Negotiation Interview with Kristen Hill

        This week for my negotiation interview, I decided to interview one of the project managers at Technomedia Solutions, Kristen Hill. Kristen has been one of the leading project managers for the last eight years. She is known for her assertiveness, and being one who is always on top of things. Her main job with the company is to make deals with our leading clients, including Hard Rock Cafes and Casinos. The deals that Kristen creates with these companies are multi-million dollar business deals, which is why I felt that she would be appropriate for this interview. 

When negotiating with business deals, do you look for mutual benefits with the other companies? If so, explain. 

Kristen: I do. I feel that mutual benefits are a way that allows both companies to grow in the industry. By allowing both companies to benefit from the business deals, you are actually creating a bond that will guarantee you business in the future. Technomedia is a strong growing company that has been known for doing multiple business deals with multiple worldwide companies. We are strong because of our repetitive contracts with Abercrombie and Fitch, Hollister Co, Hard Rock, and many more. These companies tend to continue with our services not only because of our level of service that we provide, but also because of the benefits they also receive by negotiating with us. When creating new business deals with old cliental, I aim to keep it that way.

What are your personal techniques when dealing with negotiations that get heated too quickly? What do you do to separate the people from the problem?

Kristen: When creating business deals that are worth millions and millions of dollars, it can sometimes become heated quickly. Obviously, there are going to be things that both companies both agree and disagree upon. The main thing to remember when negotiating is that it is always okay to take a break. Sometimes I find that giving people the chance to calm down and relax allows them to be able to negotiate more realistically and calmly. For me personally, separating the people from the problem has always been a huge factor. We always have to remember that just because someone feels differently then we do, doesn't mean they are necessarily incorrect. For example, if we wanted to charge one hundred dollars for a certain service, and they only wanted to pay us seventy five, it would just be a matter of discussing why we both felt the way we did then coming to some sort of agreement. With negotiating people should always remember to pick their battles wisely. 

Do you often use objective criteria when negotiating? Why or why not?

Kristen: Absolutely. I feel that anyone who wants to be taken seriously when conducting any sort of negotiation should be fully prepared and have objective criteria ready for use. From experience, objective criteria is often a huge role in the outcome of a negotiation. People in today's society build their beliefs on facts. If you can prove that "9/10 people enjoy this product over this one", most people would take your word for it. My best advice to those who wish to enter the world of negotiating would be to always be one step ahead and always know more then what you think you should, you never know when it'll be handy.

Front of House Magazine

     As a Show Production and Engineering student at Full Sail University, I was always taught in a "hands on" approach. Most of my teachers always focused on how me and the rest of the students would learn better by "doing it ourselves" by participating in live labs. Although I personally enjoyed this new focused way of learning, I also sometimes missed focusing on the "old fashioned" way of learning by reading books. When I reached month eight in my Full Sail career as a Show Production student, I had an instructor recommend the magazine called Front of House for me to read. For this blog post, I decided to take a long look at their website (http://www.fohonline.com/ ) and do a review of how I felt about it compared to it's magazine.
      My first initial reaction to Front of House's website was that it seemed extremely cluttered. I was almost too overwhelmed to know where to begin. The first link I decided to click on is the one that says "current issue". Although I already saw this issue in person, I wanted to see how the magazine displays the issue for online viewers. As I waited for the website to load for almost five minutes with no change, I finally noticed that the issue actually loads underneath the main website. This to me was almost an inconvenience. However, the issue itself was very insightful and detailed orientated. It was organized and very easy to read.
  Some parts of the website that I personally really enjoyed include the "New Gear" part, and the "Jobs" section. The "New Gear" section of the website lists all new gear in the production industry. It gives reviews and detailed descriptions of each item. This to me as a Sound Engineer is extremely insightful and useful. It educates me and keeps me up to date on all new gear that is being used in the industry today. The part of the website that is titled "Jobs" opens up a new tab in one's internet browser. As a student who is still searching for more work, I found this part of the website to be extremely useful and helpful. It gives people in my field the chance to see any open positions available.
     Overall, I found the website to be extremely useful and insightful. For those who do not want to commit to having a subscription to the actual magazine, it allows you to get all the same information as those who receive it in their mail boxes. To me, Front of House Magazine is one of the best in the show production industry. I highly recommend it to all of those who want an insightful look at the live event industry.

A Dying Breed

      Before I began my journey to becoming an audio engineer, I was always a huge music fan. Throughout my entire life I was always in different bands and surrounded by people who enjoyed the art of music as much as I did. At an early age, I came to realize that the main problem as a young aspiring musician is simply having the right equipment in order for your music have your music to be recorded. As a musician myself, I know how great of a feeling it is to be able to hear your own music recorded and shareable to people who want to listen. This is, in fact, what actually drove me to utilizing my passions and attend Full Sail to become an audio engineer. 
     As I was searching through the internet reading blogs that are relevant to my career as an audio engineer, I found a blog that brought about a high amount of interest to me. This blog is titled the Stero Bus. (http://thestereobus.com/) The Stero Bus is a blog that focuses on music production, pro audio, and engineering tips and secrets. As I browsed through this blog, I wanted to find something different. On almost every audio production blog, you can find tips and secrets of the industry. Although they are always a joy to read, sometimes I want to read about different aspects of my profession besides the tips and professional words of advice. The article that I decided to read in the end focuses on "the Lost Art of Audio Engineering".
      With the expansion of technology, some industry professionals have concern about the future of music recording. In this blog post written by Dan Connor, he explains how so many people in today's society use the "Do It Yourself" routine when it comes to recording music. This method of recording isn't as hard as it may first seem. In reality, all one needs is a computer and the right programming. As an audio engineer myself, I feel that this expansion of the music industry is honesty going to cause the downfall of music production as we know it.
    Because of reasons similar to the one talked about in this article, I chose to major in Show Production and Engineering. In that degree program, I was able to learn the art of recording while also learning the technical skills of live production which provide endless job opportunities for me in the future. All in all, I hope that the music industry as a whole continues to expand. Those who truly enjoy music will always contribute to its cause and the influence it has on people everywhere.

CLAIR BROTHERS AUDIO PRODUCTS

    What I chose to write about for this post is Clair Brothers. Clair Brothers is in my opinion (and the opinion of many others) the biggest name in the live event production industry. Clair Brothers is responsible for almost all events that are put on world wide. They specialize in giving top of the line production in both audio and visual elements. Clair Brothers does events such as concerts, but also does the audio and lighting work for houses of worship, venues, cruise ships, educational institutions, corporate events, and much more.
    When I went to Clair Brothers website, I was able to go to a part of their website titled Clair Brothers Audio Products. In this section of their website, Clair Brothers not only talks about what gear they create, but also talks about up to date events Clair Brothers has been/is currently working on. Why I believe this is important is because of what Clair Brothers influence on my industry is. Clair Brothers is with out a doubt, the leading of its kind in the business world. Therefore, it is easy to say that their products speak for themselves. Clair Brothers is known for creating unique sound systems that give above and beyond performance. The influence that this has had on my industry, is huge. Before live event production started becoming a big deal, there was little to no business for companies that wanted to create live event gear. Now however, the live event industry is one of the biggest industries in the world. I fully believe that this is because of Clair Brothers. Clair Brothers' remarkable sound products have given people a new outlook onto what sound is supposed to be. I feel that through the development of their products, the world has taken how events sound more and more seriously. Which in result, gives people like me a job to do at the end of the day.
    In conclusion, I believe that through the development of Clair Brothers, the production industry has developed as a whole. The technology advancements that have been made have only given my industry  more and more reasons to expand and be in need. No matter what happens in life, I believe that there will always be a need for live entertainment. Therefore, I truly believe that I will always have a job. I have Clair Brothers to thank for that.

Jeff Smith Speech

     The speech I chose to watch was given by Jeff Smith. Jeff Smith was supposed to be a big role in the Missouri State Senate. However, when he was charged with covering up an election law violation, he instead went to prison. In his speech, Mr.Smith addresses a few things that he learned and saw while he was in prison. The biggest one however, was the potential that he saw in the men that he spent his time in jail with.
    At the beginning of his speech, Mr.Smith begins by telling people about one of his inmates named E.J. He tells viewers about E.J's future visions of leaving the drug dealing business and entering into the adult film industry. He informs listeners that E.J. spent ten thousand dollars to buy an adult website that features women having sex on top of sports cars. This, Mr.Smith explained was the beginning of what opened his eyes about what prison really is. By opening his speech with this segment, I found Mr.Smith to be an extremely "personal" individual. Although his humor may actually be discussing serious events, the way that Mr.Smith displays his sense of humor and relaxed personality gives viewers right off the bat a very relaxed feeling while listening to his speech. As I myself began watching the speech, I felt a very humble connection with Mr.Smith. His peacefulness and sense of humor gave him a "human" personality, as opposed to just sounding like a robot like many other speakers.
     In the rest of his speech, Mr.Smith then continues to inform listeners about how the men in jail are in reality, extremely talented businessmen that aren't given the chance to use their integrity for success. Everything, he explained, in prison is a business deal. Some men he explained, would actually work for their money and success, while others would do the dirty work such as sell cigarettes, dirty magazines, and even give jail cell tattoos. In my eyes, Mr.Smith did an outstanding job with his speech. He was confident, relaxed, and personal when explaining his opinions and the events he witnessed. By doing this, Mr.Smith gained my trust and support for his cause.
    In conclusion, I found Mr.Smith's speech to be informative and helpful. In my eyes, it helped me look at the bigger picture of things when looking at people who are in prison. Sometimes society will look at these people as being "lower" then the rest of us, but I find this to be extremely inaccurate. Mr.Smith's speech proved that people sometimes have more potential then we as society give them credit for. I personally related to this because of a family member I have who had gone to prison for drug dealing. In the end, Mr.Smith's speech helped me understand not only what prison life is like, but how we as society have a mission to help those in prison to use their integrity and successful business plans to succeed in life.

http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_smith_lessons_in_business_from_prison.html

My Role As A Video Engineer

As of late I’ve been playing the role of video engineer. I entered the industry as an audio engineer, but ended up doing just about everything else. I think that’s the beauty of the live production community, especially when doing corporate AV. Through working the convention center, and the resorts around Disney became everything but what I set out to accomplish. With that being said I still mix audio at gigs when I’m off of work, and I still educate myself in that vein of the industry.

Working as a video engineer for Technomedia Solutions has been a challenging experience.  We work primarily with large vendors like Abercrombie & Fitch, Hard Rock, and Universal Studios year round. Earlier this year I was a part of the AV installation at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa. This was a basic AV installation of the poolside private huts, and the floor. Over the last 8 months I’ve been a Video Engineer/Technician installing storefront video walls for Abercrombie & Fitch’s, Hollister Co.  Our systems as complex as they are, are fed by two sources.  A hub of Green Hippo Grasshoppers, typically four in a system are what run the HD video feeds to our storefront walls and interior walls.  Our interior walls are run off of a live video feed, which is provided through satellite. That is what we feed into our rack after it runs its course throughout the building, across amps, and pads to tune the signals strength to our needs. The storefront walls output resolution is typically 3840x1080, and displayed on anywhere from 35 to 170 monitors. To get from the Grasshopper’s to the video walls, they run the gauntlet of scalers, switchers, and transmitters. Once they leave the transmitters they output across our pulled CAT6 cable to the receivers in the field, from there it’s to the displays. Aside from the technical aspect of it there is an astronomical amount of video and control programming.  As much as I’d like to talk about the ins and outs of the programming, that’s the little secret to my job.

Our clients are worldwide and the new developing projects are immense. My role at the company is currently a sub contractor but this allows me to conduct my business as I please. Being a private business, without the commitment of a full time position, I can network and build a reputation in the industry so that I can help my career grow. 

My Present Career in the Show Production Business

Being a graduate from Full Sail University's Show Production and Touring Bachelor Degree Program, During my two years in my Show Production major, I focused on learning live event production, audio and lighting systems, audio visual technologies, and concert media design. The education that I acquired through Full Sail's Show Production and Touring Bachelor's Degree Program was the right combination of all the possible careers in the live event production and AV community. Ranging from the interworking of a loud speaker to the setup and turning of a home theater system, I definitely was educated on all possible levels of this career path. More information about Full Sail's Show Production Degree can be found at http://www.fullsail.edu/degrees/show-production-bachelors. During my studies, I myself mostly focused on specializing in audio engineering. When I graduated from Full Sail with my Show Production degree, I wanted to find a job in the audio industry. After working with career development for a little while after my graduation,  my main goal was to work for Clair Brothers Audio Systems. However, with plans of completing my master's degree in the near future, Clair Brothers was not the right career choice for me at the moment. Because of that, one can say that I am still currently in between areas of my career at the moment. I am first and foremost an audio engineer, however for the last five months I have also been a video engineer.  I got in touch with a company out of Orlando called Technomedia Solutions. Technomedia Solutions is one of the leading companies in audiovisual design. At technomedia solutions, I was hired a contracted AV installationer/video engineer. My job for Technomedia involves the installation of the video walls in all of the Hollister Company stores around the world. Technomedia Solutions is also responsible for the AV instillation in these stores. My main jobs for this company are located internationally, which to some may seem exhausting, but to me is extremely exciting and eye opening. Traveling almost non stop allows me to not only see the world, but also allows me to network with a wide variety of people while still completing my master's degree online. My company always makes sure to set me up with hotels internationally that can offer me wifi so that I can complete my school work, which I am extremely thankful for. More information about other work that Technomedia does can be found at their website http://www.gotechnomedia.com/. Working for Technomedia Solutions is a job that I never really predicted myself as having. For my entire life I've always wanted to work in the live production industry. I wanted to see myself working along side of a stage doing the audio and video work for bands on tour while I was employed at a venue. In my eyes, my current career path is just an example of how many jobs are out there that people may not even consider. My best advice to those who read this is to never close any doors, and to always look for a new opportunity. Just because your first goal doesn't happen right away, doesn't mean there isn't something better waiting for you.