No matter what career you choose, you are bound to wind up working with some folks that are a pleasure to deal with, that will challenge you in constructive ways, and will be future contacts for you down the road. Likewise, you are equally bound to work with someone or several people that you can’t wait to be done with. Without experiencing both it is tough to really appreciate the value of great teammates versus terrible ones; in the end both are valuable in their own ways. A terrible experience with someone truly educates you for the future in terms of what you are looking for and what are you not. It teaches you to recognize warning bells and anticipate dicey situations.
Recently we had a terrific out-of-state shoot for a client that had been months in the making. In reflecting back on the intensive 3-day schedule we successfully carried out, I know that the positive outcome was only possible as a result of those I was working with. To emphasize just how critical it is to work with the right people, I would like to contrast our positive experience on this shoot with a totally separate, hypothetical story:
Suppose that a young independent contractor still in her college years offers her services to a company. This company is promising, growing strong, and would look great on a resumé. The people working there appear extremely friendly, inviting, and seem to carry good attitudes. The job requires talent the contractor has, and would be a fun assignment on the whole. The independent contractor is tickled — what a fantastic place to work! The gig is a good one in terms of location, timing, and pay, and the only condition outstanding is that she needs to afford to stay in the area. She asks for flexibility on the pay schedule and for a signed guarantee her advanced payment is coming; she is assured that won’t be a problem, and she is made part of the team.
Weeks pass, and many projects later, the situation is still the same—no payments, no signed contract. Why is this taking so long? Didn’t they understand her terms upfront? Why did they seem so off-put being reminded yesterday? These are the questions the contractor is wondering, despite her solid work completed and utilized with nothing so far to show for it. She may be young, but she is trying to do everything correctly and the way it should be done in the real world. This is frustrating and feels unprofessional.
So our independent contractor comes in one day to find the manager alone in the office, hands her an invoice, and asks about the still unsigned contract. All of a sudden the world explodes, as the manager goes on a tirade: you’re a money-grubber, a poor teammate, and you’re stressing everyone out, the manager screams.
Now we have crossed a line. The independent contractor does not raise her voice, calmly responds when she feels she needs to offer a defense, and for the most part simply lets the manager vent. As this is clearly the last time the contractor has any interest in spending one more minute in the office, she begins packing everything she owns, intending to not return, all the while hearing a barrage of complaints. Though the manager’s rant lasts 45 minutes, it echoes much longer than that for our contractor, perhaps for years.
First of all, it makes her question whether what she was asking for was unreasonable. Her friends and colleagues said no way, the company was just taking advantage of her youth and inexperience, but she still is unsure. Secondly, it makes her wonder: even if it was wrong of the company to not honor her terms, should she have just put up with it to get the good reference, and maybe earn some good contacts or prospects as a result of her sacrificing her principles and intuition? Furthermore, she grows worried a false reputation of her could begin circulating if she isn’t careful. In her industry, bad word of mouth can be a deathblow. She chooses to not advertise her relationship with the company on her website, resumé, or in conversation, not trusting it couldn’t come back to bite her.
Years later she found out the promising company she had worked for so fondly at first, then lost all touch with because of an unfortunate encounter, was in extreme debt and going under. Looking back, her more seasoned self reassessed her past predicament and she concluded she had done exactly what she should have. While it was less than it could have been, she didn’t feel the experience was wasted time since it taught her so much about how to recognize great teammates from difficult ones.
This brings me to my ultimate point in this post, which is working with the right people. You need to work with the right people. Just because a job comes with lots of glamour, or contacts, looks good on a resumé, is good pay, or is a lot of fun, the experience is bound to be fraught with stress and negativity if it is a place where people are the problem. We have to interact with people all day: employees, managers, teammates, and clients. The more people that fight us, the less work gets done, and the more ulcers form.
Pretend there is an offer on the table for you, where you feel the connection, experience, or money is just too good to pass up, even considering known warning signs about individuals. Clearly no one can stop you, but it is important to know what your definite goals are, and if it’s people who put your goals at risk it truly deserves a second thought. You can control yourself; you cannot control other people—they are a variable in your plans, sometimes unwilling to hear your side or to change, so you want to trust them. Perhaps at the least a poor experience will become one of those “hard lessons learned.” I personally don’t seek discouraging experiences out for the sake of having them, but when they do happen I make sure to get something out of it, even if it is just some good knowledge about what mistakes to avoid in the future, and how to prevent them.
Coming back to Green Lens’s recent out-of-state production, it was a pleasure working on set with the assembled crew. Not only were all crew members insanely accommodating and understandable when situations evolved into new circumstances, but there was only positivity throughout the production, and during all of our travel to and from. Even on a complicated production everyone was punctual, egoless, and helpful in whatever way was appropriate, even when asked to do things outside their job description. The client was equally helpful, and made our lives easier by exercising the advice of the great Jerry Maguire, and “helping us help them.” These are more than just the characteristics of good filmmakers and clients—they are good people.
When I am undertaking a project, film or otherwise, the practice I follow is to hire or deal with those that hold the qualities above. The best part is that you can find those people anywhere, sometimes in the least likely places, and with a little coaching or training you can get them to become invaluable pieces of a larger whole. These are much better folks to work with than the guy who is a skilled, talented jerk. I’ve found when I create a better experience for everyone involved, we wind up with a better product. What’s fantastic is when you can find positive-minded folks like I’m describing, who are also extremely talented at what they do. Such was my luck on this shoot, and it will make me think of them for future gigs again and again and again.
Focus of the day:
How do you address the “human” factor?
Film-tip:
Color is very, very important, and often overlooked by first-time filmmakers. Take the time to color correct; it makes a world of difference. Though not for beginners, one of the best tools out there, DaVinci Resolve, is actually available for free in a lite version.
Eco-tip:
We can now light places inexpensively and sustainably for remote, third world neighborhoods. Check out the amazing Solar Light bottle–maybe it could help you light that spot in the garage loft you’ve never been able to see before.