When There's A Will, There's A Way

During my undergraduate studies, we discussed different philosophers and historians who had changed the world because an idea. Others have changed the world because of their believes and will to fight. One of the individuals we studied was Victor Hugo, known for one of his main moves Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Hugo had two strong quotes of which I believe are true and decide whether or not a person is great. One of his quotes is that “Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come” (Hugo). An idea can be as strong or more powerful than an army ever was. However, for an entrepreneur, there is nothing more discouraging and heart-breaking than the death of an idea due to financial difficulties. In many cases, people decide to not pursue their ideas not because they were not big or revolutionary, but because he or she lacked the resources necessary to ring that idea to life. There is always a way to make one’s dreams a reality regardless of one’s present circumstances. The other quote from Hugo that resonated with me is that “[p]eople do not lack strength; they lack will” (Hugo). When there is the will to fight for one’s dreams, there will always be the strength to find a way to find the resources needed. Alternative funding sources are an option for one who is limited by his or her financial position. whether it is an organization or company providing investments, individuals, friends, family or any other source, there is always a way. The difficulty consists in presenting or selling the idea to the investor. One must conduct research on the investor’s wants and needs, understand one’s idea as it is part of one’s self and most importantly, never give up. In some occasion, one has to improvise and/or start something different as a means to  reach one’s final goal. An examples the Blue Men Group. They lacked the funding to acquire the musical instruments they needed, but they were creative and invented their own instruments. Now, the Blue Men Group is an international attraction where the founders had the will to fight on and bring their ideas to life.

The Technological Empire

I believe that an “expert” is one who has lived, experienced and grown from the trials of life of which has defined him or her as who they are and what they represent. The “expert” I have chosen is one who I admire and have followed since my undergraduate years, Elon Musk. Musk as born and raised in South Africa and later moved to Canada followed by the United States. Musk graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Physics and economics, which gave him the knowledge and skills to develop his own empire. Musk has founded several companies worth millions of dollars such as Space X, Tesla, SolarCity, PayPal and others. Some of the factors that investors look for in the company and its plan is that the team is driven to work hard; have the ability to be flexible and adapt to new trends such as technological advances; quality in the product or service being provided; and lastly to be original, innovative and think out of this world. I believe that these are all considered key factors because it defines the company and its vision. The head of the company and its team need to reflect confidence and trust to investors that they know what they’re doing and that they will succeed. The company must be able to adapt and evolve; change is inevitable and many companies fail because they cannot or decide not to adapt. The company must provide high quality products and services in order to be successful. Lastly and in my opinion, the last and most important factor is that the company must be unique and think out of this world; originality and change in tradition is needed. Investors want something new and promising that no one has seen before, and that is what Eye in The Sky will offer. I am considering all of these components and have already used them within my business plan because I understand how crucial they are.

Flight to the NFL

 

The Super Bowl is the most viewed sporting event in the United States of which the coverage is acquired through dozens of different cameras that are strategically placed around the stadium. One of the difficulties of operating cameras and acquiring the images and videos with the desired angle is that the equipment is limited by the limitations of the user. For this reason, there is redundancy implemented especially in events like this of which if one camera or cameraman/woman cannot acquire the necessary angle, there is a different one that can do it. With a multimillion dollar event, you need to get the perfect angles.

One of the newest trends in technology and entertainment is the development and evolution of remotely piloted vehicles (RPV’s) or remotely piloted aircraft (RPA’s) in the commercial sector. In addition, on 17 September 2015, the NFL was approved the legal use and operation of RPA’s; however, they are limited to films and practices where the stadium is not filled with an audience. This is a significant milestone for the implementation of RPA’s into the National Airspace, especially for the entertainment industry. The advantages of using RPA’s supersede those of using heavy equipment and also reduce the manpower required to fulfill all recording requirements and coverage.

A few years ago, this would have been impossible due to legislative obstacles preventing the legal operation of RPA’s. However, most of the opposition came from the public due to ignorance of the misconceptions and stereotypes of RPA’s. Some of the most common ones include violation of privacy and the lack of human operators. One of the most difficult aspects of clearing public misconceptions was and still are to prove that the equipment used today can and does have the same capabilities that RPA’s have. The next obstacle to get RPA’s to be implemented in games and different sporting events is to show the audience that  they are safe to use around people.

Publishing To Social Media From The Sky

Publishing by definition is when an artist decides to produce his or her work and make it public by disseminating their work to others either at a cost or none. In order for an artist to become recognized for his or her her, the work must be distributed to customers by sharing them on online outlets to include social media, selling them or presenting them at different exhibitions. Because of technological trends, different market segments are dependent on the availability of information within the internet, especially social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others. Because of this, it is crucial for an artist to have his or her work in those outlets. 

However, one very important aspect in regards to social media is that by publishing media in those outlets, one could possibly become a victim of theft, which might lead to loss of potential income and plagiarism by others. It is imperative for artists and start-up companies to develop a detailed social media strategy to mitigate the risks involved. The purpose and use of social media outlets is to be able to connect and engage with the public in order to develop brand recognition and gain reputation for one’s work.

I believe that the most important aspect of social media is the need to determine what material is published and what is not. If everything is published and distributed without any sort of control, the possibility of someone saving that image and using it for his or her needs increases exponentially. Social media users should establish a guideline on what to publish, in which outlet will it be posted and when. In addition, a risk analysis must be conducted in order to be able to determine whether the risk of publishing an image or video to be used without permission or consent is less than the chances of creating a hook. A successful social media strategy should develop steps in order to create “hooks” to capture the attention of the public, create a reputation that increases recognition that will lead to an increase in profits.

The only way that this would happen is if the artist has his or her beliefs at heart at all times. If the artist keeps doing what he or she believes and likes, then profits will be a consequence of the art. Money and profit should not be the end result, but a consequence of doing what makes you happy.

Art of Business

The interviewee is Oscar H. Guerrero, a family member (my cousin) who is involved in different fields within the entertainment industry such as art, performance, actor, comedian and photographer. Unless he is working on a production, he is mostly working as a freelancer, which means that there is no set salary and his income has to be negotiated. One of the most frequent situations he encounters is that most negotiations he encounters are based on positional bargaining. 

When the contending party has a set position, it is sometimes hard, but not impossible to get what you want. According to my cousin, what they all need is a “bone to follow” (personal communication, October 3, 2015). Freelancers are in constant competition between other freelancers seeking to get the same job. Once the contesting party grabs the bone, you have to add some sprinkles, which are extra services or goodies that you will provide. After that, getting what you want is relatively simple; it’s not impossible to change someone’s mind, but it takes hard work to create a reputation, knowledge and great interpersonal skills.

After speaking with him for a while, he depicted two of the most important aspects in deal-making and negotiation in which he has participated in and they are to find the “middle ground,” but never at the cost of your vision and passion (personal communication, October 3, 2015). Those terms are considered mutual benefit and objective criteria. Everyone has his or her own objectives in business. In the case of my future company, the event producers will want high quality coverage of the event and I will want to not only to have exclusivity and access, but to also have fun capturing moments. He said that it is imperative that both parties’ objectives are identified early during the deal-making process so the process can run smoother, but more importantly, both can benefit from the deal. 

Let Money Fly

There used to be a time within the entertainment business where a picture, a painting or a song was enough to fill the hearts and souls of the public; money was second to passion. However, because of the times we live in, the entertainment industry is driven by money. The decision whether a movie or event is established is determined by how much income will it generate for the producers and the performers in the event, but money itself is not the only factor the way the entertainment industry is seen. In the article Does Capitalism Destroy Culture? by Michael Matheson Miller, a critique of capitalism, states that “Capitalism has profound effects on culture and it is a mistake to think that that the market economy is neutral or that markets left to their own devices will work everything out for the best.” (Miller, 2013). The economy is not the only one to blame for this, but many leaders within the industry care about the finances. 

Because of this, entrepreneurs like myself that wish to tap into a “virgin” industry have to understand not only how the entertainment industry work, but also how to evaluate the company’s finances to meet our needs and what others are willing to pay for the services provided. The RPA industry is going to become one of the biggest markets in different industries and will have a significant influence within the entertainment industry. Not only will it provide producers, directors and artists to follow their passions with freedom that was limited to heavy equipment and large aircraft, but it will also provide feasible solutions for different applications. The operating costs of an RPA are fractions of having a crew to operate helicopters, aircrafts and heavy equipment and the earning potential is only limited to the capabilities of the operator. According to Ben Wolfgang, editor for the Washington Times, “Private-sector drones — also called unmanned aerial systems or UAVs — will create more than 70,000 jobs within three years and will pump more than $82 billion into the U.S. economy by 2025” (Wolfgang, 2013). What is good for RPA enthusiasts like myself is that a significant portion of those $82 billion dollars will come from the entertainment industry.

In the near future, RPA's will be capturing moments, laughs and dreams from the ground up.

Pursuit of Happyness

One important factor for the success in the entertainment industry is the mindset a person has when practicing his or her trade whether it is an artist, producer, designer, etc. In the industry, hardships must be endured if one is to become successful because of its competitive environment; one must be resilient, un-willing to give up and motivated to do their best every time. 

Tony Robbins, a life coach who specializes in behavior and reasoning, had the chance to participate as a speaker in Ted where he made his presentation on “Why we do what we do.” In his presentation, Robbins discussed his theory on why people do what they do. One of the points he made in which I could relate the most was that our destiny and destination is mapped by what he calls the “internal drive;” our decisions are based on rationality, but mostly influenced by emotions. 

Most artists have come from nothing and worked their way to the top. They were not brought up with luxurious lives, but with financial struggles, family and mental problems. Their most important accomplishment was not reaching their artistic accomplishments, but to grow as a person and overcome their adversities. 

In Robbins’ presentation, he identifies two key aspects in order to be successful and most importantly filled and those are to find one’s target and create a map. In order to attain ones dream or vision, one must first identify what that is whether it is money, pleasure or family. Once the target is identified, the mapping begins by planning how it will be achieved whether it is by attaining a degree, getting an instructor or any other manner of achieving it.

The most important factor in a person’s life is the completion of a person’s pursuit of happiness. In the entertainment industry, emotions and mindset are necessary to accomplish it because it is rare when an opportunity is given, almost every time it is earned through hard work and dedication.

“I believe that the invisible force of internal drive, activated, is the most important thing. I'm here because I believe emotion is the force of life. All of us here have great minds. . . We all know how to think. With our minds we can rationalize anything. We can make anything happen.”- Tony Robbins