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I’m spending a lot of time right now in Central Ohio, helping a huge television ministry as executive producer. It’s demanding, hard and rewarding but tonight it ramped up to a whole new level.

After dinner with my buddy and Avid editor extrodinaire Mark, I went back to the office to finish writing a script. Finally I pushed send in Outlook and drove through a nasty thunderstorm to the hotel where I am on a first name basis with all of the registration desk people.

Got ready for bed, don’t worry — no details — and the phone rings. Not my cell, the room phone. I knew it wasn’t 7am yet. There was a stinkin’ tornado sighted. (guess that weird horn noise wasn’t someone’s car alarm)

So, here I am, forcibly evacuated from my rented bed, sitting in a first-floor hallway with my pillow (how is that supposed to protect me?) and blogging.  The family across from me is really worried. A bunch of contractors are ticked because they have an early call. A really young couple is passing through on their honeymoon and think this is a cruel joke. They all mention I should be doing almost anything besides this.

And they’re right… I’ll be right back. [Read more →]

Two lessons today…

First: when you are on top of the world, everything seems to be going right, and as the church says, you’re blessed — don’t let up.  The situation can change quickly, crap can come out of nowhere, and next thing you know, you’re fighting, struggling, desperate to get back to where you were.  So, when things are great, keep working on it, make it greater.

Second: when you’re at the bottom of the pit, everything seems to be going wrong, and as the church says, you need a miracle — don’t give up. The situation can change quickly, a lucky break can come out of nowhere, and next thing you know, you’re fighting, rolling, confident that you are where you want to be. So, when things really suck, keep working on it, you can be great.

Background:  I grew up in New England and Larry Bird was my first sports hero. Kat and I lived in LA when the Lakers were on their roll of championships, she loved showtime basketball. We lived in Chicago when the Bulls were unstoppable and Phil Jackson was their coach and I did lots of work with ESPN and witnessed many of Michael’s magic moments. So our house is not united on basketball. That being said, LA fans, don’t hate me.

Tonight the Lakers were leading the Celtics by the largest margin in NBA history at the end of the first quarter. The Celtics were still down by almost 20 points at halftime.  The expert commentators had already given the game to the Lakers who had not lost a game at home in the entire postseason. The Celtics had the largest comeback from a halftime deficit in NBA history and beat the Lakers by six points.  One more game and they are the world champions.

When you’re ahead, don’t let up.  When you’re behind, don’t give up.

I can’t believe it.  I’m in the middle of producing a new reel, and I’m going through boxes of tapes, pulling out great stuff that shows off my skills — some have cool lighting, great writing, others show directing, tons of international stuff… you get the idea. The problem is this: they’re on every format known to man!

Truly, my archives contain lots of stuff I can’t watch even if I wanted to! I have Quad, 1″, 3/4″, M, M2, BetaCam, BetaSP, 8mm, DV, DVCam, DVCPro (25 and 50), DigiBeta and some stuff that’s in PAL.  I’m totally not kidding. (Does anyone remember Quad?)  Oh yeah, and now DVD and the newest additions to my stash are on HDV, XD and DVDProHD. Yikes. I need to open a post house just to dub my tapes onto some digital format that will last a few more years and actually be useful to me.

Yawn. Ok, Joe has a ton of cool tape. So what?  I’m building a new reel and parts of it will be online for your viewing pleasure, then for your booking pleasure and finally for my check cashing pleasure!  Want a copy to show your partner/investors/class/kids? Contact me and I’ll send you a DVD. No tape, just DVD. Got a project you want to talk about or know of someone who wants to give away a good BetaSP machine?  Email me:  jsindorf AT gmail DOT com.

I love the work of Robert Frost. It probably comes from my New England roots. The pictures that Frost paints with his poetry bring back so many vivid images from growing up in rural New Hampshire.

I own many Frost first editions, and a beautiful portrait of America’s Poet Laurette by renowned photographer Lotte Jacobi (signed by both of them) is one of my prized possessions.  So when this bit of news filtered down to me, you now can understand why it got my attention.

The Homer Noble Farm in Ripton, Vermont, where Frost spent more than 20 summers before his death in 1963, was vandalized by a bunch of idiots in December of last year.  A 17-year-old former Middlebury College employee decided to hold a party and gave a friend $100 to buy beer. Word spread. Up to 50 people descended on the farm, the revelry turning destructive after a chair broke and someone threw it into the fireplace.  When it was over, windows, antiques and china had been broken, fire extinguishers discharged, and carpeting soiled with vomit and urine. Empty beer cans and drug paraphernalia were left behind. The damage was put at $10,600.

Twenty-eight people — all but two of them teenagers — were charged.  You’ll never believe their sentence… [Read more →]

I like Father Michael Pfleger, or at least I liked him back when I was executive producer at WCFC-TV in Chicago and he was a frequent guest on the talk show “Among Friends”.  Back then, he was a white priest ministering in a predominantly black part of Chicago and seeing many lives changed. His words were of hope and love for the oppressed, and he was about drawing people of all races and backgrounds to the love of Christ.  Obviously something’s changed.

His now infamous tirade about Hillary’s entitlement to the Democratic nomination has placed him right up there beside Rev. Jeremiah Wright as racist hate-mongers abusing and misusing the pulpit.  Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago, has asked Father Pfleger to temporarily step back from his obligations at St. Sabina’s Parish to reflect on his recent statements.  The statement that Father Pfleger has issued in response sounds sincere, but how much better if we hadn’t gotten to this point.

Once again, the church gives us a case study in management and ethics. Get out your notebooks. [Read more →]

Somebody done somebody wrong… again.

Scott McClellan was one of President George W. Bush’s posse that moved with him from Austin to the West Wing. He was a trusted insider but left the White House in 2006 after serving as press secretary to the President. His kiss-and-tell book What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception, gives a scathing, one-sided glimpse into the Oval Office.  One writer on the Houston Chronicle Commons site called it Scott McClellan And His Thirty Pieces Of Silver.

Meanwhile in the church…

Ed Young, Jr.’s pathetic rant against Church Pirates in a staff meeting ended up on the Monday Morning Insight blog (a great resource for those among us who kinda get off on trying to make the church better). Obviously somebody left Ed’s staff and started a new church (what was that ungrateful, insubordinate Judas thinking?) or it may have happened recently to a pastor friend.  This was not Ed’s finest moment, but it made clear the passions that are ignited by betrayal.

Some churches try to insulate themselves by enveloping their operations in a legal cloak of documents. I was on the staff of a very large church that required me to sign a non-compete agreement (if I left for any reason I couldn’t work for any Christian ministry within 50 miles) and a non-disclosure agreement (I couldn’t talk about the church or its leadership for five years after leaving).  Feel the love. Obviously they had some betrayal in their past.

Here are some lessons you can use today… [Read more →]

Uber-Designer, Michael Buckingham, wrote a great post on his blog today in which he talks about the risk of promoting what you cannot deliver. It’s a good reminder.

As I was writing a response, I said to myself, “self” (I said) “this would be a great post on your blog, ergon agathon.” So here it is, not a rip off of Michael’s thoughts but just a spin on what he wrote.

Jesus said (as recorded by Matthew in chapter 12):   “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.  You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.  The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.  But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.  For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

What we say (promote, market, write, produce…) matters. Jesus said all that stuff (our creative output) comes out of what is in our hearts. Our words (ads, spots, postcards, fliers…) will either condemn us or acquit us.

Tell the truth in your marketing. If you find yourself embellishing, maybe you shouldn’t be doing any promotion until you help fix the underlying problem, then go wild and promote the snot out of it.

Trout like real trout bait. They hate the stuff that looks like a juicy worm but tastes like rubber. Your target audience hates stuff that tastes like crap. Give ‘em the real thing.

Public Relations is a mix of art and science and is a practice every professional needs to master, even if it’s just to market yourself. Today you’ll learn a lesson at the expense of Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for the office of President of the United States.

It’s clear the flak that Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. has caught from his two-decades long association with his radical Afro-centric pastor, Jeremiah Wright has McCain’s attention. McCain is afraid that being endorsed by John Hagee and Rod Parsley will become his own Jeremiah Wright. Unfortunately, McCain did the knee jerk reaction, and in the humble opinion of your simple scribe, he has hurt himself.

McCain has denounced the endorsements of Hagee (based on his beliefs about the Catholic church, Israel’s rightful claim to the Holy Land and other issues) and of Parsley (primarily because of his historically-accurate teachings on Islam). By doing this he might have distanced himself from some political fallout, but he also distanced himself from many tens of thousands of evangelical voters who weren’t entirely in love with McCain to begin with.

Here’s what he should have done. (Get out your notebooks.) [Read more →]

I interviewed a young man for an entry-level producer position today. He graduated from college in December, was highly recommended by his department chair, has done a bunch of projects since graduation and now he’s very likely to get a good offer for his first “real” job in television… being mentored by me.

Now comes the fun, learning how to succeed at work. Here are ten lessons I learned the hard way.  These are universal, they work at any job. Take notes, there will be a test.   [send this to someone you care about, there are handy links at the bottom of this post] [Read more →]

One month ago, April 20, 2008, singer/songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman was inducted into the Music City Walk Of Fame in Nashville, TN. Today, one month later, May 21, 2008 tragedy hits the Chapman family.

The Nashville Tennessean reported:

Steven Curtis Chapman’s youngest child died Wednesday afternoon after being struck by a car driven by her teenage brother in the driveway of the family’s Williamson County home.

Maria, one of the Christian singer’s six children, was taken by LifeFlight to Vanderbilt Hospital, which confirmed the death, according to Laura McPherson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The 5-year-old was hit by an SUV driven by her teenage brother, she said. Police did not give the driver’s name.

The teen was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser down the driveway of the rural home at about 5:30 p.m. and several children were playing in the area, McPherson said. He did not see Maria in the driveway before the vehicle struck her, she said.”

Many years ago I was in the Chapman home, producing a story for “The 700 Club”. Having been in the presence of many entertainers and stars, I was immediately amazed at the humility and warmth of Steven and Mary Beth. Their love for each other and for their family led to their adoption of three children from China. Maria was the youngest.

[Read more →]