My father spent his life as an auto machinist and my uncles were all construction workers.  Anytime I was about to start wrenching my Harley or adding an addition to my house, my father and uncles would remind me, “you need the right tool to do the right job”.  Although, it took me a few decades to truly…

Being a Digital Engineer, primarily hardware engineering, and being a “Creative”, primarily Video, Music and Writing, I’ve been told I use both sides of my brain. Apparently, neuroscience had said that is unusual.   Well now some of them say that Right Brain / Left Brain dominance is a myth. It is more complex than Right…

Story sounds like a simple word. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it is incredibly complex. A complex story might be a feature film or a book series like The Hobbit or Harry Potter. A Broadway play or even Ted Talks are stories. Then again, it could be as simple as you relating a situation that happened…

The power of AI, Wonder Studio, the family of Adobe apps, Avid and so much more have changed and are changing the way we create. But unlike past tech, new tech is coming at us so fast and furious (do I have to pay licensing fees for using that phrase) it’s hard to keep up, let alone master them. Historically,…

TOO LONG FOR A POST …BUT WORTH YOUR TIME With the passing of yet another 911 anniversary I am always drawn to the day and the flood of emotions it created. For all of us there is “a” moment. The moment we heard, saw or felt the horror.  The moment we realized how fragile our…

When you roll up your selves and start your struggle, people will see your struggle, and talented people will come to your aid.  If you sit on your couch and plan your struggle no one is going to help.  Help comes when someone can see your attempts. Not having the right resources whether its money,…

The first step anywhere is never exciting in itself. Where that step leads is AMAZING What happens once you Get In?  Let’s say you found someone who offered you some rando gig. Not exactly what you wanted but at least it’s something in the outer ring of the production.  Now what? Now pay attention! No, not to…

Let’s begin with the defining of these words: WISDOM 1. The quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise. “listen to his words of wisdom” 2. The soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment. the body of knowledge and principles…

“…I’ve been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a king I’ve been up and down and over and out…” Remember those lyrics sung by Frank Sinatra? No? Check out his video That’s Life or just the lyrics. This song could easily be your anthem once you decide to choose a life in the…

I’ve been told Goldfish only grow to the size of their surroundings / bowl / tank. Whether that’s a myth or not is not going to be decided in this post.  Let’s assume for a minute it’s true. Throughout my long career, in many different sectors of the entertainment production industries, I have met many…

Starting your career in a corporate / network environment could be like a non-domesticated animal being raised in captivity while working as a freelancer might be more like that animal trying to survive in the wild. As many of you know, there are significant differences between life as a freelancer and a staff gig. Even…

I want that job NOW… Don’t sweat the WAIT… remember when you were little, driving with the family and asking a hundred times, “ARE WE THERE YET”. NO? How about waiting for your birthday or holiday and asking every day, “IS IT TODAY?”. Still not ringing a bell. I know you know this one, “when…

I’ve been at my career (life) for a long ass time. I’ve had some really amazing moments along the way.  I’ve learned a ton. I developed an insane network of incredible people. At this point in my career you might say, “I made it”.  Made it? Ummmm Yes, I’m proud of what I’ve done. I have even…

A “fresh out” told me her story about having a hard time finding a gig since she graduated. She went back to her professor and asked for advice. The prof offered up this pathetic solution. He told her to fill in the blank and then go for it: I want to be a ____.   How…

THEM: “I learn everything I need to know on TikTok, You Tube or Insta”    ME:“Why? THEM: “Oh that’s because I can multitask and have a short attention span so learn tons in 60 sec bites.” ME: “You know who else has a short attention span… the people that need to remember you after the gig.”…

In the world of entertainment production, the roles of show producers, supervising producers, and production managers can often be shrouded in mystery for those outside the industry. The question I frequently get asked is, “What do these professionals do, and what does it take to excel in their roles?” Regardless of whether I’m working on…

When do you know it is time to quit trying and move on. When is it the right time to jump from the gig you’re presently on to something else?Maybe it’s time to move to something other than the gigs you’ve been doing?Or maybe it’s time to quit and find a new career. Have you…

Creatives, visionaries, inventors and “dreamers”, all share one limitation, the desire to create. Yup! You read that right the desire to create is a limitation. Limiting how? You ask. Usually financially!  Most people who have found their “muse” (that word sounds so bougie or hipster. But it serves its purpose here) spend most of their…

When you’re a creative whose craft is dependent on technology, like recording music or creating video, mastering that tech is important.  But mastering tech isn’t the key to succeeding. The real key to success is about knowing your craft.  Mastering your tech tools is unarguably important. Knowing the how, why and where you should apply…

What’s right for me may not be right for you. This may very well be one of the most confusing writings I’ve done to date. Why? Because for the longest time I have been telling you to learn your craft, techniques, style, skills from others in the biz who are and have been successful. Now…

We all know the word, collaboration. We all agree collaboration yields the best projects/products. I have written and lectured a ton about finding backdoors into the industry to meet people to collaborate with and learn from. When you’re leaving a concert or theater play, stop by the sound, lighting video console, and congratulate them on…

A GATHERING OF PASSION AND TALENT  was invited to a gathering of indie film folks. The sponsors presented it as an industry networking mixer. A chance to meet others in the biz, expand your understanding of the opportunities in the biz and maybe attach to a project.  The challenging part of those opportunities is that…

A million years ago, I spent my days designing and studying the creation of sound through the technology of analog and digital synthesizers. My nights were occupied by pushing audio faders and tweaking EQs as a studio and live sound engineer throughout NYC’s recording studios, clubs and concert venues. Without realizing it I was rewiring…

Lights, Camera, Action… Is that all it takes to bring a story to life? Some lights, a camera and go for it? As all of you in the biz know, that’s not even close to what it takes. For those in the biz, this article or post or whatever I’m supposed to call these writings,…

Let’s start with one the questions I’ve been asked for the last thirty years by hundreds of different people, “do you need to go to school to be in the entertainment production industry?” Do you need to? No. Should you probably Yes.  Confused? Get used to it, these industries are confusing.   But I have developed an arsenal of insights and…

The one of the questions I’ve been asked for decades is, “How much should I charge for my time? … What should I say my rate is?” Sounds like a simple question and my answer is usually just as simple, “What do you value your time at and how important is this gig to your…

I spend a lot of time talking about developing your skills, learning the talents that are of value to the industry and Cross Training yourself to perform in different production opportunities. Those are all critical to know but difficult to learn. I say, difficult to learn, not because you don’t have the aptitude to learn…

You know that feeling the first time you found yourself out in the woods completely out of your element and the temperature dropped to below freezing.  Your face and hands started becoming numb. The only chance to make it through the night was to try and start a fire, but how? When you started looking for…

If you follow people’s social media accounts in the production entertainment industries, you’d think everyone, everyday are living the best life.  Everything goes their way. And every day is successful and loaded with adventures. That’s not to say everyone’s post are Bull Sh** T. There are a lot of people doing cool gigs.  Just not every minute…

Just because… Just because you’ve been at this for decades doesn’t mean you have aged out. Just because your old ways have been replaced with new ways doesn’t mean you’ve aged out. Just because you hear new words doesn’t mean you don’t understand what is being said. Just because you don’t understand “why” things are now being done a different way doesn’t mean the way things were done…

Don’t know anything about the pain of giving birth or having a child grow inside you for nine months? Neither do I! But I do know about the pain and discomfort about giving birth to your career in the entertainment industry. The first 2 to 3 years are killer.  Every successful person is the biz didn’t…