Tis better to give than to receive. This time-honored adage is among the most valuable lessons learned from 2001 as we make our resolutions for the New Year. The events of ’01—as reflected in SHOOT’s forecast for ’02 (see page 1 story) and this week’s feature article on Brotherhood (see page 7)—underscore the fact that through giving we actually wind up receiving, attaining a greater good that can benefit the entire community.
Consider Labor and Management deciding not to posture and leverage, but instead to enter into a dialogue in order to reach an agreement well in advance of their contract’s expiration. By adopting a more giving, less "I" and more "we" approach, the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers negotiated a new three-year pact in December—six-plus months before their current contract is up at the end of June.
This proactive, positive de-velopment—as reported in our ’02 forecast—clearly represents a lesson learned from the negativity that has marked the industry labor front in recent years. Two prime cases in point are the six-month SAG/AFTRA strike against the ad industry in ’00, and just the threat of strikes last year by the actors’ unions and the Writers Guild of America against the feature/ TV studios. As chronicled in SHOOT, both of these dynamics had a profoundly adverse impact on the commercialmaking community—and on the economy in general.
"Given our industry’s—and our country’s—current economic climate," related DGA negotiating chairman Gil Cates, "everyone at the table recognized the importance of reaching an agreement without the disruption of production that inevitably comes in the months immediately preceding the expiration of a contract. DGA members and the rest of the entertainment community can now completely focus our attention on getting on with business."
Also in our forecast is continued coverage of the runaway production issue. In his testimony last month during a California Legislature informational hearing, Frank Scherma, co-proprietor of bicoastal/international @radical.media, made a telling observation: It’s vital, he said, to educate neighborhoods about the importance of filming to their economic well-being. Currently a number of neighborhoods discourage filming because they find it to be disruptive and inconvenient. But, again, a "we" as opposed to an "I" orientation provides needed perspective. "If we lose the filming business, they [neighborhoods] have to realize that their property values could go down, that many people will be out of work and taxes won’t be paid to support public services," said Scherma to a group of legislators. "… There are tremendously negative ripple effects."
A giving spirit is further exemplified in the aforementioned Brotherhood, a 240-page coffee-table book of photographs dedicated to the 343 heroic New York City firefighters who sacrificed their lives to help victims at the World Trade Center. Ogilvy & Mather (O&M), New York, American Express and the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) teamed to produce the book, with profits donated equally to two charities: The Twin Towers Fund and the Family Assistance Project of the FDNY’s Fire Safety Fund.
For Rick Boyko, chief creative officer of O&M, New York, the book demonstrates "a real opportunity for people in our business to take the gifts we have and marshal them for a better good. We have amazing relationships with clients and people we buy media from that we don’t necessarily leverage on a regular basis. I want to do a project like this every year to allow us to feel like we’re giving something back. This was a true collaboration. Everyone we talked to said they’d love to help make it happen, which does make you realize the power you have."
Happy New Year!
