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Managing a Video Production
Company
Providing a detailed break-down of the skills required to establish and grow a

profitable production company, this book enables content creators and film-
makers to navigate the commercial video production world and the needs of
its clients.
Drawing on professional experience in the industry as well as historical
examples, author Tom Vaughan-Mountford illustrates the ways in which
producers can avoid common pitfalls and better manage their business,
projects, and clients. Making the corporate world accessible for filmmakers,
this book covers all aspects of the video production process, equipping crea-
tives with the tools – and the mindset – to offer their skills to paying clients
in a reliable, repeatable, and above all profitable manner.
This book is ideal for filmmakers and content creators looking to establish
a successful video production business, and features an online resource pack
with example production paperwork including a call sheet, and example
script re-write.
Tom Vaughan-Mountford has worked in the commercial video produc-

tion and television advertising industry since the 1990s. He has worked in a
variety of roles on several thousand productions, spanning a diverse spectrum
of business sectors. Tom is currently the senior creative of a long-established
video production company in the UK.
Managing a Video
Production Company
Tom Vaughan-Mountford
First published 2021
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 Tom Vaughan-Mountford
The right of Tom Vaughan-Mountford to be identified as author of
this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77
and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Vaughan-Mountford, Tom, author.
Title: Managing a video production company /
Tom Vaughan-Mountford.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2021. |
Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021001935 (print) | LCCN 2021001936 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780367615512 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367615499 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781003105473 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Video recordings—Production and direction—
Vocational guidance. | New business enterprises—
Management. | Business planning.
Classification: LCC PN1992.945 .V38 2021 (print) |
LCC PN1992.945 (ebook) | DDC 384.55/8—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021001935
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021001936
ISBN: 978-0-367-61551-2 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-367-61549-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-10547-3 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by codeMantra
Access the Support Material: www.routledge.com/9780367615499
Contents
About the author vii
Introduction 1
1 Why are you doing this? 5
2 Getting down to business 8
3 Working from anywhere 16
4 Assembling your team 23
5 The start-up shopping list 31
6 Promoting your business 40
7 Business networking 49
8 The gig economy 60
9 Public sector tenders 66
10 Receiving your first brief 71
11 Production budgets 85
12 The creative pitch 96
13 How to write an awesome script 105

vi Contents
14 Keeping your production organised 112
15 Coaching on-camera contributors 120
16 Communicating with your clients 128
17 Approval and delivery 135
18 Doing it by the book 140
19 Behaving like a pro 145
20 Managing your tech 151
21 Managing your finances 156
22 So, that’s a wrap! 164
Index 165
About the author
Tom Vaughan-Mountford has worked at all levels of the commercial

video and television advertising industry since the 1990s. Tom’s career
has encompassed client-facing pitches, scriptwriting, lighting, shooting,
editing, audio production, motion graphics design, production logistics,
production company marketing, and the management of production
teams. The accumulated wisdom collected during two decades of work-
ing alongside many experienced professionals has formed the bedrock for
this book.
Tom is credited for a variety of roles on several thousand productions
across a diverse spectrum of business environments, from solo-enterprises
to global businesses and government departments. He is currently a co-
owner and senior creative at a long-established video production and
television advertising company in the UK.
You can connect with Tom, and sign up to stay in the loop at www.
vaughanmountford.com
Introduction
The commercial video production industry has undergone explosive growth

during the past two decades. The traditional catchall “corporate video”
is largely dead and buried. Today, the regular output of low-cost, fast-
turnaround video—distributed via social media—is the norm. Video pro-
duction for business purposes is no longer contained in its own unique silo.
Video has been firmly established as a component of search marketing, social
media strategy, PR, personal branding, and reputation management. Video is
the go-to medium for businesses to convey any kind of commercial message.
The applications for video are so numerous that few producers setting up
their own production shop can indulge in the luxury of producing only big-
ticket “cinematic masterpieces,” or work solely with a single variety of clients.
Most small production shops seek to acquire a broad range of repeat clients.
One-off commissions are just that, one-off. Being creatively superior to the
rest is no longer enough to keep you ahead of the pack; the mere ability to
produce attractive work is no longer the competitive advantage it once was.
The smart operators seek out clients with ongoing and regular production
requirements. Consistently producing effective videos every day of the week
requires solid business processes and a commercial mindset. You will need to
be not only a talented filmmaker but also a shamelessly self-promoting entre-
preneur. Video production is no longer a costly and infrequent investment.
For many businesses, video is a daily consideration in their marketing and
social media strategies. This need created a drip-feed of steady production
work for those willing to invest the time and effort to forming long-term
relationships with their clients.
On the f lip side, the explosive growth of video has created a crushingly
saturated market of youthful creatives brandishing cheap large-sensor cameras,
and many will happily undercut anyone to get the gigs. Video production has
become a hyper-competitive business filled with enthusiastic producers, often
trading against loans or credit card debt while they produce work at cost or
with minimal profit to build a showreel of work. During the past 12 months,
six new production companies began trading in my city, an even split between
solo operators and partnerships, and most of them under 25 years of age. If
you have a mortgage or a family you are unfortunately stuck with a handful of
2 Introduction
fixed overheads, and these might be potential disadvantages you will need to
factor into your business plan.
The role of the video producer has also transformed beyond recognition. It
used to be the case that a producer’s involvement ended with the delivery of
an edited videotape and an invoice. Today, the remit of a producer is akin to
that of a consultancy role. Producers are frequently called on to offer advice
around online video marketing strategies, video search engine optimisation
(SEO), streaming, YouTube advertising, Instagram Stories, Facebook ads,
and analysis of the stats that stream back in when a video is being shared.
During the past decade addressable advertising technology has reduced the
entry-level budget for advertising on television, and a great many video pro-
ducers have leapt on the opportunity to extend their offering into the crea-
tion of TV commercials.
So, while some producers can still indulge solely in the craft of filmmaking
alone, most within the corporate sector need more strings to their bow, act-
ing as a hybrid video producer, digital marketing expert, advertising agency,
and a trusted confidante for their clients.
What motivated you to read this book?

I am guessing that your interest in producing videos goes beyond satisfy-
ing pangs of artistic indulgence. You might have already begun to develop
your skills and have got some experience under your belt. You know that a
commercially viable market for high-quality video production exists, and
that—even in a saturated marketplace—you have something unique to offer.
You have decided the time has come to get real and start approaching paying
clients.
Despite your enterprising plans, you are primarily a creative first and an
entrepreneur second. You might not have much experience with market-
ing, project management, client liaison, or bookkeeping for your produc-
tion business. But you know darned-well that you must get good at these
things pronto to stand out from the crowds of producers with “all the gear
but no idea.” A popular—almost romantic—image persists of the obsessive
Hollywood filmmaker, agonising over every miniscule artistic detail. The
reality is this: Top producers—whether they work in feature films or corpo-
rate video—strive to develop their skills across the board. They will not only
know how to compose a great shot but also understand how the equipment
they specify for a shoot will impact the profit margin of the production,
and they will know how to build rewarding long-lasting relationships with
their clients. The very best producers understand that—to capitalise on their
creativity—they need to develop a rounded skillset that includes business
management in addition to filmmaking skills.
If only you knew of someone with many years of experience in the video
production business—someone to give you deep insight and coaching as you
embark on your journey—well, hey, it’s really great to meet you!
Introduction 3
What you are going to learn
This book is not intended as a guide to teach an absolute beginner how to
make videos, neither will it teach the specific craft skills of filmmaking. The
best way to develop your creative abilities is to seek out work you admire and
break it down. Figure out how it was done, and then have a go at replicating
it yourself. That movie trailer you just watched, was there an overarching
colour palette? What typefaces were used? Serif, sans-serif, bold, thin? What
about the music, the sound effects? What was the duration of each of the
shots, the pace of the editing? Learn this kind of stuff from the masters of the
craft. Many DPs (Director of Photography), Colourists, and Lighting Techni-
cians post behind-the-scenes Instagram videos of work in progress. Creative
people love sharing their creative process. File your observations for the right
moment to apply them to your own projects. I work with a DP who always
brings a notebook to shoots. She is always poised to sketch the layout of a
lighting setup and note the name of a lighting gel or a piece of grip equipment
that has proved to be especially useful. Study, observe, record, and practice.
Be a sponge for the technical processes behind creative works.
However, this book will teach you the fundamentals of managing a video
production business. We will delve into administrative areas of the pro-
duction process that I see—to my frustration—being overlooked or under-
appreciated. If there is an overarching lesson you take from this book it is this:
When you broaden your business and production management skills with the
same energy you invest in developing your creative abilities, your operational
processes will become more refined, and the management of your projects far
more professional. We are going to focus on the essential project management
and business skills required to run a solid and successful commercial video
production company.
Through the years I have witnessed many production companies and small
creative agencies set up shop then go broke while still in their infancy. Often
the quality of their work was impressive; but I suspect either their market-
ing strategy, accountancy skills, or client-liaison had left something to be
desired—and, inevitably, the f low of clients and money had run dry. Put
simply, a breathtaking showreel will not do much to impress business lenders;
and no quantity of pretty industry awards in a trophy cabinet can rescue a
tanking business from sloppy procedures or lack of financial controls.
I draw on knowledge gathered during my own career, complemented by
the wisdom of many clients, colleagues, and freelance crew past and present.
Currently, I am a co-owner and senior creative at a production company
trading since 1983, a business with an archive of several thousand productions
to its name.
The names and sensitive commercial details in illustrative anecdotes have
been subject to adjustment; in fact, you will find a section of the book ded-
icated to the matter of client confidentiality. The anecdotes collected from
various missteps—and their associated solutions—paired with the vast
4 Introduction
fount of knowledge gathered during almost four decades of production at
my current business have never gone out of date. The valuable lessons are
universal truths.
Today’s youthful production teams often appear caught up in chasing the
latest camera bodies, the most fashionable vintage lenses, and esoteric shoot-
ing accessories. Enjoying the newest tools of the trade—and figuring how to
use them to maximum creative effect—is fun, but some of the basic “bread
and butter” business skills acquired by producers through the decades seem
to have been relegated in importance. Yet, it is your non-creative skills that
will give corporate clients the most reassurance that you are going to act with
professionalism.
So, let’s get on with it!
1 Why are you doing this?
I reckon—gun to our head—many of us would admit we would truly love to

be producing blockbuster movies, chart-topping music promos, star-studded
television campaigns, or the next feverishly anticipated Netf lix season, all
with eye-watering budgets.
But think of the downside. We would have to give up quiet evenings
at home to go quaff champagne with the stars at red carpet premieres and
awards ceremonies. What an awful drudgery!
That said, the commercial video production sector continues its unstop-
pable growth and is no less of a career choice than Hollywood, or entertain-
ment production anywhere else in the world. Filmmakers pursuing corporate
clients must become comfortable with the commercial sensibilities required
to walk the tightrope between pursuing their art and meeting the needs of
their clients. Marilyn Heywood Paige is the Adjunct Professor of Marketing
at the University of Denver, and Chief Marketing Officer of full-service
agency Paige Black,
Every creative person has to manage the friction between creativity and
commerce. If you want to be free to make whatever art you want, get a
day job, and create what you want on your own time. There are so many
distribution channels now; you are no longer limited by being unable to
get your creative work seen. The opportunity and possibilities are fantas-
tic, unheard of 25 years ago. But, if you want to make money and have
a career as an artist, you will have to compete against other artists—and
there are thousands of videographers and filmmakers out there—you
will have to bend your vision to the needs of the person paying you to
make art. It isn’t fair. I get it. Creativity should be unbridled, but when
you want someone to pay for that art, their needs then become relevant.
And there’s the rub.
While writing this book I talked with founders of production companies

around the globe. I wanted to gain a broader perspective on what makes
today’s commercial production business tick. Video is everywhere, and
the quality spans the gamut from visually stunning and highly emotive, to
painfully unwatchable. One thing is clear: Businesses have no qualms about
6 Why are you doing this?
allocating funds for video production. Video is the solution to a great many
marketing and communications problems. Indeed, it is the medium that many
consumers expect businesses to use. How much money those businesses might
be willing to spend, and how much profit the producers of the videos will
bank seems to lack any measurable benchmark; it is all open for discussion.
The video production sector is a highly competitive arena to play in be-
cause the barriers to entry have been all but removed. The upside of this is
that there are countless directionless producers who have “all the gear and no
idea,” i.e. many of your “competitors” are not really playing in the space you
intend to dominate. They might just be satisfying pangs of creativity while
playing at business. Marilyn Heywood Paige points out,
If you launch your own production company, you have to know more
than just video production. You have to be able to sell and have a sales
process. You have to be able to manage projects and people. There is a
huge difference between running a company and being a creative.
So, if you are serious about doing business, you will be able to find a niche
for yourself. Our business has a track-record of working for clients in retail,
manufacturing, utilities, and healthcare; so, our team consists of as many
planners and fixers as creatives. Our niche is the reassurance of rock-solid
production logistics. To quote a regular client—speaking of another produc-
tion company—“Sure, their work is very cool and a bit different, but we just
couldn’t trust them with jobs of the scale you work on.” Perhaps your niche
will be having a multilingual team, the qualifications to work in hazardous
environments, or an understanding of a specialist industry that a competitor
might not be able to get their head around. You should be capable of deliv-
ering great work for any client that comes through the door, but be able to
excel in an area where few of your fellow producers will be able to follow.
The daily reality of running a production company is that nine out of ten
potential jobs that come through the door will be relatively mundane, and
many will be non-starters—never progressing beyond a speculative brief. I have
worked on several high-budget videos featuring well-known celebrities, but
those types of “prestige” projects form a very small fraction of the work that
keeps the balance sheet healthy. It is good to aspire to create better work, and
to chase more prestigious and wealthier clients. But temper this goal with some
realism. Even when you become an established producer, most of your projects
will not be destined for your showreel. Yet, those clients will want to feel they
matter as much as those with larger budgets and loftier production concepts.
Never give any client the impression that one of your other clients matters more.
Every glamorous project has been countered by dozens of productions
about subjects such as sewage processing plants, biogas facilities, plastics ex-
trusion lines, and beer-barrel washing systems. During the 1990s we worked
with a paint roller manufacturer to film a guy in a lab coat rolling white
emulsion onto a wall. Quite literally, watching paint dry!
Why are you doing this? 7
On occasion you might find yourself working with clients whose line of
work makes you feel uncomfortable. We have worked inside secure mental
health institutions and operating theatres, and for several years we held a
military arms manufacturer as a frequent client. Yes, even military hard-
ware can benefit from a marketing video to demonstrate its “optimum kill
probability.”
The single point you should take away from this: There’s rarely an ideal
client in a creative sense. Yeah, you should pursue the dream clients that you’d
love to produce work for; but never overlook the fact that—from a business
perspective—an ideal client is nothing more than a reliable and genuine busi-
ness entity that puts money in your bank account within your invoice terms,
generates a profit for your business, and then comes back for more. Your
dream client is almost certainly elusive and will have many other suitors in
pursuit of them. Do not give up the dream; but remember that the strongest
and most loyal clients are not necessarily the most exciting, or even the easiest
to deal with. Many mundane and indecisive clients will readily pay for the
exciting ways you can enhance their public image or the functioning of their
business. Take pride in being the reliable expert who always does a great job
for them, and keeps the needs of their business top priority, no matter what.
In summary
• Commercial videos are a means to an end. Meeting the objectives set by
the project’s brief is the service you will be providing for your client; the
artistic process is intrinsically for your own enjoyment.
• Becoming an even better Producer, Cinematographer, or Editor might
make you a more desirable freelancer for those specific skills. But, when
you run a production company, clients will be commissioning on many
other factors besides the quality of your work.
• Keep searching for the cool gigs (they are out there, trust me) but temper
your search with realism. Accept that it will not be possible to love every
project you work on. Be okay with that. Do a great job anyway.
• You will frequently have to work with clients whose line of business you
do not find especially interesting. Find a way to become interested.
• On occasion you will find yourself producing work for clients whose
objectives might be at odds with your personal beliefs. This is sometimes
the nature of commercial video production.
• If a client settles invoices promptly and returns to work with you again,
that makes them a good client, and you a successful business owner. It’s that
simple.
• If you ever cause a client to feel they are not your top priority, they will
be entirely justified in walking away. Check your ego at the door.
• Find your niche; be it a sector where your skillset enables you to deliver
truly outstanding work, or a variety of client you understand better than
any other producer. This will be your area of competitive advantage.
2 Getting down to business
Structuring your business

At the outset I must make clear that I have always conducted business within
the UK. If you are outside the UK, you should investigate the types of com-
pany formation options available to you. As with any business formalities,
you should be clear on what the legal and financial ramifications are for you
as an individual. However, there are three main ways to form a new business
venture:
• Freelance. Sometimes referred to as being a sole-trader or self-employed.

The “business” is simply the individual who is doing the work. If the
individual ceases to do any work, the business essentially vanishes; the
same is true if the freelancer takes a vacation. Crucially, the individual
is responsible for any debts their business activities create. There can be
many upfront outgoing expenses involved in the production of a video. If
a client were to go bust without settling an invoice, any costs incurred by
the project are going to come directly out of the freelancer’s own pocket.
For that reason alone, freelancing is best suited to specialisms where the
individual is selling only their time and knowledge to fulfil a specific role
on a production.
• Partnership. At its most simple, a business partnership is a legal agree-
ment drawn up between two or more individuals doing work together
(in the USA this is often named a General Partnership). The agreement
will set out arrangements for how all partners in the business will work
together—and how management responsibilities, ownership, the share
of income and other assets will be divided between them. In the UK
and USA each of the partners is still considered to be self-employed.
Partnership law is complex and—in the USA especially—there are nu-
merous variations of the partnership model. Few production companies
are structured as partnerships.
• Limited Company (in the UK) or Limited Liability Company (LLC;
in the USA). The formation of a business in this manner creates a “com-
pany” which is a legal entity in and of itself. This process is known as
Getting down to business 9
“incorporation.” Debts belong to the company, and the company’s own-
ers are shielded from liability for those debts. If a client were to leave
an invoice unpaid, the company’s bottom line would take a hit, but the
founders would not be expected to reach into their own pockets to make
up the loss. A Limited or LLC business can accumulate value (its assets,
the money it has in the bank, and the goodwill of loyal clients), and it
can be sold as a “going concern.” When a Limited/LLC company em-
ploys payroll staff, the founders can sometimes take a vacation and the
business will keep trading! But perhaps the coolest thing about incorpo-
rating a company is that you can give it a name, and no one else will be
able to incorporate a business with that same name. Before deciding on
a name for your company, you should check (if you’re in the UK) on the
Companies House website to make sure the name is available. Establish-
ing a Limited company can elevate how clients perceive your business.
Businesses that are seen to be properly structured can command sensible
prices for their expertise. Countless business books can explain the legal
requirements of running a Limited company, although they are not too
arduous. In the UK, a Limited company may be liable for Corporation
Tax and VAT (you can find a full guide to VAT here, https://www.gov.
uk/vat-businesses), and your accountant will be able to advise you on the
formalities. At the simplest level, a Limited company is a vehicle you can
promote as a brand independent of yourself.
To work as a freelancer, you need do little more than to register as self-

employed and take care of bookkeeping, personal tax, and (in the UK)
National Insurance arrangements. Freelancing is a working arrangement that
suits many video production professionals, though most freelancers tend to
specialise in a single skill, offering their services as a Director, Cinematog-
rapher, Sound Recordist, etc. I shall assume you will—at first—be filling
several roles: Offering yourself to clients as a total production service, and
tackling everything from creative concepts, scripts, production logistics,
filming, and post-production.
Some may disagree with me, but “freelance” can imply relationships that
last only the duration of the project in hand. If you’re going into business
with someone else, subcontracting parts of the work to others, or even hiring
your own team, you’ll need to break up with the notion that you’re simply a
freelancer with a packed diary. When you work as a freelance hired hand you
will only be building your own personal brand. To extend your reputation
and ethos to others under your direction you will also need to be building
the reputation of your business. It is a mindset change. In the enthusiasm of
getting started many people get caught in the trap of brainstorming business
names; buying domains; getting a logo designed; creating a website; setting
up their Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and all manner of other social media.
Sure, these can all be valid tasks to act on when developing your business,
but they do not in and of themselves create a business. We’ve all seen start-ups
appear on our radar with a fancy website, an email blast to anyone who might
listen, lots of activity on social media; yet we hear nothing on the grapevine
about where this new business might be getting work from, or who their cli-
ents might be. Before long, the new kid on the block ceases to post updates,
appearing to have gone out of business without even completing a single pay-
ing project. Getting caught up in tactics rather than executing on a strategy
merely creates the public image of a business, with no real substance behind
the façade.
As you’re hoping to build a livelihood for yourself—and, perhaps others—by
providing your expertise all the way from initial brief through to delivery of
a final production, the nature of your role will need to be that of a business
owner rather than a freelance creative. It is worth noting that larger clients—
while they may bring in expert freelance consultants for certain projects—
often prefer to award work to incorporated businesses (those with “Limited” at
the end of their company name, or “LLC” in the USA) as this can give them
greater legal recourse if anything were to go wrong. Publicly owned companies
will sometimes stipulate a requirement for copies of suppliers’ official reporting
and ownership structure as a prerequisite for larger projects. Setting up as a
bonafide registered company from the get-go lets you hit the ground running
when you do eventually need to expand and bring other people into your
business.
Employers’ Liability Insurance

It is essential to have the correct types of insurance in place to protect yourself
should an accident occur. Starting a new business is exciting. It is natural to
concentrate on the fun stuff. But mistakes and disputes can strike even the
most professional operators, even if they are not directly at fault. It is essential
to have adequate insurance cover for the work that you are taking on. As an
incorporated company it is a legal requirement to have Employers’ Liability
Insurance. This type of insurance will cover you against a vast spectrum of
claims relating to accidents or illnesses affecting both your own employees
and any freelancers you use. In the UK, this insurance is non-optional; you
must have it in place to be able to operate as an employer. If you are forming
a production company in the USA you should seek local advice as the regula-
tions surrounding provision of insurance for your team vary greatly by state.
Public Liability Insurance

In the UK Public Liability Insurance is (surprisingly) not a legal requirement,
but I consider it an absolute necessity. You will often be filming in a public
place, or on your clients’ premises. You might have an office that your clients
can visit. Under all these circumstances there will be numerous opportunities
to inadvertently damage something—or someone—no matter how careful
you are. It is unlikely your clients will ask about your insurance policies, but
when we have produced work for the public sector (or applied for tenders)
our policy details have been requested. Local government departments often
require a policy with cover of up to £5 million as a prerequisite for doing
work for them. An annual public liability policy that would cover you for
a mistake where you caused five-million quid of unimaginable carnage is
relatively inexpensive. You can setup an annual policy online within min-
utes, so there are no excuses for not getting this cover in place. However, the
requirement—and scope of cover—for liability insurance is not universal;
you should check the corporate insurance requirements for your country to
make sure your policy is appropriate.
Several years ago, we were called on to quickly film an interview with a
politician. We arrived at the location, arranged the seating, and set up the
lights. Midway through the interview one of the lamps began to smoulder
(this was a time before cold-running LEDs were a thing) and within seconds
f lames began to lick out of it. We pulled the plug and made a dash for the
door, lamp held at arm’s-length, to get the mini fireball onto the street out-
side. Aside from leaving an unpleasant smell we managed to avoid causing
any damage and went on to complete the shoot on schedule. No matter how
professionally you conduct business it is always possible to become the victim
of an unforeseeable incident.
Production Insurance
Regular office contents insurance can fall short of the needs of production
companies. Policies can have many conditions and exclusions that producers
can unknowingly fall foul of. Production Insurance is a more comprehensive
policy that can often be bundled with the first two forms of business insur-
ance when purchased from a specialist insurer. Production Insurance adds
additional features specific to the needs of producers, such as:
Theft of equipment from an unattended vehicle: Many times there will be

too much gear to carry in one trip from the car, and it takes only seconds
for an opportunist thief to smash a window and snatch a case while you
are setting up just a few feet away. Regular insurers may wriggle out of
settling such a claim on a technicality, or the policy might only cover the
value of relatively inexpensive items such as a laptop or luggage.
Professional indemnity: Indemnity cover can pay out in a scenario where you
badly screwed up and a client needs to be compensated or has suffered a
financial loss because of your actions.
Re-shoot costs: There are various scenarios where claiming the cost to re-
shoot footage is the only option remaining. Let’s say your camera gets
stolen at the end of a shoot (no sweat, the camera was insured) but the
memory cards with the day’s footage were still inside (devastating—but
also a reason why you should clone the data at the earliest opportunity!).
Production Insurance would allow you to recoup the cost of the shoot—
within the value the policy covers—and give you an opportunity to re-
shoot the lost material.
Getting professional legal advice
A solicitor will have your back when you are confronted with a situation that
needs to be resolved in black-and-white legal terms. In running your busi-
ness there will frequently be times when professional legal advice needs to be
sought. It is far easier to get access to advice quickly when you already have a
good relationship with a solicitor who understands your line of work.
We required expert legal counsel when a track of music we had used on
a production was later subject to a copyright dispute. We had legitimately
licensed the track from a reputable production music library. Several months
later a composer heard that same track in use on someone else’s production
and decided it bore a resemblance to their own work. The composer then
put the wheels in motion to take legal action against the music library and,
in-turn, everyone who had used the track. Our solicitor was able to step in
and deal with the piles of legalese being sent to us and protect our interests.
Eventually, the music library was able to prove there were no grounds for a
claim of infringement and the composer backed down. Legal assistance like
this does not necessarily come cheap, but it prevented a difficult situation
from becoming far more costly.
Creating a functional workplace

The key word in the title is “functional.” There can be a tendency in the
creative industries to place workplace style ahead of workplace function.
Many years ago, clients were impressed by the clattering of videotape
decks in complex edit suites. At one point we had a financial advisor who,
after meetings with us, would sit at the back of one of our edit suites to watch
us at work because he was so fascinated by the workings of racks full of whir-
ring video equipment.
With video now being trafficked around as files, most small production
facilities look little different to any other office. The novelty of visiting a
production company seems to have worn off. This is especially true as the
geographic distances between producers and their clients have become a less
important criteria for doing business. For a while we had a client located in
California—the other side of the Atlantic and several time zones away from
us—and we would email and Skype our way through each project. From the
client’s perspective they would have been none the wiser if our headquarters
had been a garden shed. They were happy with the results we gave them; our
workplace was of no interest.
Create a smart and organised workplace that fuels your creativity—
paint your office in wild neon colours if that’s what gets you going in the
mornings—just don’t get carried away and blow your start-up budget on
designer office furniture and Herman Miller chairs. Your workspace should
add as little to your running costs as possible. Fancy office suites may be cool,
but the lease on an office space in a desirable district can pile on the pressure
to earn extra income just to cover greater outgoing costs.
Whereabouts will you locate your f ledgling
production business?
At the outset, your home is likely the best place to set up shop during the
first few months. Working from home comes with a few caveats. Technology
allows us to work from wherever we wish. Yet, from experience of working
from home it can sometimes be a battle to maintain focus on the job at hand.
This is especially true if family members find it difficult to understand that
during working hours the home becomes your workplace. If you anticipate
such pitfalls in running your business from home, there are cheaper alterna-
tives to committing to leasing office space. If you are in an urban area you
may be able to consider a desk in a shared “creative hub.” Many cities have
trendy districts where you will find coworking office spaces aimed squarely
at creative workers who prefer a desk away from home.
Duke Studios is a coworking space in Leeds, UK. Fran Bundey, the Com-
munity Manager, explains,
Duke Studios was born out of this very quandary, with the directors
themselves graduating from creative degrees and not being able to find a
place in which to work beyond their own home. We had artists’ studios,
corporate style offices, and boxed-off spaces but none of which were
quite right or specifically appealed. So, the idea of Duke was born. Since
we started in 2011, we have seen a huge number of other spaces open
across the city and a huge shift in working patterns, wants and needs in
the creative community as a whole.
But a coworking space is about far more than merely getting out of the house
during the day. I asked Fran about the benefits of working alongside other
creatives,
At Duke, and a vast number of other coworking spaces, there is now a

greater impetus on community and connections. A workspace provid-
er’s responsibilities stretch far higher than ensuring there is enough tea
bags or toilet roll, it extends to fostering introductions, referrals, and
collaborations between residents; from getting a quick snip of advice, to
working directly on a major brief together. Encouraging collaboration is
even built into the design of Duke Studios, with windows into studios
and open doorways creating more opportunities for people to chat and
work together. They have all been brought into this space on the same
premise, as nice human beings who all work in the creative industries.
When I began my career, I had never heard of coworking spaces. Having

recently visited several shared creative offices, I enjoyed the vibe. If I found
myself in need of a place to get some work done in a distant city I’d prefer to
do so in a more social setting; the feeling of “going to work” would get me in
the right mindset to actually do some work. If I were starting over in business
as a solo-enterprise hoping to grow, then sharing a space with other creative
professionals would be a big draw for me.
Duke was always designed to be an incubation space that small com-

panies could grow-up and through with the support of the community
around them. From coworking, up to permanent desks and studios. We
have countless examples of individuals joining us as coworkers and grad-
uating up as their company grows. It is something we actively encourage
and support the best we can. Many of these stories are a result of contacts
made and guidance and support from others in the space. It is the ‘can do’
attitude we aim to promote. In more brash tones of one of the directors,
‘Fuck it, just do it!’, which is arguably where we started.
The Flour Mill—a new collaborative creative workspace in Dundee,

Scotland—agrees that a coworking environment fosters not only creativity,
but also a growth mindset. Jerry Alexander of Liberty Space explains,
We have had several members who have moved on to take private office
space in other parts of the building. Some see coworking as a stepping-
stone, and a way of keeping costs down whilst they work through a
plan. They have always had the goal of getting their own space. Oth-
ers gain confidence once they are in a coworking environment, lifting
their aspirations to perhaps employing someone and taking on their own
private space. Some simply want to work away from home in a crea-
tive and inspiring space, but don’t want employees, just a great working
environment.
The choice of whereabouts to situate yourself for optimum working is down

to personal preference. Locating your business operation just footsteps from
your bed is not going to be for everyone, even if it will result in the lowest
possible overheads. As Fran at Duke Studios adds,
The reasons our members so often give for joining us are for the com-
pany, community, conversation, a reason to get dressed, inspiration,
someone else to make a cup of tea for, problem-solving, collaboration, or
the need for a daily routine.
In summary
• Your production business can take several forms; however, the most
common business structure is a Limited company (an LLC in the USA).
An incorporated business carries with it more regulatory requirements,
but if you are hoping to grow a financially independent business that can
employ others, it’s usually the right way to go.
• Your business will need Employers’ Liability Insurance as a standard
requirement, and Public Liability Insurance as a sensible addition. Check
carefully for any other protection you might need in your country of
operation.
• Regular office contents insurance can have conditions or exclusions that
might make it inappropriate for the way you work. Specialist Production
Insurance might be more suitable, and it can provide insurance against
many more scenarios than regular policies.
• Develop a relationship with a solicitor familiar with creative businesses.
There will come a time when you need legal advice, and it is good to
know a professional who has got your back before you need to call on
them.
• Your workplace should be functional, tidy, and make a good impression
for visiting clients. The space should allow you to work comfortably and
productively for long hours. But it should never add any more to your
overheads than it absolutely needs to.
3 Working from anywhere
You might be surprised to find a chapter dedicated to remote working so near

the beginning of a book about video production. Making videos is a very
“hands-on” creative process. Imaginative creative work requires a bunch of
people working together in the same physical location, be it at a client’s office,
a film studio, or chilling as a team on your office beanbags. Throughout my
career I had become accustomed to doing business in just this way. Even on
the occasions I would take a day out of the office to buckle down on a script
or proposal, I would still return to the office the following day because…
because… well, just because. A real business had to be somewhere; a gather-
ing of people, a photocopier, and a heap of overpriced commercial-grade
furniture, all located in a designated office space. In the previous chapter I
outlined some of the options for where to locate your production company:
A solo desk in your own home, desks in a coworking space, or even a leased
commercial office.
Those were the most realistic options at the time of writing. That’s just the
way it was. Until it wasn’t.
As this book was heading toward publication the world went on pause
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The filming of entertainment and movies
went on hold around the globe, studios all but shut down entirely. Tens of
thousands of production staff around the world were made redundant. As
businesses shuttered their doors, they too put the production of advertising
and marketing projects on hold. For many businesses, the commission of
video content was—almost overnight—dropped to the bottom of the list of
priorities.
As a busy production company, we were not immune to the pandemic’s
effects. Inevitably clients with upcoming shoots cancelled their plans, and
projects we had pitched for were put on ice. Despite the crisis many of our
clients speedily adapted and continued trading. So, we needed to find a way
to continue delivering projects, even while our offices were off-limits. Like
countless other businesses around the world, we had to embrace working as
a remote team whether we wanted to or not. I was reticent to write with
reference to COVID-19 as I did not want my research showing its age. How-
ever, the enforced abandonment of offices around the globe meant a lot of
Working from anywhere 17
businesses—mine included—had to do the previously unthinkable and figure
out a way to run their operations without a centralised headquarters. For
some it was revelatory and became a natural evolution of their business; they
never looked back.
I began reaching out to production companies around the world to ask
whether a move to remote working had been a smooth transition for them. I
also asked whether it might become a legitimate and accepted way to operate
a video production business going forward. I received many largely optimis-
tic responses. The positivity was not limited to responses from newly formed
businesses. Established production companies also felt the traditional ideal
of a fixed office space was diminishing in importance. Some even felt that
locating a business in physical premises could be a burden and an unnecessary
expense.
Muon Video create productions for growing companies in New York and
Miami. Brett Cafferty is the Owner of Muon Video,
I find the fixed-location ideal to be a topic of interest. I learned early

on from someone much wiser that commercial space can be a hindrance
more than anything else. The future is currently here. In the same way
businesses learned from the 2008 crash that they could have a leaner
staff taking on more responsibility, the 2020 COVID-19 crash will im-
bue businesses with a valuable lesson; that businesses can function with
comparable efficiency, and save a lot of money, by working in a variable
location setting. While it is atomizing, and lacking in in-person work
culture, it is the way ahead. Workers, and communication, will become
increasingly efficient with better tools.
One of the legacies of the pandemic will be the normalisation of running

businesses remotely. Of course, many young businesses were already working
with remote teams at the time the virus took hold. Phil Hampton founded
Cartoon Media, an animation company, in 2012. Phil lives in the UK, but
from the outset knew his business would be able to operate without the
shackles of geographic restraints,
We’ve never had a physical office since I started the company. I work
with three freelance cartoonists for our Whiteboard Animation videos,
all of whom work from home in their respective countries, America, and
Hungary. One major benefit of working with freelance cartoonists is
that I could attract higher-quality artistic talent than if I just limited my
search locally. I also work with professional 2D animators and animation
studios in various European countries.
I asked Phil whether Cartoon Media’s clients take much interest in the loca-
tion of his business, or indeed the lack of one, “Since 2012, I have met less
than 10 of our clients, or potential clients, face to face. Hardly anyone asks
whether we have an office or work virtually.” Perhaps the proof of this state-
ment is that when I contacted Phil to ask his thoughts on the potential for a
rise in the popularity of remote working, I did not realise Cartoon Media was
already operating as a remote team. Presumably, if I did not care enough to
look for a postal address on Phil’s website, other visitors might not look for
location information either,
No, they just see the quality work on our website and client testimonials
and want something similar. Over half of our customers are based outside
the UK, mainly in the US, so I hire freelance voice artists based around
the world depending on customer requirements. I also work with a
translation company and international voice artist agency if the customer
requires non-English versions of their videos. We have virtual office
addresses in the UK and US. We also have a virtual receptionist to take
calls, and messages if I am unavailable. I pay for freephone numbers based
in the UK and US which redirect to the virtual receptionist. Potential
customers can fill out a contact form on our website if they’d prefer to
send us a message rather than call.
I asked Phil how responsibilities are divided at the business, and whether any-
thing would push them toward adopting a more traditional office-based model,
I manage the projects, and write the scripts and storyboards for my reg-
ular animators, though I have access to freelance copywriters if nec-
essary. I have tried hiring permanent staff in the past when we scaled,
but it didn’t work out. I found it difficult to manage multiple staff who
all worked from home, but that may be more down to my corporate
background, being more used to managing teams who share an office.
If I scaled again and hired staff, I’d be more likely to rent office space.
However, if I continued to work virtually, I’d make sure I hired a general
manager, and used central project management software like Asana or
Trello, plus virtual meeting software like Zoom, to make it easier to keep
track of progress on projects.
Tracy Hagerman is Head of Production at June Day Productions in Johan-

nesburg, South Africa,
We are finding working remotely very easy. The wheels of our business
are still managing to turn! I have been trying to get clients and crew to
adopt a more remote way of working for years and, in fact, I had a regular
client that I never met—even over video chat—for five years.
I asked Tracy whether the willingness of clients to forego meeting their pro-
duction company in person might increase the likelihood of clients commis-
sioning production companies at greater distance,
I’m not sure about really global work at this stage. I am sure it happens
but, with some of my clients, they still want to know that I am in the
same city for context and basic cultural understanding. I work mainly
with locally based corporate clients, so their training and corporate video
needs are hyper-local in terms of culture and language.
While some corporate clients may still prefer to commission close to home,
those sourcing creative solutions to their problems via the “Gig Economy”
may be less concerned with the location of their chosen producer. Fatima
Lagerås operates as a Creative Producer and Production Fixer at production
services company Swixer, in Sweden.
My clients are 99% international (non-Swedish) wanting help with their

productions in Sweden. I have never been dependent on a physical work-
space when producing or planning shoots. I am working remote all the
time. I work with freelance-based teams a lot and typically I book them
for shoots that are happening on location. So, to me, a physical work-
space has never been crucial, and I love the fact that I’m able to produce
no matter if I’m in Sweden or in Hawaii.
The most interesting of insights came from a production company with ex-
perience on both sides of the fence. Fat Free Media had operated within
a traditional “bricks and mortar” corporate model, employing a large full-
time team, before its Directors Neil and Kate Rostance made the bold deci-
sion to radically alter the structure of the business and close their city-centre
premises. The pair now operate Fat Free Media, and manage their freelance
team remotely, from their home studio in Nottingham, UK. Neil Rostance,
Creative Director, explains,
We decided to scale our business down earlier in the year. We completed

the process a few days before lockdown started. Looking back, it was
great timing! We had been running a larger production team, 16 at its
peak, across video and animation. We had just finished our strongest
year to date, yet we were fundamentally dissatisfied with leading a large
production team, it caused a lot of stress. We realised that we just didn’t
enjoy leading a team. We decided to let our team go, and some of them
have gone on to work with us on a freelance basis. We closed a posh
office in the city and moved the business to a studio at the bottom of
our garden. For a while we were genuinely worried that clients would
think our ‘big production company’ was now weaker because we were
working from a home office. Some of the bigger brands we work with
are so used to lavish London offices, and their large advertising agency
personas, even though it is largely just for show. We were really worried
about not having that image anymore. Since COVID-19 hit though, I
feel like it has given a whole new legitimacy and power to our new setup.
The fact that we no longer have a big office to maintain is now a strength
for two reasons. Firstly, we don’t need to squeeze every bit of profit out
of every job to pay for the big office. It used to be that we might want to
spend a bit more time on a project to make it extra-special, but we were
unable to because our margins were tighter. Now that we’ve got lower
overheads, the f lexibility to overspend on a project for the love of making
great work becomes an option again. Secondly, we’re not just ‘coping’
during COVID-19, we are fully functional. We have got all our assets,
back-ups, network, automation, and hardware in one dedicated space.
It’s not a production company on the dining room table, we decided to
make this our permanent space and it’s genuinely given us a competitive
edge. The larger ‘production company’ model is becoming less relevant
as the years go on. It used to be that the guys with the big production
companies with big rooms full of kit got the work, but now everyone
has access to great kit, and everyone has access to the same software too.
So, what is the point of a big office? What is the point of asking artists to
come to work at the same place each day? Maybe it’s about maintaining
a consistent ‘culture’, but to me, I think the only reason physical offices
exist in our industry is purely down to the speed of sharing digital assets.
But, imagine if RED or Blackmagic announced a codec that made 6K
footage the size of an MP3, we’d no longer need big server rooms and
shared storage arrays, therefore we wouldn’t need to be in the same space
to access all our footage. Then what’s the real reason we’re all in the same
building to do this work? A sense of company culture and morale is the
only other thing I can think of that holds it back. However, the trade-off
for a wonderful workplace culture are things like long commutes and
stressful work life balance.
Neil also believes that potential clients’ perception of what constitutes a “pro-
duction company” in the traditional sense has been challenged by the pace of
technological change,
Some of the biggest content creators in the world operate from their
houses. YouTube creators have shown that the classic ‘production com-
pany’ model isn’t the only way to make magnificent work. The barrier to
entry is not just lower, but completely f luid too. We are moving to a place
where remote collaboration is not only more technically possible than
ever before but is more accepted and championed by collaborators and
clients. Working from home is no longer seen as the weaker counterpart
to being in an office. I have thought a lot about the reasons why physical
offices would still be needed and the biggest reason I keep coming back
to is asset sharing. The pinch point for us, at present, is purely in asset dis-
tribution. Getting high-resolution video assets between artists and free-
lancers has been quite tricky. It has illuminated some of the luxuries of
on-site media management. But this is only a small drawback compared
to the benefits of working from home: improved mental health, lower
stress, a better work-life balance.
Neil is positive that remote working can be a legitimate structure for some-
one launching a business from a clean slate, but adds some caveats,
If graduates setting up shop can craft a workf low that thrives without
the need for huge, cumbersome digital assets, then they will have truly
achieved the freedom to work from anywhere. But with remote work-
ing, comes new levels of risk. Backup and data security become harder
and harder to control when assets and projects are spread across different
locations. I suspect there will be a rise in more entry-level DAM (Digital
Asset Management) systems for creators over the next few years, along
with products and apps that keep digital assets in the cloud with all the
security and backup perks that come from having a physical office.
Tracy of June Day Productions agrees, and added,
Yes, a new graduate could absolutely start a competitive video busi-

ness remotely. This business does not require huge overheads when you
can include hiring prices in your costing. Crews are booked and meet
on location with their gear. My clients never come in for a viewing.
Everything just lands in their mailboxes. My only challenge right now is
getting location footage sent to me, we are still using couriers. I’m sure
there is a better way, I just haven’t made the change yet.
In summary
• Office space is costly and will add tremendously to your overheads. The
marketing and advertising industries have a reputation for demanding
fanciful “creative spaces” in which to work—it is legitimate to question
whether you need to follow suit.
• If you can do most of your work on a computer, you are free to work
pretty much anywhere you like. That said, temper your enthusiasm to
become a roaming nomad—carrying a production company in your
backpack—with a dose of realism. Working from anywhere could only
ever be viable if your clients and the services you offer will allow for it.
• A decentralised business structure will require everyone to be kept in the
loop and have easy access to all the information in the business. When the
people working on your productions are not sharing the same office—or
even the same time zone—they risk making assumptions about the di-
rection of the project, or what is required of them.
• When coordinating projects with a remote team you will frequently
be shunting multi-gigabyte folders via the cloud. Your broadband con-
nection will be running full throttle. Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
heavily advertise their download speeds (and for domestic users want-
ing to stream 4K Netf lix and run a 40GB update for Call of Duty, the
download speed is the most important measure), but for commercial use,
the upload speed is of equal importance. I would argue that connectivity
should be one of the key considerations of where you and the members
of your team should locate themselves during working hours. Working
from the beach might appear to be living the dream; but as a dead-
line looms closer, no one needs the headache of frustratingly slow file
transfers.
• Running a business with “no fixed abode” will require you to estab-
lish and maintain extremely rigid procedures for data management and
backup. No matter where your team are located, all your production
assets must be stored in a central location that is carefully administered.
A production workf low that gets split across a handful of desktop com-
puters, laptops, and mobile drives—whether they are a thousand miles
apart, or just ten minutes away from one another—is a recipe for chaos.
If a client were to urgently request a file that exists only on the local
computer of someone who is sleeping on the other side of the world, you
are going to run into problems. Your team can be decentralised, but your
production assets must always be accessible to anyone at a moment’s no-
tice. I will delve deeper into media asset management in a later chapter.
• The newfound acceptance of remote working is more a method for col-
laborating with the best talent than an opportunity to travel. Sure, you
could tour the globe while producing work for your clients, but it’s more
likely you might find yourself working in your local coffee shop while
your motion graphics artist and colourist work on their respective parts
of the project someplace else in the world.
• The mindset inherent to collaborating with a remote team can serve to
broaden your approach to marketing your business. If many clients could
not care less about your physical location, perhaps you should care less
about theirs.
4 Assembling your team
Your production enterprise will likely begin its journey as a solo operation,
or as a collaborative effort with a likeminded business partner. You might be
able to spend the rest of your career as a do-it-all freelance filmmaker; deftly
balancing writing, producing, directing, camera operating, sound recording,
and post-production, without breaking a sweat—all the while still having
time to find new clients. If so, which superhero are you? If you are consist-
ently bringing in new work, you will eventually reach a point where you will
need to decide how to adapt. There are three options:
1 Manage your workload by being more exclusive. Decline lower value

projects or clients that do not interest you and focus on a manageable
workf low in a tight niche.
2 Grow the business and continue to broaden your client roster. Focus your
efforts on your core abilities and bring others to the table with comple-
mentary skills.
3 Give up the dream. Get a steady office job.
You will either take on additional in-house staff, contract freelancers for in-
dividual projects, or mould a f lexible hybrid of in-house and freelance talent.
Jordan Podos is the Principal of See. Spot. Cut. The New York company’s
website perfectly explains the “collective” working style that is growing in
popularity,
See. Spot. Cut. is a pack of media veterans who band together to unleash
amazing work. Lead by Jordan Podos, the team is made up of dedicated
creatives that jump at the chance to meet unique challenges and realise
the potential of every project fed through the collective. We’ve aban-
doned traditional, one-size-fits-all pipelines that lead to formulaic results
for an agile approach to team building that provides f lexibility for clients.
This gives us the freedom to nurture even the smallest project and ensure
our client relationships are still spot on.
It was this description of the business model on the company’s website that
prompted me to get in touch with Jordan to find out how he formed a busi-
ness with freelance talent,
Nearly everyone is freelance. I, and one other Editor, are the only staff
employees, with the ‘first line of defence’ being freelancers that we work
with regularly and who always make themselves available. From the very
beginning I surrounded myself with folks that I worked with in the past
and trusted. You must be able to trust your freelancers to both be able
to perform their tasks professional and in a timely manner, but also act
professionally when in contact with clients.
I asked Jordan how new freelance talent joins his ranks,
I only work with people who I know personally or have been recommend
to me. Very often freelancers reach out, and I do have a conversation. I
am polite but mostly but do not move beyond those initial conversations
unless I am blown away by their body of work. [From there] The inter-
view process is very simple. Typically, an in-person conversation and
some light checking of references.
Although most freelancers maintain a conventional profile on LinkedIn, you

can begin forming connections with freelance creatives on dedicated indus-
try websites. The Dots (the-dots.com) is a networking site specifically tailored
to the creative community, and it boasts more than half a million mem-
bers around the world. In the UK, ProductionBase (productionbase.co.uk) is a
long-established jobs board for freelance production teams.
Freelancers will come looking for you

Freelancers are continually on the search for new clients, and freelancers in
the film and TV industries reign supreme in terms of the quantity of outreach
they do to find new connections. When you establish a website for your
production business, you will likely find the same. We typically get five to
ten emails a week from freelance film crew, voice artists, motion graphics
designers, and composers. Freelancers will often find you. Brett Cafferty,
Owner at Muon Video LLC, is never short of enquiries; however, Brett looks
for a specific pairing of traits in the freelancers he might want to work with,
We organically attract freelancers through our SEO. Simply having

a video company attracts freelancers; the pursuit is, of course, to find
high-quality freelancers. The best advice to give to video companies
is this: find talented yet agreeable people and pay them fairly. These
individuals are far more valuable than you realize. You can always find
Assembling your team 25
talented people, and you can always find agreeable people. But rarely
both traits are found in the same person. Compensate these individuals
fairly, or they may walk.
Brett’s advice chimes with something I was told years ago,
Say you have a choice between two freelancers: a perfectionist who de-
livers sensational award-winning work but is a petulant diva who rubs
everyone the wrong way. Or, someone who consistently delivers solid
professional work, and is also affable and a pleasure to work alongside.
Who would you rather work with?
You should also keep in mind that your clients will share the same mindset
when hiring you to produce work for them. Marilyn Heywood Paige, CMO
of Paige Black, regularly hires freelance creatives,
The truth is, the person who can deliver what I ask for on time and who
is easy to work with is the person I hire again and again. The person who
has amazing creativity but cannot stay within the brief, deliver on time,
or is too difficult to deal with I will never hire again. Even if their work
is amazing. I simply can’t. I answer to clients who keep the lights on. I
have to deliver work that hits the mark on time and in budget, and I have
to hire the person who will help me do that.
Assembling an in-house team

Conventional—outdated—advice for selecting and interviewing candidates
often sits at odds with the nature of the creative industries. Most youthful
start-ups (in any creative sector) need teams formed of original thinkers, and
they rightly shun traditional recruitment guidance. Even when you are hir-
ing for an administrative role you should be searching for someone with a
creative nature that can complement your own (and that of your team). They
should possess the artistic appreciation to understand what makes your busi-
ness tick, and exactly why you are so darn great at what you do. Our team
has been formed of people who pursued side-hustles in food blogging, fine
art, DJing, screenwriting, and indie-filmmaking. Their creativity was not
simply “switched on” for office hours only. Whether they were employed in
a production role or not, their personal interests had a synergy with our line
of work. We would share a connection; the relationship would just feel right.
Trevor Rappleye is the CEO of production company CorporateFilming.net.
Trevor says it is important to get to know the person behind the resume,
When hiring other creatives, the worst thing you can do is hire them like
any other admin worker. Creative people are hustlers, they don’t want to
be micromanaged; they just want to execute and make awesome videos.
Chemistry is so important. My tip? Grab happy hour or have a virtual
team happy hour to see how the chemistry is. When we hire, we look for
two things: Are they happy, and are they passionate? If they have these
two traits, everything else can be trained.
Of the few “bad” hires we have made in the past, the overriding reason the
relationships did not last was because we hired for experience and qualifica-
tions above all else. All the successful applicants were well-suited “on paper”
and hiring them felt the logical choice. In practice, the methodologies they had
learned during their roles in other businesses did not transfer well to an envi-
ronment filled with creatives. They possessed the right skills, but something
on an almost unconscious level meant they were never entirely onboard with
what we were all about. Requiring your candidates to share the exact same
“passion” or “vision” you have for your business might be a somewhat unfair
expectation, but ensuring they are on the same page—and that it isn’t going
to be just another job for them—is really important. Rob Level is the CEO of
Smart Rapper, an online education platform for rappers and recording artists.
The growing start-up attracts hundreds of applicants to every role, so Rob
follows careful criteria to refine potential candidates,
I show them the end goal from the jump. I am consistent from the day
that I begin the interview process where I say, ‘This is where we are
heading guys. Don’t attempt to work for me if you don’t see this goal as
well.’ I feel as though I can teach anybody anything that I do—or have
done—but I cannot teach attitude or afford to unteach bad habits.
The simple truth is, to hire exceptionally creative individuals, your recruit-
ment process must appeal to their creative nature. To assemble a team that
is on your wavelength, you need to write recruitment ads that would make
even you tempted to apply for the position! Set the tone of the type of person
you want to work with by carefully choosing the language you use. Regular
job descriptions appeal to regular people. Your recruitment campaign should
be vibrant, enthusiastic, and passionate. I was scolded by one HR professional
for my writing style, being far too colloquial and casual to be taken seriously by
potential applicants. There was a disconnect; they did not understand that I was
writing to attract people who would be on the same wavelength as the team. A
creative job description might attract fewer applicants than a generic one, but
the candidates will likely be better suited to the role, and more aligned with the
culture you are trying to build. If you are looking to attract candidates who are
exceptionally video savvy, why not turn your call for applicants into a video
and distribute it on social media? On the proviso that your recruitment process
is entirely free from discrimination and open to applicants from all walks of life,
the style and placement of your recruitment campaign can take any form you
feel will resonate with the most suitable candidates.
Interviewing your candidates
Advertising a vacant position, wading through a tsunami of resumes, view-
ing hours of showreels, scheduling days of interviews, and then trying to
evaluate the merits and drawbacks of a dozen equally likeable people are
time-consuming and tiring. The candidates you bring to the interview stage
should all possess the potential to do the job successfully. The interview is
an opportunity to delve more deeply into the candidate’s interests, their
mindset, their character, and to further explore anything in their resume that
piqued your interest. Meeting a candidate face to face enables you to get the
measure of the unique—intangible—qualities that might demonstrate they
are the right person for the role.
Open Google right now—I will wait—and search great job interview
questions. I did just that, and it gave me 1,090,000,000 results. Any variation
on the search returns hundreds of millions of results. The world would appear
to be filled with gurus promising that their list of cryptic questions will get
a candidate to divulge everything about themselves. Many of the questions
in such lists make me cringe—they scream pop-psychology—or are worded
in such a way that they would make a candidate feel awkward while they
wonder what on earth the “correct” answer should be. Google themselves
are infamous for posing extremely esoteric questions to evaluate the logic and
methodology that candidates use. But you and I are not hiring for Google.
Throwing a candidate off-balance by asking weird psychological brainteasers
can be self-defeating. You will get answers, but they will not be of much use
to you.
On the other hand, tired and formulaic questions such as “Tell me about
a time you failed, and what you learned from it,” or “What is your big-
gest weakness?” are so widely publicised on recruitment websites as to risk
prompting rehearsed and unoriginal answers. Honestly—no one’s biggest
“weakness” is that they’re a perfectionist who works too hard! Ask questions
that are likely to provide genuine and intriguing answers that will be both
useful to you and relevant to the operations of your business. If you would not
be especially interested in hearing the candidate’s answer to a question, it is
probably too superficial.
You don’t have to ask every candidate an identical checklist of queries (an
interview should be an enjoyable conversation, not an interrogation) but there
should be enough overlap across all the interviews to allow you to compare
the candidates fairly. Here are some of the questions I have used that can elicit
sincere and considered replies—
“What drove you to where you are today?”

This is a broader and more thought-provoking twist on the standard “Tell me
a little about yourself.” You read their résumé; you already know what they
have done. You want to find out why they did those things.
“What really excites you? It can be anything, not just work”
If you ask about their hobbies, you will likely be given a list. You want
to know what gets the candidate up in the morning, what really gets their
adrenaline f lowing. Do they light up with enthusiasm at the opportunity to
tell you what really fuels them?
“Which project are you most proud of?”

Dig deep into why the candidate is so proud of the project. If they are simply
pleased with the artistic merits of the result, that’s fine. But it is especially
positive if they mention how the project met the client’s objectives, or if
hurdles were overcome. If you are not interviewing for a production role,
simply ask the candidate about their proudest achievement—either personal
or professional. Finding out what a candidate is especially proud of can be a
good indicator of what will motivate them in the future.
“What was the most awful, pain in the ass, project

you ever worked on?”
This question can be the beginning of an interesting line of conversation.
Note: Do not lead the question by asking how problems were resolved or
what they learned from the experience, just let the story play out. Listen for
the nuance in their recollection. Do they spend forever and a day bemoaning
everything the client did to stall the project, or do they recount the steps that
were taken to get things back on track?
“Which aspects of this role would you most enjoy?”

This question serves two purposes. First, it allows the candidate to indicate
where they feel their strengths are. Second, it can give you heads-up on whether
there is a disconnect between your description of the role and the candidate’s
understanding of what the role might entail. Maybe they are bubbling with en-
thusiasm about going on lots of shoots and meeting celebrities when this is simply
not going to be the daily reality. Also, worth noting—many creative people apply
for administrative roles in production companies to gain a “foot in the door”
and later sidestep into a production role. If you suspect the candidate is, say, an
aspiring Producer-Director, ask them if that is their end goal. This is an entirely
legitimate career strategy on the understanding that the candidate is genuinely
enthusiastic about learning other skills as they work toward their ideal role; but
neither of you should be under any misapprehensions during the interview.
“Do you have an ability that you would love the opportunity
to develop further?”
Asking a candidate about their perceived weaknesses supposedly provides an
insight into their self-awareness. In my opinion, questions about weakness
are f lawed because positive responses can be so well rehearsed. Instead, ask
about any untapped interests or latent abilities you might be able to help them
develop. You can get a sense of their ambition and desire to broaden their
abilities. This is especially important in a new business where you will ini-
tially need a team of f lexible and multiskilled individuals ahead of recruiting
dedicated specialists.
“What can you offer that someone else might not be able to?”
A strong candidate will be able to tell you exactly where two or more of their
abilities or interests overlap to form a unique combination, and why that com-
bination brings so much value to the table. The clincher that makes one can-
didate more appealing than another can often be a complementary skill, or
personal interest, that adds value beyond the baseline skills needed in the role.
“What is your ideal working environment? How are you

most productive?”
There is not a right or wrong answer. It is simply useful to know in advance
how the candidate would deliver their best work, and how they might best
integrate into your team. For instance, the candidate might say they are a
focused introvert who prefers to work, unbroken, for hours with their head-
phones on. That is totally cool, but it likely means they would find it frustrat-
ing to sit with someone who likes to chat all day.
“Are you familiar with any other local production companies?”

Asking “What do you know about us?” as a rouse to see how well a candidate
has prepared is something I thoroughly dislike. Their answer will usually—
understandably—have some f law or omission that will subconsciously bug
you. I recall one candidate namedropping some of my past work, unknow-
ingly mentioning (more than once) a production that I was far from proud of.
Probing a candidate for their knowledge of your own business could result in
an unintentional kick in your ego, at no fault of the candidate.
I find it far more interesting to explore what a candidate knows about the
wider industry. It is certainly not a red f lag if your candidate does not have
an answer to this one (e.g. if they are changing industry, or have recently
relocated) but being able to name a few competitors can indicate they have a
degree of commercial awareness, or are tapped-in to the local marketplace.
“What is your must-see series on Netflix right now? – What’s so

good about it?”
Yup, this does appear to be superf luous small talk. However, you can gain an
insight into the candidate’s tastes, and the criteria they use to form an opinion
on creative works. The question will also demonstrate whether they are able
to connect on a social level. Are they able to hold an engaging conversation
about something other than work? Can you imagine spending a two-hour
journey to a client with this person?
If you’ve begun to get a good feeling from the candidate during the inter-
view (i.e. they have made it onto the shortlist for the job) you should always
introduce them to the rest of your team. Even just a couple of minutes of
free-wheeling conversation with someone who was not present in the inter-
view can be very revealing. Oftentimes, the candidate will be more at ease
when the interview is behind them. Ideally, one of your team should also
have been in the interview with you, to later offer their opinions of the can-
didate to compare with your own.
Attend graduate shows

University graduate shows can be a rich source of emerging creative talent.
Many universities have film and animation courses, and graduates—while
lacking corporate experience—will be overf lowing with fresh ideas and en-
thusiasm. Follow the social feeds of nearby campuses to get a heads-up on the
dates of graduate showcase days.
In summary
• When you gain a foothold and find yourself becoming overcommitted,
you have three courses of action: (1) Carefully manage your workf low
and become a specialist in your niche. (2) Broaden your client base and
consider how to grow your team. (3) Give up and go do something easier.
Only the first two options are recommended!
• For even the busiest production companies, there are peaks and troughs
in the number of project commissions. Production teams must be lean
and f lexible. Most production companies employ just a core team to
service their clients, while drawing on a roster of trusted freelance crew.
Every position on your full-time team must be 100% justifiable.
• To attract creative candidates, you must create equally creative job de-
scriptions that will appeal to their nature.
• A job interview is not an interrogation. An interview should be a friendly
conversation where you aim to get the candidate to be as close to their
genuine self as possible. You need to know whether you would enjoy
working with them.
• Ask only questions that will get answers you are interested in hearing. Do
not resort to pop-psychology or cryptic brainteasers. If you are unlikely
to derive useful information from an answer, you are doing the candi-
date a disservice by not giving them the chance to demonstrate why they
would be the right choice for the role.
• Chemistry is everything. Hiring someone with great skills whom you
suspect might grate with yourself or your team is a recipe for the begin-
ning of a problematic relationship.
• Go on the hunt for emerging talent at graduate showcase events.
5 The start-up shopping list
Do not be tempted to launch your new empire with a spending spree. Begin
your business with the minimum viable investment required to be able to
service your clients’ needs. You should retain the start-up mindset through-
out your career, and always be asking whether you really need to spend
hard-earned money on a new asset or to make an addition to your ongoing
overheads. You should always be striving to cut your outgoing costs, operat-
ing with as few expenses as you possibly can. Jason Cherubini is an account-
ing academic, and a cofounder of Dawn’s Light Media,
Many new business owners think they need certain things to be taken se-
riously, like a fancy office or an impressive website. These things can be
nice to have, but they are far from necessary. By starting out operating at
a lean level, and continuing to avoid ‘comfort creep’, your business can go
from one profitable project to the next, without having to cover a large
monthly burn. When our production business started, we were entirely
project based, with no corporate level monthly overhead. We used our
individual phones and laptops, with no company money covering those
standard monthly business costs. As the business grew, we kept a similar
mentality. At the corporate level, the only costs we incur are the few
small legal, accounting, and overhead costs that are absolutely necessary
to keep the business running. All other costs associated with the business
are aligned with the projects that they are for. This way we do not have
a large cash drain when we are between projects. This methodology
helped us breeze through the shutdowns that were associated with the
Coronavirus. While many businesses were in a situation that they were
continuing to pay out business expenses without revenue coming in, our
income statement was f lat. There may have been no new revenue com-
ing in, but there also were not any expenses that we were having to pay
out. As businesses grow, this can get a little more difficult. The way we
have dealt with that is we estimate our company overhead for the entire
year, and we put that money aside out of our early projects. That way we
know that our overhead is covered, and the business can then continue
to operate on a project basis. Companies can operate on surprisingly little
overhead if that is the way it is structured.
One of the largest upfront costs of launching a production business can be
equipping yourself with the facilities necessary to create high-quality videos.
Full disclosure, I love technology. Given the chance I would purchase every
new gadget on the day of release. There are few things as uniquely enjoyable as
cutting open the tape on a box, lifting out the polystyrene wedges, and inhal-
ing the factory-fresh “new equipment smell.” I get it, buying new gear is fun!
But purchasing anything for your business must always be weighed against less
exciting—but nonetheless essential—considerations. Buying stuff does not add
any significant value to your business. Any accountant will tell you, the cost of
all the equipment you buy will just sit on your business’ balance sheet, where
you will frequently be reminded just how rapidly it is depreciating in value.
Reality is that the latest and greatest kit soon becomes yesterday’s technol-
ogy, and not long after that it becomes entirely obsolete. The period between
“this is cutting-edge” and “this is junk” will continue to shorten. Take it
from someone who has been in the business a long while; most of the equip-
ment I have purchased is not only obsolete and of zero cash value, but much
of has been scrapped.
When I got into the business, technological progress was markedly slower.
The industry was more standardised, and everyone bought much the same
equipment. Broadcast-grade kit required serious capital investment, and we
would keep purchases for a lot longer because they had to pay for themselves
several times over. The gold-standard technology when I began my career
was a videotape format named Digital Betacam. A couple of decades ago, a
Digital Betacam camera had a price tag in the area of £25,000. What is it
worth today? Nada. Nothing. It is junk. The hottest digital cinema cam-
era on the market today with its gazillion pixel sensor and all manner of
other cool new features will also be superseded and relegated to history. The
lifespan of camera gear is especially short, and it simply might not be possible
for some equipment to provide a return on investment unless it is paying
for itself every day of the week. There is not such a thing as “investing” in
equipment, because it will begin depreciating from the day it is purchased.
To buy, or not to buy?

Okay, so most production equipment costs a fortune and depreciates rapidly.
However, there are undoubtedly a few filmmaking staples that you can jus-
tify purchasing outright; equipment that is so inexpensive—or will be needed
so frequently—that it simply makes sense to have it in your possession. Your
requirements will change as your projects become more complex; the more
complicated the requirements, the more likely you will have to bring in gear
you would not ever be able to justify purchasing.
Brett Cafferty, of New York’s Muon Video, agrees with my “just the es-
sentials” approach to purchasing,
Regarding film equipment, I take a fiscally conservative approach. When

you first start up, rent equipment for projects until you have an idea of
The start-up shopping list 33
who your typical customer is. After a few projects, you will learn what
their needs are. When it comes to deciding on equipment, do not allo-
cate too much money on cameras alone. Top of the line cameras are not a
novelty anymore. The image quality gap between a $5,000 video camera
and a $50,000 video camera diminishes every year. If you absolutely must
own something, invest in lights, and audio equipment when starting out.
Marc de Vries, of the New York rental house Production Junction, also feels
that a few items of basic lighting kit are useful to own,
Bi-colour, or RGB, LED lights are a good option to buy for lighting.
They can be cheap, battery-powered, easy to store and transport. So, by
that rationale, you should rent HMIs and tungsten lights. These can be
cumbersome and heavy, but a rental company might deliver directly to
your set. Grip, in general, is better to rent [author’s note: if it is heavy,
made of metal, and is used to support or move something then it probably
falls into the category of ‘grip’]. I would also recommend renting lenses,
since there are so many options and they can be pricey. I don’t think
microphones get outdated as quickly as things in the camera department.
If you are just doing smaller shoots, a shotgun mic is a good idea, and an
on-camera monitor is also helpful.
Both Brett and Marc’s advice tallies with my own. We keep just enough
equipment in stock so that if a client were to ask us to shoot a simple pres-
entation to camera at short notice all we would need to rent is an appropriate
camera and lenses. We no longer have our own camera simply because our
current clients have such a broad range of requirements. In the early days
of your business, your needs will likely not be too demanding. You will be
able to “travel light” and be inventive with what you’ve got. Get just enough
equipment to meet the needs of most of your projects. Entry-level cameras
with exceptionally high-quality sensors are frequently coming to market
from manufacturers like Blackmagic, Canon, Panasonic, and Z-Cam; and
inexpensive solid-state recorders such as the Atmos Ninja can extend their
functionality still further.
Nic Weinfeld is the Founder and Executive Producer at Five to Sixty, a
branded entertainment company with offices in New York, New Orleans,
and Los Angeles;
Starting out, it definitely helps to own some minimal gear, but don’t
blow your savings on it. You just want a simple setup that allows you to
justify taking on smaller budget jobs and continue shooting [or] develop-
ing your portfolio without depending on new clients. As you level-up to
bigger contracts, each job will require specialized gear, a specific camera,
specific lenses and specific support. If you own gear, you may find most
jobs demand gear outside what you own and thus you are just wasting a
bunch of money and weighing down your overhead.
Mike Austin at LA Film Rentals (in Los Angeles) highlights that it is now com-
monplace to assemble the cameras and lens kits most suited to the project in hand,
Every project is different and requires the DP’s desired camera for the
preferred look and feel of the project. Unless you are purchasing the
proper camera for a need you have every day, renting is the more cost-
effective way to go in the long term if you’re handling multiple produc-
tions. Shooting photos? Canon or Sony. Shooting a music video or short
film? Sony or the RED Epic Dragon, typically with EF lenses. Larger
productions rent the Cooke lenses with one-tonne grip packages and
supplemental lighting.
Mike at LA Film Rentals says making accurate cost estimates for productions
can sometimes highlight where the purchase of equipment might be a cost-
saving in the longer term, “Only purchase equipment that you will use every
day. It’s always best to budget out your production and see if it makes more
sense to buy some [of the] equipment rather than renting for smaller items.” For
instance, we found ourselves renting lighting stands so frequently we purchased
a couple of dozen of our own C-stands. The C-stand is a very heavy-duty
lighting stand used around the globe; the design has never changed. C-stands
are totally indestructible and relatively inexpensive. Ours have paid for them-
selves many times over. That said, we benefit from having somewhere secure to
store our stuff; but if your production company is essentially yourself and your
laptop, nomadically roaming wherever projects take you in the world, then it is
perhaps not so practical to own any equipment. Mike at LA Film Rentals also
points out a downside to owning any significant quantity of equipment,
Another thing production crews are learning is when you buy a bunch
of gear, you have to store and maintain everything. And if you don’t get
insurance on your own gear and something happens, you’re out [the cost
of ] that gear.
I can personally endorse Mike’s advice on that point; I lost a camera and a
location audio mixer to an opportunistic thief. Even though the items were
insured, the insurer refused to pay on a technicality, so in that instance—even
with what appeared to be adequate precautions in place—owning our own
equipment proved a costly liability.
So, when your own equipment cannot meet the requirements of a more
complex production, how—and why—might you choose to rent it?
Equipment rental—all the latest toys, without the

financial baggage
Relentless innovation in filmmaking equipment has brought so many options
to market that many production companies rely on knowledgeable rental
The start-up shopping list 35
companies to assemble appropriate packages of equipment. If you are located
anywhere near a metropolitan area, you will have a large selection of gear
available on your doorstep. So, starting out your production company with-
out a piece of filming kit to your name is entirely feasible (if not sensible).
Brad Wilson is the Vice President of Business Development at Keslow Cam-
era, a large equipment rental company with bases across the USA, catering for
the requirements of every tier of production including major feature films,
Most production companies will be better off renting to begin with.

You require less capital upfront, and you have less overhead and gear to
maintain, etc. Not only that, but said gear you did end up purchasing
could become obsolete sooner than you may realize, and you won’t want
to worry about the hassle of selling and purchasing new equipment to
remain at the cutting-edge of technology, whereas a rental house would
have those channels worked out.
Beyond the obvious benefit of letting someone else take the financial hit if
the gear becomes obsolete, rental can also broaden your creative options.
Prior to the ever-changing landscape of digital cinema gear, we owned a
standard off-the-shelf broadcast camera, and we felt obligated to use it for
every shoot. Looking back at our work from that time, it had an overarching
similar “look” that was inherent to the camera model. Whereas, today, you
can tailor your shooting package to achieve whatever style the project de-
mands. Marc, at Production Junction, agrees
Different productions will have different specs, and there isn’t a one-size-
fits-all camera out there. You can buy the greatest 4K camera and cinema
lenses for your money today, but if next year everyone is looking for
films to be shot in 6K, or a client wants a look your lenses don’t do, you
might wish you had waited, or had stuck to renting. Lighting could be
the same; if a manufacturer puts out a light that lasts 4 hours on battery,
has more output, a colour spectrum closer to an HMI, etc. I’m not saying
no gear is worth buying, but these are some examples of the rental phi-
losophy. Rental houses also offer accessories and more esoteric grip items
that can make your shoots easier, and we also offer advice and technical
support, should you need it.
If you do opt to purchase items of your own equipment, keep in mind they
will likely only get used by yourself, and any staff you employ. If you bring in
a freelance crew, it’s likely they will prefer to either use their own equipment
or will help you specify what rental kit they require for the project. Brad at
Keslow Camera explains how this usually plays out,
Producers for studios or running larger productions typically defer to

their cinematographer on where they source their gear, and usually the
cinematographer will choose to use a rental house because of the myriad of
options and depth that a rental house would offer in terms of camera and
lens choices, as opposed to an otherwise small arsenal that an individual
could typically purchase with their own money. Not only that, but a rental
house will have backups upon backups of gear in case anything goes down
during the shoot or is damaged during production. Lastly, but perhaps
as importantly, traditional rental houses provide access to highly trained
technicians on call 24/7 to ensure everything is running throughout the
shoot, which I’m sure provides a nice stress relief for most.
Equipment rental—be a good client

We have found equipment rental houses are most amenable to cutting deals,
arranging training, or swiftly arranging an eleventh-hour booking when they
feel you are a loyal client. I cannot overstate the importance of being a good
client to businesses and individuals to whom you subcontract aspects of your
productions. When you find yourself in a tight spot, or need something at
the last minute, you will want to be the person with a positive reputation that
others will want to go the extra mile to help. Keslow’s Brad points out that it
pays dividends to build and maintain a close relationship with your rental shop,
I would recommend reaching out to the rental house and setting up a

meeting in person to begin a relationship with a certain individual there
who will become your account manager. Quickly fill out their applica-
tion forms and abide by their terms and conditions, get them a current
certificate of insurance, and then start driving business to that rental
house. The stronger the personal relationship you build, and the more
business you bring to them, the more leverage you’ll have in negotiating
rental rates with them, which will in turn bring you maximum value.
Don’t miss the opportunity to learn

Be sure to follow the social media and newsletters of your nearby rental
shops. Many of them will run open-days and training sessions for recent
additions to their equipment armoury. When a new piece of gear hits the
market, your rental shop is often the first place where crews can get hands-on
experience of using it. There will also be people on hand who have studied
the new equipment in-depth; they will be familiar with its quirks, and tricks
to get the best performance from the kit, working knowledge that is not in
the instruction manuals! While all rental companies will deliver equipment
to you, Marc at Production Junction recommends getting up to speed on
unfamiliar equipment ahead of time,
Plan for a check-out session. We allow our clients to come into our office
early to test out gear and build rigs. This will let you root out any possible
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turning troubled eyes to Mrs. Smith. “Why, these stones must be
quite priceless.”
“They are very fair stones,” our hostess replied coolly, beginning to
ladle out the soup; “but they are not at all too good for Kitty. It gives
me great pleasure to see her wearing them; they will be something
to remind her of old friends when she is far away from us.”
“She is so very, very careless,” began mother again; but here I broke
in to ask her indignantly if she supposed I should be careless of such
a thing as that?
“I will give you a little Chubb to keep it in, Kitty,” said father, with
moist eyes. “I don’t think Mrs. Smith need be afraid of it’s not being
well taken care of; the child is not likely to have many such treasures
of her own. But I do think with Mary, Mrs. Smith, that it is too
valuable to”—father hesitated and cleared his throat—“to be taken
out of the family, you know.”
Poor father and mother! they thought Mrs. Smith had been making
over Tom’s inheritance to me, thereby implying that she regarded me
as his future wife. They knew nothing of the existence of that
treasure of diamonds in the Indian cabinet, compared with which this
was almost a trifle. Tom, who guessed what we had been about
during the afternoon, looked across at me significantly when father
spoke, and then we both looked at our plates, and I blushed
furiously.
I was coming out of my bedroom earlier in the evening, having gone
to fetch some music, when I met him striding along the passage on
his way to his usual nightly interview with the overseer. We did not
think it wrong to stop and indulge ourselves in a fervent hug and
kiss.
“I am so glad mother has given you something out of that old iron
box,” he said, touching my precious cross. “Now, you mind what your
father said, Kitty, and don’t take it out of the family.”
“No fear of that,” I answered, nestling up to him. “It will stand to me in
the place of my engagement ring, Tom. Only I can’t wear it always,
unfortunately.”
“Wear it that day when we meet in England, Kitty, will you? Then,
when I see it round your dear white throat, it will be a sign to me that
you have kept true, and are ready for me.”
“I will,” I said solemnly.
CHAPTER VII.
ON THE MAIL STEAMER.
Our final departure from the colony was a wretched business, and I
do not feel inclined to dwell upon it. The Smiths and ourselves had
never known until now how strong were the bonds of friendship that
through long years had bound us together, and Tom and I bitterly
realized what a tremendous probation ours was going to be. It was
sad to see our pretty home, that had grown with my growth, and was
a monument of I know not what ingenuity and contrivance,
dismantled and stripped, and given up to strangers. It was a trial to
hear, when the sale was over, that my beloved piano had been
carted away to the township for the butcher’s children to strum upon;
and that our drawing-room furniture, which had been made for us in
England, was gone to adorn a public-house. It was a sore grief to
have to part with Spring and Bronzewing, neither of my pets being
allowed to accompany me home, of course.
Spring I gave to Tom to take care of, and so I was assured of his
welfare, though the poor old dog whined and cried at leaving me until
he almost broke my heart; but Bronzewing was too famous and too
valuable to be disposed of in any such sentimental manner. He was
put up to auction, and was fought for by two or three wealthy
landowners in the district, one of whom purchased him for a sum that
was sufficient, father said, to cover the cost of whatever finery
mother and I might choose to treat ourselves to in Paris.
I parted from Tom at Booloomooloo, standing out in the public
sunshine between the doorsteps and the buggy. Our four parents
were gathered round us, all more or less overcome, on their own
account, by the solemnity and sadness of the occasion, and in the
midst of them we stood tight clasped in one another’s arms, and
kissed our hearts out in the bitter sweetness of farewell. We were
past caring what they or anybody else thought of it. My own father
and mother preserved a grave silence towards me for hours after we
had started; but if they had raged and stormed it would have been all
the same. I should rather have enjoyed it than otherwise, in the
defiant and despairing mood that I was then in.
During all our buggy and railway stages, and our little sojournings
here and there, en route to Melbourne and the mail steamer, I was
too profoundly miserable to see, or feel, or care for anything. But my
natural vivacity, and the spirit of enterprise that always possessed
me more or less, awoke in spite of me under the novel conditions of
sea life. At the end of a fortnight or three weeks I had revived
sufficiently to take a vigorous interest in my fellow-passengers, and
to scandalize mother by a special partiality for a bearded young
Queenslander who taught me to play chess. I was no good at chess,
and gave no signs of promise that I ever should be. My head was not
of that construction which the intricacies of the game demanded. But
the learning of the moves, and of a few rudimental calculations, was
a pleasant occupation when the teacher was so exceptionally
agreeable. I thought it was very hard on me when mother objected to
two or three games of chess a day, just when I was beginning to find
a little amusement to drown the thought of all my troubles—until, to
my unspeakable surprise and disgust, the Queensland gentleman
made me an offer of marriage; which unpleasant incident, occurring
on board ship, was unavoidably one of the widest public interest.
This happened before we reached Galle, and threw me back into my
original low spirits for a day or two. I recovered myself when we
came to anchor in that lovely port, and I found myself furnished with
unlimited pocket-money (surreptitiously, from father’s pockets) for all
the charming native rubbish that I cared to purchase. And the
addition of a number of little Indian children to our passenger-list
made the rest of the voyage delightful. I am glad to say my rejected
lover took himself off (though I was really very sorry for some things
to see him go) and sought distraction in the pleasures of the chase
with some coffee-planting acquaintances. So I and my little friends
had no restraint upon our intercourse. There were some dear little
girls, coming home with an invalid mother and no servant, to whom I
particularly attached myself. I washed their hands and faces, and
saw that their little wants were not overlooked at their own table; and
we played together all day long, whensoever we had an opportunity.
They were precocious little things, and not very strong, and had no
idea of romping; so we entertained ourselves with quiet games.
One day we were absorbed in our favourite amusement—“keeping
shop.” A sort of barricade was built up of chairs in a retired spot of
deck, to represent the counter; the two little sisters sat on cushions
on one side, and I knelt on the other, displaying scarfs, and veils,
and handkerchiefs as my stock-in-trade.
“And what can I show you to-day, madam?” I inquired of the elder
child, with much ceremony, when we had arranged ourselves to our
satisfaction.
She considered for a moment, with her wise little face full of
importance, and then she asked for some pink satin for a ball dress.
I immediately spread out a snuff-coloured pocket-handkerchief of
daddy’s, and she passed it through her little fingers, knitted her
brows, shook her head; and when I told her it was cheap at £16 a
yard, said she was afraid it was not good enough. Acting on this hint
I produced a gossamer veil, which I told her was a very sweet thing
in satins, that I thought I could let her have, as a favour, for £500 the
dress. “It is a piece that was made for the Duchess of Edinburgh,” I
explained confidentially; “only the Duchess found that she really had
so many dresses in her trousseau that she would never have an
opportunity of wearing it.”
The little one’s face shone with delight at this announcement, and
she consulted with her sister as to the advisability of securing such
an undoubted bargain. Forty-seven yards was rather more than she
required, she said; but I told her that was the quantity for a court
dress with a train, and that of course I could not cut it. So she
purchased the whole, and it was laid on one side; and then it was
her sister’s turn to be served. This little mite had been in a fever of
impatience for the pink satin to be disposed of; and now she burst
out breathlessly, “Please, I want some purple velvet—no, some
crimson velvet—for a ball dress, and some diamond fringe to trim it
with.”
I gravely brought out a woollen scarf, and told her that that was the
richest crimson velvet that was made. It was £200 a yard, but, of
course, that was a mere trifle for such a superior article. She
trembled with excitement as she poked her thin little finger through
the holes in the knitting, and inquired anxiously whether I was sure
that it was quite the latest fashion.
“Oh dear, yes,” was my unhesitating reply. “It is the most fashionable
of all materials this season. The Queen sent for a dress exactly like
this, only last week.”
“It couldn’t have been the Queen,” broke in the elder child, who had
been watching the proceedings critically. “Mamma says the Queen
never wears anything but black.”
“Dear me, no, of course not! What could I have been thinking of? It
was the Princess of Wales I meant. The Princess wore it at a
garden-party at Chiswick, and it was immensely admired. Crimson
velvet has been quite the rage ever since.”
“And diamond fringe?”
“Well, of course hers had diamond fringe, because she is a princess.
She had a few of her spare boxes of diamonds made up on purpose,
and she found she had just enough to trim the polonaise with,
without having to touch her necklaces, and bracelets, and tiaras, and
things. But diamond fringe is not generally worn, and I am afraid I
have none by me just now. I can show you some pearl embroidery, if
that will do, or some real Brussels lace.”
As I turned to search for a strip of tatting in my workbag, which was
to do duty for Brussels lace, I met the steady look of a pair of keen
dark eyes, watching my proceedings from an embarrassingly short
distance. They belonged to a gentlemanly, slight-framed man, whom
I had not noticed before, and who must have joined us a few days
previously at Galle. He was leaning on the back of a friend’s chair—
the friend being elderly, and dozing over a magazine on his knee,
with his chin so buried in his shirt front that his grey beard tickled his
nose—and he was resting all his weight on his folded arms, and
looked as if he had been watching me for any length of time. There
was something in his face which (without taking any offensive liberty
with mine) was so amused and so comical, and I myself felt so
extremely silly, caught unawares at my childish games, that I could
not help laughing. At this he took his arms from his chair back, and
pulled off his hat hurriedly; and I, at the same moment, scrambled to
my feet and tilted the counter over, to the consternation and disgust
of my little customers.
“Oh,” he exclaimed, taking two long steps into the “shop,” and putting
our apparatus in order again, “I am so sorry! I did not know I was an
eavesdropper until you surprised me just now. I was so interested in
the mimicry of your little companions, and to see you amusing them
so prettily. Is not the child the mother of the woman, as well as the
father of the man? I was just thinking that, when you turned round,
and showed me how rude I was.”
I have always considered that if gentle breeding shows itself in any
physical peculiarity at all, it is in the quality and purity of one’s voice
and accent. Tom, though his voice was deep and sonorous, had that
clear, incisive crispness of speech which is so expressively
authoritative, as well as so musical to listen to; and my new friend,
with a more delicate and high-pitched organ, resembled him so
much in the using of it that I was reminded of him at once, and felt
kindly disposed in consequence.
“Do not say that,” I responded frankly. “I deserved to be laughed at,
and I am sure you could not help it.”
“I was not laughing at you, I assure you,” he said warmly. “I was
wishing I had such a knack of interesting others, as you seem to
interest everybody about you. These little ones would have had a
very dreary time of it if you had not been on board. Wouldn’t you?”
he added, addressing the children, who were staring at him silently,
with evident disfavour.
“Are you coming to keep shop?” the youngest inquired, gravely; “or
do you want to buy anything? Because we don’t keep gentlemen’s
things. Do we, Miss Chamberlayne?”
“No,” I said, smiling; “the tailor’s shop is over the way.”
“I take the hint,” he said, bowing slightly, as he lifted his hat, and
showing a pleasant, thoughtful, friendly face, with thin dark hair a
little worn away at the temples. And he sauntered to the far end of
the deck, and was lost to our view, leaving me with an uneasy
suspicion that I had been pert.
I did not see him again—except far away at the dinner-table—until
next morning, when, having exhausted the treasures of imagination,
in the shape of drapery and jewels, the little girls and I were engaged
in a new game, paying calls upon one another in different parts of
the ship. They had been to call on me in my cabin, where I had
shown them photographs and given them cake and lemonade; and
now I was returning their call, sitting on the edge of my chair in a
very hot patch of sunlight, with my card-case in my hand, while they
gracefully reclined under the shade of the awning on two more
chairs, which they vainly endeavoured to fill.
“And how did you leave the children, Mrs. Mortimer?” inquired my
elder hostess. “I hope they are all quite well.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Montgomery, they are all quite well, I am happy to
say. Marie Antoinette had rather a bad fall downstairs this morning,
and bruised her forehead; and Gustavus Adolphus ran away with a
finger-glass last night when the butler was clearing the table after a
large dinner-party, and fell down with it in the hall and cut himself;
but I put a plaster on, and gave him a dose of castor oil, and he is all
right again to-day.”
“Oh!” exclaimed Ellie, the little one, with very round eyes, “do you
give your children castor oil when they cut their fingers?”
“Certainly,” I replied. “It is a new plan that was recommended to me,
and I find it answers admirably; they don’t cut themselves half so
much as they used to do when I gave them cakes and lollies to make
them stop crying. I should strongly advise you to try it the next time
you have any accident amongst your little ones. By the way, how is
your baby, Mrs. Trelawny? I met your nurse taking it for an airing in
the carriage yesterday, and she said she was afraid it was cutting
another tooth.”
Little Ellie was gazing out to sea, full of perplexity about the castor
oil; but at this interesting question her eyes came back to me
sparkling with delight. “Yes,” she said eagerly, “it cut a new tooth this
morning. I heard it crying when I was in my boudoir, and I rang the
bell for Mr. Trelawny, and asked him to send for the doctor. But he
said ‘nonsense,’ so we didn’t send, and baby got his tooth all by
himself.”
“My husband never says ‘nonsense’ to me,” broke in the elder child,
drawing herself up.
This unexpected remark upset my gravity, and I had to stifle a laugh
in my pocket-handkerchief. At the same time I cast about in my mind
for a new topic of conversation, and happily thought of servants.
Before I could broach it, however, we were interrupted by our new
acquaintance, who had evidently been hanging about at no great
distance from us.
“Shall I be the footman?” he said, slightly lifting his hat to me, and
addressing Mrs. Montgomery, “and show this lady out?” Before any
of us could answer him, he approached my chair, and continued, in
quite an altered tone, “Forgive me for interrupting you again, but I
really am afraid you will risk a sunstroke if you sit here any longer
with that heat pouring down upon your head.”
I admitted that it was rather warm, and I got up from my chair, which
he immediately removed to a shady place. And, though the little girls
hoped he would go away again, he did not. To tell the truth, I did not
want him to think that we wished to get rid of him (and I did not wish
it); and I dare say he had the instinct to divine that, though I gave
him no invitation to stay. He fell into a comfortable lounging attitude
near me, and we began to talk—Mrs. Trelawny and Mrs.
Montgomery nestling meanwhile upon my skirts, in silent indignation.
I hope I am not a flirt, or anything of that sort which I ought not to be.
But sometimes I have my doubts. It is in my constitution, somehow,
to like the society of men better than that of women; and nature, I am
fain to hope, justifies herself in these matters, and does not leave us
responsible. Whether it is that men are more intellectually
entertaining, or more thoroughly cultured, or take more trouble to
make things pleasant, I do not know; but it is certain that I have more
interest, and find more sympathy (as a rule) in the conversation of
my fellow-men than I do in that of my fellow-women—and particularly
of my fellow-girls. I cannot help it; nor, any less, can I help betraying
my preferences. It is not in me to disguise my sentiments, though I
have often tried to do so. Now I am telling the truth about it, I will say
one thing in my own favour—I do not want men to make love to me,
as flirts are said to do; and I am quite positively sure that I never
consciously encourage them in that direction. If they will do it—and,
unhappily, they will sometimes—it is very tiresome, of course; and no
one suffers from it more than I do. It takes all the comfort from my
intercourse with them for ever after, and deprives me of my
pleasantest friendships just when they begin to be valuable. I
consider this unfortunate infirmity of nice men the one great
drawback to my enjoyment of their society.
I sat in a long-armed wicker chair, with my hat off and my toes
dangling, and had a delightful chat with my new acquaintance,
undisturbed by any scruples as to the propriety of so doing. I knew
(without thinking of it until long afterwards) that he was not a man to
take liberties, or in any way to “forget his place;” and I could have no
shadow of uneasiness, at this stage of our acquaintance, as to what
it might develop into if it were followed up. Indeed, at this period of
my career, I had not begun to reflect upon these matters—
notwithstanding my experiences with respect to the gentleman from
Queensland who had taught me chess. It had not yet occurred to me
to dream of likening myself, even in the vaguest and most distant
way, to a flirt, or to suppose for a moment that anybody else would
presume to do so.
I told my new friend, in the frankest manner, where I had come from,
and where I was going to, and what I hoped to do and see when I
got there. I pointed out my father and mother from amongst the
passengers—daddy hotly discussing politics with another Australian
passenger—mother sitting with the invalid mother of my little girls,
and reading aloud to her about lady helps; and, when I found that he
was an Englishman, and had only been absent from his country for a
few months, I induced him to enter into the fullest particulars as to
what the life I looked forward to would probably have for me in the
way of sight-seeing and general enjoyment. He was giving me a
charming description of the “march-past” of the famous teams of the
coaching club, and I was listening eagerly, unconscious of the flight
of time, when I suddenly caught sight of mother looking at me from
over the top of her book, with a grave intentness that I found very
disconcerting. As soon as I could I rose from my chair and went over
to her, with my little companions holding fast to either hand.
“Who is that gentleman, Kitty?” she asked quietly, looking away to
where he now stood, with his arms folded on the railing, gazing out
to sea. I was sorry she could only see a commonplace dark-blue
back and legs, and nothing of the refinement of his pleasant face.
“I don’t know, mother,” I replied.
“You don’t know!” she echoed in astonishment, “Do you mean your
father is not acquainted with him?”
“I don’t think so. No, I know he is not, for I showed him which was
daddy just now.”
“Then who introduced him to you, dear?”
“Nobody.”
“Don’t you know his name?”
“No,” I murmured shamefacedly, beginning to see the drift of her
questions.
“Then, my dear child, will you remember another time that I object to
your talking to strangers. It is not”—she hesitated, casting about for a
word that would indicate impropriety without too plainly expressing it
—“it is not good manners. He”—glancing again at the distant serge-
clad figure by the railing—“ought to have known better than to speak
to you, if he is what a gentleman should be.”
“I am quite sure he is a gentleman,” I said emphatically.
Mother made no reply. She reserved her opinion.
CHAPTER VIII.
SOME ENGLISH RELATIONS.
I did not see much more of my unknown friend after this little check
upon our intercourse. He neither sought nor avoided me, and I did a
little avoid him—the result of which was an occasional “Good
morning” only. I think he must have left us at Suez, for I missed him
in the train afterwards, and he was not of our party when we set sail
again. To tell the truth, by the time our voyage was over I had almost
forgotten his existence.
We called our voyage over at Brindisi; it was over so far that we
were given up to our own devices, and no longer bound to consult
those times and tides that wait for no man. There was no occasion
for us, as daddy said, to get to London in a couple of days; and we
certainly did not hurry ourselves. We went to Venice, and Florence,
and Naples, and Milan, and Rome, and all the famous continental
show-places that tourists always go to—Australian tourists, at any
rate. I was in such a hurry to see them (for Tom had described them
all to me) that I was allowed to overrule mother’s sensible suggestion
that we should get home first, and come back as sightseers
afterwards.
I was as fresh and vigorous as possible, and so was daddy; and, if
mother felt fagged with her travels, and needed a resting-place for
the sole of her tired foot, she was the last one to own to it. And she
got some pleasure from the knowledge that it was not the season for
tourists proper, and that we could not therefore identify ourselves
with those objectionable persons—as we all certainly gained a great
advantage in having quiet ways to travel in, and the skies of spring
above us. We “planted” the bulk of our luggage in various railway
centres, and we went a round of sight-seeing that occupied us for
several weeks, taking in (besides the places I have named) the
highways of Alpine Switzerland, and old-world Norman cities that
struck me dumb with their beauty. I appeared in the traditional
colonial character—not surprised at anything; for I was simply so
overpowered by the wonder of all these astounding novelties that I
could not express myself. I gazed, and listened, and sighed, and
sometimes rubbed furtive tears out of the corners of my eyes; but
such a spell of silence fell upon my nimble tongue as it had never
known, perhaps, since it learned the English language. Mother, I
need scarcely add, was highly gratified by this unaccustomed well-
bred reticence on my part, which she had hardly expected. I am
quite sure she accounted for it to herself on her favourite theory of
the instinct of gentle blood.
At Paris we took up our abode for a week, not so much to see the
lions of the city, though we made a point of missing none of the
bigger sort, as to indulge in an extensive course of shopping for
pretty clothes for me. It had been arranged that, on our arrival in
London, we were to make our head-quarters for a while at aunt
Alice’s house in South Kensington, and, from the time that that was
settled, mother had shown herself extremely anxious that I should be
provided with what she called a suitable outfit. Father also spoke
about it, and bade her not consider expense in making her
purchases, for that he “should like the child to be as well dressed as
other people.” I taxed them with thinking that I was a beauty, and
wanting to show me off to my English relations; and when they
declared that I was a conceited monkey, and that they never thought
anything of the kind, it was transparently evident to me that they did
not adhere to the truth quite so strictly as usual.
Mother, who was a born economist, and never, I am sure, wasted a
shilling in her life, set to work in those Paris shops as if she were a
Baroness Rothschild at least. She began, in the most systematic
manner, with lovely underclothing, and handkerchiefs, and collars,
and cuffs, and worked up, through shoes and boots, dressing-gowns
and stockings, gloves, and ties, and sash ribbons, and laces—all
those manifold little costly things that I had hitherto been but
sparingly supplied with—to the more important features of a bran-
new wardrobe; and, then, what she laid out upon dresses, bonnets,
jackets, and things of that sort, I should be afraid to say. She had
been born with that rare attribute, taste, and no number of years in
the bush had had any power to impair it; and though the clothes she
bought me had not a costly appearance, and were all more or less
simple in style, they were so fine and delicate and distinguished-
looking, that they were fit for a princess. Poor dear Bronzewing must
have sold well, I told father, when all our purchases were made,
including, of course, some war paint for mother, which was of no
account to her compared with my equipment; but he only smiled, and
patted my head, and showed himself well pleased with our
extravagance.
“So he did, Kitty; so he did,” he replied, gaily. “And the wool has sold
well, too. So spend what you like; I can afford it, my dear.”
We crossed the Channel at last, in rough weather, and arrived at
Charing Cross on a cool evening of early summer, where we found
uncle Goodeve’s carriage waiting for us, with aunt Alice sitting in it.
My uncle, who met us on the platform, stout and smiling, with his hat
in his hand, and his polished bald head rosy with excitement, gave
us as warm a welcome as returned prodigals could desire—a little
too warm, I fancied, for mother’s liking, under such very public
circumstances. He was a merchant of London city, who was not
ashamed of the trade that had made him wealthy. If anything, he was
inclined to be rather ostentatious about that fourpenny-bit which he
laid out in Covent Garden refuse when he was seven years old, and
which was the foundation of his fortunes. He delighted to sit at a
table groaning with solid plate and dainty dishes, and to declare that
he had dined daily off a mutton chop and a pint of half-and-half for
nearly twenty years, or—what was better—that “time was when he
was thankful to make a meal of potato-parings.” He never failed to
tell you, if you referred to him on certain every-day social and
domestic questions, that he was a “plain man,” who had never had
any time to attend to fal-lals. A plain man he was certainly, in more
senses than one, but hearty and hospitable, and the very soul of all
kindness. I “took to” uncle Goodeve from the first moment that I
knew him, when he grasped my hand in both his own, and beamed
on me with eyes which, if not quite a match for one another, and
rather put in the shade by the breadth and substance of his cheeks,
were most truly benevolent and fatherly. And he and I maintained,
from first to last, an unwavering friendship for one another.
Aunt Alice was another matter. When the luggage, on two or three
cabs, and uncle Goodeve and father in charge of it, had left us, and I
found myself in the family brougham with the care of all such small
matters as shawls and dressing-bags, sitting with my back to the
horses, and my face to my mother and aunt, I could survey the latter
with great advantage, and did not take long to make up my mind that
I should not get on with her as well as I should with her husband.
She had the advantage of him in being decidedly handsome in her
own over-blown style. There was a strong likeness to father, but it
was spoiled by an air of conscious importance that he could not have
worn if he had been made king of England. She was enormously
stout, and looked a great deal stouter in a sealskin jacket, bordered
with sable; her face was full and florid, with at least three chins to it;
and her bonnet, which was much higher and gayer than those we
had seen in Paris, and perched far back on some braids at the crown
of her head, did nothing to soften its too obtrusive outlines. She was
so stout, so rosy, so magnificent in her dress, that she gave one the
idea of being prosperous to repletion.
I ought to have admired her very much, for she was exceedingly kind
and cordial, and it was pretty to see her ways to mother, who had
been made much of in the Chamberlayne family in former days. She
held her hand and coaxed it, and she gazed into her face,
expressing again and again her wonder and pleasure to see her so
little changed by all she had gone through.
“I suppose I look older, like the rest of us,” said mother, “but I have
had no reason to be changed otherwise. I’m sure I can’t look
careworn.”
“Yes,” said aunt Alice; “of course you look older, as who wouldn’t in
seventeen years! But you are so like what you used to be—I don’t
mean in not looking careworn; indeed, I can’t describe what I mean
exactly. You don’t seem to have lost your old ways; and your style”—
glancing at mother’s travelling dress—“is exactly what it always was,
half Worth and half Quaker.”
Then she turned to make a careful survey of my personal
appearance, and declared herself still more astonished that I was so
unlike what she had expected me to be, after being brought up in the
bush all my life. At which mother gazed out of the carriage window in
placid dignity, to imply that it was an irrelevant remark, not requiring
comment.
“Did you expect to see me black, aunt, and dressed in opossum
skins?” I inquired.
“My dear, of course not. But I must say you look—well, very different
from what I expected. A stranger would not guess that she had not
been in London all her life, Mary,” she added in an encouraging tone,
to mother.
“If I had been in London all my life,” said I, “I expect I should have
been dead tired to-night, instead of feeling as fresh as if I had just
got out of bed. Oh, mother, I hope there are some open spaces
somewhere, where I can have a run sometimes, and a breath of
fresh air!”
“There spoke the wild girl of the woods,” cried aunt Alice, laughing
merrily. But mother did not smile, as she was expected to do, at that
little joke, and I was sorry I had spoken.
We arrived home—to a stately house in a great square, where all the
houses were much alike—and were ushered by a liveried man-
servant into a sort of back drawing-room (which aunt Alice called her
boudoir, though I never would). It was a lofty room, with pale
distempered walls, and a dado of the very latest fashion, as I was
told, and some of the newest designs in artistic furniture and
ornaments. The carpet, however, asserted itself with painful
distinctness; and over a lovely tiled chimney-piece was reared the
most enormous pier-glass, in the most overpowering gilt frame that, I
should think, was ever designed as a memorial of a barbaric age. I
afterwards discovered that a mammoth pier-glass was a striking
feature of each of the lower rooms; and by-and-bye I also discovered
that this article of furniture had a sort of symbolic significance to
uncle Goodeve, and was thus prominent in his establishment by his
express desire. In his early days of struggle and privation it had
stood to him as a sort of sign of wealth and plenty, and of all that was
refined and elegant in domestic art. And now he obstinately refused
to deny himself the pleasure of possessing it, in the largest sizes and
the most elaborate gilt frames, though he was quite willing that aunt
Alice and the girls should indulge their taste in “fal-lals” without any
further restriction.
My two cousins rose up from two low chairs when I entered the
room, and received me with effusive affection. They were rather
small, rather bony, rather sallow, inheriting none of that fulness of
flesh and colour of which their parents had enough and to spare; and
they were neither plain, like their father, nor handsome, like their
mother, nor anything particular, in fact. I did not call them even
tolerably good-looking, though Bella, the youngest, certainly had nice
features and very fine eyes. They wore their hair cut in fringes on
their foreheads, and pretty well tossed about over the rest of their
heads; and their dresses were tied back so extremely tight (a fashion
that was then in its early extravagance) that it was with difficulty they
managed to shuffle along, for it could not be called walking.
However, they were very kind and attentive, and my heart warmed to
them. They took off my hat, and loosened my jacket, and drew the
softest low chair to the fireside for me to sit in; and they
commiserated me for having made that “dreadful trip” across that
“awful Channel,” and for all the rest of my late fatigues, in a manner
that I much enjoyed, though conscious that my face proclaimed the
prosaic fact that I felt rather invigorated than otherwise by what I had
undergone. A youthful page in brass buttons brought in a silver tray
of little teacups, with their elongated saucers garnished with wafers
of bread and butter; and we sipped and nibbled as we exchanged
our little questions and replies, until it occurred to them that I might
like to go to my room, whither they both accompanied me, and
where I found a fire, and some fresh flowers, and little welcomes of
that kind, which I warmly appreciated. Mother’s chamber was close
by, and she had retired into it for the night, for she was really
knocked up. I found her in her dressing-gown, in an armchair by the
fire, and a maid making preparations for tea at a table beside her;
and she looked happy to have found a resting-place after all her
travels. Bertha and Bella seemed to think it very odd that I did not
want to retire also, but were much pleased when I declared that I
would prefer to join them at dinner.
“Then you must make haste and dress,” said Bertha, “for we are very
late to-night, and the bell will ring in a quarter of an hour.”
“And we will send our maid to help you,” said Bella, with which the
two girls hastened off, while I went down on my knees, and tried to
tug open a big wicker trunk, out of which I was determined to drag
one of my prettiest new French evening dresses, so as to look as
unlike an aboriginal Australian in opossum skins as possible when I
appeared amongst the family in the drawing-room. I was a little
ruffled by aunt Alice’s remarks on my appearance, and I told mother
so.
“Never mind, dear,” was mother’s placid reply. “She is a good, kind
creature, but she has been amongst city people a good many years,
and perhaps that is not quite the best school for manners.”
Oh, if aunt Alice had heard her!
A smart young maid appeared in a few minutes, and began to toss
my things over cheerfully; gradually becoming more respectful in her
handling of them as she became aware of their style and quality. By
the time she had laid out and examined the dress I had chosen to
wear, she was almost reverential. And when she saw it on me, fitting
so exquisitely, and falling away behind with that indescribable grace
that no folds will take at the hands of ordinary dressmakers, she
quite went into raptures. As I surveyed myself in the long glass, the
thought occurred to me, I am ashamed to say, that even a perfect
French dress would not have looked as well upon her young ladies
as it did upon me. “How I wish dear Tom could see me!” I sighed to
myself pensively.
I went downstairs in a majestic manner, conscious of being nice to
look at, which—scoff as people may—is a pleasant feeling, and not
one to be ashamed of. My dress was black, very cloudy and fluffy,
with wide, rich, apple-green ribbons looped into it here and there.
Never, when I could help it, would I put an ornament into my golden-
chesnut braids (for Tom did not like them meddled with); but round
my throat lay the chain of silver balls and diamond stars, and on my
bosom shone the emerald cross like a royal order. I joined the family
on the stairs, and went down to dinner on uncle Goodeve’s arm. I
heard cousin Bertha say to father behind me, “How very nice-looking
Kitty is, uncle Chamberlayne.”
“Oh, she’ll do,” responded daddy in an offhand tone, but, as I knew,
swelling with pride like a dear old turkey-cock. “She’s not so bad, for
a colonial.”
“But she doesn’t look the least colonial, uncle; that is what surprises
us so much. Mamma says she cannot understand it. We thought
she’d be—well, a little shy and awkward—a little uncomfortable in
society—that sort of thing.”
“She’d be her mother’s daughter, wherever she came from,” said
father rather shortly, and I felt myself redden at the little minx’s
unconscious impertinence.
At dinner I was aware that I was an object of great curiosity and
interest, and summoned all my arts to appear calmly unconscious of
it. The eyes of one or another were always fixed on my jewels, which
must have made a wondrous show in such a breadth of gaslight; and
other eyes were sure to be watching furtively every movement I
made—to see, I suppose, whether I put my knife into my mouth or
used my finger-glass to drink out of. The conversation turned almost
entirely upon Australian topics, and my respected relations proved
themselves as sublimely and preposterously ignorant of our modern
colonial social life as all other stay-at-home Britons that I have met. I
was not a bit surprised. I remembered a famous joke in Punch—a
sketch of an Australian cousin arriving in a Belgravian drawing-room
at the time of afternoon tea, and, being asked to take a cup, replying
that he “didn’t mind,” if Bella would give him a handful of tea and a
billy that he might boil it in the customary manner on the drawing-
room coals (I wonder he didn’t want to go out into the gardens of the
square, and cut down a tree to make his fire with). When I reflected
that Punch was a journal of public opinion, enjoying an immemorial
repute and prestige as a faithful mirror of contemporary manners, I
could not wonder that uncle and aunt Goodeve and my cousins were
so astonished to see me behaving myself like a civilised being. And
what was damper like? asked Bella, as she took a dainty spoonful of
ice pudding. And would I tell her how it was made? And how did gold
look when it came out of those funny cradles? And was it really good
satin and silk and velvet that the rich diggers gave their wives when
they married those drabs of emigrant girls, and drank champagne
out of buckets at their weddings? And were we not dreadfully afraid
to live amongst those wild savages who went about at night spearing
the cattle? And was it not very fortunate that uncle Chamberlayne
had had a sheep station, since it was never known that they speared
sheep?
I had not much patience to go into details about these things; I left it
to father, who—though he was old enough to have known better—
crammed them with shocking falsehoods, which had the effect of
confirming their theories, and of making their hair stand more on end
than it did before. The only information I vouchsafed was that I really
and truly had seen a live ornithorhyncus, and that, when shot and
taken from the river, the smell of its nasty, soft thick body was so
unspeakably disgusting that it spoiled my appetite even to think of it.
When I crept into mother’s room, to see how she was and to say
good-night—feeling very sleepy at last, for it was one o’clock—I
confided to her my first impressions of my cousins.
“They are as kind as kind can be; but oh, mother, they are very silly!”
I said despondingly.
“You must not say that until you have had time to know them,” she
replied.
“I used to feel at home that I didn’t care for girls,” I went on, “but to-
night I feel so more than ever. To see Bertha finicking about the tea
cups with those slices of lemon, and talking about the Duchess of
Edinburgh and the fashions as if it were a matter of the very last

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Managing a Video Production Company

1st Edition Vaughan-Mountford

Oz 1st Edition Emma Mountford

Single Camera Video Production 6th Edition Robert B

Reputation 1st Edition Sarah Vaughan

Back to Basics A Video Assisted 7 Step Holistic

Undergraduate Research in Art A Guide for Students 1st

Give Us Bad Boys and Billionaires 1st Edition L M

Managing Healthy Livestock Production and Consumption:

Probability, Choice, and Reason 1st Edition Leighton

Providing a detailed break-down of the skills required to establish and grow a

Tom Vaughan-Mountford has worked in the commercial video produc-

ISBN: 978-0-367-61551-2 (hbk)

About the author vii

1 Why are you doing this? 5

2 Getting down to business 8

3 Working from anywhere 16

4 Assembling your team 23

5 The start-up shopping list 31

6 Promoting your business 40

8 The gig economy 60

9 Public sector tenders 66

10 Receiving your first brief 71

12 The creative pitch 96

13 How to write an awesome script 105

15 Coaching on-camera contributors 120

16 Communicating with your clients 128

17 Approval and delivery 135

18 Doing it by the book 140

19 Behaving like a pro 145

20 Managing your tech 151

21 Managing your finances 156

22 So, that’s a wrap! 164

Tom Vaughan-Mountford has worked at all levels of the commercial

The commercial video production industry has undergone explosive growth

What motivated you to read this book?

I reckon—gun to our head—many of us would admit we would truly love to

While writing this book I talked with founders of production companies

Structuring your business

• Freelance. Sometimes referred to as being a sole-trader or self-employed.

To work as a freelancer, you need do little more than to register as self-

Employers’ Liability Insurance

Public Liability Insurance

Theft of equipment from an unattended vehicle: Many times there will be

Creating a functional workplace

At Duke, and a vast number of other coworking spaces, there is now a

When I began my career, I had never heard of coworking spaces. Having

Duke was always designed to be an incubation space that small com-

The Flour Mill—a new collaborative creative workspace in Dundee,

The choice of whereabouts to situate yourself for optimum working is down

You might be surprised to find a chapter dedicated to remote working so near

I find the fixed-location ideal to be a topic of interest. I learned early

One of the legacies of the pandemic will be the normalisation of running

Tracy Hagerman is Head of Production at June Day Productions in Johan-

My clients are 99% international (non-Swedish) wanting help with their

We decided to scale our business down earlier in the year. We completed

Tracy of June Day Productions agrees, and added,

Yes, a new graduate could absolutely start a competitive video busi-

1 Manage your workload by being more exclusive. Decline lower value