The Most Important Person in the Shooting Studio

 

When I was a university student, I held a part-time job for a TV program. Yes! I was an actor. But I wore a cute monster’s costume. Of course, my face was covered. Acting in costume was different from normal acting. Still, it was an interesting job.

 

In most cases, the most important person in the studio is the director. He decides most of the things. I heard the producer is more important, but I don’t feel that.

 

One day, a super more important person came to the shooting studio. He was from the sponsor company of the program, but he looked like a new employee. His looks did not match his suit as he was too young. Everyone in the studio really paid him attention. The difficult director, the experienced actors who looked dignified, and the blunt crew members were all flattering him. I didn’t understand why everyone treated him like that. He was older than me by just a few years. He looked uncomfortable maybe because the director could be as old as his father.

 

I tried to not laugh because it was almost a classic comedy. But the situation was not laughable. I just didn’t know how this society works.

 

There are only a few creators who do not care about money when creating products. Most creators need to be loved by royalty, nobility, patrons, or the public.

 

The company of the important person even paid my performance fee.

 

In Greek mythology, the goddesses of arts are collectively called Musa. They are nine sisters. Each goddess is in charge of each category of arts. On the other hand, the god of business is Hermes. I am not familiar with Greek mythology, but I believe their relationships are not simple.

 

Many of my friends are loved by Musa, but most of them are not loved by Hermes.

 

Picture by artbesouro

The Most Effective Question

 

 It was the beginning of the 1990s. A friend of mine was an able saleswoman. Her income was via a commission system. She got paid about $20,000 per month. Japan experienced a bubble economy at that time, but her income was extremely high. On the other hand, I had a part-time job and got paid about $300 per month. And I wrote scripts and joined a script competition. The first-prize money was $3,000. But I was rejected every year.

 What she was selling was sets of teaching materials for children. One set was about $3,000. It was almost like fraud. But she sold many teaching materials to housewives who had children. She dropped in for an unannounced sales visit. Why could she sell such expensive things? She taught me the most effective question to ask to sell the teaching materials to housewives.

 In those days, most Japanese people wanted to give children a good education. They were almost insane. But $3,000 for a set of teaching materials was too expensive. Most housewives hesitated to buy and said,

“I need to talk about this with my husband.”

Whenever a housewife said this, if a set of golf clubs were by the entrance of the house, the saleswomen asked this question:

“By the way, your husband has a very nice set of golf clubs here. Did he talk with you before he bought the set of golf clubs?”

This question turned on the housewives’ emotional switch. Many of them bought the teaching materials immediately.

 Both wife and husband should talk to each other before expensive purchases.

Picture by Toranosuke

 

Encouraged by a Homeless Person in the USA

 

In 1998, I was a student in San Francisco.

 I assumed if I studied English in the USA, I could enjoy happy days that involve watching American comedy and dramas. I assumed everything could have a happy ending like major Hollywood movies. Actually there were normal people’s lives. It was simply reality.

 One day, I encountered some trouble. I was depressed. I was homesick. I wondered about going to Japan Town, eating Japanese food and encouraging myself. But I thought it would make me look like a sissy. I just walked around.

 I passed by a homeless person. He turned around to me and said in a very strong voice:

“It’s OK! It’s OK! It’s nothing!”

 He encouraged me because I was almost crying.

 I assumed homeless people did not have jobs. But their job could be finding depressed people and encouraging them.

Picture by Bado international