How Canon captured more than photos and film

Suzette at the Canon Event, Paramount Studios, Los Angeles, CA

Friday, November 4th at The Paramount studios in Los Angeles, Canon launched it’s newest product the C300. As a Canon 7d owner and longtime industry film and photo freelancer, I was excited to receive an invite from Canon to be at the product debut for a hands on demonstration.  Canon captured more than photos and film they captured their audience. Canon got alot of the publicity event elements right but professionals say they missed the mark with their product. Regardless, Canon knows how to put on a good show and get people talking.

This post isn’t about covering the specifications on this product, only a brief analysis of the publicity element, so if you are interested in reading more about the camera specs check out this blog:

http://www.onerivermedia.com/blog/?p=429

Canon delivered hundreds of passes to the product launch event to Media production facilities and notable film/video individuals around the country. By sending out invitations, to those movers and shakers in the film and video industry, Canon focused on the group they felt was their target audience. Focus is a key factor in determining your user group, and how the product will affect workflow. In this case filmmakers looking for a cinematic style optioned camera with easy maneuverability.

Location of the launch event was a key factor in setting the right mood for the aim of this product, namely filmmakers. Holding the event at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, the film capital of the world made a bold statement to the community that Canon is opening its market to a new type of filmmaker whose budget is around the 20k area. Obviously, location is great way to shift your audiences thought process about your product. The average person knows Canon as a photography company as well as their dominance in HDSLR arena but this announcement gets people to see the company in multiple aspects.

Another vital aspect of this event launch was the hands on product demonstration and cross promotion effort. Canon had more than a generous amount of different models available in different configurations to suit a variety of filmmaking situations. We all know how important it is to be able to hold the product in hand and get first hand knowledge of what we like about the product and what it can really do. Now here is where the product can really affect the consumers and make or break the appeal for the intended audience. After the product reaches the consumer’s hand, its really out of your control the direction opinions will take. All you can do is set the stage to give the target market access to get the word out, and they will decide whether it meets their needs. Canon definitely excelled in this department and collaborated with numerous related film and photographic companies to provide the best possible user experience. One company on hand that collaborated with Canon was Red Rock. Each representative was very knowledgeable not only with their company’s product but the host company’s product as well.

Social media played a huge impact in information being rapidly deployed the minute it was unveiled. As always there is always more than one opinion about whether a product is good or whether a product is bad. Nothing can be all things to all people. But like the saying says, sometimes any coverage is better than no coverage. Twitter, Facebook and their website all offered information about the product and its future.

The climax however of Canon’s publicity event was the Full cinematic screening of several films made on the new camera before it made its debut to the general public. You can view some of the released films here at the following links

http://canoncinemaeos.com/?Nov3

http://vimeo.com/user8943175/review/31623615/c55b54fdb3?Nov4

http://www.canoncinemaeos.com/media-gallery.php?Nov5

 

Canon, indeed made their mark  again by capturing more than just photos and film. They captured the audience they felt was their target market. Isn’t that what we all want to do? Start capturing your audience. And if you need help, don’t hesitate to call. I’m here to help you make your dream visible.

Behind the Scenes-Huawei

Today was a double shoot day with two different groups. This post is about the company Huawei that I worked with in the afternoon.  Great people on the team at Huawei. Everyone was so nice and friendly, such a treat to work with a great group of people. It was so busy I didn’t get a chance to take many photos of the people I worked with but here are the two ladies that were scheduled at the end of the day. I enjoyed meeting them and talking about all different kinds of facial products. One that I must mention is a new nail polish that apparently changes color in the sunlight. Pretty interesting. I will definitely have to do some research on that and see what it’s like.

Nice lighting set up for my makeup area, compliments of the photographer, Patrick. He is a super great guy, very easy to work with. He made all of the ladies at Huawei look great in their photographs and really put them at ease.

I have to mention too, that he had on this great shirt. Before I tell you what the design is, I will post the pic and you can scroll down for the answer if it isn’t already obvious.  Here is a little more information about this shirt. The company Threadless, www.threadless.com creates t-shirts based from designs that you submit and vote on. Pretty cool concept if you are a t-shirt lover. Check it out. This was definitely one of the cool things I discovered today.

Today was a really long day. Two shoots in one day is something that I rarely do and will not do for quite sometime again. But it was worth it. I’m  glad to have met a bunch of new people and  I always enjoy learning new things from everyone I meet. Tomorrow I am going to post about my first photoshoot from the morning, since I am working with that group again tomorrow.

 

Cheers! And thanks for checking out today’s short but fun post! By the way the t-shirt is called “Duck Tape” in case you didn’t figure it out. I thought it was quite clever.

Behind the Scenes- ESPN Baseball Tonight/Sunday Night Baseball

Behind the Scenes at ESPN Baseball Tonight and Sunday Night Baseball

On Sunday, before, during and after the Cincinnati Reds versus San Francisco Giants game, I worked for two different shows simultaneously with ESPN, Baseball Tonight and Sunday Night Baseball. I love working live television.

Suzette and Karl Ravech

There is no room for error and there are no do over’s. (Yes that’s correct, NO mulligan’s!) You have to know what you are doing, where you should be, and do your job well in live television. Our ESPN hosts Sunday’s game were, Karl Ravech, Buster Olney, John Kruk, Barry Larkin, Wendy Nix, Orel Hershiser, Bobby Valentine and Dan Schulman. Eight people, two shows, three locations and one makeup artist for both, I definitely got my workout at the ballpark! I think Adidas should sponsor me! Although Jimmy Choo would be a good choice too!

Buster Olney and Suzette

With all that running around I ran into and old acquaintance on my way to the studio, Chris Singleton a former center fielder in the MLB, who is currently with ESPN radio. Working in the sports industry you realize that it is a small world and you see a lot of the same people. From a the crew aspect, many of us work baseball, football, hockey, golf, MotoGP and a ton of other mainstream sports and not so mainstream sports such as drift-racing and have a chance to meet alot of people and work in some interesting locations.

Our location was in front of the stadium, which was interesting, although difficult to navigate through when going back and forth between sets because of the crowd. But despite the people, this show was particularly fun, since I got a chance to talk with the hosts during the down moments between the air hits. Karl and John are super guys. I really got a chance to talk with them and listen to their insight about baseball and life outside the game. I met Karl and John before through ESPN and saw them when I worked the World Series, but it was my first time meeting Barry Larkin. Barry is a very nice guy and I enjoyed working with him. Wendy Nix was also a new person to work with, and she is splendid. Wendy is a genuinely nice person. I’m glad I had the pleasure to work with her and I look forward to working with her in the future as well.

Suzette and Barry Larkin

Bobby Valentine, Dan Schulman, Orel Hershiser

The guys in the booth, Bobby, Orel and Dan were tucked away upstairs in the stadium so I rarely was able to access them except during scheduled breaks. I worked with Bobby during the World Series and I worked with Orel in the previous season when he was hosting with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan. Dan Schulman is new and pleasant to work with. I’m looking forward to getting a chance to know him in a professional capacity.

Makeup Area at ESPN booth

Upstairs in the booth is my normal makeup studio area. Our booth is compact and fits everything needed for broadcast but can sometimes feel small when we have tons of visitors passing by trying to get a glimpse of the hosts while they are in town. The show comes back to SF in a couple of weeks and I will get a chance to catch up with more baseball info when they return. We do have longs hours at ESPN, which is typical of most networks but we have a great crew and a good time while working.

5 Ways to Deal With the Difficult Client in Your Chair

In daily life, difficult people can be everywhere, whether driving or in the checkout stand at the grocery store. Most people in the service industry have dealt with difficult clients. But, it becomes particularly interesting to work with clients in the hair or makeup chair who believe, they are paying you for a service, and feel that they are entitled to treat you as a servant for the duration of the service.

As an industry veteran, I have worked with all kind of negative clients, the difficult, the bossy, the naïve, the passive aggressive, and the constantly angry personality. Five ways to deal with a negative client, and still maintain professionalism, is to create an outline of the service, establish boundaries, maintain focus, don’t internalize their behavior, and as a last option, discontinue future services.

 

1. Create and state, the outline of the service you intend to perform with the client. Make it clear, that they chose you, because of your expertise in your field. Do not argue, or raise your voice with the client, but clearly state the services you are rendering for them.
2. Establish boundaries with the client, and let them know up front, that you are rendering a service, but you understand that they may be having a bad day, but it is NOT acceptable for them to take it out on you. If you don’t know what your boundaries are before the client gets in your chair, then they are directing the behavior of the session. Know yourself and what does and doesn’t work for you.
3. During the service, if the client is still occasionally rude or difficult, maintain your focus while working, but continue to be clear, and let them know they are crossing the established boundary. Be firm, but polite when letting them know they are close to the line.
4. Often, clients step in to your chair with all of their problems, and immediately want to talk about what is going on in their lives. They use the beauty session as their personal therapy outlet. More often, than not, we are first to hear about the latest gossip about relationships, financial disasters or family loss. Because of the willingness client’s have with sharing personal information, it’s important to remember, not to internalize the client’s problems and behavior. Don’t take it personal. Realize that it isn’t you that the client is frustrated or angry with, unless you did something that directly caused such behavior. Know that everyone has good days and bad days. Try to give the benefit of the doubt before taking step number 5.
5. Dismissing a client should be your last option. However, if a client continues to cross the line and is verbally abusive, he or she MUST leave. Do not acknowledge that this behavior is acceptable.  I have been in this situation on set where I clearly let the person know that I work for myself and that such behavior is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. I further informed them that they had two choices, they could continue with the service with a new revised attitude, or could leave and find someone else to take care of their services.

 

If you need to use option five make sure you have exhausted your resources and patience with the situation. If you are working on set, make sure that you involve the Director or Production Manager. Do not try to handle the situation alone. If however you are in your salon and renting space and this is a client that was referred to you, you must take matters into your own hands and clearly state the reasons why you are dismissing them. It is also important to let the person who referred them to you know that such a client is not appropriate for your clientele base. There is no need to give details, but do make the referring source aware of the situation.

Although there are many more ways to handle difficult clients, this should give you a good base to start with. Good luck and maintain your professionalism!