a transcript, with clickables:
So a couple of topics that have come up. I’ve mentioned in voice notes past, about the context, context that I’ve been working in as agent, like a new thing in a new world, and there’s just been more and more, just like an avalanche of shit, basically, this whole time. And I, it’s... been... the roughest job in terms of caretaking, which is really difficult, even though it’s, I’ve never had to rock up on a set, and I’m not ever there on set, like lurking, but with talent being... at sea. Just quite a helpless situation. For me and them. I think, I think we’re doing a really good job of keeping in touch with each other and keeping updated and them feeling held, but the reality is it’s quite isolating. And that’s been really difficult. And I... The agents are always really small, perceived to be, really small cogs in quite a big creative machine. Like we, obviously, provide the talent to get the thing done. But once we’ve done that, we are largely left out of the loop. And when you’re trying to look after your talent, that’s really difficult. And I’ve been getting really pissed about it, actually. Because my client has been telling me really big changes in like nightly updates, but following big chats with one of the owners of the production company who I contracted with, where we agree quite big things to keep the thing moving forward and then they change and they don’t seem to think it’s important that they’re the one telling me, and I’m just finding it mad. Like, I don’t.. from an integrity standpoint and just general professionalism, but I can’t tell if I’m over egging that, but if I have a talk with you, and we say we need such and such and such and such to be in place for this thing to.. sorry, cat just appeared, Phife just had a moment. We need such and such and such and such to be in place for us to keep moving forward on this. You say yes, agreed. The next day, those things cease to exist, and not because it’s a bit slow getting them sorted, like they’re gone. They’re not going to be happening. And you don’t think that you should tell me so I can make a call with my client as to next steps, I just think it’s a bit mad. And I also think it’s a little bit shady and the colour of skull duggery to be catching my client in, like, a corridor and telling them things then. And in my head it’s going down like a shady drug deal, I know it’s not because the person is really nice, but we’re talking about business. And if you are telling someone something face to face, while they’re at sea and then asking if they’re happy to carry on, you are most likely going to get a person with their back metaphorically against the wall, feeling obliged to say yes to you. And in voicing that to the production company, they are making it seem like that is out of the question that my client would feel like that. And I just think that is so incredibly naive, and tunnel vision on. It’s just, I just don’t think it’s acceptable and just, I don’t know how many times I need to ask, for those things not to be happening and for them to be said to me. And again, for it to just continue to happen. I’m just like, the integrity on this is, um, not great. And I’ve worked with this company a few times now and it’s been good, but I think what we’ve witnessed here is this project has been too big for them to manage and we have been seeing a company like flapping to keep a thing afloat. And this tags onto something that I’ve spoken about at iii many times. And I believe this is okay. In terms of keeping people on side, I think this is okay at any scale with my experience of different scales. I understand them not wanting to tell their client, Billy Big Potatoes, that they are flapping. But if you want me and my client and all of your contractors to stay on side, if we all know you’re flapping, you may as well just say you’re flapping, and then we’ll all go, ‘oh, okay. So unfortunate, because we’re really kind of relying on you to not be, but you’re calling it, we’re speaking about it, and we can move on past it.’ But if you act like you’re not, and you’ve got it all together, but you’re crying on Zoom. What, like, how do how do we... How do we move? It’s... I’ve been on these zooms and been doing my best to, and genuinely feeling sympathetic to the plight of this company because I know it’s been difficult for months. But it’s business. And... I don’t... Like, your tears don’t change my duties. And my duties aren’t to dry your eyes, they’re to dry my client’s eyes and make sure that they are not wet again at the hands of you, like I don’t... Oh, man, it’s nuts. And then just speaking on like financial things that are happening between them and their client and I’m like, not my problem, like, just not my problem. Um, just extra titbits of information where you’re like, ‘Okay. Just, all right, and onto what we’re here to talk about.’ Um... Yeah, it’s been... It’s been a really mad one, and as I work on things of greater scale, I am continuously reminded at every level that peeps just be winging it. Peeps just be winging it. And if they can, I fucking can. And you fucking can, is the motto of that tale.
And then just some quite strange singularities about a cruise context around its kind of creative control, I suppose. Like, I’m representing a couple of people on this, and one is creatively directing a concept, like, quite a big one. And the production company and their client just keep engaging new people, like to join the team, like creative people, and not running it by the creative director of it, and that just feels a bit nuts to me, and then it’s, I don’t know if this is specific to this, um, this client, but they also, kind of at the last hour, bring in, like, a team of Avengers, like, Heads of Department to come in and whip everything into shape, as they would like it. And I, I wouldn’t feel great about that. And I don’t know who would feel great about that as a creative, but I don’t really understand it as a thing to not say at the top of a job is going to happen. Or just not have happen because I think it’s out of order, but if it’s going to happen, tell people that it will be in good time. And some extra communication around it not being because, like, hold it well. And I don’t think it’s been held.
Well, um, yeah, those are extra titbits, because I really did my big one at the beginning, I think. And then completely, separately... Hmm, is it completely separate? I’m just thinking of.. one of my clients is an associate choreographer, and they have essentially been left holding the entire thing, and... That’s not the role of an associate and if the context that we’re working in means that that happens from time to time, then it needs to be written into a contract, you know, like ‘this person agrees to step up to whatever whatever role, should … happen’, because the entitlement that they’re going to do that or that it’s their job to do that, I have to keep reminding everyone ‘if they want to come home, they can come home.’ Like, the infrastructure isn’t in place for them to do the role they’ve been employed to do. And if they’re willing to stay ‘lucky you’, but they don’t have to.
Ugh, this relates to um, a very recent thing, which isn’t going badly. Don’t get me wrong. It just smells like 2010 and I’m like ‘why are we still doing this?’ Um, 2 things at play here. Um, one, if you’re going to availability check talent for the next day, I do still expect to hear from you on whether that’s happening or not. But I told my clients, ‘I think it’s fair to say stand down for tomorrow’ at like 5:45pm. But even if I hear from you at maybe 11 pm, I won’t get it till the morning, but at least you’ve sent something my way and crossed the T and dotted the I, and I’m just like, ‘why would you availability check for the next day, if your end, you know full well, that you don’t intend to... hire, that you don’t intend to employ them?’ Just bad form, but not unheard of annoyingly. We’ll see. And then in that, like, this is coming from the Assistant Choreographer, these avail checks, and just generally the person that I’m dealing with. And I think that Assistant Choreographers can be, I’ve been this to somebody, where it entailed more admin, um, or admin as well as creative input and helping with the dance. And my thought is, if you need someone to be across admin/liaising with producers, don’t assume that someone that’s physically capable and choreographically good is going to be good at that and maybe just get a really good production assistant, admin person to do that because... One, it’s a lot. Assisting is a lot. Assisting is a lot. I did 2 world tours and a season of X Factor, Italian X Factor, and you are carrying a shit ton. I won’t go as far as to say more than the choreographer. But certainly equal. I think the extra load that the choreographer bears is almost like a cerebral, knowing that their name is on it, but in terms of workload, again, depending on who you’re assisting, it’s a lot. So from a well-being standpoint, take the admin off the load, if you’re expecting them to be across every single bit of material that you’re making, and to be the person generally more front facing with the cast. But also, it just represents you and your brand well if you’ve got someone who actually knows. Who’s got the time to reply promptly and like, has all the.. only job it is is to know all the answers as far as the production side of things go. I don’t know. And like this project is not small, which is part of the reason why I’m sure responses are slow and everything else, but again, it’s like, for how many decades are we going to use that as a reason to do things in janky ways. And that’s not a slight on the individuals. That’s a slight on the industry. Like when does the infrastructure come? Or like when are the standards raised? Um, yeah, I, I remain bamboozled by it.
And my, um, my priorities are looking after my people, as well as I can as opposed to fronting industry wide change. Tried in 2012. We did all right, but without the, without everyone behind you, it’s not happening, and we realised.. I realised as someone that didn’t actually work commercially that much that I cared more than some that worked all the time. And nah, you ain’t getting that level of investment out of me if you lot don’t care. So, I decided to zoom in to my world a little more, which is going really well. Not as well as me picking up this poo. Um, but it does, it does need tackling, and I dare say that it needs people at the level that I, it needs the people where I was in 2012, I think, to be the ones that care en masse, to really make change because it’s you guys, it takes years to push the change through annoyingly, but those years will also be the ones you guys come through as the top tier, the ones being booked. So long game, and, like I say, I tapped out because it just didn’t get the backing that it needed and we were working with Equity, and the red tape around that is one for another day. Janky, janky.
Oh, one more. Why not? Talking to a... Oof. No. I’m not doing it. Not doing it. Next time. Bye.
(first chorus line fo’eva)
