MediaSlap blog

I remember when I bought my first house. Either for reasons of lack of money or ego (you know a 20 something can do anything), I decided we needed a new wood fence and I was just the one to put it up. So, down to the local hardware store I go. I purchased the wood, lots of nails and a new hammer. Of course, I had read all the books on carpentry and had seen a few fences built, so I had everything I needed to do a first class job. Who needs to hire a professional? I have all the tools I need and at less cost.

Well, after 4 weekends, not the ONE I had expected, I had my fence standing, well sort of. It was 50 feet of the most crooked thing you ever saw not to mention that every post and picket was a different height. Oh, and the materials, I only had to go back and buy more 3 times not including the trips to return things that I didn’t need. And of course, to add insult to injury I still had to hire a carpenter to fix my mistakes before the Home Owners Association made to tear the fence down as an eyesore.

I think this story pretty well parallels what I see happening so much today in production. I know it’s a tough world out there; the appearance of saving money while achieving the same results is very seductive. But, no more could I build a good fence just because the tools were available to me than most people could do a professional audio/video production just because the programs are on their computer. Those carpenters have spent years learning their craft, making mistakes and learning how to fix them quickly, but most importantly learning to work with style and creativity. In the long run it doesn’t cost more to do it right in the first place rather than have to fix it. Like they say “pay me now, or pay me later”.