Quick Trip to Jacksonville

Last night, I rolled out a new presentation designed for local video associations, called Business 2.0. The main point of the program is providing information on how to move your business forward in this challenging economic climate.

The presentation seemed to be well-received, which is always a good thing when the program is presented for the first time. Some suggestions offered during and after the meeting have already made the program stronger for the next time out.

If the flights to and from Jacksonville were any gauge, this is clearly a difficult time. Nearly every time I fly on Southwest, the plane is pretty well packed. This time, both flights were about half full.

ABC Conference

This year marked my fourth time participating in the annual conference of the Association of Bridal Consultants. Like any other professional conference, it’s a great time to catch up with old friends, make new friends, and learn about what’s new in the industry.

The ABC conference drew about 400 attendees, with a number of international consultants participating. Some of the people I’d worked with in the past, like Sandee Monaghan (PA State Coordinator), did not attend this year. Philadelphia was still represented well, with Sheila Corbett, Mark Kingsdorf, Melissa Paul and Haeri Lee among the crowd. Our friends at Weddingvideo.com even produced the official conference video.

We met our goals here, which were to promote professional event video generally, and The 4EVER Group membership in particular. We passed out a bunch of 4EVER Group DVD’s, and had many more conversations about professional video. We heard the concerns of some consultants about some experiences they had with videographers, including poor-quality productions and even camera operators still using tripods, bright lights and AC power during receptions.

In addition to promoting our membership, we will likely be adding a benefit for members of The 4EVER Group Videographers Network. One of the other vendors offers an on-line service that could be very beneficial to our members. We should have the discussions wrapped up shortly, after which we’ll make the announcement.

Conflict of Interest?

One of the leading video software companies requested that I help coordinate their introduction of a new product to our market. That help was to take the form of suggesting several local videographers association meetings where they would do an in-depth presentation. The association would get reimbursed (by the software company) for certain expenses, and one meeting attendee would win the new software bundle, valued at more than $1500.00. It was a classic win-win-win situation. But things are never so simple.

After discussing the meeting proposal with the president of one particular association, he readily agreed. Later on, however, he took it to the association board for their approval. That’s where it got complicated.

Sitting on the board was at least one person who receives direct compensation from an organization that considers us (The 4EVER Group) to be competition. There’s also one other person who has received compensation from that other organization. Allowed to sit in on the meeting, but not a board member, was another person who receives direct compensation from that organization.

And the association’s president expressed surprise when our proposal was voted down.

In my first job after college, we had ethics training. We were taught about both impropriety and the appearance of impropriety. It’s hard for me to see how the situation here represents anything but a conflict of interest.

Video Biographies In The News

I've long considered the Video Biography to be truly important. Whether looking at it as a professional, offering the service, or as a DIYer, having your family story on video is just awesome. I actually recorded my first Video Biography back in 1985, before we even had a real name for it.

Earlier this week, I was interviewed for an article about Video Biographies, which appeared in today's (September 26, 2008) edition of the Indianapolis Star. You can access the article through their web site, by following this link:
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080926/BUSINESS05/809260402/1003/BUSINESS

Haters

In my role with The 4EVER Group, we recently announced that we would host a couple of workshops in the Los Angeles area that would be Spanish-language only. One person sent me this email:

“Asking strictly on my own behalf, why is this event Spanish-only?
Did you get a special subsidy from MALDEF or LULAC or, perhaps, Mexico?

As a native-born English-speaking American citizen of Armenian immigrant parents,
I find a professional conference presented Spanish-only in Los Angeles to be offensive,
and inconsiderate of other races and heritages.
There is a HUGE Armenian community in Glendale, a few miles from LA, why not Armenian?
Why not offer Vietnamese? Korean? Chinese? Russian??
Each of these have large communities in L.A.

Or, why not just present it in English, which ALL American citizens and immigrants SHOULD speak?
That way NOBODY would be offended, or singled out for special treatment
to the exclusion of others.


best regards –“

This was my response:

“I appreciate your email. Please allow me to address your concerns.

By offering workshops in Spanish, we are first and foremost fulfilling our mission to provide education, training, and resources to all facets of the event video community. The leadership of the Spanish-language video producers association specifically invited us to work with them in planning this event. This is simply one of the dozens of events that we have run in cooperation with local associations all across North America. When we last hosted a Video Summit in Southern California (Orange County, at Knott’s Berry Farm Hotel), we ran workshops in both English and Spanish. And the next time we run a Video Summit in Southern California, the format could again be different.

Our programming here is merely driven by the market. If the demand would exist for similar programming in English, or any other language, we would work to provide it. Please note that we are not the first, nor are we the only organization to offer programming in Spanish. For example, (name redacted), a Certified Adobe Trainer and a friend of The 4EVER Group, taught programs in Spanish at the recent NAB conference in Las Vegas. (Gender reference redacted) programs were not offered in English.

The national NACE conference just wrapped up here in Philadelphia. After I left the conference the other day, I walked three blocks from the headquarters hotel to have dinner in Chinatown. The signs on many businesses were only in Chinese. I could have gone a few blocks in a different direction and seen signs in Vietnamese, or Spanish, or Italian, or Japanese. The point is that ours is an extremely diverse society, and there is a benefit to everyone if education is provided in a language that the student understands.

We do not set the political or legal agenda. In my keynote speech at VIDEO 08, and in many other speaking engagements across the continent, I do urge video producers to get involved in the political process, because the laws and the rules have an impact on how we do business, and we have a right to voice our opinions. But I also urge everyone to belong to what I call The 4EVER Group’s Green Party, and I do not refer to the environmental movement. The people who might attend these workshops want to learn, so that they can improve the way they do business. That strikes me as a very good thing.

Regards,
Steve”

Back to the blog post:
Living in the Philadelphia area, we’re clearly not on the front lines of the immigration issue. Maybe it’s a sensitive topic for people in areas like Los Angeles. In addition to this email, I also received a phone call with a similar message. I was told that my points were “nice rhetoric” and “bull”. So for at least these two people, it’s a hot-button issue. But it would be great to see a debate that didn’t go, as the emailer and caller did, directly to insults and invective.

Destination Weddings:What You Need to Know

Note: The following is reprinted with permission. Contact information for the author, Lynda Barness, is at the end of the article.


A destination wedding… whether it is in the mountains, on the beach, or just anywhere that is a bit far from home… can be both exciting and challenging. Here are ten tips to make a destination wedding stress-free:

1. Put everything in writing. You will want to make sure that everyone is literally on the same page, and documenting what you are expecting is one way to make sure this happens. This is particularly important if you are dealing with a venue that is in a place where English is not the only language. You want to be sure that your messages have been conveyed and understood. And, if possible, know some rudimentary words if you are in a place with a foreign language. (This really helps!)

2. Check all room reservations and their locations. Does a child have to have a room near a parent’s? Are there adjoining rooms? Will the hotel deliver welcome bags to guests, and is there a charge for this service?

3. Know your guests’ limitations. What about access for those with physical disabilities? Remember that foreign countries may not have the same requirements for ramps and other means of assistance that you may find in the US. Let the venue know of your guests’ needs, in room assignments, transportation, and any other situation.

4. Know exactly where to find a doctor, where the doctor’s office is located, what the hours are, and what the costs and means of payment may be. You do not want to wait until there is a mishap to figure this out. Investigate ahead of time!

5. Carry as much as possible with you if you are traveling by air. You will not want to pay mailing or import costs, for example, on gift bags for hotel guests. Check with the airline ahead of time if you have questions. And this includes traveling with a wedding gown.
6. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. If you need a golf cart to help you get around at a resort or need help from the hotel staff to assist in decorating tables, just ask. You may be surprised at the willingness of others to assist.

7. Make sure you have a back-up plan for rain. And for everything else! Think about “what if.”

8. Take a moment to think about climate conditions. If you are going to a warm climate, remember that you may also be in (very cold) air conditioning, and plan accordingly. Think about sun screen, bottled water, and a sweater. And if you are going to a cold climate, think about layers. Conditions vary, and you want to be prepared without overloading suitcases.

9. Carry an emergency kit. Have your hotel/resort’s phone number on your speed dial or at least in your address book. Hire a wedding coordinator at home and, if possible, bring that coordinator to the wedding. If possible, bring your own team of wedding consultants, photographers, and videographers. All of these may be available at your hotel/resort, but you will find that the coordination will be smoother if you have your own team in place.

10. Do whatever you can to have a non-stop flight or at least one where you don’t have to change planes, gates, or terminals. It is not fun to miss a connection due to weather (think about the groom’s children ending up in Detroit instead of Cancun) or the airlines (think about sitting on the tarmac in Atlanta because there is no gate available to de-plane, and thus missing the connecting flight home).

And… enjoy!

Lynda Barness
I DO Wedding Consulting
PO Box 22450
Philadelphia, PA 19110
215-262-8188
www.idoplan.com
lynda@idoplan.com

Starving Artists?

Yesterday, I wan an invited participant in a regional video producers meeting, hosted by the North Jersey Videographers Association. The first part of the meeting was a 90-minute State of the Industry panel discussion, and that included two associates from Boston, one from Dallas, and another from Long Island. With a 3pm start, the meeting drew about 75 attendees.
One of the issues identified by the LI associate is somewhat local to his area i.e. there are a number of photo studios that, as he explained, treat event video as a commodity, not as an art form. They sell fairly basic packages at relatively low prices, and actively do not want artistic-type shots. The Long Island associate talked about his relationship with the couples he worked with, and felt terrible that he could not deliver an artistic video. While this may not be national in scope, there is a terrific business lesson to be learned. The fact is that the photo studio owner is acting like a businessperson. He is selling video for more than the video is costing him, and keeping that client in his studio. One attendee remarked that he recently started offering photography in his video studio, which is a perfectly appropriate action. The point that I made, and others on the panel made, was that we have to act like entrepreneurs, like business people, in order to achieve business success. It's a simple formulation, really.