Most of these entries may end up as negative venting and criticism, so I wanted to make sure I post about the good early on. I think it's especially important since it's the new year. I love working with clients, most of them anyway. I get the privilege of knowing about their life stories and potentially positively affecting their future. I'm happy to be able to help and wish the best for them.
One area we specialize in is demo reels. We have actors, dancers, producers and more come in and put together their media appearances in hopes of getting more work. I get to critique their appearances in movies, TV shows, commercials and even amateur productions. They trust me with helping them decide which clips are strong or weak. It's a privilege that I treasure. Some are highly talented. Some should keep their day job. And life is not always fair.
There are some terrific clients who have to keep coming back to tweak their reels in search of that one chance. Then there are some who keep coming back to update because they keep finding work despite their lack of skill. There are some who deserve a shot and get it. And there are some who I never hear from again. But I love being able to help each one of them, and share what I have learned about the business from their fellow hopefuls.
There are clients who come in to work on presentations for their company. I love being able to help them look good to their higher ups. It's great to hear back from them to hear that things worked out and that their bosses and/or clients were happy with the project. Once in a while, I would even get a tip.
Then there are clients who bring in personal stuff. Sometimes it's just a simple conversion from VHS to DVD. Sometimes they want to make a special video for a birthday, retirement, Christmas or whatever. We used to do a lot of film transfers. Many times, clients would find old film reels in their basements or their attics and have no idea what images are contained. They'll sit with me to view them, and I get to witness their faces as they see old relatives come alive once again.
Sometimes there's a little nudity. Once I was editing a video with a client, and his wife appeared naked in the bathroom. I didn't react, because I didn't know how to react. He said, "There's my lovely wife in the tub. Don't worry about it. We're a French family." And then later on, he appeared naked in the shower, shaving his face while his three year old son was bathing at his feet.
Sometimes there's a lot of nudity. Recently we transferred dozens of VHS and mini-DV tapes to DVD for a client. I would estimate that about half of the footage had their naked toddlers on it. Almost each tape had a naked kid in it. They would be either in the tub bathing or running around the house nude. Sometimes they would be either bottomless or topless.
It seemed a little odd to us. There was nothing that would be considered absolutely criminal, so we just ran the jobs. But with so much video to convert, for weeks everytime we turned around we would see a naked baby. We constantly yelled at the screen, "Put some damn clothes on your kid!"
I'm going off on a bit of a tangent here, but before I became a parent, I found it slightly disturbing when parents would leave their kids nude, let alone videotape it. After I had my son, I kind of understood why one would allow their child to be naked. Obviously, it's pretty much the only time in their lives that they can run around without any clothes on, so why not let them enjoy it. Once Rocky is potty-trained, I don't know if I won't be like those parents I mentioned above. Let it all hang out.
One of our business clients sometimes brings in his home videos. He sometimes edits them with me, and he's been coming to us for years. It's interesting because I've gotten to see his kids grow up on tape. This guy is a big executive, and I was able to see him just being a regular guy in a different setting. One of the moments I remember is him apologizing to his family for always being busy. He also promised them he would try and be there more for him. Interestingly, that was around the holidays, I believe, at the start of a new year.
And now, here is Duran Duran with a song I really like:
P.S. I used to blast Duran Duran as a way of rebelling against my mother.
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