VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Rognog]

Today I did a training CD for a major sports equipment chain. I've been doing them for almost two years at the same studio. This was supposed to be the third of four sessions. They changed it to a double session, but they told us in advance which is fine. I was also told we would be paid accordingly. When we get there, they say it may not be a double session if it we get it done quickly. It's pouring rain and everyone wants to get out of there ASAP so that was convenient. I had to be somewhere and my fellow VO talent is a NY morning DJ so she wants to finish quickly, too.

Then we meet the new "director" who has no experience. The last guy was let go for no good reason and so was the engineer who was replaced by a newbie a few weeks ago. We figure it was to save money.

So we get the 36 page script that we're supposed to crank out in two hours. It's ALL CAPS and we know how much fun that is to read. Here is a sample:

"AND THIS SKI FEATURES TWIN-TIP FREESTYLE CONSTRUCTION WITH 94 TO 101 MM WAIST. IT'S THE REFERENCE SKI IN BIG MOUNTAIN, DEEP SNOW APPLICATIONS. AND THE SPACEFRAME CONSTRUCTION OFFERS A REINFORCED SECTION UNDERFOOT FOR LANDING AND LIGHTER TIPS AND TAILS FOR TRICKS."

The punctuation and grammar was so bad that I frequently had to do four or five takes just to figure out what the hell I was talking about.

Did I mention that it was over 75 degrees in the booth?

The "director" gave us minimal direction. We had to read through each chapter twice in a row (four pages each) so when we got around to doing it the second time, most of the time we didn't remember what mistakes we made the first time. It turns out the "director's" professional experience includes working in a music store with the new sound engineer and they play around with their equipment in their basements.

Many times my colleague and I had to correct each other because the "director" didn't. He confessed he didn't check the script ahead of time, either. He was a nice guy but he had no business trying to "direct" us.

So we finished it in two hours and ten minutes with one five-minute break.

On top of that they're probably gonna try to invoice us for only one session instead of two.

This was an extremely frustrating experience. We know he told the brand-new underpaid studio employees to hurry it up so he wouldn't have to pay us extra and he is notoriously late when it comes to paying us on time. He is frequently months overdue.

I'm seriously inclined to write the owner and express my concerns. The last time I did it was because he was over three months late in paying me. I sent a polite yet firm letter peppered with lawyer-speak and a check magically appeared in my maibox a few days later. He claims there was a "bookeeping error" as he thought I was already paid.

How would you handle this?
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Tom Dheere - The "H" is Silent, but I'm Not!
www.tomdheere.com

[bobsouer]

Tom,

You're probably not going to want to read this, but if a "normal session" is 2 hours (for this particular client) then I think you need to bill for only one session. Evidently they did warn you they might not pay the double-rate if you finished quickly enough.

[Rognog]

It wasn't the money the bugged me as much as the way the recording session was handled. It was a poor script that wasn't proofed and the session was run by a guy who had no business playing director. The whole thing was unprofessional as a result of trying to save money. I can deal the with the amount they'll pay me but I'm having trouble dealing with the way they run their business. "Shady" is the term that keeps running through my head...
_________________
Tom Dheere - The "H" is Silent, but I'm Not!
www.tomdheere.com

[Dave]