Steve King
How long have you been in screen production and how did you get started?
I started as a driver with Perspective Video in 1984, moving into the camera department as a camera assist/tape op after six months. After I left there I freelanced for about a year before joining Repco Auto Parts to produce in-house videos on some pro VHS gear they’d bought! I started Prompt Service in 1998 because there was a gap in the market for a professional teleprompter service. Prompters were seen as a necessary evil that tended to slow production down rather than making it more efficient.
What genre(s) does your work tend to come from?
Not as much entertainment product as I would like! Mostly non-broadcast corporate engagement/training/promotional but also TVC, live broadcast (Media3, 7 Days, Sky’s Rugby Awards etc) and conference/event work. There used to be more OB work until OSB bought their own kits but we still pick up the overflow.
How easy is it to make a living in this industry/how often do you work outside the screen production industry?
The majority of my work is producing non-broadcast corporate communications and Prompt Service is my ‘sideline’ business – though the balance occasionally swings. I’d probably have to diversify the Prompt Service offering to make a living out of that alone but in my experience there always has been and always will be enough work in the non-broadcast area to make a living. I haven’t had to work outside the industry yet…
How does your department work as part of the ‘whole’ that other crew probably don’t realise?
Prompting is one of those areas where we can add value to the shoot by allowing presenters and talent to concentrate on their performance. Having said that, autocue work (for video) is pretty easy, however when I started Prompt Service, prompters in the corporate sector were seen as a luxury and often unnecessary in some embarrassingly short segues. Camera operators tended (and still tend) to regard them as being rather restrictive, given that the presence of an autocue normally meant they couldn’t put matte boxes on the front their cameras, limiting their filter and shade options. In addition, most crews’ experience of autocue operators was that they were never called on to actually move or lug anything and as a result were just drones who sat around a lot, rolling words. Add to that, the fact that most talent is inexperienced with them, so the result of autocue performances tended to be … mediocre.
How have your rates changed/improved over the years?
Our rate has increased by about 30% over the past 15 years, over time bringing our service into line with similar ones in the industry once we’d established its value to productions.
What sort of changes have you noticed? Have you noticed any trends?
The advent of LCD monitors and then iPads and smartphones has meant that more productions are able to prompt cheaply and easily. That has to have cut into our market a little and that’s why we’ve always concentrated on being a high-end, added-value service rather than just supplying equipment. I still give all new operators a minimum half-day training session, as well as observing an experienced operator on a job, before they fly solo. This mainly covers the setup and operation of the gear, but also has a heavy emphasis on where and how we can provide as much assistance as possible to the talent and director. That’s what keeps us relevant.
What strengths do you think the New Zealand industry has / what could contribute to a more sustainable industry?
We’re already used to working as relatively small, multi-tasking (but creative and talented) crews so the proliferation of tools that enable businesses to produce more video communication cheaper means that we’re ready to take advantage of the increased desire for content in this market.
