I don't usually rant against anybody -before you disagree, I don't rant HERE- but there are sometimes when people make really hard not to. So I'm going to tell you a thing that happened during August and that made me think a bit. I won't mention any of the other involved parts by their names because I haven't asked their permission to do so and it could result in their reputation being damaged or they simply wouldn't like me to write about them. Two of them I care about and one of them I don't give a damn and I wished everybody knew his name, but revealing it would expose the others.
Some good friends told me they had been hired to produce a music video and asked me if I fancied being its scriptwriter. They said the client wanted a really good job, told me the resources and conditions he had and the deadline, which happened to be in about a month. We didn't have much time to write the script, shoot the video and edit it. But as it happens most times I jumped right into it even knowing that I'd have work fast. It was my "holiday" month -I wasn't in my hometown, etc- but anyway I wanted to do it. I listened to the song, wrote down some ideas and then I finished a first draft. I spoke to my colleagues to have some feedback, and then wrote a second draft, which in turn was handed in to the client after the director tweaked it a bit and changed a couple of things. So far so good.
But here's when things started going wrong. The client took a long, looong time to read our proposal. Long in like in taking two weeks when we had six to have everything done. After the two weeks he said he didn't like the proposal at all and wanted us to write another one. "Fine", I said, "let's have a Skype meeting so you can tell me exactly what you have in mind". We scheduled a meeting. He called it off at the last minute so we rescheduled it for the following day. He didn't go online neither answered any of our phone calls. Later he said he had gone on holidays... and he hasn't said a word ever since. I wrote two drafts, my colleagues did their share of work too and spent some money to improve their equipment and do the job the best they could... No contract was signed before we started working, it was all done on good faith. Huge mistake. The client was an unprofessional, unreliable liability -or a cunt, as you prefer- and we didn't have much to claim the money he owed us. Funny thing is he found somebody else that worked for less money and a month after the last time I knew of him he released his single with a music video... which didn't resemble our proposal but seemed that had drawn some inspiration from it in some details. Just wonderful. But considering my colleagues are making a living on that world we thought it would be better if we forgot about the whole thing, and this is why nobody's mentioned by his name. Except from mine, of course, but I don't care much as I don't work much there and, most importantly, I don't believe in people's good will but in their professionality, and I've never liked working with people who doesn't have even a slight touch of it.
Were we naive? Undoubtedly, but as far as I'm concerned I've learnt from this and I don't think I'll be fooled again by a cheap, amateur DJ that wants to save a few hundred euros. It'll be somebody else in a completely different situation, but not in one that resembles this one.
Normalment no parlo malament de ningú -abans que us queixeu, no parlo malament de ningú AQUÍ- però hi ha vegades en què la gent t'ho posa molt difícil. O sigui que us explicaré una cosa que va passar durant el mes d'agost i que m'ha fet pensar una mica. No diré el nom de cap altra de les parts involucrades perquè no els hi he demanat permís per fer-ho i podria resultar en algun dany a la seva reputació o potser simplement no els hi agradaria. En el cas de dos d'ells m'importa i en l'altre em rellisca i m'agradaria que tothom sabés el seu nom però revelar-lo exposaria als altres.
Uns bons amics em van dir que els havien contractat per produir un videoclip i em van preguntar si m'agradaria ser-ne el guionista. Van dir que el client volia una bona feina, em van explicar quins recursos i condicions teníem i em van dir que la data límit era al cap de més o menys un mes. No teníem gaire temps per escriure el guió, rodar el vídeo i editar-lo. Però com passa la majoria de vegades vaig acceptar immediatament tot i que sabia que hauria de treballar ràpid. Era el meu mes de "vacances" -no era al meu poble, etc- però de tota manera volia fer-ho. Vaig escoltar la cançó, vaig escriure algunes idees i finalment vaig acabar un primer esborrany. Vaig parlar amb els meus col·legues per tenir una mica de feedback i després vaig escriure un segon esborrany, que va ser entregat al client després del que el director el repassés i canviés un parell de coses. Fins aquí tot anava bé.
Però aquí és on tot plegat es va començar a torçar. El client va trigar molt, mooolt de temps a llegir-se la nostra proposta. Molt tipus prendre's dues setmanes quan en teniem sis per a fer-ho tot. Després de les dues setmanes va dir que no li agradava gens la proposta i que volia que n'escrivíssim una altra. "D'acord", vaig dir, "fem una reunió per Skype i em dius exactament què tens pensat". Vam programar la reunió. La va cancel·lar al darrer moment i la vam aplaçar pel dia següent. No es va connectar i tampoc va respondre a les nostres trucades. Després va dir que se n'havia anat de vacances... i des d'aleshores no n'hem sabut res més. Jo vaig escriure dos esborranys, els companys van fer la seva part de la feina i van gastar diners millorant el seu equip i fer la feina el millor possible... No vam signar cap contracte abans de començar a treballar, tot es va fer en confiança. Gran error. El client era un impresentable poc professional i gens de fiar -o un gilipolles, com ho preferiu- i no podiem fer gaire cosa per reclamar-li els calés que ens devia. El més divertit és que va trobar algú altre que li fés la feina per menys diners i al cap d'un més de l'última vegada que havia sabut alguna cosa d'ell va llençar el seu single amb el seu videoclip corresponent... que no s'assemblava a la nostra proposta però que semblava que s'hi hagués inspirat en alguns detalls. Genial. Però tenint en compte que els meus col·legues es guanyen la vida en aquet món vam pensar que era millor si ens oblidàvem de l'assumpte, i és per això que ningú és esmentat amb el seu nom. Excepte el meu, és clar, però a mi no m'importa gaire perquè no treballo gaire en aquest ambient i, el que és més important, no crec en la bona fe de la gent sinó en la seva professionalitat, i mai m'ha agradat treballar per gent que ni tan sols saben què és, això.
Vam pecar de bona gent? Sens dubte, però pel que fa a mi n'he après i no crec que em torni a deixar enredar per un DJ de pacotilla que es vol estalviar uns quants centenars d'euros. Serà algú altre en una situació completament diferent, però no en una que s'assembli a aquesta.
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