Music Videos + Commercials + Promos

THE LONG VERSION

As a producer, production manager or coordinator, I helped bring to life more than 100 music videos, commercials & promos. And we didn't create dumb stuff either - our videos or commercials were super funny, thoughtful and always told a story, however simple. While we took the music video – and many band members seriously, MTV had a different approach. And sure enough, one of our silliest music video concepts made it into the coveted "heavy rotation" – for Ugly Kid Joe "Everything About You"...who knew?

Many of the videos I worked on can be viewed at www.Doominc.com.

LESSONS LEARNED

Production work in general feels like chaos because of so many moving parts. Before anyone ever heard of Basecamp or Monday, there were...checklists. And although my checklists developed over time, they grew to handle shooting on location and/or on a stage - and always with demand for more camera, grip, and lighting equipment than the budget allowed. Then there was wrangling with production design and art concepts; with any luck, there's a director to help oversee that. But you get the point - each scene takes on a life of its own - requiring myriad dot-connecting with crew, vendors, actors, dancers - all with their own helpful ideas and methods. It takes a village! Lessons learned you ask? Well here goes:

• budget reality checks

• serious risk assessment based on in/out of scope

• scope creep maintenance

• expert schedule padding

• smooth logistics & transparentcy

• relationship building

• masterful negotiation

• agile/scrum

• ...and of course, the notion that we were there to have a little fun and not take ourselves too seriously. 🎯

Occasionally, we met production folks who took themselves too seriously or let their egos run wild, ultimately to their detriment. You see, leadership is a real thing. It builds trust and respect. But you'd be surprised how many folks don't really understand it. I've seen a lot of solid relationships burned down in seconds. Don't do that! And while we're on the subject, leadership goes hand in hand with team building, another concept that's one for the ages.

Ask me about Best Practices!