Donnybrook Production Services

This adage dates back quite a while, and is actually rooted in a more complex management formula too dizzying to cite here verbatim.  After all, I’m simply maintaining a self-serving and (dare I say) witty & entertaining blog, not crafting an outline for a management strategies handbook.  Nevertheless, there’s something about this maxim that has always resonated with me.  It was adopted and employed heavily @ Get-Kinetic, the Philly-based production company that I called home for several years.  And it’s stuck with me since journeying into the treacherous freelance terrain nearly a year ago.

Regardless of how solid and stable a relationship one might adopt with a client (or potential client), there’s no denying that vendors and employing firms/individuals will always find themselves at odds over this belief; with the later party nearly always pushing to secure all three of these things to their own selfish benefit.  Holding the line when it comes to this set of conditions falls squarely on the shoulders of the bidding party, and the delicacy with which it must be maneuvered is an art form in and of itself.

Being a relative ‘newbie’ with regards to the established world of self-employment (I kinda feel like a full fiscal year in the books is necessary to live down this title), I’m still trying to figure out how to get client-folk to swallow this typically bitter pill.  I have, however, been lucky enough to develop a number of solid professional relationships over the course of my first year as a freelancer…and I suppose that if 12 or so months down the road I’m still trudging along with my head above water (and still maintaining this witty & entertaining blog), perhaps I’ll have amassed a bit more worthwhile advice on the matter!

“I don’t want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don’t want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don’t want to do that.” – Lloyd Dobler, “Say Anything”; 1989

OK, so it’s Monday morning, and I have yet to resort to diving out of any windows in despair over the heart-wrenchingly early departure of the Phil’s from the 2011 Post Season.  That said I’m reeling, and still feeling more than a little frustration over the whole debacle that was Friday night.  It might’ve felt better if we got blown out…it might have felt better if we lost 1-0/2-1 in extra innings, given the pitching match-up…perhaps the frustration may have been rivaled if we goofed and blew some sort of huge, cushy lead.  But alas, none of those were the case.  Instead, we limped offense-lessly through a disparaging nine innings of torture!

My brother put it succinctly (as he’s often able to do with the Phil’s when I’m struggling to find the logic), when he addressed the fact that the Phil’s have never been a good ‘small ball‘ club.  And it’s true, they’re just not.  Rather, they’re at their best when exhibiting an awe-inspiring performance, and lack the steady attention to the fundamentals of the game.  In their recent playoff success stories, they rode the long ball all the way to the World Series for two straight years.  Since then, with injuries prevalent, they’ve been unable to capitalize on the basics and principals that make most baseball teams successful.  Now granted, two things are a given: 1 – I’ll feel a heck of a lot better if the Card’s ride their late season hot streak all the way to a parade, and 2 – I’ll be sporting my Phil’s caps all through the year, anxiously awaiting them to take the grass @ Citizen’s Bank in April.  I cant help it…I’m a lifer!

Having said that, and as I’ve often done this past season, I started to see correlations to the film production industry here in Philly…another often frustrating situation.  The fact of the matter is, all major film markets (New York & L.A. first among the list) witness a sustaining, year-round level of consistent ‘small ball’ production activity.  Episodic TV, reality-based TV, indie level feature film production, and big budget studio offerings all balance the slate.  Here in the CoBL, however, it seems we’re more ‘flash in the pan’ when it comes to our annual production docket, with typically only a handful of big-budget films swooping in for short stints before leaving the scene vacant for even longer stints.  And just like the Phil’s, with their impressive collection of Aces, Philly has all of the key ingredients to be a perpetually strong film market, making it all the more frustrating that it cant seem to capitalize on them.

I’m as loyal to the Greater Philly film region as I am to the Fightin’s, but sooner or later the draw up the turnpike will prove to be a sweeter temptation than I can ignore.  And while I’ll no sooner become a native New Yorker than a Yankees fan, there’s no arguing that the fruitful production-sustenance of the Big Apple is an appetizing proposition.

Having spent a part of this past weekend helping out with some loose ends on the indie feature “Backwards”, as they were back in the saddle for some pick-up footage, I’m hearing rumors that the film is coming together quite nicely.  And while it was fun to get back into the field with a collection of the department heads & crew again, I’ll admit to being at least mildly distracted by NLDS Game 1 (the Fightin’s were also hosting the visiting Card’s down @ CBP).

While balancing my UPM-esque duties with my addictive Phil’s fever, I was reflecting on the growing collection of local philmmakers that are proud to set their sticks in the Greater Philly region.  The gents over at the South Jersey-based Kphat Productions always seem to be up to something feature-film related, and have begun to amass an impressive collection of company credits.  Meanwhile, the Producer/Director team of  James Madison &  Nic Reader seem to be ready to take their Expressway Productions moniker to the next level, hot on the heels of their successful short film collaboration “Runner”.  And with the likes of Ben Hickernell’s “Backwards”, the environmentally conscious indie darling “Future Weather”, and the horror treat “Alpha Girls” all bound to hit screens in the coming year, we could be in store for a potential hat-trick of Philly-based philm fare witnessing some much deserved exposure.

As I ramp up talks this week with the philmmakers behind the comedy “Angus”, penned by local screenwriter David Greenberg, I remain as optimistic as ever that Philly will soon witness its full potential as a viable and sustaining film market.