Bill Ennis is President of the MCA-I Orange County/Los Angeles chapter. As owner of Media Magic, he has been providing business-to-business and business-to-consumer video production services to a broad cross section of clients throughout Southern California since 1984. A long-time member of MCAI, he feels that the strength of the Orange County chapter “can be seen in its history of successes, as well as its ability to weather many a storm through the years, while always managing to move the needle forward.”
What do you do? I like to say I'm a storyteller. I happen to use video as my means of telling stories. Technically, I wear multiple hats. I write, produce, direct, shoot and edit.
How long have you worked in this field?
I began my "professional" career while I was in college. In 1980, while still a student, I co-produced a local cable television show that won some awards, and a couple of grants for Purdue University's Radio/TV/Film Department. I began my full-time career out of college in 1982, and started my company, Media Magic, on April Fool's Day, 1984. I went full-time on my own in 1985.
What surprises you most about how the field has developed over time?
Certainly technological innovations have had the most surprising impact on this industry. It has really leveled the playing field in many ways. When I started out, there was a huge gap between the Fortune 500 corporate video projects being done on film or using "broadcast" quality tools, and the industrial television standards I was involved with. However, the radical changes in acquisition and editorial tools of recent years have allowed people like me to compete head to head with the "Los Angeles" style production companies.
What didn't surprise me was the fact that, if you're good at telling stories, changes in technology are not as big an issue. For companies that simply used technology as their trump card, attempting to keep up with those changes either weakened them substantially, or drove them out of business.
What interesting twists and turns has your career taken?
My career takes interesting twists and turns with every new client I get! In fact, that's what has allowed me to continue in this business as an independent for more than 25 years. I've never hitched my wagon to a single company, nor a single industry. So, when one area slows down, there's always another that takes up the slack.
What types of projects do you work on?
My primary project focus is the creation of sales and marketing tools. It used to be primarily business customers, but today I do a significant amount of work for the non-profit community. Yet, even with the non-profits, I'm creating marketing tools that they can use to further their cause.
I started out my career producing local television commercials, and that is still a small part of my business. I've also produced both long- and short-form direct response programs, training presentations, PSAs and ads for theatrical release (during the trailers). The most visible of my projects are the Ms. Fitness USA and Ms. Fitness World television shows that air nationally on Fox Sports. I've been producing those shows annually since 2002.
How did your previous jobs prepare you for your current position?
The show I produced in college was what we used to call a "magazine-style" show. Some people may remember "PM Magazine," or "Eye on LA." Our show was not even close to that caliber, but it helped me land my first job at Group W Cable in Newport Beach, where they were producing a similar show. I co-produced their weekly show, as well as co-hosted, so I got a taste of on-camera work along with perfecting the art of hitting deadlines. Both have been invaluable in my work to this day.
In 1984, When Group W Newport Beach was granted the first local ad insertion system west of the Mississippi, I told my boss I wanted to produce television commercials for the new Ad Sales team. Management agreed, and I spent a year producing literally hundreds of spots. However, never comfortable working under a corporate umbrella, I walked in one day and handed in my resignation. Three days later, I received my first job as an independent — a marketing video for a real estate client I'd previously done some spots for. They found out I was no longer working at Group W, and tracked me down. And I was off and running!
What do you like best about your job/career?
I love to learn. Besides a degree in Radio/TV/Film, I also majored in Journalism. So I guess the "Let's see what's under the hood" persona is in my DNA. Every job I do, I get to learn about some new aspect of how our world operates.
In your opinion, how does technology affect our creative opportunities?
Technology has certainly opened up opportunities for me to spread my wings and explore. In the early days, I learned creative discipline; I was working with small budgets, where an extra 90 minutes in the edit bay could actually eliminate my profit on the project. Today, the ability to work within a client's budget no longer requires finding the middle ground between Bill as the creative and Bill as the accountant. If I want to spend more time working on a project, that's my decision. If I want to try a couple of variations on a theme, I can do that. Companies like Digital Juice, Boris, DigiEffects and Noise Industries have provided a tremendous array of tools to the guy editing in his pajamas that used to require reservations at a major post house in Los Angeles.
What was the most rewarding project you've worked on and what made it so rewarding?
The next project I do for a social services non-profit will be my most rewarding! I'm currently working on projects for both the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Being around those who serve these communities, and being with the families who are both struggling — and so hopeful — makes each one I do my "bestest project ever!"
What was the most unusual or challenging project you ever worked on?
In 25 years, I've had my share of unusual and/or challenging projects. I've shot out of helicopters and small planes dozens of times, climbed to the top of expansion bridges to shoot cars down below. I've climbed 60 feet up the inside of the outdoor movie screen at the Santa Fe Springs Drive-In (with my Betacam strapped around my neck) to get an "aerial" shot for a television commercial, and even lost a Sony D30 in Long Beach Harbor when, while shooting a TV commercial for a jet ski rental company, had an errant driver ram the skiff I was shooting from, sending both the camera — and me — into the drink. (I survived. My camera didn't.)
But one that stands out — both because it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and a major challenge — was when I was hired to do a video for a travel company that provided cruises up and down the Volga River from Moscow to St. Petersburg, Russia. This was the mid 90s, and I was still shooting on BetaSP, so the logistics of carrying all the equipment I would need halfway across the world to a country in transition — and not known for its infrastructure — was a little daunting. Of course there were other issues: the oral language, the written language (Cyrillic is not the easiest language to decipher!), a non-existent permitting process (can you say, "Bribes?") and I was the only production person.
How did you handle it?
My pastor often reminds us of the Beatitude: Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape." Fortunately, I had an escort who spoke English pretty well. I brought two single chargers for my four Anton Bauer batteries, and the first day on the boat there was a power surge and one of the chargers blew a fuse. I had a couple of spare fuses, but by the end of the day they'd blown as well. We tried for two weeks to find a store that sold a replacement fuse, and were unsuccessful, so I limped along on one charger that managed to stay functional through the entire trip. Interestingly, I managed to walk into places like The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and Peter the Great's Summer Palace in Peterhof with nary a question asked. Yet in many of the small towns between there and Moscow, I practically had my camera torn from my shoulder. In other places, an exchange of the coin of the realm would allow us to gain entry, though even my escort wasn't always sure if the people we were paying were actually officials with authority, or simply locals who figured out we must have money. In the end, we got some nice footage, and I got the trip of a lifetime (as well as some coin of our realm).
Is there a role model or mentor who has impacted your career choices?
I went to a university world-famous for its engineering program. My senior year, my fraternity brothers were doing on-campus interviews with companies from all over the country — and complaining because they "only got two job offers." I, on the other hand, sent out hundreds of resumes, with, of course, no takers. The school year was winding down when I got a phone call from New York. A successful television director named Newt Mitzman told me he received my resume and it had reminded him of himself 25 years before. He told me he couldn't offer me a job, but if I really wanted to be in the business, I should head for the coast. He said, “You need to be where the action is.” I took his advice, packed up my car and headed for California. It's thanks to that phone call that I'm doing what I love today.
What role does/has MCA-I played in your career? Why do you remain involved?
I danced around the edges of the former ITVA in the late 1980s, when an Orange County chapter was in its formative stages. By 1991, I couldn't resist the temptation, and joined. A few years later, I knew for sure I was in this for the long haul, so plunked down my indy income on a Lifetime Membership. Obviously, it was a good decision on my part, though I'm sure the national organization would have preferred continuing to receive my annual dues!
I was active with the group from the beginning, though I somehow managed to avoid "moving up the ladder," and sort of became the consummate "worker bee." I got talked into a Vice President's role on the local level a few times through the years, but it was only this year that I finally realized I needed to step up and take on the presidency of the local chapter. Though MCAI connections have never been a major source of income for me, I've developed so many relationships with local members through the years that have become resource providers, technology mentors, crew members, sounding boards, cheerleaders, commiserators and, simply, friends. The strength of the Orange County chapter can be seen in its history of successes, as well as its ability to weather many a storm through the years, while always managing to move the needle forward. Today, I'm leading a group of enthusiastic members who are continuing to push the envelope both locally, and on a national level. It's truly a privilege to be part of the team, and my involvement with the organization continues to be a joy.
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