. Translation: a torrential downpour. The rain was pounding so hard on the metal roof of our control room I could barely communicate with my crew on headset. My cameramen were spending more time wiping water from their lenses than lining up shots. On stage, someone held an umbrella over Dr. Graham as he persevered on to the end of his message. By now the football field between the stage and the grandstand was a small lake.
Dr. Graham ended his message and then gave the invitation that he has given in cities around the world, for those desiring to have a personal relationship with God to come forward, stand in front of the stage, and join Dr. Graham in a prayer. The choir began to sing "Just As I Am" as Dr. Graham stepped back from the podium and waited. I aimed my cameras toward the aisles. I need not have. No one moved. The choir sang another verse. Still the field was empty. Then Dr. Graham stepped forward and said "I'm GLAD that it's raining, tonight!" ('You're the only one', I thought to myself!) He continued. "...Because if you come forward tonight in this miserable rain across this wet muddy field, you'll know that you were serious about giving your life to Jesus Christ. Your decision will mean a lot more to you than if it were dry and you were comfortable. So I'm glad it's raining!"
The choir began to sing again. And still no one moved...until, I saw him...a boy...not more than twelve or thirteen...a crutch under each arm, rain pouring down on his face...walking across that wet muddy football field toward Dr. Graham. It was the most moving moment of the seven years I directed Billy Graham crusade telecasts around the world. I cried. Just about everyone in the control room cried. Half the stadium was in tears. And then, taking their cue from the courage of this young man, dozens, then scores, finally hundreds of others got out of their seats and followed his example. It was a moment I will never forget -- nor will the thousands of people who sat in that football stadium to witness the faith of a young cripple boy who inspired hundreds of others to follow him to find God on a cold stormy night in West Texas. It may never make the list of great film locations, but it was one that night, and I'm glad, eternally glad, I was there!
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