“Trust. Money.” Boy, could that title be taken a few different ways. Money and trust have been odd bedfellows practically since currency was invented. Trust has been around a whole lot longer, but as soon as money entered the world, trust started getting in short supply. Why are these two so inextricably intertwined? Why do people spend a week’s worth of income on a concert ticket and just trust that it’s going to be worth it?
Ka-ching Ka-ching
In Productionland, money seems to ebb and flow. Remember when giant rock ‘n’ roll was rampant and tours (at least the big ones) didn’t even blink at $100-$150 million in upfront cost? Those days waned into smaller arenas and even smaller budgets a few years back, and today it seems like the dough-meter is rising again. Shows look like they’re getting bigger (at least they feel like it…either that or my back is getting worse…) Corporate shows are still shelling it out, mainly because they don’t know any better…Yes, the technology is getting slicker and making it easier to get some bang-for-buck return. Yes people want to see that bang, and they seem to be able to actually pay to see it. Let’s face it, though — that gear ain’t cheap (good gear rarely is), and it means someone has to buy it to rent it at some point to make a profit. Trust, on the other hand seems to be getting more like a good, rare wine. Yes it’s still around, but less so, and fewer people share it. Especially when it comes to…money.
I have worked for large and small companies, independent contractors, institutions, freelance, some companies that seemed like independent contractors, and some independent contractors that should have operated more like companies. The one factor that ties them all more than trust is money. They all need to spend money on gear, tools, vehicles and the things that make the industry go. And they all need to trust that it’s going to the right people for the right stuff. If it’s a large company, they have a purchasing department full of scrupulous, tidy accountants who trust that they can cover their own behinds if something goes south. If it’s me freelancing, that department is me (more accurately, my wife, God bless her) who makes the decisions, and we don’t trust anyone. All kidding aside, purchasing is a royal pain. I think shelling out a bunch of dough on the decent tools and gear that allow me to function is stress enough, but it’s magnified when it becomes a department full of people.
The Purchasing Process
Why is purchasing, especially capital purchasing, such a long, slow pain? I’m not sure. And I have been in the biz for 30-ish years now, so I know that sounds lame. Is it the three-to-five separate quotes from different vendors for gear that’s close to what I need? Is it the paper/email trail of three different middlemen in between the money I have and the gear I need? I wonder how many people have thought of making an Amazon Prime version of production gear. I keep dreaming of giant, gleaming gear vending machines that I can just walk up to and insert a cashier’s check and then pull a knob. Then it’s a simple punch of the security door and out pops my piece of equipment.
I remember a former employer telling me we needed more gel and sending me to the local theatrical supply place for a stack, and upon my return, getting chastised for buying too many. Buying gear and supplies seems like it would be the most fun job on the planet Earth! A technical type person says “Buy something like this” and points to the weirdest looking piece of gear in the catalog, and you say “how many?” Imagine your boss saying, “Here’s a pool of $1 to $3 million in assets (or whatever the money people call them), and you’ll have relative control over how it’s spent. We trust you.” What? Ahhhh…..but there’s the trust issue. Do you trust that “technical person” to say “yes” to the right thing, or do you play the office-cubicle game?
I used to have a boss that was very hands-on when it came to gear purchases. That is to say, he signed the checks, and that was about it. He had people to advise him about which gear seemed like the best investment (usually seasoned industry techs and reps whom he trusted), and the gear was purchased and rarely sat on the shelves. That gear was expensive, as most video gear is, and I’m sure it took a great deal of trust on his part to just sign a check and see it go. Easy peasy, right? We got great gear and we worked a lot and made lots of money for the company to pay that gear off. But this is not a trip down Rental Business 101. He trusted us — that we would be able to use that gear to it’s fullest and that it would be a money magnet in return. And we trusted that he would make good decisions about what to spend the company’s money on. Trust is funny like that.
I’ve also had bosses that were not so involved. They just looked at the bottom line and sort of went with whatever business plan they had at the time. They were not as singular in their purpose, easy to forget what made their bread and butter. They hired a cheap labor force and hoped that the great technology would carry them. There wasn’t so much trust there, as you can imagine. It’s almost like the company didn’t want to hear anything except what they wanted to hear. The technicians would wonder aloud “hmmm…why’d we buy that entire semi full of bad projectors?” “Well, they got a great review on WeRateGear.com, and we think they’ll be a great addition to the inventory list. We’re confident that the technology is solid and will prove to be quite useful. Trust us.” Did anyone ask the people that actually use the gear? Was anyone in the purchasing department experienced enough with that particular piece of gear to know the difference? Yeah, not so much. I think for a while there, the gear market was divided pretty evenly down the quality/crap line. There were companies making great, solid workhorses, and there were just as many making turds.
The Human Factor
I think the upside today is that there is a lot more great gear out there than crap. I think where the disparity lies is in the talent using it. And therein lies the trust problem. Imagine spending two million bucks on really nice gear and just trusting that the people that work for you will use it well. I have to admit, back when I was hanging and banging for a living, I didn’t give much thought to how much the gear cost. Now I’m in a position where every cent matters, and I find that my trust for anyone who doesn’t “get it” is thin at best. I like getting what I pay for, expensive or not. It’d be a whole lot easier if I could just use a vending machine though. Trust me….
Reach Jeff Gooch at www.projectionfreak.com.
