[NEohioPAL]The Reality of the Entertainment Industry

Tue Jul 6 07:21:07 PDT 2004

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The Reality of the Entertainment Industry

The entertainment industry of today is not the industry it used to be when
we were amazed by it, when we trained for it, or when we entered it.  The
industry of today is so over-saturated with people who want to “make it”
that it has become difficult to stick out in a crowd.  From the industry of
acting, to writing, directing, and producing; every facet of the artistic
endeavor is now a place where the majors are struggling to maintain profit
and millions of mid-level workers are struggling to sustain an income great
enough to survive.  In this difficult terrain where no one wants to take a
chance on anyone, you have to gamble with all your chips, and you have to
place the bet on yourself.

Being talented is not enough. Being driven is not nearly enough.  You have
to be crazy with desire.  You have to increase your odds to major
proportions if the world is going to ever hear about you.  The goal is to be
able to sustain yourself financially and have the freedom you want to
continue to create and live comfortably. But you also want to be heard.  To
do that you are going to have to be recognized by the world and loved or
hated by millions.

To understand the scope of a branded name we look to a hero like Stephen
King, who no matter what he comes out with, his name guarantees interest.
He has branded himself to the world as an expert on his subject matter.
This was not talent alone.  Branding a name involves marketing, public
relations, publicity-stunts, ingenious business practices, networking
skills, perseverance and a ridiculous number of finished projects that are
put up for judgment.  It’s a lifetime of hard work.

When an actor goes out to audition for a commercial today, the competition
can be anywhere from two to eight hundred others, where ten years ago, the
competition was fifty other people.  When a writer takes a new script to
their agent, they are competing against an ever-increasing number of
wannabes.  Anyone can be an artist in today’s world.  The question is: who
is going to rise to the top and sustain their career there?

Knowing what the world wants and being there with the right product at the
right time, and having the machine to get it to the masses takes decades to
create.  How many geniuses have written brilliant books that no one has
read, because they were exhausted from the writing alone and didn’t have the
energy to find a publisher with vision?  How many amazing directors will
never be recognized because they did not have the determination to stay in
the game long enough to impress the right producer to give them the right
opportunity to be seen at the right time by the world?

The most successful artists are not necessarily the most talented people –
they are the ones with a business plan.  If you do not have a strategic
outline to your path in entertainment, you are setting yourself up for a
broken heart and lost dreams.  Writing the great American screenplay is not
enough.  To survive you must understand the steps to branding your own name
in the industry, in the media, in your country and throughout the world.  By
creating a step by step learning plan for yourself that involves continually
growing your product, continually growing your marketing strategies, and
continually growing your ability to generate worthy public relations, you
can grow your network of believers and you can actually brand your name
around the world.  Anything less and you live project to project, hoping and
praying that the next one might be the big one.

Working on your business begins by taking it one day at a time.  Set up a
calendar in your room or office that is just for your business listings.
Make sure that you are doing at least one thing every day for the business
side of your art.  Do this for at least five out of the seven days of each
week.  When you have made that a regular habit, increase it.  Do two things
every day.  Trust that your own excitement generated from the rewards of
working in this fashion will move you to do more.  What you are doing is
beginning to move that dead car by pushing it as hard as you can.  After a
few weeks of this you will come to realize that you are running alongside
that car with three other people who came to aid you. Years from now it will
a locomotive with employees and box cars.  Start today – one day at a time.

So now you are saying, “Okay – what do I do with my business hour every
 day?” A technique I use is called Going Fishing.  Going Fishing refers to
casting out numerous lines of possibility that can come back to stimulate
you and reward you, pushing you to work harder on your career.  Every time
we want something as an artist, the best way to get it is to create multiple
avenues of possibility.  Because everything we do is interpreted differently
by every person we reach, we have to communicate to many people to find
those who appreciate what it is that we do.  The lines that come up empty do
not matter.  It is only the lines that bring back nibbles or catches that we
care about.  And when we learn to pair up the fish that we catch, we learn
how to prepare a feast. Eventually the fish get bigger as we learn to use
our best bait.  And as we get better, we learn how to cast nets into the
water and scoop the fish up ten at a time.   The goal for some will be to
catch enough for dinner.  Some want to own the entire ocean.  Both need to
cast our their lines of possibility every day.

Sit and think about your career.  Just let your mind wander and think about
what parts of your career you need to manifest to be successful.  Actors,
writers and directors need agents, managers and public relations personnel.
Authors need publishers and PR.  Every artistic endeavor necessitates a team
and building that team one day at a time should be a main concentration of
your time.

To get these people on board you need the right kind of marketing. Creating
your marketing materials should be a major portion of your time.  Do not
settle for anything less than amazing presentation in your material.  You
must look like a professional and not a hobbyist if you want to be taken
seriously.  Let your materials evolve and always be upgrading them with a
focus on presentation. But as these materials are evolving always be sending
them out.  Do not fear that you are going to blow your opportunity with any
one person.  This business takes years to become successful at and no one
thing you do will hurt you.  You are creating a collage of opportunity.  No
single piece defines the whole.

So take the marketing materials you have today and go fishing for your team.
If you already have a team – go fishing for fans.  Your fan base will define
your success.  Producers, publishers, studios – they are buying your fan
base as much as they are buying your art.  Your talent can be viewed with
disdain by three hundred thousand people – while simultaneously drawing
three hundred thousand to pay for it.  Focus on getting your truthful
artistic self out there to the masses to give them the opportunity to judge
you.  Make a commitment to going fishing five days a week.  Build your team
and build your fan base.  It is as important as the product of your art.

By making yourself accountable to your career – you remove the element of
chance.  The business of art and making money as an artist is never about
luck.  It's about persistence of vision.  It's about creating again and
again and simultaneously marketing yourself so that what you have created
can be viewed by others.  Your commitment is everything.  Your
accountability is everything.  Admit that the entertainment industry demands
your best and then step up to that challenge.

Corey Blake consults artists, film projects and businesses in Los Angeles,
Chicago, Atlanta, Florida, Houston, Cleveland, and New York.  Corey is one
of the founders of the LA Film Lab (www.lafilmlab.com), an incubator for
emerging filmmakers in LA.  After founding E9K Films in 2000 he and two
other members of E9K headed up a previous Film Lab that developed fifteen
scripts over five months culminating in the shooting of eight short films,
including the award-winning “Gretchen Brettschneider Skirts Thirty” (Grand
Jury Prize – San Diego Film Festival, 2003), directed by Corey.  It was
through the production of this second film that Corey found partners Jesse
Biltz and David Cohen of 1421 Productions.  Together, E9K Films and 1421
Productions (now 1421/E9K Entertainment) develop material in conjunction
with the LA Film Lab for television programming and feature film production.
They are currently producing a documentary for The Make-A-Wish Foundation of
Greater Los Angeles.  Corey has spent the last two years writing for several
filmmaking websites and consulting artists on the business side of their
careers.

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<H1 style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3D5><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt">The Reality =
of the=20
Entertainment Industry</SPAN><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></H1>
<P class=3DMsoBodyText3 style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoBodyText3 style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">
<P class=3DMsoBodyText3 style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">The entertainment industry of today is =
not the=20
industry it used to be when we were amazed by it, when we trained for =
it, or=20
when we entered it.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>The =
industry of=20
today is so over-saturated with people who want to =93make it=94 that it =
has become=20
difficult to stick out in a crowd.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> =20
</SPAN>From the industry of acting, to writing, directing, and =
producing;=20
every facet of the artistic endeavor is now a place where the majors are =

struggling to maintain profit and millions of mid-level workers are =
struggling=20
to sustain an income great enough to survive.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  In this difficult terrain =
where no one=20
wants to take a chance on anyone, you have to gamble with all your =
chips, and=20
you have to place the bet on yourself.<o:p></o:p>
<SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> <o:p></o:p>
<SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Being talented is not enough. Being =
driven is not=20
nearly enough.  You have =
to be crazy=20
with desire.  You have to =
increase=20
your odds to major proportions if the world is going to ever hear about=20
you.  The goal is to be =
able to=20
sustain yourself financially and have the freedom you want to continue =
to create=20
and live comfortably. But you also want to be heard.  To do=20
that you are going to have to be recognized by the world and loved =
or hated=20
by millions.<o:p></o:p>
<SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> <o:p></o:p>
<SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">To understand the scope of a branded name =
we look=20
to a hero like Stephen King, who no matter what he comes out with, his =
name=20
guarantees interest.  He =
has branded=20
himself to the world as an expert on his subject matter.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  This was not talent =
alone.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  Branding a name involves =
marketing,=20
public relations, publicity-stunts, ingenious business practices, =
networking=20
skills, perseverance and a ridiculous number of finished projects that =
are put=20
up for judgment.  It=92s a =
lifetime of=20
hard work.<o:p></o:p>
<SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> <o:p></o:p>
<SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">When an actor goes out to audition for a =
commercial=20
today, the competition can be anywhere from two to eight hundred others, =
where=20
ten years ago, the competition was fifty other people.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  When a writer takes a =
new script to=20
their agent, they are competing against an ever-increasing number =
of=20
wannabes.  Anyone can be =
an artist=20
in today=92s world.  The =
question is:=20
who is going to rise to the top and sustain their career=20
there?<o:p></o:p>
<SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> <o:p></o:p>
<SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Knowing what the world wants and being =
there with=20
the right product at the right time, and having the machine to get it to =
the=20
masses takes decades to create.  =
How=20
many geniuses have written brilliant books that no one has read, because =
they=20
were exhausted from the writing alone and didn=92t have the energy to =
find a=20
publisher with vision?  =
How many=20
amazing directors will never be recognized because they did not =
have the=20
determination to stay in the game long enough to impress the right =
producer to=20
give them the right opportunity to be seen at the right time by the =
world?=20
<o:p></o:p>
<SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> <o:p></o:p>
The most =
successful artists=20
are not necessarily the most talented people =96 they are the ones with =
a business=20
plan.  If you do not have =
a=20
strategic outline to your path in entertainment, you are setting =
yourself up for=20
a broken heart and lost dreams. =20
Writing the great American screenplay is not enough.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  To survive you must understand =
the steps=20
to branding your own name in the industry, in the media, in your country =
and=20
throughout the world.  By =
creating a=20
step by step learning plan for yourself that involves continually =
growing your=20
product, continually growing your marketing strategies, and continually =
growing=20
your ability to generate worthy public relations, you can grow your =
network of=20
believers and you can actually brand your name around the world.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  Anything less and you live =
project to=20
project, hoping and praying that the next one might be the big one.<SPAN =

style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal=20
style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoBodyText3=20
style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">Working on =
your=20
business begins by taking it one day at a time.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>Set up a calendar in your room =
or office=20
that is just for your business listings.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> =20
</SPAN>Make sure that you are doing at least one thing every day for the =

business side of your art.  =
Do this=20
for at least five out of the seven days of each week.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  When you have made that a =
regular habit,=20
increase it.  Do two =
things every=20
day.  Trust that your own =
excitement=20
generated from the rewards of working in this fashion will move you to =
do=20
more.  What you are doing =
is=20
beginning to move that dead car by pushing it as hard as you can.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  After a few weeks of this you =
will come=20
to realize that you are running alongside that car with three other =
people who=20
came to aid you. Years from now it will a locomotive with employees and =
box=20
cars.  Start today =96 one =
day at a=20
time.<o:p></o:p>
<SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> <o:p></o:p>
So now you are =
saying, =93Okay=20
=96 what do I do with my business hour every day?=94 A technique I use =
is called=20
Going Fishing.  Going =
Fishing=20
refers to casting out numerous lines of possibility that can come =
back to=20
stimulate you and reward you, pushing you to work harder on your =
career.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  Every time we want something =
as an=20
artist, the best way to get it is to create multiple avenues of=20
possibility.  Because =
everything we=20
do is interpreted differently by every person we reach, we have to =
communicate=20
to many people to find those who appreciate what it is that we do.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  The lines that come up =
empty do not=20
matter.  It is only the =
lines that=20
bring back nibbles or catches that we care about.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  And when we learn to pair up =
the fish=20
that we catch, we learn how to prepare a feast. Eventually the fish get =
bigger=20
as we learn to use our best bait. =20
And as we get better, we learn how to cast nets into the water =
and scoop=20
the fish up ten at a time.   =

The goal for some will be to catch enough for dinner.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  Some want to own the entire =
ocean.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  Both need to cast our their =
lines of=20
possibility every day.<o:p></o:p>
 <o:p></o:p>
Sit and think =
about your=20
career.  Just let your =
mind wander=20
and think about what parts of your career you need to manifest to be=20
successful.  Actors, =
writers and=20
directors need agents, managers and public relations personnel. Authors =
need=20
publishers and PR.  Every =
artistic=20
endeavor necessitates a team and building that team one day at a time =
should be=20
a main concentration of your time.  =20
<o:p></o:p>
 <o:p></o:p>
To get these =
people on board=20
you need the right kind of marketing. Creating your marketing materials =
should=20
be a major portion of your time.  =
Do=20
not settle for anything less than amazing presentation in your =
material.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  You must look like a =
professional and=20
not a hobbyist if you want to be taken seriously.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  Let your materials evolve and =
always be=20
upgrading them with a focus on presentation. But as these materials are =
evolving=20
always be sending them out.  =
Do not=20
fear that you are going to blow your opportunity with any one =
person.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  This business takes years to =
become=20
successful at and no one thing you do will hurt you.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  You are creating a collage of=20
opportunity.  No single =
piece=20
defines the whole. =20
<o:p></o:p>
 <o:p></o:p>
So take the =
marketing=20
materials you have today and go fishing for your team.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  If you already have a team =96 =
go fishing=20
for fans.  Your fan base =
will define=20
your success.  Producers,=20
publishers, studios =96 they are buying your fan base as much as they =
are buying=20
your art.  Your talent can =
be viewed=20
with disdain by three hundred thousand people =96 while simultaneously =
drawing=20
three hundred thousand to pay for it. =20
Focus on getting your truthful artistic self out there to the =
masses to=20
give them the opportunity to judge you. =20
Make a commitment to going fishing five days a week.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  Build your team and build your =
fan=20
base.  It is as important =
as the=20
product of your art.<o:p></o:p>
 <o:p></o:p>
By making yourself =

accountable to your career =96 you remove the element of chance.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>The business of art and making =
money as=20
an artist is never about luck.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  =
</SPAN>It's=20
about persistence of vision.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  =
</SPAN>It's=20
about creating again and again and simultaneously marketing yourself so =
that=20
what you have created can be viewed by others.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>Your commitment is =
everything.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>Your accountability is =
everything.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>Admit that the entertainment =
industry=20
demands your best and then step up to that challenge.</SPAN><SPAN =
lang=3DEN=20
style=3D"mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoBodyText3 style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=3DEN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; mso-ansi-language: =
EN"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal=20
style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoBodyText2 style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Corey Blake</SPAN></B><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> consults artists, film projects and =
businesses in=20
Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Florida, Houston, Cleveland, and New =
York.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>Corey is one of the founders =
of the LA=20
Film Lab (<A href=3D"http://www.lafilmlab.com/">www.lafilmlab.com</A>), =
an=20
incubator for emerging filmmakers in LA.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> =20
</SPAN>After founding E9K Films in 2000 he and two other members of E9K =
headed=20
up a previous Film Lab that developed fifteen scripts over five months=20
culminating in the shooting of eight short films, including the =
award-winning=20
=93Gretchen Brettschneider Skirts Thirty=94 (Grand Jury Prize =96 San =
Diego Film=20
Festival, 2003), directed by Corey.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> =20
</SPAN>It was through the production of this second film that Corey =
found=20
partners Jesse Biltz and David Cohen of 1421 Productions.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>Together, E9K Films and 1421 =
Productions=20
(now 1421/E9K Entertainment) develop material in conjunction with the LA =
Film=20
Lab for television programming and feature film production.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>They are currently producing a =

documentary for The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>Corey has spent the last two =
years=20
writing for several filmmaking websites and consulting artists on the =
business=20
side of their careers.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  =
</SPAN></SPAN><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: =
10.0pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoBodyText2 style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoBodyText style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
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<P class=3DMsoBodyText style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN=20
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style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN =
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