?? The Benefits: Priceless
I like guys who have been with certain lighting companies a long time. They know me. They know my quirks. That’s one of the reasons I like Upstaging Lighting. Those guys know I’m not normal, and I know I can depend on them to be honest and loyal. I’ve been cutting deals with John Bahnick for 14 years now. I walk into his office and he always has a smile and a question, “What can I do for you today Nook?” My standard reply is throw him a thumb drive and ask him how he can give me all this stuff, for only this amount. We don’t waste time. He asks me how much I have to spend, and a few hours later, hands me a list of gear I can get for that price. He knows I am loyal and will always try to use Upstaging if I can afford to.
John Huddleston drives the Upstaging train. That guy has to be loyal to his boss and as many as 200 employees simultaneously. Add in the constant stream of production managers and designers he deals with every day, and that’s a lot of loyalty to back up. I chatted with him last month, and he appeared a little depressed. Because business had been so good. So good that Upstaging has had to turn down so much work because they are simply out of gear and techs. I have so much respect for this guy, because he had to tell me (and many of my colleagues) that he simply couldn’t help me this summer. He knows a few designers who have been loyal to him forever, but he just can’t take on any more work. He insists I call him when the next show pops up so he can make sure to cover me.
John is one of the first people to talk about loyalty. Upstaging has quite a few people with careers that have spanned three decades. They all did shows together in their younger days and have each molded themselves into certain roles at that shop — one big loyal family that has been tight-knit since they were kids in this biz. Hud takes care of his guys in return. They pay their crew a fair rate and have decent bennies. Hud explains to me, “Upstaging takes a stake in teaching all these people here a trade. It’s part of the business. We train them, hoping they will become longstanding techs for us. But for every guy that you see that’s been here 20 years, there are 10 others we trained that are out running freelance.” At times, it can peeve him, as some kid with no trade skills three years ago is now a valuable commodity in some other vendor’s freelance pool. But he’s also okay with some folks moving on. Many of those techs have outgrown their roles and moved on to become programmers or big-time gaffers in their own right. And they want to rent Upstaging gear because they know it’s well maintained. Upstaging has also collected many perma-lancers. Techs who are actually free lancers but get so much work from Upstaging they don’t bother to look elsewhere.
?? A Foot in the Door
Everyone in our biz needs a break. I worked hard and got mine. In return, I have given many younger people a break. It usually works out well. Many of the folks I gave a gig to have moved on to be my equal in this business. And all I ask is that they, in turn, give a young kid a break.
Three years ago, I went to Nocturne video and told Bob Brigham point blank that I wanted one kid. Someone who knew little but wanted to build video walls and run cameras cheap. Earn while you learn type. I would mold them to fit my tight budget and give them a chance. He gave me a girl named Kim. She was eager to learn.
About three weeks into the tour, she was already shading cameras. Clueless in the operation, but she was not afraid. She did fine. A couple years go by, and the same tour comes around. I call Bob and say, “Find that girl Kim, I have an idea.” I was told she was freelance and was lighting some Broadway production. She probably wasn’t available. “Find her or give me her digits. I’d like to chat.” She came back out on tour. She sets up the video wall on a tracking trolley system and runs my robocams for a few months, while looking over the shoulder of her colleagues to see what they are doing. This chick wants to know everything about all the video gear on Kid Rock.
?? Climbing the Ladder
When the band Imagine Dragons broke out big time, John Featherstone and I decided we didn’t want to do I-Mag. But we wanted cameras and images of the guys playing mixed in with other media at times. So we needed a director who wanted to be artsy with a few robocams and lipstick cameras. I made her an offer that was over her head. After a few days, she came up to me and took on the gig. She thought she wasn’t qualified, but promised to give it her best shot. I begged to differ. If she could step it up, this show would fit nicely into the downtime Kid Rock was taking. When the Dragons stopped in June, Kid would pick up.
All was good until my video director bailed on Kid Rock. That was fine, I didn’t care if he left. My first reaction was, “This would be Kim’s next big break.” But alas, I get word back from Nocturne that she had accepted another gig from another video company doing some other tour this summer. Wow, I was crushed. I had been loyal to her, keeping her busy all year, moving her up, and she was moving on. This was my payback. So, as is my custom, I write a short to-the-point email that wasn’t very nice. But then I slept on it, and pressed “Delete” instead of “Send” when I awoke. Upon conferring with my video partner, I decided to write a nice email and wish her the best of luck on her future, as it obviously would never include me. Later that day, I received a response that was almost tearful in nature. We needed to chat.
Two years ago, this girl was probably getting 700 clams a week or so to earn while she learned. She has stepped up and taken my next offer. Next week, she will be calling the camera shots on Kid Rock’s summer tour earning three times what she made two years ago, I imagine. She will no doubt do just as well as the guy she replaced, but will have a big notch in her belt as a video director. And she has a gig with me as long as she is loyal
