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The Holiday Survival Blog
12/20/2011 9:51:13 AM
William Prettyman
We already Have a Website!
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“The Holiday Survival Blog”
“Holiday” by definition, is “leisure time away from work devoted to REST or PLEASURE”. Ok, so why do we all look, seem and feel so stressed out? How come I needed a few days to recover from my Thanksgiving “Holiday”? We have all of these unbelievable demands put on us, my Family (the Primary Culprit), Friends, Work, and Society. Have we, in fact, destroyed the Holidays and replaced them with frenzied festivals of chaos? It kind of feels like it. Every day since December 1 my wife and I have compared Task Lists in preparation for the Christmas-New Year “Festival”. Our conversations begin with “Don’t forget...” or “When you’re out, could you...” . Phase One is ON!  Phase One you say? Yes the “Three Phases of The Holiday Season”:
Phase One-“Pre Game”: This is BY FAR the worst Phase! It might be the most STRESSFUL TIME OF THE YEAR! (Any Carol Writers out there?). Lists, Christmas Parties (Didn’t they used to be fun?), Rushing Around, Crowds (try Amazon!), Family Event and Accommodation Planning (Airport Runs!), Juggling Parents, Step Parents, Kids, Step Kids, Food Planning and Shopping (this remains constant in all Phases!), Work (like anybody is really working!), Spouses, Pets, and Lists! (It needed to go in here twice! I have List Nightmares!) If you can survive the “Pre Game” without incident, you can usually manage a little fun in the next Phase.
 Phase Two-“The Events”: You need to be prepared to attend at LEAST two functions per day even if they are quick “Stop Ins”. This Phase is ALL about being SOMEPLACE at someone else’s TIME! NIGHTMARE! Learn the phrases “Sure” and “If you want to honey”. You’ll need them and a little booze.
Phase Three-“The Aftermath”: Hopefully you made it, marriage, liver and sanity in tact. Phase Three is the best phase. It’s usually the week between Christmas and New Years. Everyone is running on fumes so you won’t be pulled in a million different directions and can actually...just maybe RELAX!
I’ve been through 48 mostly wonderful and certainly blessed Christmas Seasons! Please accept these “10 Tips for Surviving The Three Phases” as my gift:
 “Make Lists”-They haunt me but I would be lost and INEFFECTIVE without them. Santa is right. - “Host ONE Big Event”-Bite the bullet for one day and save yourself a hundred visits while welcoming your family and friends into your home.
- “Cut Down on Gifts”-Give Gift Cards, Homemade Stuff (Food is always nice! Who doesn’t like Fudge?), or Framed Photos!
- “Say NO”- You cannot do everything! See Number 2.
- “Put Down the Electronic devices and Talk!”-Talk to each other! Really talk, not mutter under your breath while texting. We have a “No Phones at the table” Policy.
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 “Watch One Christmas Movie a Day”-There are some really wonderful Holiday Movies! Sit down as a family and watch one EVERY DAY! Some of my favorites are “Christmas Vacation”, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “A Christmas Story”, “Four Christmases”, and “Miracle on 34th Street”. You can Google a comprehensive list. Wikipedia has a nice one. Trust me. Your whole family will love it!
- “Drink”-Pick a beverage and nurse it throughout the first two phases especially!
- “Do Something Nice for Yourself”-You deserve it after all you’ve been though in Phase One! How about a massage? Day of Pampering? Nap? Just do SOMETHING!
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 “CALL Your Old Friends”-I realize that you probably “Facebook” but try picking up the phone and hearing their voice, like the old days! Ask them about their lives, families, and careers. They’ll love to hear from you and you’ll feel great after each chat!
- “Reflect a Little”-Take it all in and try to enjoy the craziness while reflecting on all that is wonderful about this time of the year. How many more Christmases do you have? They are ALL very precious so treasure this one.
Merry Christmas and Happy “Holidays”. See you in 2012!
William Prettyman
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PLEASE Sell Us a Conference Table!
11/3/2011 9:21:42 AM
William Prettyman
We already Have a Website!
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“PLEASE Sell Us a Conference Table!”
Every day we’re reminded about just HOW LOUSY Customer Service is in this country. WHAT IS THE DEAL? It’s SO bad that we are all shocked when a company or person actually delivers the MINIMUM in customer service. We almost want to thank them for simply doing their job! Here at Studio Center, we talk about Customer Service on a Daily Basis! We share the frequent “Horror Stories” and the rare “Blew Us Away Stories”. The following would fall under the “Horror Story” Category.
Several months ago as we were nearing completion of our new “Video and New Media Center” here in Virginia Beach, I began shopping for a Large Conference Table for one of our Conference Rooms. I quickly found one that I liked on Office Depot’s Site, put it in my cart, carefully read the discouraging and painfully boring “Delivery Instructions” and bought it! After inputting my Credit Card Data and Billing Information, I soon received a Confirmation Email. All is well, right?
NO! Two days later I received an email stating that my order had been cancelled because of an “Incorrect Billing Address”. After two hours explaining that I’d had the same card for 7 years and that our Billing Address WAS correct, I was advised to go online and complete the purchase ALL OVER AGAIN. “We can’t do that here.” Um, ok, I really liked the table. That night, I go back to Office Depot’s Site and make the purchase yet again. I promptly received another Confirmation Email. That wasn’t so bad, or was it?
Two days later I received another email stating that my order had been cancelled because, you guessed it, of an “Incorrect Billing Address”. Two hours later and after much “holding” I was advised to go online do it all over again. Did I mention that I liked the table? That night, I go back, yet again, to Office Depot’s Site and complete the purchase one more time. Another Confirmation Email arrives. It didn’t take quite as long as I was beginning to get the hang of it! Two days went by and while holding my breath I checked my email. There was NOT an “Incorrect Billing Address” Email. I fist bumped myself and went back to work. A week went by and it was now time to check the “Delivery Status” of my order. I logged in to the Office Depot site and began searching for ANY information regarding my table. NOTHING. I called and held. Then held some more before being advised that I needed to leave a message with another department. I obliged and left my cell number. The next day I received this:
Can't see the audio clip? Click here.
I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP! Office Depot cancelled my order for the THIRD TIME, didn’t bother to tell me, asked me to call them again, and referred to me as “Wullem”!!! Fearing that I might crack, I delegated purchasing the table to my Comptroller, Pete Bouker. Guess what? The SAME THING HAPPENED! Calling, holding, checking the Billing Address, etc.
Next up, Dave Davis, Operations Manager. Dave is very patient, calm, and deliberate, a perfect fit for ordering online at Office Depot. In an unbelievable coincidence, Dave went through the ENTIRE PROCESS TWICE before somehow completing the purchase without an “Incorrect Billing Email”. He tracked the table and informed me three weeks ago that it would arrive (fingers crossed) November 1. Dave sent me this update today:
"HI,
This is to inform you that we have a delay in shipping the above mentioned order# for the item # 274636 (Mayline® Group Corsica Conference Table, Boat-Shaped, 29 1/2"H x 96"W x 42"D, Mahogany )
The estimated shipping date is: November 10th 2011.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
Please get back to us for any further assistance. Customer Service # 1866-345-3139."
Studio Center’s 10 Ways to Great Customer Service:
- Talk About it EVERY Day
- Hire Only Smart, FUN People (They get it.)
- Reward GREAT Customer Service (We give away money!)
- NEVER Ask Your Customer to DO WORK! (“Call back.” “Fill out this form.” “Call another department.”)
- Make it RIDICULOUSLY EASY For Them to BUY! (“Let us help.” “We’ll do that for you.”)
- NEVER Tell Your Customer “NO”! (If you can’t do it, suggest something else.)
- Do NOT Let BAD PEOPLE Talk to Your Customer! (No offense grouchy accountants.)
- TRAIN Your People! (The Best Service Industries, Hotels and Restaurants TRAIN their people daily!)
- Frequently Solicit Customer Service Suggestions From Your Staff! (You hired Smart People Already, right?
- ELIMINATE the Bad! (Harsh? How MUCH are they costing you?)
Hey Office Depot! Bring us our table and we’ll help you!
William Prettyman
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We Already Have a Website!
9/20/2011 8:50:48 AM
William Prettyman
We already Have a Website! | | | | “We Already Have a Website!”
Wonderful. Welcome to 2002. The REAL Question is: “Do you have an Online Strategy?” Having a GOOD Website is just the First Step, albeit an important one. Your Online Strategy will always relate back to your site so it needs to be well designed and well developed. Currently, $14 BILLION DOLLARS (I feel a little like “Dr. Evil” typing that!), or 13% of ALL Advertising Dollars are spent Online. This is DOUBLE that of Radio and growing over 20% a year! I think that most businesses WANT an Effective Online Strategy but don’t know where or how to start and are intimidated by all of the Buzz Words and Jargon flying around concerning Social Media, Viral Videos, SEO, SEM, etc. It really isn’t so complicated. The basics of Marketing and Advertising haven’t changed in MANY years. Find your customers and effectively communicate to them. It’s the “Where” and “How” that is rapidly evolving. Americans can be reluctant to change. Heck, my Mother refuses to own a cell phone OR even purchase call waiting!! After several busy signals, I usually give up trying to call her only to be told later that “call waiting is SO RUDE!” IT’S RUDE TO ME THAT YOU DON’T HAVE IT MOTHER! (Ah, that felt good.) Here at Studio Center Total Production, our New Media Team simplifies things for you. We offer you a Free Evaluation of your Website, SEO, SEM, and all things New Media (and possibly confusing!). We’ll only present concepts and campaigns that apply to your business and that will get you results. Twitter isn’t for everyone! Here’s the best part: We can do everything IN HOUSE from the design of your site through writing, shooting, and voicing your Web Videos. We can help you with E-Commerce, Adwords, Remarketing Strategies and Link Building. One Call. One Company. Tap into all that Studio Center’s Award Winning Staff has to offer and call us today for your Free Evaluation or click here and check out all of our work. It’s time for you to have an Online Strategy. Your Competition does. William Prettyman | | |
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Hey, I Know That Guy Stuffed in the Laundry Chute!
8/4/2011 11:34:15 AM
William Prettyman
Studio Center - Blog Food | | | | “Hey, I Know That Guy Stuffed in the Laundry Chute!” Recently, I was mindlessly flipping channels and zoning out when a movie grabbed my attention. “Hey, I Know That Guy in the Laundry Chute”, I blurted out to my wife. The young man had been brutally murdered and stuffed into a laundry chute. I hit the guide. “Sorority Row” was the name of the Slasher Film and this young actor looked VERY familiar. Bruce Willis and Demi Moore’s Daughter, Rumor Willis was also in it. “You’re crazy,” my wife responded. I scooped up my iPad, went to the Studio Center Total Production Website and hit the “On Camera” tab and began searching the men. BOOM!!! There was my man! Max Hennard, one of our top young On Camera Talent staring back at me. He was the guy stuffed in the laundry chute! A couple of weeks later it’s my wife’s pick for the movie and she selects “Love and Other Drugs” starring Jake Gyllenhaal (Gee, I wonder why she picked it!), Oliver Platt, and Anne Hathaway. Gyllenhaal plays a Pharmaceutical Salesperson who falls in love with a Parkinson’s Patient. In one scene, Gyllenhaal aggressively approaches a Doctor getting out of his car and the Doctor brushes him off. “Was that Kwame?” I say. “What?” she mumbles through handfuls of Kettle Corn (How good is that? Salt and Sweet!). “I think that was Kwame Rakes playing the Doctor.” Yep, I verify it through our database that it was Studio Center Talent Kwame Rakes. Two in a row! The two incidents really got me thinking about how far Studio Center’s On Camera Division has come in only a few short years! Our “On Camera Talent” has worked with some of Hollywood’s Biggest Directors like Steven Spielberg, M. Night Shyamalan, Terrance Malick, and J.J. Abrams and its Biggest Stars. Denzel Washington, Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Steve Carrell, and Colin Ferrell have all worked with our talent! It’s incredible! Every day we cast our people in Television, Movies, and of course, Commercials. Thousands of projects a year! Check out our “On Camera Talent” here or call us for Unlimited FREE Auditions. Then sit back, grab a bag of Kettle Corn and watch them. William Prettyman | | |
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How Good is YOUR Website?
6/16/2011 1:22:28 PM
William Prettyman
Studio Center - Blog Food 11
 Today we all know how important a Website is to any Company, Group, or Organization. It is the FOREMOST way in which people (customers?) locate you, evaluate you and many times CONTACT you. There are 3,581,829 websites that have been ranked so far. How does your site rank?
Here at Studio Center New Media we have evaluated hundreds of sites and some were quite good. However, the vast majority has significant issues. A website may LOOK good but be invisible to the search engines that give your site an organic traffic boost. In talking to customers, we have found that most businesses just don’t have the time or resources to consistently maintain and optimize their websites. We do The following is a list of 10 VERY important issues that need to be absolutely “on point” for your website to do ALL that you need it to do:  Do you Blog? You should consider it.
 Metadata: Are you utilizing Metadata tags? These allow you to tell the search engines what your web pages are about.
 Readability: Who is your audience? Does your copy “speak” to them?
 Is your domain registered for at least another year? Optimizing your site requires stability and you really wouldn’t want to lose it would you?
 Links: Do you have enough sites linking to yours?
 Twitter: Yep, “tweeting”. If you can, do it. You're rewarded for it and there are many strategies out there customized for your business.
 Is your RSS Feed Detectable? RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and is commonly used to deliver content to your site visitors after they have left.
 Do you have a Conversion Form or Forms on your site? Without them you cannot convert site traffic into customers!
- Indexed Pages: Web Crawlers visit your site periodically and look for new content to index. Are you creating new relevant content frequently enough? MORE pages are better!
- Traffic: Do you have enough visitors to your site?
Look, no Website is perfect. We’ve tried and have never scored above a 99 BUT a 99 is pretty good. We’re in the top ONE HALF OF ONE PERCENT. If you want a better website or even a NEW one, shoot me an email back to william@studiocenter.com and I’ll have one of our experienced and talented New Media Staffers give your Website a FREE EVALUATION. You may be in great shape and we’ll tell you if you are. If there is work to do, we’ll be glad to handle it for you complete with our LEGENDARY SERVICE. When you are researching a place, person, or thing, you “Google” it. WHAT you find goes a very long way in determining WHO and WHAT you buy. Throw away your Yellow Pages, start working on your Website today! William Prettyman |
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My SLR Can Do That?
5/19/2010 10:04:14 AM
William Prettyman
“My SLR Can Do That?”
Most of us by now are shooting wonderful photos on our SLRs (Single Lens Reflex Cameras, my wife asked what it stood for!). Canon and Nikon are the Industry Leaders and make an array of terrific cameras and lenses. The REAL QUESTION is “What ALL can your SLR do?” The answer: How about shoot an entire TV Commercial that aired on ESPN! That’s right, Studio Center shot an entire Broadcast Quality Commercial with an SLR!
Sure we shoot the VAST majority of our stuff on expensive HD cameras, RED, or 35, BUT we SHOT AN ENTIRE TV COMMERCIAL ON A LITTLE SLR that you can buy almost anywhere! Our DP, Videographer and Editor on the project, Steve Strickland gives us the details.
 Steve, what was the project?
Steve: It was called "Heart of a Lion," a promo for the biography of Hank Gathers.
What SLR did you use?
Steve: I used the Canon 7D for this project.
Did you use a modified lens?
Steve: I did use couple of older Nikon AIS lenses with Canon adapters, 85mm and 50mm primes. I also used the stock 28-135mm Canon lens.
What were the benefits of shooting with an SLR?
Steve: The greatest benefit is the large sensor size of the camera. It allows the operator to achieve a shallow depth of field similar to that of a 35mm motion picture camera and provides nice dynamic range. Another advantage is size and weight of the setup. Even with full rails, matte box, and follow focus, the overall weight is considerably less than that of a typical broadcast camera. For such a small package, DSLRs pack a mighty big punch.
Any disadvantages?
Steve: Well, the biggest disadvantage is poor audio. To achieve decent sound, you have to return to a more film-style production of running synch sound to an external recorder and match it up in post. Another downside is the codec used in-camera. It is un-editable natively in most systems and must be converted to another format for smooth playback. The last disadvantage is record time. The camera can record in 12 min. intervals and will overheat if driven hard without cool down periods.
Briefly take us through the whole process.
Steve: First, as in a typical production, you find your shot. Light with the larger sensor in mind, a lot of times, less can be more. Select your desired color temp., shutter speed, and iso settings. Then your soundperson will slate the scene with reference for audio. "Yell Action!", press record, and you're ready to go.
In post, ingest the files, convert to your desired editing codec, re-synch your audio, and edit your masterpiece.
Here is a link to the commercial that aired on ESPN. Tell us what you think.
Heart of a Lion
William Prettyman
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