Tim works with Dutch Public TV
I first met Tim French when I was at Oxygen Media.
I had come to train 90 VJs to produce their day to day content.
Tim was a staff editor, but he was intrigued by the VJ concept.
When I opened the DV DOJO in the East Village, Tim came to work for me as a trainer there.
When we started the BBC project Tim, and later his wife Kelly, (who was an editor who had done everything from Queer Eye to PBS specials). They became a husband-wife VJ team. Trainers, editors, shooters, producers. A killer pair.
When we did 5Takes, they took off around the world to follow the show, from Singapore to Macchu Picchu. And when I met them, neither even had a passport. From Dutch TV to German to the BBC to KRON to KRN to KGTV to The Travel Channel Academy…
Now, Tim has taken a full time job with The Los Angeles Times, where he will both be a VJ, but will also work on a team that is going to train, as I understand it, more than 100 LA Times staffers to be VJS. (The project is being headed up by Scott Anger, who himself did our bootcamp in Chiang Mai, Thailand way back in 2000).
Well, Los Angeles is a big town, and it’s nice that at least one local media company things you can cover LA with more than 11 crews! I think the LA Times is going to give the local news guys a stroke. And about time.
We’ll sure miss Tim.
But we wish him the best. He has more years of training VJs all over the world than almost anyone else.
And of course, Kelly will still be with us.
And maybe, one day, Tim will come back.
The door is always open, pal.
Meanwhile, mazel tov!
9 Comments
Tony Camilli.. April 03, 2008
YOU GUYS SUCK..!
Rachel A. March 02, 2008
I met Tim in July at the TCA in Silver Spring. He had an amazing amount of patience and experience in helping me learn about Final Cut Pro. I can honestly say that his kindness was one of the highlights of my experience with the Academy. Good luck in LA Tim!
$ February 23, 2008
I’m not a lemming like yourself Cliff.
In fact, you’re not even a good leming!
You claim jumping off the “cliff” into the VJ sea is such a good idea but can’t even do it yourself. Unless it’s to work for free as a VJ and have another job to support yourself in the real world.
I have never claimed to be a VJ.
And never will.
I’m no fool.
Like others.
Cliff Etzel February 23, 2008
$ – prove you can do it better. You’re all talk and no show.
Get 0ver yourself.
Jonathan Sarno February 23, 2008
Tim is a great guy, no question.
I will always be indebted to him for saving me hours of work in Studio DVD , by telling me to get off compressor, really Apple’s most bogus program, and saving in quicktime .
Tim, if you are reading this. THANK YOU. THANK YOU a million times.
Westlake February 23, 2008
Tim won my respect and admiration almost instantly upon our meeting at the BBC Center in Newcastle. His amazing blend of knowledge, professionalism and compassion will surely carry him far beyond the LA basin. Congrats and good luck, buddy. Upload any Line Riders yet?
$ February 22, 2008
Mr. French learned well from Mr. Rosenblum.
Sell one’s self as a teacher.
It beats actually having to do the job.
Weaver February 22, 2008
Does LA really need 100 more camera totin’ newbies chasing after Britney Spears?
(I hope they won’t)
But I’d be interested to see what they DO choose to show as video stories.
What organizations like the LA Times should keep in mind is that although every story can done in print NOT every story can be done (well) in video. And only the stories done well matter because the rest won’t be watched.
Some stories BEG to be covered as a video story as well they should…but 100 stories a day…even 50…hell even 25….I ain’t got time for that.
At some point, regardless of the economy of a one man crew, 100 staffers with cameras waters down the product to the point it’s not worth it.
And as a side note, most of the TV Stations in LA have 30 or so crews on the street every day. That’s plenty.
Avery February 21, 2008
Good luck in Los Angles Tim!
I had the pleasure of meeting Tim at TCA in LA back in September. I could tell as soon as I met him that he was a guy with a lot of talent and over the 4 days of the academy my initial impression was spot on.