The Pivot is REAL.

Alexia Lewis, here. I’m gonna get straight to the point. At the beginning of March 2020, my company KRAFTED was on the verge of taking on production management for a Sony-backed high-budget music video, an experiential marketing project for a popular pet brand, and two long-term clients creating content. Just three weeks later, all of that was gone. Poof. Just like that. And with no further prospects, because the nature of my skills and my business structure is such that it will be at least another year before those kinds of opportunities will flow to me. Thanks COVID! Thank you inept POTUS!

I couldn’t get mad about it, though. Because I’m also the kind of person who can keep cool and be observant in the midst of chaos. It quickly became clear to me that, rather than bemoan the loss of what I had been working so long and hard for, I could use all this sudden free time to clear my mind and my schedule, to watch and learn, and to pivot when the time is right. That right time happened literally three days ago.

KRAFTED:

• is a creative production company

• has the soul of a record label

• wants to serve a safe post-COVID Los Angeles

• is a vector for fair agreements with creative service providers

• wants to partner with like-minded LA nightlife production companies

• wants to partner with like-minded LA-based fashion and wellness brands

• wants to partner with like-minded LA-based entertainment companies

• manages all intellectual property created by Alexandria Boddie

• is raising funds to produce the music video for “Oh Rosie!” by Alexandria Boddie

• believes in the power of positive propaganda

• is developing a B2C lifestyle brand

• is implementing data strategy in all projects

• loves process, high standards, and rigor

• isn’t f***king around

That’s a lot, right? Of course it is. This business is an extension of me, and I’m always doing the absolute most, at every moment. For that reason, I want to partner also with someone skilled in business ops. I want to scale up, I want to win, I want us to win, I want Los Angeles to win. Gatherings will resume, community will persist, and Los Angeles has done so much good for me - I’ve got to be here for LA. I’ve got to show up and be a part of creating an equitable and pleasurable post-COVID future that fully honors our humanity and our needs in this city.

That’s it. That’s the post. Holler at me if you’re feeling the same way.

Header photo by Viviana Rishe, unsplash.com

Creative Production in a Post-COVID World

This is going to be interesting AF. Here we are at a moment in history with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make over the production process into one that truly benefits all the people who come together to make it work. We have the opportunity to go from “This is just how it’s done.” to “This is how we’ve always wanted to do it.” Will we take advantage? One only hopes. Take this article for example, where post-production supervisor Amanda Hanna-McLeer outlines the, frankly, dehumanizing working conditions that comes with being a “below-the-line” crew member on a television show.

While the pandemic has brought massive amounts of uncertainty to how the entertainment industry will go forward, one positive consequence is that we have a chance to make over our production process into one that is more humane and respectful of the time and energy that thousands of people put into it. One of the positive consequences for actors is that the vast majority of castings will be self-tape, with Zoom callbacks, for at least the next year. This means that one no longer has to feel bound to living in New York or Los Angeles to get the “auditions room” anymore.

Production companies and studios have been coming together to figure out how to, at the very least, create new safe-set standards. Let’s see what they’ve come up with so far…

INDUSTRIAL COLOR

They are one of the foremost media production companies in America, with studios in Los Angeles, New York City, and Philadelphia. Their plan is detailed to the point of addressing crew and talent meals, and how wardrobe and makeup/hair will have to prepare before even setting foot on premises.

E/S COLLAB.

Based in New York City and Sydney, Australia, E/S provides executive business services for productions. Their approach to COVID-19 preparedness going forward was to provide a roundup of protocols enacted in each state. Additionally, they’ve linked to standards proposed by industry labor organizations.

LA COUNTY

The county of Los Angeles, working with an industry group helmed by NBCU CEO Jeff Shell, has set forth a public health order outlining protocols for the reopening of music, television, and film production. The fine folks at Deadline wrote up a summary of what to expect, if you don’t want to read through the legalese of the Order.

SAG-AFTRA

While they are not a production company, SAG-AFTRA holds major industry sway as THE actor’s union. Additionally, they function as a professional organization that even non-union talent looks toward for guidance when sticky issues may come up on set. Basically, actors are the most vulnerable workers on a set, so until the union gives their blessing on a production, most actors will stay home.

An important link you should add to your bookmarks is FilmLA’s Covid-19 Resource page. They are keeping it updated with availability information about when public areas in Los Angeles will re-open, and how to secure permits when they do. But keep in mind that, to date, not a single insurance company will offer COVID-19 coverage. A few small non-union and indie productions are definitely shooting here and there. And on several, they swear up and down they’re being safe. But if the entire cast and crew has to sign a waiver releasing the production from responsibility if COVID is contracted during the production, is it really worth shooting?

Reporting On The Report.

Each year, Otis College commissions a whitepaper on the state of the creative economy in California. And each report is its own event, where the networking is excellent, the breakfast is hearty, and the conversation is meaty. Arts professionals and creatives from both public and private sectors are drawn together to co-mingle, network, and keep their finger on the pulse of the life-blood of the arts and entertainment in southern California.

This year’s event was enriching on several layers. The TL;DR - careers in the arts and entertainment are the biggest employment sector in Los Angeles County, accounting for 1 out of 5 jobs. And these jobs are future-proof: the skills and competencies in creative occupations cannot be automated. And as a result of institutional racism, lack of access/apprenticeships, nepotism, and more, LA County’s high schoolers of color are being shut out of opportunities to make post-secondary lives for themselves in these fields that, oftentimes, they don’t even know exist. What was enriching was that, rather than engaging in helpless debate about the issue, Otis carved out time and space for young artists to speak on their experiences to the gathered audience.

Photo credit: Monica Nouwens/Otis College of Art and Design. All Rights Reserved

Additionally, time was granted to Dr. Amir Whitaker - founder of Project Knucklehead, a national non-profit dedicated to community arts - to make a case for arts education as a pillar of workforce development. In fact, his presentation inspired the beginnings of a plan for KRAFTED to create physical and energetic space to prepare the next generation of young artists for the creative workforce.

Click here to view and download the 2020 Otis College Creative Economy Report. Also, I really encourage you to set aside some time, make yourself a meal, and dig into this replay of the entire program below (skip ahead to 00:24:30)

Viral Sales Through Better Ops: A Case Study

LA-based entertainer Alexandria Boddie had an idea for a t-shirt to sell online. Alexandria had never sold t-shirts online before in her life, but there’s at least one thing she understood at the time: the importance of high-quality creative strategy beyond how good a photo looks. This is where our services came in:

- identifying Shopify as the appropriate platform to build her site, given her long-term goals
- identifying Printful as the print-on-demand platform best for her apparel ideas
- planning editorial photos to shoot with the t-shirt
- optimizing the photos for online and social media placement
- integrating her Shopify site with Facebook and Instagram to make her posts shoppable, a brand-spanking new feature at the time

Alexandria had only modest aspirations, viewing this project as a form of content marketing. When she woke up one morning a few weeks after the product launch to find a glut of sales as a result of one of her favorite artists reposting her work on Instagram, she was elated yet cautious. Because of how drop-shipping/print-on-demand works, she was concerned about the Kate effect: a sudden surge of popularity that can break a small business. Her concerns were valid, founded, and yet she needn’t have worried. We walk into every project with respect for where my clients are in relation to their goals. This is the very reason why we insisted she go with the Shopify + Printful combo for her website: Printful will never reject a sale you make just because you don’t immediately have the funds for fulfillment. Instead, they’ll hold an order until money from your sale hits your bank account. The results:

- over $700 of t-shirt sales within 72 hours of a celebrity posting, and over 75% of them made directly through product tagging on Instagram
- a 30% increase in IG followers
- a 20% increase in email subscribers

Most importantly, Alexandria had the pleasure of feeling vindicated by the level of detail she entrusted us with to set up something so seemingly small and simple. And we have to admit, we felt vindicated too. 😊