Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Production. These are Rosemary’s 7 P’s of Production, which are there to not frighten us interns but to prepare us for any curve ball that may come and ruin a good event. Turns out our first video shoot at the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 2012 Gala couldn’t have thrown more curve balls. But with every mistake there is a lesson to be learned. Check out our top 5 lessons we learned.
Lesson #1…
Always make sure to check the invitation for the location you will be shooting at!
(Our mistake)
We thought that since we knew the name of the Hotel (Park Hyatt) that we would be able to Google the location and get the address. Well, we did and we were incredibly wrong. We ended up arriving on time to the wrong location. The lesson we eventually learned was to make sure that we check the invitation for the location.
Lesson # 2…
Bring Extra Gaffer Tape!
(Our mistake)
We thought one roll of Gaffer Tape would be enough and it was. Until we ran out during the program! Gaffer Tape is very important. If you don’t have it, you could have a potential lawsuit on your hand. But since we didn’t have enough, I had to go and stand over every cord that was sticking up to prevent someone from tripping and potentially suing Double R. The best thing to do is ALWAYS have extra Gaffer Tape.
Lesson #3…
Make yourself available at all times!
(Our Mistake)
We were all extremely busy. In fact, we were too busy to make ourselves available to Paul and Claudio. It is very important to do your task but also to help when needed. We are the interns after all.
Lesson # 4…
Watch out for all paperwork and equipment!!!
(Our Mistake)
With all the paperwork and equipment that goes into making a video shoot great, you have to be able to make sure that you know where everything is! I put down my clipboard for five seconds and the folks at the hotel were cleaning up and grabbed it with all the release forms. Thank God they took it to the back and didn’t throw it away. Make sure to always know where everything is!
Last but certainly not least is Lesson #5…
Work Hard but Play Harder
(Our Mistake)
It’s very important to do the job as efficient and as well as you can. However, keep in mind you’re at a beautiful venue and you are allowed to have fun as long as your work is being completed. Also a lesson that “I” especially learned is to relax and not try and do things on your own. You have a team and support system. Don’t burn yourself out trying to do everything.
So as you can see we made some mistakes on our first video shoot. However, with every mistake is a new lesson learned. I believe I learned a lot of lessons and have grown already from them.
— Bryan Johnson
