Interview with the General Manager of the Trenton Thunder

Today I had a phone interview with Will Smith the General Manager of the Trenton Thunder baseball team, the AA affiliate of the New York Yankees. The topic of the interview was negotiation. As the GM, Will mentioned that most of his negotiations deal with cost savings. In every business finding new ways to save money is very important, and therefore it is no surprise that this task is given to the GM.

Will mentioned that during negotiations he is rarely between a rock and a hard place. There are usually other options to consider. Some examples he mentioned were in the concessions area of the business: If not Coke then Pepsi, if not Dietz and Watson then Nathans, and so on. Sometimes, if you are the New York Yankees you can have companies bid for the rights to your broadcasts. That was not the case last year when the Thunder changed their radio broadcast station from The Bronc to WTSR. It is always hard to end ties with a partner that you have worked with for years, but when a better offer comes along it would be foolish not to take it. That was the case with switching to WTSR. WTSR offered a better signal over a larger listening area. Which satisfies the Thunder stakeholders, the fans, whom the Thunder will do anything for.

Package and long-term deals are concepts that Will lives by. If a company is willing to really invest with the Thunder, and buy a package deal then they should be entitled to a discount. He mentioned that most of the time companies really like 80% of a package deal. The remaining 20% is what has to be negotiated. For that customization the discount will not be a steep. Will was really animate about negotiating long term deals. In the end he feels that it is the best for both parties to have long-term deals because negotiation takes time. If you have a good working relationship go for the long-term deal. There is no need to renegotiate every year. He also feels that if you offer a long-term deal and they do not except then you can always fall back on a one-year deal.

The main lessons I have learned from this interview are to do your homework and to know your product. If you do both then you will be prepared for whatever the other side throws at you.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

     I am currently reading the book Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. This book is a biography of Jobs life published shortly after he died. Jobs personally went to Isaacson to have this book made because he wanted the world to know his story. Jobs wanted no say in what was written. He only wanted a say in what the cover art looked like. In essence that was Jobs, he was all about the presentation.

     What I found really interesting about this book was the early years of Apple, and how it came to be. Jobs co-founded Apple with Stephen Wozniak. Wozniak was the engineer who built the computers, and Jobs was the business side of the company. Together they started the partnership with $1,300 in working capital.

The Apple I was the first product Apple Computers sold. It came preassembled for commercial use rather then for the hobbyists, who bought computers to assemble and customize for themselves. The order was for 50 computers that would be sold for $500 apiece. Apple did not have the money to pay for the parts. They took out a $15,000 loan for 30 days and worked around the clock to make sure the computers where made, and could be sold in time to pay back the loan. They made a profit of $10,000 on that first order.

Then came the Apple II in 1977. To finance the Apple II Mike Markkula invested $250,000 to become one-third equity participant. Thus Apple became a corporation with each owner having 26% of the stock saving the rest to offer to other investors. Markkula was in charge of marketing and sales. He taught Jobs that the look of the product was very important. Thus the Apple II had rounded corners and white instead of black. Over the next 16 years almost 6 million Apple II would be sold.

This launched the beginning of a great career for Jobs. The Mac, iPod, iTunes, iPhone, and iPad would follow the Apple II and make Apple Corporation one of the most successful groundbreaking companies ever. From Apple’s 1997 “Think Different” commercial, “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” That is what Apple has done with the leadership of Steve Jobs.

References

Isaacson, W. (2011). Steve Jobs. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Concert

I recently went to a Trans Siberian Orchestra (TSO) concert to get me in the holiday spirit. This was my first TSO concert, and I was looking forward to it. I became a fan of TSO because of their Christmas music, not knowing that they are so much more. For those of you who don’t know (because I didn’t) TSO is made up of six longhaired rocker guys and one girl. The name orchestra is used in a different way when talking about TSO. When I think about an orchestra I see a large group of musicians playing strings, woodwind, brass, percussion, and a conductor leading them. TSO is different in that they are a band with guitars, drums and keyboards that also has a string section of 6 musicians. These musicians are selected from a local orchestra from the city TSO is currently playing in.

     This concert was amazing. I knew that the audio would be good because I already love their songs, but I had no idea that the production quality was going to be so high. TSO tells a story with their music. They have a narrator who paints the picture, and then the song and lights display tells the story. The lighting was expertly done. The lights dance around the area and stage in a very visually appealing way that highlights the tempo of the song.

The rigging moved up and down. It had video monitors on the ends, and at one point the monitor displayed teeth. The rigging looked like a dragon with flame coming out of its’ mouth. There was cold flow, snow falling and lasers. As well as a bridge that came down from the celling that their dancers danced on. This is the type of show that I would like to work on one day.

I would really like to know how they finance a tour like this. I had the highest price range ticket of $70. TSO does something really nice. One dollar from every ticket goes to a local charity in the city they are currently playing in. For the concert I went to $10,883 was given to a local soup kitchen. Then they have to pay their crew to set up and break down the set. The equipment I assume is rented. TSO has 6 orchestra members, 7 singers, 1 narrator and 7 members of the band. It takes a lot to put on a concert. If I want to start my own venue I am going to have to learn a lot more about finance, and I hope that this month will be a great start to my financial education.

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

“Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish” those were Steve Jobs parting words to the 2005 graduating class of Stanford University. They weren’t even his own words (they came from the Whole Earth Catalog), but this parting sentiment is what I will take away from this commencement speech. But let’s start from the beginning. Jobs is an excellent storyteller. His commencement speech was broken down into three stories. In essence these stories cover his life.

     Jobs dropped out of college because he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life. College for him was taking required classes that were not interesting to him. Instead he sat in on classes that were interesting to him. Jobs mentions a calligraphy class that ten years later inspired him to incorporate into the first Mac Computer. This was his first story about “connecting the dots”. Jobs wants all of us to trust that the choices we make now will connect the dots to the future.

     Jobs next story was about how he overcame being fired from Apple. He claims that being fired was the best thing that could have happened to him. He was now free to be creative. Jobs started over with two new companies Next and Pixar. The moral of this story was to “love what you do”. Jobs believes this and follows it everyday.

     In the aftermath of his passing this last story about how to live each day as if it was your last is the most touching. Jobs talks about having pancreatic cancer, and having to prepare for his death. Having faced that challenge once he hoped to have a few more decades before he had to do it again. Unfortunately, that was not the case. His point of this story is to follow your dreams, and not to let anyone stop you from obtaining that dream. Life is too short to follow someone else, and deny yourself from doing what you love to do.

     Now back to Jobs parting words, “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.” After listening to Jobs explain his background he truly lived by these words. To me they mean never settle for what society is telling you to do or follow. Go against the norm of society, and keep improving on what you love to do. I personally will try to live by his words of wisdom because they make sense, and they worked for him.

Rest in Peace Steve and thank you for you genus innovations.

What is PLASA?

Earlier this year, 2011, the Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) and the Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA) merged under the PLASA name. PLASA exists to support the people who work in everything from theatre, live music, to TV and film. PLASA regulates technicians who work with camera cranes, electrical power, fog and smoke, performance floors, rigging and stage lifts. The main goal of PLASA is safety. They have developed the Entertainment Technician Certification Program, which will be awarded to technicians who pass the rigorous requirements.

As a stage manager my number one goal is also safety. Backstage during a show is dark. It is important that all props are organized and all wires are off the floor. This ensures that everything is in its proper place, and there are no trip hazards around. In addition the equipment we use is heavy, and most of the time hanging from the catwalk. It is important that there are regulations in place to protect the cast, crew and audience. For example, every light must have a safety cable attached to it in case the C clamp comes off the pole.

PLASA membership includes a wide range of benefits such as: business support and advice, industry news, events and meetings, business resources and financial advantages, industry research, technical and professional development. These are great benefits to those who want to improve their skills and strengthen the entertainment industry.

One way PLASA tries to strengthen the entertainment industry is by holding trade shows. This years trade show took place at Earls Court in London from September 11 to the 14^th. There were over 340 companies that displayed their exhibits in audio, AV, lighting, stage tech and rigging. This was the place to be to discover the latest technology in the entertainment world.

To keep up to date with the changing technology PLASA publishes Lighting & Sound America, Lighting & Sound International and Protocol. These industry-focused magazines cover product and business development as well as industry news and issues. Some of the material in the print magazine can be found on the website for free.

PLASA is a small entertainment association of around 1,100 members. However, these members are dedicated to their craft, and what they do is important for the events industry to operate successfully. So here to the people who work behind the scenes to make events possible and safe for everyone to enjoy.

Problems on Set

In live theater anything can happen. I am learning this first hand right now. Of the sixteen shows we have put on so far only one has been considered perfect. Problems will arise. It is how you overcome them that matter.

One major issue I have been having is with staffing this show. My employees agreed to the duration of the show, and then they tell me that certain days they can’t make it to work. This makes me short staffed, and then others are expected to not only do their job but someone else’s as well. This has been the cause of some minor mistakes because of job confusion.

Props have also been malfunctioning. One night the magic trick did not work because the platform and stairs did not fit together in time. Another issue we had was with a stilt strap that broke. I cannot send an actor out on stage with a broken stilt strap. Safety is my number one priority.

The projection curtains, and lighting cues have also been an issue. There is a curtain that covers the projector, and this past weekend it completely fell off the pulley system we made for it. In a way this was a blessing because now we know what our error was in construction and we have fixed it. Then, lighting issues occurred when the smpte timecode was out of sync. The lighting cues change automatically because of the smpte timecode on the DVD.

These issues are nothing compared to this last problem be had, and that would be with the fog machine. We pumped out so much fog that it flowed backwards behind the stage and set off the smoke alarm.  I knew right away that the fog was the reason the alarm went off. So I turned off the machine and started blowing a fan to clear the smoke. My actors on stage had no idea because the music was so loud they could not hear the alarm. They finished the remaining three minutes of the show. Then the fire company came and told us that if it happens again that we can no longer use the fog machine in our show. I never thought that I would have to know about smoke patterns and airflow, but now I do.

This has been a very trying experience, and I have learned a lot from all the complications we have had. Lucky for us we still have 21 more shows that we can still make perfect. Despite these complications the audience usually has no idea that something is not quite right. As long as that is the case we are doing a good job.

Ghoulmaster's Ghost 2011 Show

October means the beginning of Fright Fest at Six Flags Great Adventure located in Jackson, New Jersey. Fright Fest is a special time of year when Great Adventure is turned into a haunted theme park. The undead roam around the park looking to scare everybody. There are terror trials and horrifying shows. I am currently working on the Ghoulmaster’s Ghost show as the stage manager.

Ghoulmaster’s Ghost is haunting stage production filled with great dancing and special effects. The Ghoulmaster is the one and only Pete Carter. Pete is a talented Alumni of Full Sail University’s TV and Film Production program. Today he left this Facebook message:

“My new show "Ghoulmaster's Ghosts" opens TONIGHT at Six Flags Fright Fest. The past two months I have been preparing: filming, costumes, props, set pieces, writing script, writing lyrics, photography, special effects, graphic design, video editing, audio mixing, rehearsals, no sleep, and tonight it all comes together. Featuring a very talented cast of Ghosts, A new original song written by me and Santino Noir, choreography by the incredible Stepp Stewart, Rayvon Reed, and Lauren Avon, set pieces by Charles Convery. Playing every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through October at Six Flags Great Adventure's Fright Fest.”

It is an honor to work with Pete, and I am proud to be his stage manager.

            As the stage manager it is my job to make sure that everything is set in place for the show. That includes all of the props, set pieces, costumes, working fog machine and curtains. I also make sure my stagehands know when to: place and remove the set pieces, operate the curtain, fog machine, and help with costume changes. I also need to know how to operate the lighting and sound boards if for any reason my technician is not able to do it.

            This month is going to be a blast. If you are in the New Jersey area come out to Six Flags Great Adventure and join in the Horror Revolution.