[Leica] Idiocies on the job

[Mike Johnston <michaeljohnston@ameritech.net>]

<*sigh*>

Another thought--

Photography is generally a lateral business in that there are no teams
and no hierarchies, but loose associations of independents. As such,
nobody is really thinking about your particular part of the job and
looking to make your work comfortable and efficient. Ergo, you have to
put up with an awful lot of idiocy and a fair number of assholes. You
will be much better off if you learn to be sanguine and phlegmatic about
this fact (it is a FACT) and not let it eat at you.

I didn't do so well at this, myself...

...But to continue. About one out of every four Art Directors is a lower
species of humanoid who only outwardly resembles homo sapiens. They know
nothing, have very limited numbers of synapses making electrical
connections, and yet are all-consumingly interested in their complete
and total conviction that THEY are the "creatives" (I even loathe the
word) and you are a hired lackey.

My partner (I assisted him on his jobs, he assisted me on mine) had one
guy who loved to diddle with the lights. Before he'd arrive, my pard
would set up the lights the way he wanted them to end up, and we'd
memorize the placements. Then we'd mix them all up. After the AD
arrived, we'd go through this hour-long dance whereby the AD made all
sort of suggestions about where to move the lights. At the end of a
complicated hour of delicate negotiating, the AD, with our (ahem) help,
had managed to get the lights back into exactly the position we had them
before he arrived. It was just the cost of doing business with that
individual. On the good side, the same guy would sit on the futon and
read comic books (no shit) during the actual shoot, and stay completely
out of our hair; so he wasn't the worst guy we dealt with. Just a gentle
word to the client admiring the Polaroids: "Of course they look
good--Ben really knows his stuff about lighting." Next job, who got
hired? <g>

- --Mike (in full time-wasting mode now, three more hours' work to do
before I can go to sleep and here I am typing e-mails to a list....)