I have a feeling that we in the entertainment biz actually like our jobs. The reason is that we are always working with different people on various jobs until that project ends; then we start another project with a whole bunch of different folks. Along the way, we meet a lot of buddies — people who we meet with on occasion, but with whom we don’t stay in constant contact.
Instead of seeing the same faces at the office each day, we are forced to broaden our horizons by gigging with new people, or what I call yearly friends, every month of the year. By this, I mean those friends who hire me every year around the same time to design and program something for them. I may not talk to them for nine months at a stretch, but when the event starts coming closer, you get a call from these old buds.
After being in this biz long enough, you can almost establish a yearly routine of gigs — if, that is, you are a nice person and play well with others. Every year at Thanksgiving, I do a medical show at a convention center where I spend two weeks working with the same great folks from Catalyst Exhibits. It’s always a good gig when I get to play with Gino and his crew. And they ask me back every year because I do my job without confrontation. It’s a pretty simple concept: Do what the client wants, make it look pretty and solve the problems on site, all the while maintaining a smile.
Every January, I have one rock artist who starts up his yearly tour. My buddy Shakes Gryzbowski runs his production. Whenever I see Shakes, I know I’m gonna have a good time. Every fall, we start passing ideas back and forth until we have a set and lighting design for this artist. We sit down over a few beers and catch up. Then we get together for a week of rehearsals and have fun. Then I don’t talk to him for months. But that’s okay. He’s my buddy.
You see, it’s your buddies who you work with through the years who keep you busy. And they are your buddies because you play well with them. If you are a difficult designer, they may think twice before they ask you back next year. They may meet another designer who’s a genuinely nice person and decide that they will give him a try this year. And all you are left with is your attitude, which incidentally, does not pay your mortgage.
I totally understand getting upset when your design is not coming to fruition in a timely, cost-effective manner. It happens to most designers as soon as we walk into some convention centers. What I design on paper cannot always be constructed as easily as I thought. But I’m on site, pre-pared for quick modifications and snap decisions, and I have a smile for everyone. The no-worries attitude is reassuring to everyone and seems to be catching.
I have a new buddy this year. He’s a production manager, he’s a tour manager, he’s an accountant. He’s David Norman, and he has a way of han-dling huge productions with a smile on his face. I just met him this year, but he’s the kind of guy you want on your side — a no-nonsense, iron-fist-followed-by-a-grin-of-satisfaction kind of guy. Last week, I designed a tour for one of his clients. At the end of the first show, he spotted me back-stage and gave me the finger wave — you know, the one your mom used to give you before she backhanded you for hitting your little brother? So I walked over thinking I’m about to get a good talking to before the band and management kick my ass.
He said one thing; “The drummer was dark in a few places.” I waited for the next line, but there wasn’t one. Instead, he paused, then stuck out his hand and said that everyone was thrilled with the set and lights, and everyone just wanted to thank me for a good job. He had me so wound up for a minute, then laid that on me. Now that he had a good wind up with me, I knew we were buddies. And we shall gig together again one day.
I like checking into hotels and looking at the rooming list of technicians at an event. Chances are there is someone on that list I have not seen in a while. Or just walking into the hotel bar on the first night and seeing the same faces you haven’t seen in a year is cool.
There’s a set company in the Chicago area called Production Plus. My buddy Bruce runs it. I like working gigs where Bruce provides the scenery and video elements because his company has some of the most fun guys to work with. They constantly joke and talk smack, but they get their job done in a well-executed manner. I don’t think I can remember the names of any of his guys because I don’t see them often enough, but I remember all of their faces. And I love hanging with them at the hotel bar. I know I’m going to see these buddies every year at the NRA convention or some other party.
There are a lot of people in this business who I don’t ever gig with. But they help me in so many ways that they are indispensable. Through many conversations over the years, these people have bailed me out. Many of these folks work for lighting and console manufacturers. A lot of them I’ve never met in person — they have become my buddies over the phone.
One of my favorite guys in this biz is Ofer Brum. I have never met him. Well, he does reside in Israel, and I don’t make it there too often. Ofer is a fixture library specialist who does a lot of work with visualizer programs. I use Martin Show Designer for a lot of my previz work, and he can build their fixture symbols.
I often need something that I cannot find. This week, I needed a CAD symbol for a Fag pod. Last week, I needed some custom scrollers on a 5k Fresnel, and today I asked him for a fiber optic curtain. Not only does Ofer get back to me within a few hours, he usually builds what I need by the end of the workday. I know he’s working late to help me, and I owe this guy about 10 steak dinners and a case of wine. But I know he’s happy to just help out his American buddy.
The same goes for all those people who work in the lighting, video and scenic rental houses. I know a lot of these people behind the scenes, and I have seen them go the extra mile to get something built right for me. Maybe that’s because we have a mutual respect for what we each do in this biz. I like to take a moment to rap it down with these folks when I can, not because I want something extra from them, but because they’re my bud-dies.
Nook Schoenfeld is a freelance lighting designer. You can e-mail him at nschoenfeld@plsn.com.
