Editing My Life... Get it?

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 03:59:00 +0000

--> Well, my future as an Editor will definitely be an interesting one. I have just been informed that the short film that I edited, and for which I was paid $200, has just won prizes for Best Actress in a Short, and Best Script in a Short at a local and internationally known film festival in Puerto Rico. I don’t presume that I will start charging loads of money for my services as an editor, but I do definitely want to expand my knowledge in the field.

When I started my Bachelor’s degree in Radio & TV Production back ’07, I avoided editing at all costs; I always relegated that chore to someone else in my groups. For some reason I was dead afraid of putting myself out there in terms of cutting footage and having the misfortune of ruining what we had captured in video for our class projects. But then, just like in ’06, when I finally made the decision to change majors from small business administration, to Radio and Television Production, I plucked up the courage to finally edit our projects, I put my name for every single project. And I did it.

I felt such a high!

I felt like it was mine. Of course our group worked incessantly during that last semester of class, and we all did it together. But I edited it all. I put my point across. I put my vision across. Somewhere in the world, someday, someone is going to see my work. The thought alone gave me chills, the good ones anyway. I was ready to do it. I graduated, I looked for jobs incessantly, until 2011 where I finally decided to get my Master’s, and so this adventure began, I’ve told you a couple of times, how it’s been during the program. That it’s been an adventure is an understatement. That it’s tested me to limits I didn’t even know existed within me is another understatement.

But I can finally say that in one week I will graduate from Full Sail University with a Master of Science in Entertainment Business. The thought of it alone is delicious.

I will continue to soar through life making these crazy decisions that I know someday will drive me to the loony bin, and I will always love it. Hopefully by then I will have a job where I can make a difference.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my blog posts during this year.

This is me signing out.

Future Full Sailors in Music, Film, TV, Gaming, Editing, Whatever!

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 20:14:00 +0000

Hello readers,

Let me begin by saying that these last two months of class have been quite the learning experience. I am officially on my last class of the Entertainment Business Master of Science program (EBMS) at Full Sail University. It hasn't been easy and when I want to give up I remember that there are people in the world that wish they had the opportunities that I have right at this moment. Either way, I'm battling through this mental obstacle, and finally reaching graduation.

This final class is about officially putting together all the work I did in the Business Plan Development class two months ago. We did the financial statements, the managerial, organizational, and industry analysis parts that make up the business plan. This class is the Big Kahuna compared to the rest of the classes I’ve been taking since last February. If I’m being honest here, even though I started this a year and a half ago, not only do I NOT know what I’m going to do once I graduate, I also didn’t think I would actually make it this far, even if I am a couple of months late.

Having said that I only have a couple of things to say before the last blog post comes in a couple of weeks. I will parlay the one thing I can say is of the utmost importance when beginning an academic career with Full Sail University – Online, and that is to ALWAYS BE PREPARED. There will be presentation formats that you’ve never in your life have heard of, and you will probably think that you got it in the bag. You won’t. Which is why you need to make sure you check out your assignments for every week on Monday mornings, and start them at least on Tuesday, that way, you will have Thursday and Friday to finish the rest of the assignments given to you.

Another piece of advice: ALWAYS ATTEND THE WIMBA SESSIONS. I cannot stress enough how important these are. Even if you go to the archives, make sure you go prior to Sunday. It won’t serve its purpose if you go on the one day you have to submit your homework.

Yet another piece of advice: don’t forgo reading the class textbooks, or the additional reading material appointed by the professors. You might find it an annoyance, but trust me when I say this: it will help you complete your assignments in a much more professional fashion, and that gives you credit points with the professors.

This next one is probably the most important one, yet one of the most overlooked by students. ALWAYS submit your homework ON-TIME. I cannot stress this enough. You can be one day late in submitting your assignments and your grades WILL suffer the consequences of the strictness with which the professors at Full Sail University treat this matter. Trust me. You will go through situations, of course, but never let even one day go by before submitting your assignments.

As my last piece of advice I will only say this: HAVE FUN. I have stated enough before that Full Sail University is one the most difficult experiences I’ve ever gone through in my life. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. I learned more about not only myself, but also about the business that I want to work in. I met new people; I discovered new things about myself that I didn’t know I had in me. I see new possibilities in life that I didn’t see before. Before I came to Full Sail University, I thought I was tripping on daydreams because they would never come true. But Full Sail is the reason why I feel more confident about going forward with my goals, and dreams.

So please, have fun and never lose the passion you have for your dreams and goals, because that’s what’s going to take you as far as you want to go in life.

See you in a couple of weeks for the last post!

The journey is almost over!

Film, TV, Graduation, and Jobs

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 03:57:00 +0000

Hello my reader ([s] just in case there’s more than 1)! It should be said, that I’m officially one month away from Graduation. You’d think I’d be happier, but to tell you the truth, I’m even more scared than when I graduated from my Bachelor’s degree. It’s been an intense year and a half. And suddenly every time I start thinking about anything happening after Graduation, I get completely freaked out. Because I have absolutely NO idea what I am going to do afterwards. My classes are going more or less okay, and I have no way of stopping time from continuing on. I’ve been looking fro jobs through LinkedIn, or at least for companies in my area of interest, and so far it’s going as expected, seeing nothing that calls to my attention. Should I be so picky, when I have no idea what’s going to happen after all this is over? I know, I’m totally rambling, but this is the sort of subject that gets me on edge. I am a 27-year-old Master’s degree student that has absolutely no idea whatsoever what am going to happen to her after graduating from a post-graduate degree. Can any of you relate to that?

It can be so petty to feel as though I am the only one going through this right now, but, I can assure you, I’m not the only feeling like “I’m the only one going through that” nor “the only one under pressure for what’s yet to come”.

So, having rambled on for what seems like an eternity, I’m going to give you three pointers on what I think is the best thing you could do calm yourself down, and just get started on your future.

First of all: calm yourself down!

The pressure sometimes can help you out, but if you let it run your life, and your emotions you won’t be productive towards finding the job that you want or need (because, let’s face it, you’re not going to find the perfect job, immediately after you graduate, unless you’re the Dean’s kid). So, calm down, do your research, go to LinkedIn.com check out your industry on the Advanced link beside the search bar, and you’ll find so many people not only in your same situation, but also people that can help you out find the job that you’re looking for, and you can help them right back.

Second, if you’re about to graduate, talk to your academic advisor!

If there’s someone that understands what you’re going through right now, it’s him or her. They will give you the advice, support and help that you need to get your things settled, and ready to go out into the work force. Trust them! They know what they’re doing!

And third, cut yourself some slack:

Just because you’re entering the work force doesn’t mean that you’re going to lose yourself to the work. Remember to always be yourself, be strong in your convictions, and show those employers who you really are, and what you can bring to their company. The last thing employers are looking for are people whom they’ve worked with their entire lives. Don’t be afraid to be yourself.

I am personally looking for jobs in the film and television industry, so I already know that I need to focus on networking, and moving to a broader place. Because while I do want to open my own film and TV studio in my country, the truth of the matter is that I need to gain some experience before I jump that wagon of adventure.

We often forget that the people hiring, were at some point in time in our shoes. They didn’t know better than we do now, so, don’t be afraid.

Remember: Be authentic!

“Bully” v. the MPAA

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 01:00:00 +0000

We were here a couple of years ago with the Weinstein-distributed film “Blue Valentine”.

And now we were here again a couple of months ago with “Bully”.

The problem here is that for the past 50+ years the MPAA has been deciding for us what we should watch and what we shouldn’t watch. The MPAA is not an association appointed by Congress to oversee the content that are featured in movies. But, in a sort of indirect way it has received its support. But let's start at the beginning, shall we! Jack Valenti was its president for 38 years. And just who is Jack Valenti, you ask? Well, he was a political opportunist. He just happened to be present at the swearing in of President Lyndon B. Johnson immediately after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. During the run of his presidency over the association, he received full support from Washington D.C. And here is where we have the 'issue'. The 'issue' here is that the MPAA preaches religiously that they have no hidden agendas, other than to protect children from watching inappropriate material in theaters. Why, I just think that that’s very convenient, considering that every scene that is “frowned upon” by the members of the board of reviewers is a sex scene. But films with high content of violence are given a PG-13.

Can somebody explain that to me?

But here’s what really cooks me up inside. They claim that they are neutral in matters of religious beliefs, ethics, morals, blah, blah, blah. But when you watch the documentary “This Film Is Not Yet Rated” it clearly shows when a movie is given a PG-13 rating and R rating. Violent movies tend to be favored more over than movies where there are intense sex scenes. Now let me be clear, I’m not vouching for movies to be explicit in sexual content, you can look that up online, if you know what I mean (and I think you do, *wink wink*).

Anyhoo, what I’m saying is that when the MPAA idolizes violence so much in place of a scene where two people are doing something that is so completely natural, loving each other in a physical way, a series of red flags come up in my radar.

Now what does that have to do with “Bully”?

Well, it has to do with “Bully”, in the sense that in a couple of scenes during the documentary, the bullies were cursing with F-bombs all over the place, and the association found that to be inappropriate for children to watch. Lord knows how many suicides occurred last year alone due to bullying. Everybody knows that bullying can have tragic consequences, and the way it happens is by degrading other human beings, treating them with disrespect, cursing them out and everything. If these kids, who already know this type of vocabulary and they are using it against others, why is it so harmful for them to watch it happen by people who practice it as they do, in a theater?

This has been a year of reflection on who really has your back. On who really has your child’s best interest at heart when it comes to “public servants”.

This documentary presented something so important to watch, and this organization has only been bullying not only the director, but the people who can benefit from watching such strong and emotional material as what “Bully”is presenting.

You know filmmaking isn’t only about making money, at least not to me. Sometimes people forget that filmmaking is an art. And art can be many things, among them a form of expression of a repressed truth, or a truth that has become lost in the day to day routine that is life, or simply because people refuse to see it. This film could’ve had such a strong-er impact had the association seen the truth in it.

And what a simple truth it was.

Ch Ch Ch Changes! Business Plan Changes That Is...

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Mon, 28 May 2012 03:36:00 +0000

Having written a post a couple of weeks back about two very important members of the industry. And when I say “very important members of the industry” I actually mean, industry royalty. I’m speaking of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, two incredibly creative people and visionaries from very early on in their careers.

Having taken this class this month, and going through some personal situations that have made me question myself, my plans in the very professional aspect of my life, and remembering that this was the last blog post of this class, it was convenient to find that it was about furthering even more into the information we found on these two incredible people we spoke about. So, I went back to that first blog post from three weeks ago, and (not that I forgot, but it sort of slipped my mind) that George and Steven must have went through similar circumstances at a moment in their lives where they had to question themselves, whether they were doing the right thing, in pursuing this big dream they had of making motion pictures.

But you get over it, you know? It’s all part of a human being’s development. So, I went back to my original business plan, and looked at it from a standpoint where I literally had nothing to lose. So, I decided to create a business plan that not only helped me make movies by myself, but also help others make their own films, whether they were international filmmakers looking for inexpensive locations, or just local filmmakers with the artistic intention of expressing an idea through film making. So the general idea for the business was originally going to be a film studio so that I could make the films that I wanted to, but I knew that it needed a bigger purpose than just that. So, it became sort of this dream for other filmmakers whether locals or international to come to my studio and film their movies.

I think investors will see the importance of the studio not just being a studio for the sake of being a studio. The fact that we are open for business for others as well is something that can speak volumes to investors. After all, we have to make a living out of this. At the end of the day we are looking for profit from this venture, so, it’s a good opportunity to help others fulfill their dreams as well as ours.

Steven Spielberg and George Lucas

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Mon, 07 May 2012 08:45:00 +0000

Steven Spielberg is one of the most important and renowned directors of all time in the entire planet. That's actually a fact. He is considered a pioneer in the field of directing and producing. He has directed movies like: Jaws, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, and Encounters of the Third Kind. Steven has achieved many successes throughout his career, starting with his first short film in 1968 Amblin. Which name he later gave to his first production company Amblin Entertainment.

After that he started directing episodes of Columbo, and then after that he directed the film Duel, his ticket to the big screen. What came after that was what many today call classics. He eventually opened his own film studio called DreamWorks and proceeded to create many films that have garnered him recognition for his true artistry as a director and visionary.

Which brings me to my next point. In our discussion post this week, we were assigned to watch a video about three business-owners in Detroit, one of the most affected cities by the recession in the US. We saw how brave these people were, and we admired them because in all the things that were happening, they never wavered in creating what they did in their businesses. They managed to be successful in the midst of a recession. And all they had going for them, as far as they knew, was the motivation to do what they truly love to do. And that’s what I think about when I think of Steven Spielberg. Someone who has lived his life doing not only what he does best, but also what he loves the most, and has managed to make a great living out of it. It’s truly a great story to be inspired by, and use as a motivator for our own businesses and/or dreams.

Now George Lucas is another visionary.

What this man has managed to do for his name in pop culture history is basically unheard of. He is one of the most known names in the world. Why? Because he created StarWars. A story that is 6 movies long; and an entertainment empire that has been in business for many years now. He is number 4 in the list of most powerful in the entertainment business (following Time Warner, Turner, and his very close friend Steven Spielberg) with his many businesses, but perhaps his most important one is Lucas Film.
This is just another example that when you’re passionate about something that you feel and know it could take you places, you just go for it and do it. He certainly went through a lot to get to where he is at right now.
To me it comes down to dedication, and passion for what you love. I don’t think that you achieve anything when you do things you don’t like or even love. Yes, it’s romantic talk about how we’re supposed to live our lives, but think about it. When they started out their careers, they never thought they would be who they are today. They would’ve never thought people would regard them as they do right now, which is Hollywood royalty. They had to work hard to actually get there.

Now, after all that ranting I have to get down to the business of it all.

What are the critical & key components that investors are looking for in a plan? Why are these considered key?

I think that what they are looking for in a business plan doesn’t completely rely in passion for what you’re planning on doing with the business. I think it’s also a matter of being business savvy. Writing a business plan that is attractive the investors, something that doesn’t involve them having to pay more than they want to or more than they should. Which is why it’s important to start the business for at least 2 years, and see how it goes before going investor hunting. Once you do that, you go in that meeting, and you know exactly how your business works. And they obviously want to see actual progress in the plan you are presenting them with. So set some goals or those first two years prior to that meeting, and see how it goes. The last thing you want to do is go in that meeting without really knowing how your business works, what works for it, and what doesn’t work for it.

These two men inspire me to actually do my best and make sure that I do things right, without really losing my path in what I really want to do with my life. You don't really hear of stories like theirs anymore. It's like there is no joy in actually fulfilling your own dreams. It's probably what scares me the most about this journey that I'm in right now, and that is about to end in two months.

But, like they did, I have to give it a try.

May the force be with you.

Hit the comments afterwards and let me know your thoughts!

Two Months Away from an Entertainment Business

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:36:00 +0000

I wanted to speak to you, my reader, regarding a rather special and delicate subject: Graduation. I am supposed to graduate in June/2012, and finally have my Master of Science Degree in Entertainment Business from Full Sail University. I have pondered many times whether to really go into opening my own entertainment industry-related business or to just try and blend in with the crowd, meaning the rest of the world in trying to get a job in this ever so precarious economic age in our history. At my age, I should have my own job, my own home - my own things. But alas, I don't.

Like so many contemporaries of this generation I am unable to find a job that is related to my area of study. Which is weird because that is one of the biggest reasons I went into my Masters with Full Sail. I love Full Sail; the way they educate is like nothing I have ever seen in my life, and probably the same with you. Try taking just one class a month and having to submit 3 different assignments between Wednesdays and Sundays, the learning never stops, but it can com to a point where you start actually pulling your hair.

But, I digress.

The reason I am writing such a fluff piece this time around is because like I said, I'm about to graduate from my Master's degree, and I need to make a decision about whether to go into business, or just keep looking for a job. What's funny about this is that I actually know that I am not the only one going through this questionnaire in my mind. There's millions upon millions of students wondering and questioning themselves the same "trivial" things. So, without further ado, here are my absolutely great ideas: 1) Open my own editing agency/business, 2) Move to either New York, California, London or France and look for multiple jobs in one of those cities.

What do you think?

Can you tell I planned this well?

To be honest, I don’t even know what’s going to happen after I graduate. Right now my future is hanging by a thread. Depending on how I do on this class at the end of the month, I will know if I can graduate. I really truly hope so.
This class is about understanding the workings of Online Marketing. I was scared right away the first day (no one knew that until just now); and I was right. But ‘being scared’ aside, the class is actually very interesting. The professors are great (they must be thinking that I’m trying to get on their good side, not at all… well, maybe a little). The information is exceptionally relevant to our times, and a little knowledge in online marketing never hurt anyone, aside from the fact that if I don’t pass this class, I can’t graduate. So, you can imagine how scared I really am. Here’s to hoping everything turns out OK.

Again, I digress.

Listen, finding a job within the industry that one loves now a day is one of the hardest things there is to do, unless you have a stellar GPA, and good connections in different places. But the one thing I can tell you for sure right now, without a shadow of a doubt in my mind and in my heart is that I do love this business, -well, the creative part anyway- and that I do want to try.

So there you have it my friend(s) (if there’s actually more than one). I give you two options, you help me choose, and I’ll keep bringing these (anything but interesting and relevant) posts.

Hugo: A Conundrum

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 03:58:00 +0000

We all know that when we go to see a film it's because when we watch the promotions and the TV spots, we were increasingly attracted to what we were being presented with. That's how the business works. The conundrum that we are presented here with is that, it's such a distinct film, that it appeared that the film's marketers didn't know how to position it for the audience. and that affected the film a lot in the aspect of profits. That's how we see a very significant difference in the way things were done back in the "Golden Age of Hollywood", where films were presented to the masses with the ultimate means to gain profit, but the quantities of money was not what generally determined the success of a film. What ultimately measured the success of a film was the acclaim it would receive, not only from the critics, but also from their peers, and of course the audience. There is a line in the movie "The Holiday" by the great actor Eli Walach that goes: "now a days a movie has to make a 'killing' on opening weekend in order to be successful" (well, something along those lines). And it struck me - he couldn't be more right! So, the problem that we have here is a combination of many factors that can be divided into phases. Because film making is done in phases: concept creation, pitching to the studios, pre-production, production, and finally post-production. But we focus on a general aspect of the whole picture. We focus on how that product is going to be promoted from the moment it is announced to the media, and how the studio will want the product to be seen and what they want it to be portrayed as to the public. After all, the audiences are the ones that keep these people in their comfy seats, inside their big, floor-to-ceiling windows, so, the audience decides if it’s going to be a hit or a flop. And here comes the situation with “Hugo”. Hugo wasn’t advertised in a way that portrayed their central story, because when I saw the film, I had no idea that the film was about what it ultimately was about. Which was the life of film making “founder” George Méliès. The film is probably one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen (and I’ve seen many films, I love almost all of them) but this one is special. It touched a subject that is very near and dear to my heart, and you saw Mr. Scorcese’s heart and passion in it, he even had a cameo in it. Which was such a lovely surprise to me, to see him be an even more direct part of what was a passion project for him. I ramble. In the words of my closest friend: “The film looks too childish for adults, and it’s too adult for children, so they had no way of promoting it in a way that would appeal to all demos.” It’s probably the reason why it wasn’t as successful in the box-office as they thought t would be. And I couldn’t agree more. I recommend it to all who want to see a piece of extremely old-school cinema, it’s truly remarkable. And I encourage all of you, dear reader(s) (all one of you), to investigate your films before deciding not to go see them. Us filmmakers work from the heart, for the pleasure of your entertainment.

Script Writing Is Not For This One Here…

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:32:00 +0000

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When I was in college I had to take a script writing class. I had one of the best scores during the semester. I admit though that sometimes I did the assignments in class, moments before submission. I will say that to this day, it has been one of the most challenging classes I have ever had to take in my life. We covered everything from radio commercials, to print ads, to television commercials, to knowing when to use a theater commercial, to story lining a commercial for submission, and story boarding a commercial. That was one half of the semester, when midterms came; we went full on with screenwriting. Our professor went on and on about first, second, and third acts. “Make sure your characters have the right motivations for the decisions they make in the script”, she would say. I think it’s safe to say that she is one of my favorite professors, to this day. She lived her teachings, sadly she now works for the governor of my country, but that’s not the point… She was an exquisite teacher, there ought to be more teachers like her. So midterms came and went, and screenwriting was the order of the day in our classroom. We saw so many films, and we had to identify when the acts began and ended. One that I loved was Y tu mama tambien directed by Pedro Almodovar, she told us to watch it over the weekend and come back with the acts, the climax, the plot points, the plot twists, everything. Well, naturally I was too embarrassed to watch that film by myself back then, if you don’t know this by now, Spaniard film-making is very risque, it’s incredibly real, but, risque, and I was not going to watch that with my parents around. So, I arranged a group of classmates and we got together and saw the movie. Safe to say that the movie is amazing, and that once we saw it, it was very clear why she chose that film to teach us with. The script is written to perfection. And the only I could’ve seen that was through her teaching, but enough of that. Script writing is a process. A long, and tedious process at that, if you’re not really the type of person who likes to analyze and over analyze everything a character does. Writing is a process. Writing takes a certain level of humility, it takes knowing that a certain event is going to happen in your story, and it’s not necessarily going to be your favorite thing in the world. One thing that I can say is this, you don’t have to be born with the “knack” for writing; you can learn to be a great writer. It’s something that many people struggle with, because writing is one of the most raw and honest and fulfilling activities there is. You just have to be as raw and honest as the art is. You have to do the work.

First Time as First AD

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:30:00 +0000

As you guys know, I'm a film buff, I've worked in different shorts, music videos, and TV shows, but as a mere production assistant. This time around it's a bit different; I have been offered the First Assistant Director position in a short film, set to shoot in two weeks. I've been dealing with casting actors, insurance papers, hiring crewmembers, making shooting schedules and call sheets, etcetera. I'm excited to have this job, but with school on the one side, the family on the other, and then head on is this monster of an experience. It's truly a ride. Now, don't get me wrong, I love it, but it can be too much if you're not prepared and organized. There's a reason why it takes a village to make a film and a team to make that shooting schedule and call sheet. I thought about telling you guys about this because, other than my boss, there’s really no one else I could talk to about this. One thing that film students or film people go through is that they are nearly all the time misunderstood, not just by society, but especially more by their family. My family has absolutely no idea what I do for a living. Sometimes I feel like an alien when it comes to explain a process in editing or how to shoot a scene that could be difficult. This is not being written for pity understanding, I’m putting this out there for people who don’t know what we do, what we go through. That what we do for a living, we do it because we love it. That sometimes it’s a hassle working in the business, but that we do it because we love it. And it goes not just for the film students, it goes for the music students, it goes for the writers of the world, it goes for the gamers of the world. A First Assistant Director’s job is to make sure that the entire crew (Director, DoP, Prop Master, PAs, Editor, etcetera) has what they need in time for shooting. Shooting begins soon, let us hope that everything goes as planned, or that I at least planned things right so that it goes as planned. I’ll keep you posted guys. Thanks for reading my small rant.

Interviewing An Expert

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:45:00 +0000

For this new post we were assigned with either interviewing an entertainment law expert or reviewing three podcasts. Since I’ve already done the podcast one, I decided to go with the interview this time. Coincidentally, I am interviewing Mr. Gordon Firemark, who not only has years in the entertainment law business, but also has a podcast the “Entertainment Law Update Podcast” by Gordon Firemark, in which he discusses a variety of topics regarding different cases that could in court at the moment among other subjects.

For this interview I wanted it to be more basic than a deep dig into the topic of what entertainment law is. We as future entrepreneurs in the entertainment business and students of Full Sail University have the logical obligation to educate ourselves with the goings-on of the legal side of things, especially if we’re planning on having a business. So, with all of that said, here are some questions regarding the foundation of your own company, our obligations as said founders, among others. I hope you find this useful for the foundation of your company as I did with mine.

1. What does entertainment law entail?

Entertainment law is an amalgam of many bodies of law. The foundational principles at work in the field stem from: Contract law, labor law, copyright, trademark & patent law, business & commercial law, and a bit of tax law. Equally important is a thorough understanding of the entertainment industry, and the specific segment in which you work. Entertainment Lawyers tend to sub-specialize in music, TV, film, theater, etc.

Within the field there are two types of lawyers. Transactional lawyers, who make the deals, negotiate, draft contracts, set up companies, etc. and Litigation lawyers, who handle disputes, lawsuits, arbitration, etc. There are few who wear both hats, but mostly folks do one or the other. Litigation lawyers also have to really understand the rules of Civil Procedure and Evidence, which play into the way legal proceedings in court are managed.

2. As students we haven't dealt with the type of situation where we would need legal representation. If we were in need of legal help what are things that we look for in an entertainment business lawyer?

Hiring a lawyer is an important business decision. Price should not be a primary factor. Find a lawyer who has experience in the field, who knows the law, and understands your business/market. You obviously need to trust your lawyer, so be sure you feel comfortable sharing your most intimate business information with the person. You want someone who is available, reachable, and responsive and with whom you feel some kind of a "connection". Sometimes lawyers have to tell hard truths and give unwanted advice. Be sure your lawyer is someone you feel you can listen to, even when the news isn't good. Finally, you want someone who will get things done. In short, you're looking for experience, credibility, likeability, and effectiveness.

Then, all other things being equal, consider the fee. Entertainment lawyers' fees range from around $200 to $600 per hour. Sometimes we will do flat-rate per-project kinds of deals, and sometimes I will take a percentage of an artist-client's gross earnings, instead of hourly fees.

3. As part of our preparation for this Master's we have to come up with our own ideas for a prospective business in the entertainment industry. What is the legal procedure I would have to go through in order to open our businesses?

Starting a new business. First, get a business plan organized. Not strictly a legal process, but if your business will involve buying, selling, or otherwise dealing with intellectual property, you'll want to know the boundaries and parameters. So consulting with a lawyer when preparing your plan is a good idea.

Next, you'll need to consider forming an entity. Will you have partners? Investors? Do you need insulation from potential liability? Will you be operating in multiple locations?, etc. These are all factors to be considered in deciding whether to be a DBA, partnership, corporation, Limited Liability Company, limited partnership or some other form.

When you form an entity, you sign up with the government to pay taxes, etc. If you're hiring employees, you need to think about payroll, insurance, etc.

Next, you'll want to establish your office policies and procedures, and develop your model for the transactions you'll do regularly. Setting up a short form that acts as your checklist or worksheet when making deals, will make your operations smoother and keep your legal costs down when it comes time to draw up contracts. A lawyer can help you with this.

4. I want to protect my company from every and any type of action that could put in danger the reputation that I'm trying to build with Tropical Moon Entertainment. What can I do to protect my brand?

As far as protecting the BRAND, registering a trade- or service mark is very important. Next, being careful about your business dealings with others can count. Being associated with shady types can really drag your reputation down too.

As far as protecting against liability, forming an entity, as mentioned above is a good start. Good insurance is also important.

5. Considering how the internet is used today, we use the internet for so many things that sometimes we don't know what it is that we're doing and/or if we're breaking any rules or laws. When it comes to cyber law, what are the laws that are most overlooked by the general public?

I think the general public doesn't even bother to consider that the stuff they see on the 'net is somebody's property. Intellectual Property is a mystery to most people. If you look on my blog, you'll see an article about ASCAP collecting and "going after" restaurants and bars. Read the comments. It's amazing that people think that music is "free" to use as they please.

http://firemark.com/2007/08/23/restaurants-sued-for-playing-music-without-ascapbmi-licenses/

http://firemark.com/2008/12/02/rhode-island-pub-music/

http://firemark.com/2007/10/08/listening-to-the-radio-at-work-you-may-be-a-copyright-infringer/

http://firemark.com/2007/08/23/ascap-sues-restaurants-over-music-use-are-theatres-next/

The other issue is the posting of videos that Contain music on sites like YouTube. Again, folks don't think about the music as property... They just assume its OK to use it.

I want to take a moment to thank Mr. Firemark for answering my questions, and for having a podcast in the first place! It’s been educational and lifesaving for my Advanced Entertainment Law class. Looking forward to hearing your podcast in future occasions.

Thank you so much for your help Mr. Firemark!

You're welcome. Feel free to hit me with follow-up questions.

If you had or have any questions that you couldn’t find the answer to in this blog post and would like more information, feel free to write Mr. Firemark through this link.

Three Cases

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 05:05:00 +0000

Case #1 Heptagon v. Core v. HGTV

The first case involves HGTV, their show Selling New York, and a private “design Company that specializes in high-end furniture”. Said company has failed to show that “virtual furniture displayed on HGTV’s Selling New York constitutes copyright infringement, trade dress infringement and unfair competition. This show “features real estate brokers selling apartments to New York’s rich. And on January 13, 2011, HGTV aired an episode entitled “The Big Buy In” where real estate brokerage core Group sought to sell a condo at 240 Park Ave South for nearly $6 million and in the episode Core’s CEO discusses the fact that the property is less appealing because it is unfurnished.”

Core contacted Heptagon, a high-end furniture maker, Heptagon agreed to help out by providing photographs of the furniture chosen to show the condo, but the two companies couldn’t come to a final agreement since Core refused to purchase an insurance policy for possible use of the real furniture. He instead took the images, and created a virtual, fully furnished replica of the apartment to show interested buyers.

Core got exactly what he wanted: the buyer bought the property for almost the full asking price.

Heptagon then sued, and New York federal judge Laura Swain noted, “the Copyright Act protects “pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works,” but explicitly limits the protection of utilitarian or “useful” articles.

The article proceeds to ask us: “Does virtual furniture shown on TV qualify? How worried do those with commercial enterprises have to be about displaying design works of originality like furniture, clothing and jewelry?”

My answer is that it should. All of the things mentioned before are part of someone who created them. Therefore someone in specific made it in unique circumstances, whether it’s art, an article, a photo or a virtual representation of the photos that were discussed at the meetings between Core and Heptagon. Heptagon should’ve gotten the judges favor.

Case #2

In Jail for Piracy

As we all know piracy in America is the only reason why the film making business is staggering at the moment. As a consequence of choosing to be a pirate a woman was sentenced to 22 months in prison for operating a pirated video website.

“Hana Amal Beshara, 30, is a New Jersey resident and a founder of NinjaVideo.net, who was also sentenced to two years of supervised release, 500 hours of community service and is being forced to repay more than $200,000 in profits.”

The only thing I can say about this case is that, sadly she’s not the only one operating this websites. And for the government to actually catch all of the people who are engaging in this type of behavior, and continually costing the filmmaking industry millions upon millions of dollars is going to take a long time. She certainly won’t be the last one they take down.

Case #3

Is the term "transformer" a trademark for Hasbro?

Now, in this case a computer manufacturer argues that its tablet/laptop hybrid should be able to describe itself as a “transformer”. We know that in 1984, Hasbro introduced the public a line of alien toy robots named the “Transformers”.

In this case what’s being discussed is if the term in question even considered by the judicial system and the rest of the public as a trademark. Because ultimately, the audience is who tells the big companies when a word is considered as part of something, when that word is not just a word, but it comes already with the thought in the people’s mind.

While I understand the company’s situation, I have to side with Hasbro on this one. People know that word to well, and even more now that there are three movies with the same name and all three have been massively successful. So, yes, in the case that the maker of this hybrid tablet/laptop has used a name that is already being identified with something else, I believe that there is infringement on the part of the technology company.

I'm a Belieber

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 02:51:00 +0000

Sometimes when we don’t like certain artists we mock them for whatever reason appeals to us the most. Justin Bieber went through that exact same thing at the beginning of his career, and, let's face it, he still is. But for reasons that I still can’t come up with, I can’t help to say that I love Justin Bieber.

His story is one of fairy-tale galore. It’s one of those stories that artist managers dream of. This guy (Scooter Braun) receives an e-mail with a link to a YouTube video with a 12 year-old kid singing his heart out. And suddenly the stars aligned. He convinces them to get them to fly to Atlanta, and then the adventure began. Justin sang for Usher, who basically fell in love with the kid, as many other would as well, myself recently included.

Sometimes we mock these people because they have everything that the rest of the world would kill for. But we forget that they do have a journey as well. This kid, was literally, and in every sense of the word, born with talent. (If you still find yourself incredulous, I HIGHLY recommend watching his movie “Never Say Never”).

What interesting connection I found between the film and this month’s class (Product and Artist Management) is that and online presence is what makes and/or breaks you. In this case, it made Justin Bieber. He wasn’t even playing on the radio; instead he played one song on different radio stations across the country. But while he did that, he created himself an online personality through twitter. And on top of that he was already a very famous YouTube artist. So, its safe to say that by the 10^th acoustic presentation on a radio station, he already had a following. When he started using twitter, everything just exploded. He exploded. He became a pop star.

But what we seem to forget that just because this kid suddenly came into an immensely fortunate situation, we can underestimate his hard work, and the fact that he’s so gracious with his fans. On to of that, when you have stars on the scale of Usher, Snoop Dogg, Drake, Sean Kingston, Jaden Smith, Will & Jada Smith – the list goes on, behind you, supporting you; that has got to mean something. When you have fans around the world, crying at the very sight of you, defending you from the worst critics in this business, because there are a LOT of those, THAT has got to mean something.

This kid is what I like to think of as special.

When you see this movie, you see a kid who luckily found his calling early in his life. That it is what it is, is just a pure coincidence. You see a kid, who respects his parents, his grandparents, respects the people who know more than he does (specially Mama Jan).

You see a kid who is gracious about the opportunities that he has been given. You see a kid, who loves his fans, and actually feels indebted to them. You see a kid, who has been given the world, and actually shows humility, or whatever works for a 17 year old, haha! At that age is pretty clear that we all thought that we were invincible.

So this is my praise to him. I only saw the movie for the first time last night, or this morning's more likely (I went to bed at 6:55 AM), and I can safely say this: I am a Belieber.

The Reality About Artists, Age, Talent, Experience, and This Business of Entertaining You...

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 06:34:00 +0000

Have you ever pondered on the fact that there are more child stars in the business now than there were 20 years back? People would get to know them early on, and they would grow up and be the patriarchs or matriarchs of their entertainment business family. And then when they’re all grown up, for some reason, they don’t want their age to be publicized on entertainment online databases. This is precisely the case regarding IMDb.com, owned by Amazon.com.

The case that I’ll be discussing is that of Screen ActorsGuild and AFTRA with IMDb and its owner Amazon.com. The aforementioned parties struck out at IMDb and consequently Amazon.com “condemning their practice of revealing ages of performers without the actor or actresses’ permission – and the refusing to delete or change it even when that person requests them to do so.”

Apparently there had been talks going on behind the scenes “about this practice that involved SAG, AFTRA and other unnamed guilds, but that the talks have now been broken down” reports The Hollywood Reporter.

My question about this all is: why is age so important to this business? Isn’t ultimately the talent that the person, (whether its an actor/actress, or a crew member) possesses what’s important when managing an artist? Am I the only person in this business who’s interested more in talent than in someone’s age? The best example I can give you right now is that of Stanley Tucci. He’s relatively low-key, he’s in his 50s, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone do for his craft like he does. He’s one of the greats, in my humblest opinion – of course.

But apparently according to a Texas-based actress, who is “described as an Asian-American but not named”. The woman filed a law suit against IMDb after the website took information she provided when signing up for the IMDb Pro subscription service and they used it to publish her age on the IMDb website.”

The woman continues saying that “in the entertainment industry, youth is king, that if one is perceived to be ‘over-the-hill,’ i. e., approaching 40, it is nearly impossible for an up-and-coming actress, such as the Plaintiff, to get work as she is thought to have less of an ‘upside,’ therefore, casting directors, producers, directors, agents/ managers, etc. don not give her the same opportunities, regardless of her appearance or talent.”

Now, I see her point very clearly and I agree with her. The sad reality of the business right now is that talented people, not just actors and actresses, but potential crewmembers as well, are being overlooked by production teams, directors, and managers.

The ones that do have the jobs already are looking for people with experience, but what if I don’t have the experience that they’re looking for? What can I do to get the gig that I’m applying for without being discriminated because of “age”, “lack of experience”, “our lack of talent” and/or whatever scheme they come up with these days.

All I know is that we have to keep trying as hard as we possibly can to actually get in the business. No one better than us, at least us Full Sail students know, thanks to our Professors, how hard it is to land a high profile job in the business.

So, my intention with this blog was basically to put these things out there so that some of you could read about the reality of our situation if we don’t pay attention to what’s going on in the business, how are the different companies moving. Do they have anything new coming up? Even if it is in an unpaid internship, we should always, at least try.

Hit me up in the comments section, I would like to know what your thoughts are…

Happy Sunday!

From Copyright Law to Defamation to Publicity

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 04:18:00 +0000

There are two constants in the law world: copyright, and publicity. In this blog we will discuss these subjects and better understand what is it that they really do. What do they protect in the entertainment business?

First of all, copyright is nothing more than a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive right to it, usually for a limited time. Copyright also gives the copyright holder the right to credited for the work, to determine who may adapt the work to other forms, who may perform the work, who may financially benefit from it, etc. It’s an intellectual property form applicable to any expressible form of an idea or information that is substantive and discrete.

Copyright protects everything that is properly registered and complies with the requisites it needs to be determined copyright-protected. Such as works of art, scripts, manuscripts, music, songs, compositions, recipes drafted in a specific way, websites, titles, names, architectural projects, etcetera.

And that’s what Mr. Firemark discusses in this episode of “Entertainment Law Update” podcast. More specifically he discusses the case of Right Haven, a “copyright troll” as Mr. Firemark calls it has been filing hundreds of suits against bloggers and sorts, who’ve been republishing bits and pieces an even entire articles from newspapers. He tells us that the “Las Vegas Review Journal” has been suffering three losses in one week. He continues explaining that a “copyright troll is a company that goes around acquiring rights in copyrighted material, so that they can go sue people and they often exact little settlements from those people”. According to Mr. Firemark settling is always cheaper than litigating. He proceeds to tell us that these little companies have been fighting and succeeding with pre-trial motions for dismissals. The suit was brought about on August 10^th for a five-sentence excerpt of a Las Vegas Review-Journal news story that a user posted on the forum, with a link back to the Review–Journal website. Righthaven claims damages of up to $150,000 under the Copyright Act’s statutory damages provisions, seeks the target’s domain name and uses these threats to attempt to push defendants into a quick settlement. Democratic Underground, on the other hand, asked the court to affirm that the excerpt of the article does not infringe copyright and is a fair use of the material, with no damages due to Righthaven.*

The question on our minds is: Do you think there was a clear violation of copyright in this case? The way I see it, the user always gave credit to the original poster (Las Vegas Review-Journal). So, I don’t think that he violated any rules or laws.

*According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (Democratic Underground's representation), on June 14, 2011, the Nevada federal court dismissed Righthaven's copyright claim, finding that the company did not own the copyright. The case for a declaration of non-infringement proceeds against Stephens Media.

“Monkeying Around with Copyright Law” Episode 23 by GordonFiremark, Entertainment Law Update Podcast

Defamation, which can also be called calumny, vilification, traducement, slander, and libel, is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual business, product, group, government, or nation a negative image. The only requirement: that the claim be false and that the publication is communicated to someone other than the person defamed (the claimant).

Mr. Firemark has a special guest on this episode that has special experience with defamation, Mr. Adrianos Facchetti from the California Defamation Law Blog. The first case that they discuss starts by saying that a court in New Jersey ruled that a blogger is not a journalist. With which brings us to the next case about a blogger from the state of Washington who was writing in her blog about a specific business, and this business sued her for defamation in New Jersey. And the court, ruled that she is not a journalist, so therefore she would not get the protection from the state’s Shield law. The court said that in order for her to be covered by the Shield law, she would have to be affiliated with a major media outlet. One thing that Mr. Facchetti goes on to say, I found very interesting is that the message boards that we experience now a days can be more damaging than the old Ben Franklin’s printing press. Granted, journalism should never be about expressing an opinion, but an unadulterated fact. The truth of the matter is that now a day we have multiple ways of communicating with others. Whether its fact or opinion? It all depends on the receiving end of that message. This is why the First Amendment is so tricky when it comes to journalism and then co-related to defamation.

What are your thoughts?

“Bloggers, Journalism and Defamation” Episode 3 by GordonFiremark, Entertainment Law Podcast

Publicity is the deliberate attempt to manage the public’s perception of a subject. No one knows better than us, that the best examples for subjects of publicity are artists and politicians. Mr. Firemark tells us that the new Google-branded smart phone called the Nexus 1. Apparently the term Nexus 6 was used in a novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" penned by author Philip K. Dick, which is also the book on which the film "Blade Runner" was based on. The androids on that movie were called the Nexus 6. Mr. Dick's daughter said that this "brand" was in violation of our intellectual property, claiming trademark violations. There's obviously a conflict here, because it's a play on words, I see what she means, but at the same time, I can't say that she has a point, because droids are under trademark with LucasFilm. so, it's interesting to see the conflict between the two, but how do you separate one from the other. We know that Nexus means a connection; androids means a robot possessing human features.

My question about this is: how do we separate the terms from these three parties? These are obviously different "entities", we know in some aspect, we're not talking about the same thing. But how does publicity in law cover this? How is it "unglued" from each other?

It's truly an interesting discussion. But I want to know what you guys think... Looking forward to your comments down below!

“Rights of Publicity” Episode 8 by Gordon Firemark,Entertainment Law Podcast

Famous Legal Liability Battles

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 03:31:00 +0000

Famous Legal Liability Battles

Something that is not left ignored by the members of this industry is that sometimes people tend to believe that they were the ones who discovered the business and that they own everything. Others, rightly so, claim what belongs to them by suing the according party. That’s exactly what we’re going to talk about in this new blog post. Specifically three different cases that in one way or another impact the industry. The first one being Deadline.com vs. The Hollywood Reporter and their copyright infringement claim.

Apparently, according to Deadline.com’s parent company PMC, “an initial review of the complaint shows that it is replete with examples of stories that originated from widely-released press releases from publicists, or widespread confirmations from publicists to numerous outlets, including both The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.com. To what The Hollywood Reporter says, “It is not copyright infringement to report these stories, even if on occasion Deadline.com posts them first.”

The Hollywood Reporter has had an ongoing growth, specifically 4.4 million visitors per month as measured by comSore in comparison to Deadline.com’s 1.5 million. Deadline.com has also accused The Hollywood Reporter of having openly offered job positions to PMC employees, to what THR has completely denied. In addition to another allegation regarding the code for a “carousel” feature on their website, which according to THR, was coded for them by a third-party vendor. They proceeded to remove said carousel feature from their webpage whilst they look into it.

My opinion.

I use The Hollywood Reporter to keep myself informed about the different stories that surface not only domestically but also internationally. At the beginning of my Master’s completion, however, I used Deadline.com. As I familiarized myself with the different webpages that dedicate themselves to keeping us informed about the current state of the industry and its everyday happenings, I found THR to be easier to access. And not only that, they gifted me with a free subscription for a year to their digital magazine. I guess I might be a bit biased, but the facts are that during the three months that I didn’t even use THR, Deadline.com didn’t even post anything on their Facebook page. THR did. I agree with them completely when they say that just because Deadline.com publishes a story first, doesn’t mean that any other publication is stealing the story from them. They are not the only website or periodical dedicated to show business.

They will be settling this case in court.

Charlie Sheen and 9th Step Productions vs. Chuck Lorre, Warner Bros.

The Case:

Charlie Sheen filed a $100 million lawsuit against chuck Lorre and Warner Bros. on behalf of himself and Two and A Half Men’s production company 9^th Step Productions, in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Officially placing blame on “Warner Bros. capitulating to Lorre’s egotistical desire to punish Mr. sheen…” and having nothing to do with sheen’s controversial comments about Mr. Lorre for “the cancelation of the remaining eight episodes of this season”.

Marty Singer, Sheen’s lawyer, says that the defendants fired Mr. Sheen “when he was willing, ready and able to proceed taping, but that had they used his ‘condition’ as cause to terminate his contract, it would’ve been a violation of the law.”

As of right now, all parties involved in this case are working towards a settlement in which Mr. Sheen will be heavily rewarded.

My opinion:

Honestly, I’ve never been much of a Charlie Sheen fan. The truth of the matter is that while he is the perfect actor for that role. Him as an employee is a liability. And the studio and Mr. Lorre did the right thing in firing him.

Daniel Malakhov vs. Rogers & Cowan

The case:

This is basically an abuse of power and inhumanity case. Mr. Malakhov filed a class action against the PR firm, one of the most successful ones in the business, for “deeming attendance at promotional events with clients to be ‘voluntary’, but informed its employees that failure to ‘volunteer… would negatively affect their ability to advance in their careers.”

As it turns out some employees were paid, but others, who worked without being compensated nor afforded proper meal and rest periods, were not. This class action demands back compensation, damages, attorney’s fees, and interest, plus an injunction prohibiting the firm from engaging in the complained acts. “Mr. Malakhov alleges that the post-regular-shift work constituted a violation of various California labor laws.”

As of Thursday, 27^th of October, 2011, a federal judge turned down the requested injunction “because the lawsuit was brought by a former employee who would not benefit from such relief.”

My opinion:

Honestly, if someone goes through the trouble to sue a high profile PR company in the PR capital of the world, then something must be going on. The fact that the judge decided to do nothing in favor of the 1600 employees who, for fear of retaliation have not made any comments, speaks volumes about the justice system in the country. These claims are really dangerous to any company. Labor laws violation is no joke. Specially considering how much of a luxury a job is now a day.

What are your thoughts on these cases?

Hit me up in the comments down below…

The Importance of an Artist Manager

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 03:58:00 +0000

Many people think that managers are just a waste of time and money. That is just a sign of how supersticial the industry is. But let me tell you little story. There's always been this show battle where six hosts are on the same category of shows (Variety), they're on after prime time, and they've been fighting for the #1 spot on television since Johnny Carson retired. I think you know who I'm talking about.

That's right. I'm talking about the late-night show wars. They all have managers, agents, publicists, etcetera... all, except one. That is Jay Leno. He mentioned many times that he doesn't have a manager and the rest of that hooplah is history as they say...

The importance of a manager is not just to help you get the gigs that you want, and be your friend when you have no one else to talk to or hold your hair when you need to go to the bathroom (it happens to many stars/celebrities/whatever you want to call them, let's be honest), when you need a mother figure, or a father figure, or a shrink... or simply when you need a friend. They are there. They help you make the decision that goes accordingly with the situation you may find yourself in.

In the absence of those you trust with your entire heart, there's always going to be your manager. Which is why, its important to know well whom you're going to choose as your manager. This person is in charge of you getting paid. And subsequently you’re paying those who are on your service. This person should know who you are as an artist, as a person. As a human being. Know your limits, your boundaries. This may sound a bit like over-stepping. But the perfect example of a manager that has had to deal with a “big-deal” celebrity/artist/star is Larry Rudolph, manager to Britney Spears. This woman, who I love as a performer, has had to deal with everything that she has been through. And we all know or at least have an idea of what she’s had to go through in the past 6 years, with the exception of the last two or three. She has been taking care of herself and her kids. And Larry has had a huge impact on her getting well again.

We might mock the fact that an up-and-coming artist gets a manager. But this person certainly becomes the most important ally an artist can and will have for the rest of their careers.

I hope you enjoyed my post this week! Let me know what you think down below on the comments section! Looking forward to it! Happy week everyone!

Artist Management: What It Entails?

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 02:45:00 +0000

The talent manager is the one in charge of guiding and overseeing the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry, whether its in music, television, movies, and/or publishing. This person is in charge of overseeing that the day-to-day affairs of the artist get carried out. This individual is in charge of exposing the artist to different career opportunities, it involves marketing the artist and/or product. What most of us don’t know, until now, is that talent managers take also the role of friend to their artists. They become the advisors, almost to the point of counseling or psychology.

Some little-known facts about talent managers are that artists are subject to exclusivity for their managers. The managers on the other hand can represent as many artists as they want or are able to. The perfect example to this is Mr. Johnny Wright, manager to stars like New Kids on the Block, the Jonas Brothers, Menudo, Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Stevie Brock, and Ciara.

But his most notable talents are the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. Something that these artists forget is that this is a business deal. Johnny Wright is one of the most important and successful talent managers in the business. Wright was hired by the BSB prior to *NSYNC even considering to hire him. Lou Pearlman was the mastermind behind these two extremely successful boy bands, and later was fired by *NSYNC for being declared guilty to conspiracy, money laundering and making false statements during a bankruptcy proceeding, in 2008 Pearlman was convicted and sentenced to (up to) 25 years and proceeded to hire Wright.

Now this “it’s a business deal” deal has come to some particular blows in this case specifically. These two artists were on top of their game at the time. And when it eventually came to them having the same manager it enforced even more the long-standing battle of the boy-bands. In their post- Lou Pearlman years they went on to become the hottest acts in the business. They toured the world, and their fan base is as strong as the beginning.

For the Backstreet Boys though, it wasn’t always peaches and cream. At one point they felt like there was a compromise between their band and their affairs and *NSYNC and their affairs. They, at one point, felt like Wright was paying more attention to *NSYNC than to them, and eventually went their separate ways. That situation created tension between Wright and the Backstreet Boys for quite some time, until they eventually came back together again and the Backstreet Boys launched their new album called “Incomplete”.

The rest is history really, *NSYNC decided to “take a break” and focus on their personal interests, majorly being Justin Timberlake’s try at a solo career. They emphasized many times that they weren’t breaking up, and for official matters, they weren’t, they just haven’t decided to get back together.

The Backstreet Boys merged with the New Kids on the Block and went on tour creating the new and improved NKOTBSB. And they’ve been on tour ever since.

Johnny Wright is successful because he has believed in his talents. He gave his all to all his artists and still is. In the case of these two bands, you could say that they were successful, but once they got together with Johnny Wright, it was impossible to miss what these boys were doing at that moment in time. He’s an example to follow, if you ever decided to go on the artist management career path.

What are your comments regarding this management mogul? Hit me up on the comments section down below. Look forward to reading your thoughts.

Does negotiation differ from business to business?

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 19:23:00 +0000

Rosabel Cedeño is the co-owner of one of the most successful businesses in the southern region of Puerto Rico. She, along with her business partner, who also happens to be her fiancé, are the owners of an event planning and promoting as well as two of the hottest and classiest nightclubs in the region of Ponce. I thought it might be interesting to see how the film business and the event coordinating business differentiate in negotiations. But in my asking her these questions, I found myself agreeing with everything that she says.

It teaches us that negotiation is the same everywhere; it only depends on what your interests and your ultimate goals are. Enjoy the information, and don’t be afraid to ask me any questions!

Give an example of how you separate the people from the problem in the negotiations that you take part in for your business.

We must face the problem, not the people. The fact that one person doesn’t coincide with another’s point of view, doesn’t mean that they are being rejected. I, personally had a situation in which I had to tell my cousin, who is my employee, that she was underperforming, and wasn’t meeting the expectations. We sat and talked. And we got to the root of the situation, and I saw that she was going through some personal circumstances that were affecting her performance. We made a deal between both parties (she and I) to solve the situation, and it’s been going well up to this point.

How does separating the people from the problem affect the outcome of the deals?

By separating the personal problems better negotiation can be found. Negotiations are there for us to find a win-win for both parties, with modifications, and adjustments, and agreement on certain details. Maintaining a rational and objective position we obtain better results.

Give an example of how you use objective criteria to get what you want in your negotiations.

I analyze, determine what I desire, I think about what can benefit us, I achieve my objectives and always have in mind that we, as a team, are successful.

How did using objective criteria affect the outcome of the deals you make?

Negotiating and hustling a detail, or proposing a realistic and concrete point help and contribute our negotiations. And most of all help us obtain the results that we are looking for, those being success for both parties.

Give an example of how you work toward mutual benefit in your business.

Speaking in regards of my business, what we do to gain mutual benefits while I’m the middle of a negotiation with either an employee, for example, I try to comprehend and put myself in his/her position and listen to the point that they are raising. I am very clear in the objectives and goals that I wish to accomplish with my company and up to where I can “yield”; I discuss their preoccupations, I motivate them and we come to an agreement that would benefit each of us. If my employee understands my position and I his/her, they’re going to perform and fulfill the expectations, and therefore I obtain better and bigger benefits.

Has there ever been a time where you lost a negotiation or felt like you would’ve done better to get a better end result?

Yes, there came a time where I didn’t get the result that I wanted at that moment to improve my business. But I was able to comprehend that the other person’s criteria and interests were and still are valid and what I wanted would’ve limited that person. The reason why the negotiation failed was a compilation of factors that limited us both and were out of his control.

What is the constant factor in your negotiations?

Communication and be clear of the true interests of both parties.

What is your advice for people just as yourself, who are starting in the business and are pretty much at the reins of their own dream businesses?

Patience, communication, immense effort and sacrifice, having a positive attitude at every moment, for anything that may present itself. Your attitude is going to define how you undertake and accomplish your way and your goals. Desire to work in order to reach your dreams and see them come true in front of your eyes.

Having a business is very sacrificed, but there is no better satisfaction that to see your dreams come true, and in the future see how much you’ve grown….

Something that’s very important to see clearly is your interests, if after a few months or years of having your business, and your interests and motivations are the same as the first day of your journey, then you’re on the right path. If they have changed negatively, think, analyze and meditate in what you’re doing and ask yourself “what motivated you at the beginning of your journey” so you can keep going strong.

Negotiation and its perspectives...

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 03:33:00 +0000

Angelo Vicente is an up and coming indie producer. He’s done a slew of indie films and music videos and is currently in the process of co-opening his own production company here in Puerto Rico. He tells me that he’s had to negotiate everything from the name of his company to the scripts he and his partner decide to do. Given the fact that I want to work in the film business as well, I thought it would be prudent to interview someone who’s had experience in this area.

1. Give an example of how you separate the people from the problem in the negotiations that you take part in for your business.

I believe in the ability of most people to use logic. Following on this, one can present the problem in a very straightforward manner; using an almost algebraic formula. It could be interpreted, as “this is what we need, what can we do to achieve it?” If the situation is presented clearly, the probabilities of it being understood rise exponentially.

For example, a client wants to know more about our services. What does the client need? Who is the client? What better tactics can we use to inform the client; a presentation or a video link?

2. How does separating the people from the problem affect the outcome of the deals?

Presenting a problem with a clear focus can result in a sober observation of what is going on, instead of the situation falling victim to spur-of-the-moment decisions. Overall, it leads to making better decisions.

3. Give an example of how you use objective criteria to get what you want in your negotiations.

Every time there is a presentation on a possible client, everything you say must be backed either by information or your professional experience. This way, there is a validation on what is delivered.

4. How did using objective criteria affect the outcome of the deals you make?

It usually leads to positive deals themselves, since the information you present is substantiated with facts. This is very important in business.

5. Give an example of how you work toward mutual benefit in your business.

In our field, for example, a budget might be adjusted to reflect the realities of a smaller client. This leads to more business for us at a price they can afford, so quality is never sacrificed, and neither is our business.

7. Has there ever been a time where you lost a negotiation or felt like you would’ve done better to get a better end result?

Yes, these situations always happen. They happen less as you realize what your own preparations have to be like.

9. What is the constant factor in your negotiations?

Empathy with the client is very important. If you do not understand your customer, selling your service/product will be more unlikely. Also, an emphasis on quality is a must: you must be proud of what you are offering.

10. What is your advice for people just as yourself, who are starting in the business and are pretty much at the reins of their own dream businesses?

Always do your best, and never “half-ass” it. My advice would be to treat it with respect. Everything else will flow from there.

The Decline of 3D or the Death of Movies

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 05:03:00 +0000

The Hollywood Reporter has done an interview with DreamWorks Animation top dog Jeffrey Katzenberg about the “alarming dip in 3D grosses at the domestic box office this summer.” This dip apparently started with Disney’s current overseas hit: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Katzenberg says: “For the first time, a majority of the audience opted to see a studio 3D pic in 2D. It happened again a week later with DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 2.”

To tell you the truth, my fellow readers, this isn’t news to me or to anyone. 3D has been one of the affecting factors to the slow death of the movies. It has been stuffed down our eyes, throats and noses ever since that little movie called Avatar came into our lives. The world was presented with a "new" way of making loads and loads of money. The fact of the matter is that these top Hollywood studio heads are digging and digging and digging for every and any excuse to get money from the consumer. How, you may ask? By stimulating their most obvious senses. Romantic comedies are not even the top grossing movies anymore. All wee see are action movies in 3D. Adventure movies in 3D. Cartoon movies in 3D. Everything is in 3D. That way, putting the consumer in a position where they’re not caring about being exploited in the most, both direct and indirect ways to get a buck out of them (us).

What’s even funnier about this subject is that Pirates was actually a successful film, both domestically and internationally. Only it grossed more money internationally in the 3D aspect than it did domestically in 2D. And it was still successful.

“The audience has spoken, and they have spoken loudly.” That the studios don’t want to listen and keep filling their heads with nonsense about 3D being all the rage now a days, therefore they must juice it until there’s nothing more to juice? Well, that’s something that even a 5 year-old can tell you.

The truth of the matter is that the majority of these studios don’t even listen to what their audience is asking for. Therefore they will continue to blame ‘the end of the movies as we know it’ on 3D. When, in fact, one of the main reasons that the movie industry is in its deathbed is the overuse of 3D.

Image courtesy of: http://jotaperealini.blogspot.com/2010/12/kung-fu-panda-2-el-ano-de-la.html

"Priority Piracy Watch List"

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 02:07:00 +0000

I was reading my weekly The Hollywood Reporter newsletter and I found this article on piracy and the US Congress's support of the industry. As a normal person, who doesn’t have a job one would recur to piracy thinking that it’s no big deal. As an industry professional one can only be disgusted at the fact that people really don’t understand the severity of the act of piracy.

The battle has been constant, from ad campaigns, to conferences that condemn it and now, a group called the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus (IAPC) has decided to release a “priority piracy watch list”. And on top of that being backed up by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) saying, “it will help raise awareness of creative content that it is stolen and illegally distributed through some of the world’s most notorious marketplaces.”

The fact of the matter is that “Theft of American movies, television shows, and other creative content in these countries and around the world costs tens of billions of dollars and jeopardizes the livelihoods of more than 2.4 million stagehands, makeup artists, actors, costume and set designers, truck drivers, architects, directors, accountants, and others who make up America’s creative community,” Greg Frazier, MPAA’s Executive Vice President an Chief Policy Officer, said in a statement.”

Ever since Napster came on in the late 90s the amount of illegal downloading has become the new way of theft. Striking not only digital creative content, but also, identity theft, credit card fraud, among others.

Frazier continues, “As more and more people watch and enjoy creative works online, America and its partners abroad NEED to increase domestic and international efforts to protect those works from theft.”

Illegal downloading is one of the main reasons why studio heads have gone forward with highly expensive marketing campaigns, ridiculous amounts of product placement, and basically juicing the movies they make with merchandise that sometimes can border on ridiculous.

Now the US Congress comes into play with this initiative to try and create awareness with basically the entire world, so that this digital epidemic comes to a close.

I’m a professional of this industry. I know the hard work that goes into it. I love my job. But people only see the end product, they don’t see the work –hard work, that goes into making a movie, or an album, or a TV show, specially TV that happens weekly. The public has no idea. It’s hard for us, to give so much of ourselves to provide them with a quality end product, for these pirates to steal it.

Let’s hope that this initiative takes momentum and creates conscience among us.

The Beauty of Failing is What Comes Next

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Sun, 22 May 2011 18:55:00 +0000

J.K. Rowling is one the best writers in the world. The size of her fortune would have you believe that she’s written hundreds of books. Her fans certainly WISH she did. But no, she has only written eight books in all (Harry Potter series and The Tales of Beetle the Bard). 2007 was the year when she published the last book in the series Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the last movie in the Potter franchise hits theaters this summer. It’s not a secret to anyone who lives in civilization the amount of success that Jo has achieved with one BIG idea back in 1990. But before all of that success Jo, as her fans call her, went through situations one after the other. The death of her mother, marriage and then divorce, chronic depression, poverty near being homeless… In all a very hard life. Jo talks about the “benefits of failure” in her speech. She talks about how hitting rock-bottom in different times in her life (all leading up to the publishing of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) helped her delve deeper into her stories and the world that she created in the series. In her failures she found clarity. In her failures she found the will to keep going towards what she most wanted, which was to be a writer. A lot of press would say that her story is one of fairytales; the things she overcame would’ve done with another person’s life what it didn’t do with hers. She kept going strong, not just for herself, but also for her daughter, her sister, and the memory of her mother, who never knew that Jo had started writing incessantly about six months before she passed away.

Her story is one I greatly appreciate because we all go through trying times. We all go through things that challenge our faith not only in God but faith in ourselves. It leads us to question ourselves even in moments where we know what we want. Fear of failure does that to a human being. You can be the most confident person in the world, everyone has insecurities. The difference is that a confident person sees that as a challenge and keeps going. Jo tells us to embrace that failure and make something positive of it. She did. That’s what she encouraged the Graduating Class of 2008 from Harvard University in the Commencement Speech.

She’s inspiring to me because I’m not what you would call the most confident person in the world. For all you knew through my writing in this blog, is that I’m a very confident person. But I’m not. I’m 26 years old and I live with my parents. In an island that doesn’t give many opportunities to people that specifically want to work in the arts; unless they know you, the road becomes an uphill battle. One remembers stories of people like Jo, who in the midst of her depression turned it into something that the entire world would support wholeheartedly. She is a definite role model. It’s not a coincidence that my Deathly Hallows copy is sitting right beside me in this very moment. This series represents a struggle, not necessarily between good and evil, but a struggle with yourself to do what is right for yourself, to not be selfish with yourself. To find the truth in things that matter. It’s the best story I have ever read in my short life… and for that I thank her.

For more information on how she has contributed to causes related to MS and fighting poverty, think of the happiest thought or memory you can think of and then say Expecto Patronus!

Image courtesy of: http://ideagirlconsulting.wordpress.com/2010/06/08/harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-part-1-new-trailer-teaser-director-david-yates-novel-jk-rowling-screenplay-steve-kloves-daniel-radcliffe-rupert-grint-emma-watson/

Puerto Rico Film Commission?

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Mon, 16 May 2011 03:25:00 +0000

The Puerto Rico Film Commission is the most important entity dedicated to “promoting the development of all the elements that comprise the audiovisual industry”. Its highest achievement to date is offering one of the highest tax incentives offered by any film commission.

The PRFC was created by act of law in 1999 primarily to develop the arts and sciences of the film industry on the island. Their primary incentive is a 40% tax credit on payments to PR residents and 20% tax credit on non-resident talent. These incentives are also offered to off-island producers who may want to carry out their shoots in Puerto Rico.

Their service is pretty basic, as well as any other city Film Commission. They act as a liaison, helping investors, studios, and production companies and independent producers find all the services needed to film their projects in Puerto Rico.

They also offer a “phone book” of all the people that make up the industry in the island. Pre Pro has all the numbers you’re looking for when you are a producer in Puerto Rico. Not only possible assistants, camera crews, lighting technicians, but food services, transportation services, laundry services, among others.

All of this information is great for international producers and/or if you happen to have $50,000 and give them exclusivity, just to get them to hear you out. For local filmmakers is very difficult to acquire that quantity of money and getting them to help you out with the distribution of the film. I know this sounds a bit unorthodox given the fact that I live here, and, of course, my business would be located here. But, I know this from former experience, one of the islands’ own directors, famous for his educational style of filmmaking has been through a very difficult run to produce the movie. He resorted to a very odd strategy of funding.

He came up with the idea of through selling tickets for the premiere getting the money. You don’t need me to tell you that the movie hasn’t even begun pre-production. The reason why he resorted to this odd strategy is because he simply didn’t have the money to finance it.

And to me, that is the biggest problem with the Commission. They filter too many of the projects that get to their desks and subsequently cut the wings of the rest. In other words, if you don’t have either enough money, or a good story (to their eyes) to tell, you won’t get help at all.

As an aspiring filmmaker one gets disheartened by this circumstance, it’s very difficult to get support from the government for us locals, and is why the industry in the island is suffering. The arts are not being developed or nourished by either the government or the Commission.

I didn’t want to make this post “controversial” for lack of a better word, but, the situations have been so many in which it’s been very hard to get funding, that I just couldn’t stand here and say nothing about it. Yes, it has great tax cuts, but that’s about it. I think they can do better than that to help improve the chances for us commoners to get our stories out there.

I truly hope other hopefuls don’t get the terrible luck that we have, and hopefully do whatever you can to get your stories out there for people to admire.

Project and Team Management

noreply@blogger.com (LillyCB) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 08:45:00 +0000

I don’t know if I’ve told you that I’m currently completing my Master’s degree at Full Sail University in Florida. If I haven’t sorry, and well, now you know. The point of the rambling is that I’m taking what I consider to be one of the hardest classes I have ever taken: Project and Team Management. This is the class where they teach you to start caring about other people beside yourself all the time. This is where you learn to remember that you’re not only working for your success, but for the ones that compound your team. To me is like, well, I couldn’t care less about what would happen to me, I can take care of myself, but if you don’t do something that has to be done for group grading, that small part that was assigned to you in the first team meeting suddenly feels like it weighs 100,00 tons. This class is perfect for that. You find yourself in a very professional setting, with audio chats, blog posts, chapter readings, etcetera. It teaches you about the importance of working in team. About relying not solely on your talents and skills but in others as well.

This class has been particularly hard for me because, while I have learned a great deal about myself as a future and potential leader of my own company, I have learned to take care of others and still operate a successful company/business.

Leadership is something that some people are born with. They just have this innate ability to lead others and influence them in many different ways. But leadership is also something that can be developed. As I have progressed in the degree, I have taken a few classes that have taught me to be a leader, like last month in Executive Leadership. One of the books assigned to the class was “Developing the Leader Within You” by John C. Maxwell. And he says in his book just that. You may not have been born a natural leader, but you can be developed into a great one.

I talk about this because the industry where we are submerging ourselves into can make and/or break you into pieces. And if you don’t have clear idea of the type of leader and team and project manager that you are, you won’t make it past the next week (at most). This is probably one the hardest career there is. It’s a constant competition and you must always know that you are dealing with other people’s money. Having a clear and big picture of the project that you are working on (managing/leading) is key to deliver a final product that would be acceptable to your clients.

As far as advice, that’s the best advice I can give you… for now. I’m sure that as my career develops, you will be hearing from me more frequently. Feel free to comment on this post! Happy Sunday!