Robby Starbuck - Interview

So this week my blog topic is negotiation. When it comes to music videos or really any kind of video, you will have clients. These clients are going to want the lowest price but the most bang for their buck. You might also find yourself negotiating about payment plans, concepts, editing, and timing for deliverables. These are only a few things that you must discuss with your clients in order to have a successful production.
I was able to talk to Robby Starbuck and ask him a few questions about his past, how he became a music video director, and how he deals with his clients. Robby started producing his own live performance videos for some of his favorite bands. He produced great content in order to build himself a reputation. After shooting for the fun, bands began to pay him to create more creative works of art. Robby stated, “My business is built around having a solid reputation that is created through actions not words.” This is meaningful in a way that relates to his status in the film and entertainment industry. Clients feel safe investing their money into Robby’s films because they know that his reputation is for producing exceptional content.
I also questioned Robby about his relationship with his clients. He says that he likes to affiliates himself with his clients through phone calls, meetings, lunches, etc. Not only does he build a relationship with his clients but also other film industry professionals. He is very easy going and great at giving advice to his clients and other filmmakers, including myself!
I hope you Enjoyed reading my Blog post! Underneath is a link to Robby’s website where you can check out more of his work. Also if you’re interested in reading more of my blogs you can follow me here on blogger or twitter!


Robby's Official Website
http://www.robbystarbuck.com/

My Twitter
https://twitter.com/#!/GetRyanSheehy

Kirby Ferguson - Everything is a Remix

So this guy Kirby makes a great point when it comes to modern Hollywood Blockbuster films. Kirby creatively lays down the fact about entertainment. None of the material or the thoughts in his video is opinionated. They are facts backed up with proof. This concept of lacking or in some films no originality is not new, Kirby put his spin to the case and goes in depth from shot composition, storyline, to oddball oddities that no non filmmaker really pays any attention to.

Kirby takes notice to the subject but does not bash or criticize it in anyway. He states in the beginning of his video blog that audiences take on to subjects, films, and entertaining content that seems familiar to them. This is why the top selling box office films are typically sequels, remakes, or an idea or concept spawned from something different. Trends in filmmaking become trends because the content is made to suit an audience. For an example hot guys are placed in movies to attract young girls. The fan bases for the twilight movies are crazy. Every young girl wants to be on team Edward or Team Jacob. That was a tactic of the past that was adapted through out time. Also while speaking of the movie Twilight the movie was taken from the popular twilight books written by Stephenie Meyer.

Another reason why these remakes are produced is due to the complications of creating completely original content. This is not an easy thing to do because the human mind draws from thing that it already knows. There is so much content out there that it isn’t easy to do something that hasn’t already been done. Another reason is the audiences. Most audiences wont see something that they haven’t heard of. Some thing that isn’t popular won’t generally make a lot in the box office.

All in all, Kirby’s got a great video blog. He comes out with a new one every season and he is currently on his 3rd. They are like mini TV shows on the Internet. I recommend them!
http://vimeo.com/19447662

Enjoy my page and my blogs!
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http://twitter.com/#!/GetRyanSheehy

Music videos With A-list talent and Crew!

I read a very interesting article title “How MTV Plans to Resurrect Music Videos (Hint: By Financing Them)” This article particularly interests me because I am a lover of music and I am a music video director. You can find this article at the link provided below.

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/11/how_mtv_plans_to_resurrect_mus.html

This Article speaks about music videos taking a step forward in the film industry. Big name Directors are starting to collaborate with bands during their down time to produce very story heavy music videos. An example of this would be some of Lady GaGas newest videos such as “Telephone”. MTV is planning to Finance these short films / music videos with a lot larger budget then they have been in previous years. One of the main differences from these music videos to past one would be the use of A-list talent. They want these videos to be of the greatest quality and for the audience to want to watch and re-watch these films. A quote from Gale in this article says "I really do approach these more as films than music videos,” Telling a story is what these directors are born to do. That’s why a lot of music video music video directors often transition to Hollywood blockbuster films. A big name in both industries would be Michael Bay. Michael started off his career creating music videos. His stories and creativity showed in his productions. Eventually a production company signed him and he was off Directing The Transformers Series.

This Article excites me for my future in the film industry. I know that I wont always get to work on the projects that are creative and exciting; such as commercials for toothpaste or other jobs that I wont necessarily have a huge creative input. This article is making a larger number of jobs for filmmakers to produce quality music videos.
I hope this Article review was informative to you everyone. Stop by in a few weeks for my next Film industry blog post.

New York City Film Commission

For my week four blog post, the industry association that I chose was the New York City film commission. I have the website linked below.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/film/html/index/index.shtml

The NYC Film commission is a very useful tool for me, and for any filmmaker looking to live and pursue a career in NYC. This website offers a wide variety of services that cater to filmmakers that live in NYC or filmmakers who plan to shoot in NYC.

One very helpful thing that this page offers is resource. The resources page comes in handy to all filmmakers, but is used for more of the traveling independent filmmaker. This page Offers production guides to the city, studios and soundstages, insurance, permits, and crew. Those are just a few of the key sections on the resource page. This would be great for me. If I plan to shoot a commercial In NYC this page would point me in the right direction for anything that I would need. I would not need any of my own gear or crew because all of the rental houses, and experienced crew are listed on the NYC film commission website.

Another thing this site offers is information about the union and job opportunities. There is a section on this site for production companies to create job listings and help wanted listings. This would be very helpful to me. The NYC film union has the highest amount film production in the state. For most filmmakers in NYC joining and working in the union is the best way to go. Weather you’re a cameraperson or a producer you can work in the NYC film union. This website also has a section for internships. Anyone the is beginning in the film industry needs to have an internship to get their foot in the door.

All in all this is a great website for filmmakers in NYC it has the ability to help you completely plan and organize a production. I plan to use this site for industry updates and information in the future.

Raghava KK - Ted.com Review

After researching and watching a few videos on TED.com I was able to find someone who has inspired me to do what I love. This man is Raghava KK and His speech is titled the five lives of an Artist.

http://www.ted.com/talks/raghava_kk_five_lives_of_an_artist.html

I consider myself to be an Artist. I follow and respect all genres of art whether it is painting, sculpting, fashion, photography, or films. This man Raghava has a great story to tell. He speaks of all his struggles as an artist and his successes as an artist. His story is very real to me. He speaks of his failures and he’s not ashamed to admit that he has had quite a few.
Raghava speaks in the beginning about being “born again”; a mentor of his told him this at a young age. He uses this mentality to his advantage. Every time life throws him and his career a curve ball that he is unable to hit, Raghava uses this down fall as a fresh start. He’s transitioned through his life from a child hood doodler to a well-respected painter. He’s moved from Idea to New York and back. He’s had a very up and down career, and this man is still very young.
Something that has stayed constant through out Raghava’s career was his relationship with the youth. He liked to visit schools and teach about the art. This is something that anyone could respect him for. Giving back to the community with out being asked is a very noble thing to do. This is the beginning for Raghava, and he is on his way to building a positive reputation and memorable legacy for himself.
Something Original that I love about his work is that it is larger then life. A canvas is to small to contain his creative ideas. He paints on Canvas the size of billboards. Another thing that I admire about his work is his lack of conservation. His work is very explicit and not necessarily appropriate for all audiences. Certain things that Happen in his life reflect through his paintings. For example, His Mother was diagnosed with a life threatening disease and She wasn’t expected to live much longer. This showed in Raghava’s work. His portraits of beauty and excitement turned to ugly and horror. This was the cause of one of his many downfalls. Because of his content, nobody wanted to buy his art. His Art is well known and well respected. His love for his art is what inspires me. I want to be at his level. I want my art to inspire others.
I hope that you enjoyed this post! Stop by soon for more Art and Media blog posts!

Robby Starbuck - Music video Director / Producer

Robbie Starbuck is a truly “one of a kind” Director. Robbie directs and produces some of the most controversial videos for a wide variety of very diverse bands. Robbie has worked with bands such as Silverstein, Asking Alexandria, August Burns Red, and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus; Only to name a few.

One of the main similarities in All of Robbie’s work is something that really inspires him to do what he does today. Robbie is very inspired by Dichotomy, Which is like polar opposites. For example Dark vs. Light, or Good vs. Evil. Those examples happen to be some of the major themes in a lot of his work.

Robbie Isn’t only a very creative director, but he is a very intelligent director. He is very business savvy. Robbie knows how to promote himself and he knows how to make money. Robbie is Young, and many major production companies tried to pick him up as a director. Robbie didn’t second-guess these offers. He turned them down immediately and started his own production company titled RSMcreative. The reason behind creating this company was to get his full share of the money the he worked for. Robbie is smart and doesn’t need a manager or a distributor. And for any reason if he needed one, they would work for him. Robbie strives to be a leader in his industry; therefore he works for no one but himself.

One of Robbie’s videos that truly inspires me is his video “Order” By Mother/Father. This video is very controversial and has a theme of good vs. evil that is represented though out the entire video. After watching the video the Side that is good and the side that is evil is very debatable. You have a cult like group that seems to have done something to this black man running through a field. At the end, Two cloaked black men appear with they’re hands up as if they are putting a spell on the cult. The cult dies and the video is over. You can debate this in many aspects. Give the video a watch up top and let me know whom you think is good and whom you think is evil!
Thanks for reading!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I know Harry Potter is not a music Video, but I'm a filmmaker and That includes everything. Not Just music videos. So In my opinion Harry Potter Fans are up there with the Star wars and the Lord of the rings fans. When I got the theatre with my Girlfriend 2 hours early for the primere the place was mobbed with hundreds of harry potter character impersonators. I think it’s great that this book and film has created a very large fan base. I knew people that showed up for the primere up to 7 hours early just to wait in line for the movie. 

     Primeres are great. I love going to see something for the first time. I know its not a Hollywood primere “first showing ever” but it’s a great time and so much more exciting then seeing a movie after its been in theatres for over a week. When you’re sitting in the theatre at a primere, you know that everyone who’s there is just as excited to see this movie as you are. The excitement and anticipation is raging though everyone, which makes the event as a whole so much more worth while then seeing it on any ordinary showing.

     Primeres are a great way to build excitement for any kind of event including music videos. I recently attended a Music video primere of a video that I worked on camera team for at Planet Hollywood in Downtown Disney. The Video was don’t stop Now by Stockholm, and the video was Directed by Justyn Moro. There is a link at the bottom to the official music video. Primeres raise excitement for these videos which makes the release more epic and in turn makes more people interested in viewing your video.

That’s a Rap for this post, Stop by next week for my next Topic of discussion.    

Stockholm Music Video: http://vimeo.com/14373582