To Andrew Ross Rowe, the world is his office. As the founder and owner of Mega Megapixel, a New York-based video production company, he specializes in making documentary pieces, news segments and buzzy commercials for clients as diverse as Dell, BuzzFeed and Walmart. But of all his gear, it’s his mobile device, he swears, that is the one piece of equipment that truly keeps his enterprise buzzing. From location scouting to mobile banking, he shares, in his own words, how he makes the most of his smartphone—so you can, too.
MASTER THE BASICS
“It sounds obvious, but text messaging and email are key communications tools for anyone running a small business, and especially for me when I’m needing to quickly connect with my staff across a large set. Using my phone’s timer and alarm settings when I’m in the middle of a production also helps keep everyone on track and makes sure we accomplish everything on the schedule for that day. For days where we have a shoot with multiple locations, I also rely heavily on my phone’s maps functions to make sure we don’t get stuck in any traffic and that everyone arrives on time.”
TALENT NEEDS
"Using my phone to sign talent releases and location agreements is great, especially because no one-least of all me!-wants to lug a stack of paper with them. I can also use my phone in conjunction with my tablet to set up an emergency teleprompter while I'm out in the field. It helps actors deliver their lines and the mobile setup keeps costs down and is always helpful to have on hand."
BIG PICTURE THINKING
"One thing that may be somewhat unique to my business is using my phone in scouting and framing scenes before any crew even get there. I use the camera to take pictures of locations so I can visually explain to my director of photography the kind of movements I'd like to see in our video. I can send them constant updates from the road so they'll know exactly what we need to make our shoots happen. That has saved my life a million times."
SOUND OPINION
"I also love the voice recorder function, so that I can take notes during all our pre-production meetings. That way, I have all of my client's requests in one place without needing to use a laptop or computer, and I can always meet their spec in full detail."
PAYING IT FORWARD
"After shoots, I use my mobile banking apps to send invoices to all my clients. I also use them to see if I've been paid or not, and to send reminders to my clients that their payments are due. Once those come in, I can pay my vendors-and myself-through my phone. The quicker I can pay, the happier the people I work with are. That's always a notification everyone loves to get!"
Looking for more tips on how to use your device for your business needs? Check out New Travel Trend: Welcome to the World of Bleisure Travel.