#1 in a Series Memorable Mishaps: Do the Math Right... the First Time by Patrick Gregston Mistakes get made all the time. The most damaging thing about them is that they are usually avoidable. In fact nothing is more maddening or a greater waste of time than falling into the same hole discovered by countless others before you. To help one another avoid common - and some not-so-common - pratfalls in and around the edit room, the Newsletter offers up this new section. Hopefully we can inform and entertain one another with those embarrassing episodes that prove us human. Patrick Gregston gets the ball rolling with this gaffe from his distant past. When I first started to freelance, I often found myself being offered editorial work of a type I hadn't done before but which I felt I could handle. Once, a producer of a commercial I was working on had a friend with some film to cut. The material was interesting 16mm footage of various jazz greats talking about their beginnings, and the friend wanted to be able to watch it on film. The editing consisted of cutting out the slates and making the interviews a little more articulate. Pretty straightforward stuff. But the wrinkle for me came when I was asked to make an answer print. Not having been through any 16mm finishing, I went to a couple of 16mm labs, got quotes, did the math, and gave the producer's friend my estimate for the optical track and answer prints. Unfortunately, when I had made my notes of the answer-print-per-foot cost I put the decimal point in the wrong place. I didn't realize this goof until the invoice came in from the film lab. The difference between my estimate and the bill equaled about 10 weeks of my salary at the time. I didn't have the money to pay for the answer print and, of course, I had to come clean with the client. Luckily for me they weren't on a budget and were more than gracious about the mistake. They got their answer print and I got a low-cost education in the importance of creating accurate cost estimates. I also learned to always have someone check my math! Have you made a mistake that you're willing to share? Let us know about it and spread the wisdom of learning by doing. Call the Newsletter editor with your story, or send it via email   Reprinted from The Motion Picture Editors Guild Newsletter Vol. 19, No. 6 - Nov/Dec 1998   Guild Home | Newsletter Home | Top of Page   Copyright © 1998, All Rights Reserved by The Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700