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…

In industry, there is something called “disruption.” Some companies go down because of disruption, and some companies thrive in disruption. It is called their AQ adaptability quotient. How well they adapt to disruption or change in their sector of an industry. Going back to normal will not happen. Normal is only relative to the present…

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…

Ever wonder what it was like to sail on a pirate ship?  The diversity of the crew and their backgrounds. The shared experiences of each crew member.  The different adventures that each day would bring.  Maybe battling for your life against the big corporate armada. (Oops almost gave away the analogy.) I have run serval…

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,…

Okay that’s enough generation profiling…from all gens to all gens.. I’m tired of hearing people talk about Gen Z’s bad social skills or the Millennials sense of entitlement. I am tired of hearing my generation talk about the industries future like “chicken little yelling about the sky is falling”. (Google it up if the reference went…

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…

Calling ALL creatives… “You need to relax…” How many times have you heard someone tell you that! Easy to say … but hard for most of us to do.  If your career depends on you being at your creative best, as mine does, you better learn to shut down. I mean really shut down, turn off…

I have thirty years of experience working at the highest level of music and broadcast programming. Co-authored fifteen books on the creative use of technology in the music industry. I’ve written over a hundred blogs posted on Ferro City and social media. Completed seventy-plus One-on-One interviews and documentaries with industry legends and working professionals in…

Did you ever blow out the sound system at Carnegie Hall an hour before showtime? Did you ever Nova the lighting grid in the studio during a live broadcast? Have you ever wiped out all the drum tracks on a Steely Dan album before its release without backing it up? Did you ever pull the…

Today’s smartphones didn’t just appear on the market and radically changed the world. Several instrumental developments had to happen prior. Actually, nothing just happens on its own. There is always a sequence of events before what is perceived as the major event. Whether it’s technology, medical advancement, music, story or film, they are all influenced…

I spent my entire career / life being part of a band, team, crew or department and never thought much about.   That was until the events of the 2020 pandemic hit and forced all of us to stand down from working in person. It was after that that I understood the critical element needed…

Stop blaming it on the technology. How often do you hear people say, “I never got that email.” Never got your text” or “My phone never rang”. Stop it! This isn’t 1980 when tech was still glitchy. How about the “My laptop crashed, and I lost all the notes from the preproduction meeting.” “Didn’t get…

Some people train daily for hours in a gym, some study a single subject for years, many spend a life time honing their skills to a fine edge. All preparing in anticipation of an opportunity that hopefully will just show up at their front door. Then there are others who just walk onto the playing…

That may sound like a weird title for career in the entertainment production industry so let me unpack it a little more. A few weeks ago, my team and three other vendors were renovating a broadcast studio. Most of the folks working this gig had dozens of years of experience in the biz.  Some of us…

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…

You can get trapped limiting your growth even if you’re working at the highest level in your industry. At one point in my career I ended up working at ITT Defense as a QC engineer on the Shuttle missions and GPS satellite project (which at the time was a highly classified government satellite system). I…

We live in what is known as the “Information Age .”The transition from the Industrial Age to the Information Age began somewhere around the mid-20th century. This transition was the result of an economy centered on traditional industries becoming an economy centered on information. Which parallels the development of computers spawned by the invention of…

“…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…

Waiting your turn and laying back in a creative collaboration environment is more beneficial then leading the conversation. The creation of an episodic show, a movie, a play, a song, etc. all need to blend the talents of a diverse group of creatives. It also takes everyone knowing when to execute their particular talents /…

If you’re interested in the entertainment production industry, I’m willing to share my 30plus years battling and succeeding in it. Sometimes being creative is not as awesome as other people think. Let me explain why that’s not true… Some people think being creative is a curse.  I was one of those people.  I had way too…

Would you believe me if I told you I knew a guy who quit school at 16 and went to work in the Caltech Music Lab. At 18 was handpicked by Tom Oberheim, founder of a leading and pioneering synthesizer manufacture of the same name, Oberheim. This “kid” went on to help design Oberheim’s OBXa,…

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…

If you go back through history, you will see a constant forward shift in technology and a dynamic shift in how creatives adapt and expand their creativity with this tech. Before the invention of the camera, the only way to capture a moment in time or the impression of something they saw was by capturing…

“Natural Position” is a term used in professional sports to describe a position that an athlete is “naturally” built to play. This natural ability is driven by either experience, physical characteristics or an innate aptitude, as opposed to a position he / she is being forced or asked to play other than their natural position…

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…

The worst advice ever shared is, “Don’t ever change. You are prefect as you are”.  Yea, I’m old but so will you be someday. BUT I’m still professionally relevant and have more work than I can handle. Why? I RECOGNIZE CHANGE, ADAPT TO THE CHANGE and “GO WITH THE FLOW”, as my daughter would say. …

In day’s world most people have lost touch with their instincts or if they still hear that internal voice motivating and guiding them they find a million ways to deny its value. That’s unfortunate because it’s the sole human trait that we all possess naturally and it is the key to finding and fulfilling your…

I know I’ve written about this before but it is so important that I thought I’d do it again. Before you get all, “Your generation doesn’t understand how we get our information. Your old ways take too long to explain and provide more information then I need when I need it.” Let me start by…

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.”…

This past Thanksgiving found me sharing my holiday dinner with some of my broadcast production family. Yes, if you’re watching TV on a holiday many of us are working to make that happen. This blog isn’t about me complaining about working on a holiday or missing being with my family, which I did, it’s about “reflection”.…

Remember saying those words, “When will I ever need to know this…” while sitting in algebra, earth science or any other class you had no interest in. Well, you may not have ever used the exact formulas you memorized for the algebra test BUT without realizing it you probably learned how to solve life problems.…

Them: “When will I stop being nervous at the start of a gig?” Me: “NEVER!!  And that’s a good thing.”   Anatomy of pre show nerves  When I started writing this post I was also in the middle of preparing for a gig at Carnegie Hall, NYC.  My production company, Ferro Productions, was hired to capture a new…

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…

Does tech drive creativity or does creativity drive the development of new tech? In the 70s creative artists turned a device for playing records, the turntable, into an instrument which became the center piece of a new genre of music. That creative use of old tech, tech that was originally developed to playback music from…

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…

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…

Before I begin this week’s writing I want to extend my deepest condolences to Jeff Beck’s family, friends and dedicated fans. This week the music industry lost one of its’ most talented and innovative musicians. RIP Beck you will be missed. Many of the positive comments I have been getting on these blog posts come…

Freaking out over a new tech like AI isn’t a new experience. Because change has been part of a creative’s life forever. The threat of AI taking over the whole world or replacing all of our jobs is ridiculous. AI is an awe-inspiring technology. As with all new tech, it comes with the fear of…

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…

“That’s it for me! I screwed that up BIG TIME!!” When you’re in the midst of a crisis, whether it’s a job that didn’t work out, a gig you screwed up, or even something you got blamed for that wasn’t your fault. Don’t dwell on the mess.   Make a list of what you learned. The…

When we look back to how things were done in the past, we usually say, “wow they must have loved what they did because it took so much time and work to accomplish.” Now imagen seventy-five years from now what people will say about us, “wow they must have loved what they did because it…

Creative people come in all shapes and flavors.  Accountants can be a creative. A doctor, a teacher and of course writers, painters, musicians etc. are all creative.   Being a creative means you see and think about things differently.  You see new ways of doing old things, henry ford for example took the horse and wagon and thought “automobile”.  George Lucas saw the 1950’s western the…

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…

Throughout my career’s early years, all I heard was, “You need more experience.” We all know the catch twenty-two about acquiring experience, “How do you get it if no one will give you a shot without it?” First, having experience doesn’t mean they are good at their job. It doesn’t even mean they know anything…

There is no question advice is a key to learning and succeeding.  Whether it is advice on how to best overcome an immediate problem or a better way to operate a piece of gear, relationships, or career paths. Almost anything you can think of is better played with advice. But just like Ben and Jerry’s…

“Receiving an award or individual recognition for a collaborative effort is unfair”. You would expect this statement to come from a person who has NOT received awards or recognition for their creative contributions. This time is coming from a person who HAS received many such awards and recognitions. During my career I have received five…