Thanks for Saying Thanks

I just finished a week of shooting a web reality show for a client in LA. (I can't say what it is yet, but stay tuned!). It was so much fun to be out of the office and out on the town filming in sunny CA. While I was hoping to see Ali Lohan's insane eyebrows in person or another strung-out starlet being trailed by TMZ, my only celeb spottings were James Cromwell at Art's Deli and Darlene from Roseanne at Katsu-ya in Studio City (which is incredible sushi, FYI).

As our crew was packing up today, we all thanked each other for the hard work this week. And then one of the camera guys brought up a really good point... He said that the thing he loves about this business is that people are always so appreciative and thankful for what a production crew does. They get paid like the rest of us, so why the extreme gratefulness? Why do they get enormous gourmet candy apples and goodbye hugs, in addition to their paycheck? No one gets all that jazzed about people that slave away in front of a computer all day, right? No fair.

Maybe it's because they have to lug around so much equipment ... or know how to work $25,000 cameras ... or the fact that their expertise will ultimately help make you and your final product look and sound good (whether you're a producer or talent). Who knows...

Point is -- it's nice to feel appreciated. And we should all take the time to thank the people we work with - the people that help us do a better job - more often.  Just keep the hugs to a minimum, it may creep people out.