Fashion designers today have it pretty easy when it comes to marketing their work via fashion shows. Most fashion show producers don’t charge anything and they do all the work. This means the models don’t get paid, the announcers don’t get paid and there may or may no be any writers. Graphic design is usually at the hands of someone who just learned how to use Photoshop and you get what you get. I have to say, though, most of them out there do a better job than I do. Really what it comes down to though, is that a lot of hours are being spent on marketing someone else’s work and apparently, nobody gets paid.

/me GUILTY

I feel a little guilty about that. Admittedly, when MODA first started, I couldn’t justify charging designers for showing their work, since they did us a favor by giving us wardrobe to model so I could teach the students how to produce a show. We always say we raise the bar when it comes to perfection, quality and professionalism but I think we missed the cue when we passed the point of training new students. I can still understand the schooling shows being free. I mean really, designers are doing us huge favors, and just because we now have a full staff of talented writers, photographers and producers, we are still in the business of training models. Once we graduate them, though, they are no longer trainees, and someone needs to start paying them.

MATH FOR MODELS

Many of our models aspire to work on Spotlight. Trust me, it isn’t because of the high salary they will earn. It’s the challenge, the thrill of being “on” 100%, all the time. They are adrenaline junkies at heart and Spotlight is a perfect opportunity for them to prove just how good they really are. On Spotlight, the models don’t get paid by me, I ask the designers to tip them. Some do and some don’t. The average tip ranges from 500 to 1000 lindens per model. Not bad…. when they do get paid. I recently discovered that most weeks they don’t make anything. In fact, for 2010, January to April, the models have averaged a total of 2,200 lindens, total. Divide that by the 11 episodes we have produced so far in 2010. That means the Spotlight models have made an average of 200 lindens per show this year. That might have covered the cost of their eyelashes

THE PRICE OF BEAUTY

The models buy hair, shoes, lashes, nails, skins and minimal, no-bling accessories out of their own budgets. They are typically wearing 2500 lindens or more for each outfit they show, not including wardrobe. In addition, they are required to spend time shopping, self-promoting, modeling for other people in order to keep their skills current, styling for each item they show and rehearsing for each Spotlight episode.  Really they don’t expect a return on their financial investments, they know the things they shop for will help them in their career. In reality, a generous tip is nice because it can help them to purchase more beauty.  When the designer pays them nothing, however, it sends the message that they did not do enough.  And honest “I’m sorry, I’m broke but thank you for doing a beautiful job” will go much further than simply ignoring the fact that tips are actually expected here.

SO WHY DON’T I JUST PAY THE MODELS?

It’s true, I pay my staff each week. Pretty much everyone except the models gets a small part of my budget. They deserve much more but I can only do what I can. I pay them as a way of thanking them for helping and for being so much a part of our team. The models not only work for me, they work for the designers, and I want to encourage interaction and feedback between models and designers. The models stay after the show to meet the designers and thank them for the opportunity to model. Spotlight models are genuine and they love what they do. They never ask for anything and I agree, they should be paid.

I don’t charge designers what it costs me to produce their Spotlight shows each week but if I’m going to start paying the models what they deserve, then I will have to charge designers to produce their shows as well. Why should I have to pay for it all, right?

MATH FOR PRODUCERS

Remember, it isn’t only lindens that we spend on Spotlight. Time is still a commodity and this team spends it like tap water. Just how much time are we talking about?

I’ll just do a little more math and make my point a little clearer:

Paid staff and expenses: 15000 lindens.

If I pay the Spotlight models what they are really worth, I value them at about 5000 lindens each episode. Without them, we have no show, and they honestly put endless hours perfecting their craft just to be able to perform on the show.

Eight models at 5000 linden each is 40,000 lindens.

MATH FOR DESIGNERS

The cost to have a machinima created is about 50,000 to 100,000 lindens for a 1 to 10 minute production. Designers who participate in Spotlight walk away with a 30 minute production that dedicates the entire time to promote their work.

Cost to designers = Pay the models

All I ask from designers is that they pay the models. I suggest an amount because it answers the question “how much?” I call it a “tip” because my suggested amount is only that: A suggestion. The actual amount of the tip is up to the designer. I’m not trying to break anyone’s budget, I just want to the models to get some love from the people they work so hard to please.

HERE’S THE DEAL

Either designers will tip the models, whatever is affordable and reasonable to them, and show them the courtesy they deserve, or they can pay me 55,000 lindens to produce their Spotlight episode and I will pay the models. Then maybe the models can remove their “Will Work For Manicures” tags and I can afford to put gas in my car and stop riding the stupid Metro bus.

gossip – drama – confusion – issues = laundry

Every business has its share of dirty laundry. Sometimes its gossip, sometimes money issues, lack of a solid mission or business plan, sometimes it’s just plain and simple personality conflict, or a poor system for information management. The reason we call it Dirty Laundry is because inside the washing machine, laundry is despoiled without too much damage, and laundry comes out clean.  The washing machine is the equivalent of the organizational structure and its ability to manage diverse teams. Just like laundry at home, dirty laundry requires attention from inside the machine so that people on the outside never have to experience it.

At MODA, we make laundry duty everyone’s job. Not because we have no plan for fire prevention, or extinguishing gossip, but because it’s important to all of us that our models and other family members are comfortable here. MODA is a safe place for those who want to take their careers seriously and to make a difference in their community.

“MODA is a fashion-based entertainment and marketing company that promotes fashion in Second Life with the purpose of providing quality creative content that can be enjoyed both in virtual and in outside life.”

“While our mission is to provide a safe and exciting learning environment for fashion marketing and production professionals, we enjoy the ambition of introducing tangible products to the realm of virtual marketing, education and entertainment.”

There is a lot of new talent in virtual worlds just looking for the shiny lure.  Unfortunately, most find themselves in an empty group, on an inactive team, or having to build what they thought would be there for them.  We try to screen for people who are too attracted to shiny things in the first place.  MODA is a symbol of quality and stability, and finding like-minded members is how we intend to remain this way.  Our screening methods alone have created dirty laundry, as people who were not admitted need to feel justified in their disappointment.  Really though, many of those people have moved on to do great things so why bother with the drama?

We are sorry for those who do not make the cut, and we are sorry for the dirty laundry they sometimes create. All of that mess and drama, however, does not belong to us and we don’t have time to clean other people’s messes.

The bottom line is, as much as we are in the business of training models, we are also in the business of entertaining. We have chosen the path of cleaner laundry, which for us means more emphasis on quality control and training good leaders than on being spun in the media and generating dirty laundry. So if you happen to see soiled personal items laying around, please pick it up yourself or return it to the owner because it won’t belong to MODA.