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Alan Lamarr is a successful composer for television. He is well-known
for his work on children's programming, especially animated features.
"I work very closely with the creator of one show, who
is also the executive producer. He has a very clear vision
for how every episode should turn out. He gets teased about being very controlling, but every aspect of the show from the
look, to the sound effects, to the music, comes to life out of his
imagination,"
said Alan.
"Many times, we'll run through storyboards and Paul, the executive
director, will 'act out' the music he wants in particular scenes.
Unfortunately," Alan says with a laugh, "Paul isn't a musician. He acts
out the rhythm in his mind and describes the kind of sound he wants for
each scene. Then I take over."
"Based on what Paul and I have run through together, I watch each
animated scene and compose the background music. Some days it comes
easy. Paul and I will just click on what he wants and things really
flow. Other days, I struggle, awaiting a flash of
inspiration."
Alan works alone in his studio, surrounded by the technology that
enables him to turn out the award-winning work he is known for. He works
best by limiting distractions.
"I used to turn off
the ringer on my phone and let everything run to voicemail while
I was composing," said Alan. "This help me stay focused and
create, but I found that I was missing
important phone calls. Since I am an independent contractor, I couldn't just
ignore potential clients. In fact, I know of at least one opportunity I
missed, to work on a huge production because I didn't answer my phone."
A business colleague suggested that Alan hire an answering service. "I did a lot of
shopping around before I found the right one," he said. "I was surprised to learn
just how many options were available. Right away, I rolled over my
voicemail service, so I wouldn't have to worry about maintenance issues, which
had been a problem for me. I also elected to have a live operator answer
every phone call and send all my messages to me via email."
"I even provided the answering service
with a short list of clients that I wanted to work
for, as well as a list of clients that I'm just not compatible with. Now, the answering
service can accept and schedule appointments for me for those on my short
list of preferred clients and screen out the others. What a difference it has made!"
Alan says that the decision has been a profitable one as well. "I was surprised
to learn how much more productive I've become by allowing the answering
service to handle all my phone calls. I can
relax and concentrate on my work. I've gained about five productive
hours a week. I only wish I'd known about this sooner," he said with a
smile.
Learn more about telephone
answering services and discover how they might be able to help you.
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