I worked my way into Full Scale Effects by volunteering my time cleaning their floors. I slowly worked my way up through the ranks by learning all about manufacturing and business management. At the time Full Scale was a small ‘family’ business run by contractors that had a stable position in the local film industry. Over the years with them I have learned that as stable as they had seemed, they still had plenty of room for improvements and growth. My experiences with them has provided me with a range of skills that I have utilized in all business projects since.
When I started with Full Scale I was pretty fresh outside of Film School. After graduating in 2003 from Full Sail University in Florida, I then traveled up to Philadelphia where I gained some experience with milling and machining at my fathers shop. I also gained some experience on some small tv shows and low budget movies. The move to LA in 2006 was a complete leap of faith, but my girlfriend (now wife) and I really wanted to get out and see the world. Full Scale was a perfect place for me to settle and expand on my knowledge in the art of Special Effects as well as the strategy of running a business. Once there I learned about the intricacies of running a small business. How should you market yourself when you have a steady stream of customers? How do manage inventory and equipment to control costs? How do you run a ‘business’ when the ‘family’ does things their way. This began my lessons in real world business strategy.
1. 5S – Lean Methodology
Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain. It seemed fairly easy to get this practice implemented in Full Scale’s walls. The manufacturing space was a mess and not really maintained and the warehouse facility was full of junk. After growing with the company for the previous 5 years I have built a trusting relationship with all of the contractors and employees that came through Full Scale’s doors. Everyone was on board with the idea of sorting and clearing out the old while only keeping the assets that are of value. This was a massive undertaking because we are talking about a business that has its roots in the ‘I Love Lucy’ show and movies such as ‘The Godfather’. Imagine digging through the attic and finding an old light switch mechanism from the original ‘Star Trek’ tv set or even better, finding some high level explosives hiding in a hot storage container. After the process everyone was able to see the benefits of working together and compromising.
2. Facility Organization
Once we had a clean slate we were able to start to plan out the present and future for the facilities. We had acquired new equipment bringing our manufacturing process into the 21st century. All of this while doing large TV shows such as CSI Miami, WipeOut, Fear Factor, and Teen Wolf. The contractors were constantly in and out of the facility because they would split time between being in the shop and being on set during filming. This was tricky because they would always leave a mess and we would never know whether they were ‘done’ or ‘still working on it’. We decided to establish a project tracking board that would communicate what projects are in flight and who is working on them. This again was a big step from the general manager keeping everything documented on his personal computer. We also created a communication board for the manufacturing facility for the contractors to communicate to the staff when certain parts or expendables were low on stock. On the warehouse side we implemented a more efficient process for gathering orders as well as improving loading dock safety procedures.
3. Operations and Business Stability
When my role as Operations Manager started it was somewhat by default. A recent hire had committed a significant act of fraud within their first month of hire. The operations manager at the time was being mis-utilized and due to that the business operations were not being properly secured. At the time we all had decided that it would be best for me to focus on the business operations and future planning. This freed up the previous Operations Manager to focus on product development and supervising the manufacturing resources. We had also established a supervisor for the warehouse facility as well as a new inventory management platform which had improved the process even further. In doing this we had established a new concept for the business. We restructured Full Scale from being a business that was managed by and optimized for the contractors, to being a business that was optimized for the business of supporting the contractors. This was a significant shift for the business security but was also fully supported by all of the contractors. I’ve learned that if everyone can see the benefit of making changes that they would 99% of the time be on board with the changes. Through the act of standardizing the business operations we were able to build the stability that Full Scale had previously lacked.
My other effort was in growing the business from a revenue perspective. This started with improved marketing strategy, competitor analysis, and new web experiences. It continued with creating new revenue streams such as product manufacturing, improved product sales, adjusted equipment rental rates, and facility space rentals. The best part about opening the facilities up to external contractors was that we were exposed to new resources that helped our business strategy even more. However most importantly I had introduced a reporting process for tracking revenue and expenses to provide the owner with more accurate data points. We were able to see that revenue growth had increased from $1.7 million to $2.4 million during my 3 years in management. This not only supported our ambitious growth plan but it also allowed our team to grow from 4 full time employees to 12 employees, all while leaving a healthy profit margin.
4. A Time for Transition
My time and energy was starting to shift at this point. It was decided that my focus should be more on field services and project/product management. The infrastructure was there, all we needed to do was sustain the strategy. During the transition we had shifted my responsibilities over to the office manager as she was well versed in business management. This allowed me to build on all of the business opportunities that I had established as Operations Manager. Full Scale was successfully transitioned from the 20th into the 21st century. It seems crazy, but those who have worked in a small business environment can fully relate. Even to this day I continue to check in with the team to see how they have grown over the years. Naturally they have made some changes that I don’t necessarily agree with, however I have always been in full support of an agile business strategy. This allows a business to fully optimize their resources while also adapting to the ever changing environment of show business.
As I reflect on my experience with Full Scale I always think back to all of the opportunities that I could have taken. I could have worked on any of the big blockbuster movies if I had decided to fully utilize my independent contractor status. There was always something about Full Scale. Their facility and equipment was well managed and the team, regardless of any indifferences, will always be considered my family. I also can look back and see that my time there closely aligned with one of my first lessons. Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain. The last is the most important, as in the sustaining of a modern business model we must remain agile as technology is advancing how we do business internally as well as for our customers.