Barbara Ellington, Acting Lifestyle Editor
Twenty-five years on, Richard Forbes says he has no plans to retire from Phase 3, as he still has lots left in him. - WINSTON SILL/Freelance Photographer
IT STARTED out as a business operated by the husband-and-wife team Richard and Marcia Forbes, but today their only son Delano, now 27, is very much at the centre of the multimedia giant. Phase 3 is a company that delivers quality services in all areas of multimedia requirements.
Twenty-five years later, the couple is slowly passing on the mantle to son Delano, who was a reluctant participant until 1996 when his father's failing sight and the imminent departure of the company's right-hand man forced him to take up gauntlet. The younger Forbes has come a long way since the days when he was a gofer. He is blossoming into the sort of astute businessman any parent would be proud to have.
The Monday Interview spoke with the trio who, have grown so in sync, they complete each other's sentences like identical twins. They reflected on the past and shared their vision for the future of their dynamic business.
Barbara Ellington: When and how did you start Phase 3?
Marcia Forbes: We started at home with two television programmes, one of which was Trails hosted by Roy Brown. It was shot and edited at home and Delano grew up hearing us edit all night. In some cases, we shot small films on the verandah
BE: When did you move the business out of your home?
MF: In 1986, we operated from home for about four years. It was an invasion our privacy, even with some areas sealed off. We moved to Osborne Road and stayed there till the fire.
BE: How long were you there before the fire?
MF: We were there for about 12 years; the fire began two warehouses away from us and spread to our building.
BE: What did you lose? Everything?
Delano Forbes: My mother was away at a conference in The Bahamas when she got the call, but the staff helped Daddy. Daddy was with a client at the time of the fire; they shouted, 'Fire!' and ran away leaving Daddy alone in the office upstairs. He is diabetic and blind. I was somewhere else and I ran in, asking where my father was? No one could account for him so I went inside to get him out. I had to go through black smoke to get him; he was running around in confusion when I found him.
The building was totally gutted but the people from TVJ came and pitched in to help save some of the tapes and other things. Trevor Johnson, Ray Smith and others were among those who went into the editing suite to salvage our material. I remember taking out a piece of equipment that was brand new technology at the time. I was struggling to take it out and the firemen had to tell me to leave. We got out some significant things.
Later we lost more to corrosion and water damage. We had no insurance; our coverage had run out a few weeks before the fire and Dad was renegotiating reinsurance when the fire happened.
BE: So, you owe your life to your son?
Richard Forbes: Yes, but he didn't save my cane. The person who was with me at the time of the fire did not call and it was six months before I saw him.
BE: Where did Phase 3 go then?
RF: Some friends had migrated, leaving an office building on Shortwood Road; we moved there and it was a volatile area with an area don who immediately began to attempt extortion. Very soon one of his 'foot soldiers' came to ask if we got a letter they had sent us; so I sent for the don.
The office staff took cover when he arrived and when he presented his case about wanting money for children and other things, I told him that I recently had a fire and needed money to rebuild so I was not in a position to help. We packed up Phase 3 and left under three months.
Luckily we had bought our present location because I had seen the model unit when it was just built and we were able to move from Shortwood Road soon after being approached by dons. We were lucky, because this unit was not originally for sale but the owners were understanding and facilitated us.
BE: When you began 25 years ago, did you have a plan that many years into the future this is where you wanted to be?
MF: Richard had a vision that he wanted to build a multi-camera mobile unit; that was always his dream. He was a customs officer before he started this business but he was always into sound. He owned Sounds Impossible Disco and played for many big events.
BE: Mrs. Forbes, were you involved with Phase 3 from the very beginning?
MF: Yes, and it was at a time when this was all very new to Jamaica; we had a video rental business and we started out with a TK750 camera, a small one compared to what we have today. No one knew about fancy lights. We had Umatic Analogue editing suite. Now we are fully digital with the only digital multi-camera truck in Jamaica. We built it, Richard designed it and explained it to Delano, who then drew it. Richard was an artist and had wanted to pursue that as a career but his father would have none of it.
From those modest beginnings, we also now have a fleet of eight trucks; six production vehicles, three Hiace vans; one multi-camera truck and two other trucks that we use for lighting, grip and multimedia work.
The company has grown from traditional videotaping of functions, television commercials and documentaries to offering PA systems, multimedia video projectors to assignments where we provide all the screens in addition to multi-camera television coverage. Under one umbrella, we offer everything. We also have an office at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel where our staff of four offer everything that an audio visual department would need.
BE: What is Phase 3 worth?
MF: We are a multimillion-dollar company. Richard and Delano love to acquire the latest new equipment in the business. I like to amortise the value of equipment quickly. In terms of capital investment, it is millions in equipment alone, and for that level of investment we have the capacity to do up to three times the amount of work we do to justify the spending.
DF: The market in Jamaica is expanding; you have to be good to keep a company our size going.
BE: When an event like the annual Air Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival takes place and local and foreign acts require all the latest in multimedia capabilities, is Phase 3 able to provide that?
DF: Yes, and we have done it. We provide all their multimedia needs; all the sky boxes and plasma screens and we expect them to require more the next year. They respect us. Television production worldwide is changing; we are now coming through what print media went through some years ago. Technology now makes editing systems and cameras much cheaper than they were, and an 18-year-old can take advantage of market entry barriers that have been significantly lowered.
Several years ago the person who wanted to invest in a production company had to have up to US$1 million (J$62 million); now with US$10 (J$620), you can get started. The latest trend is for record producers to buy video editors and cameras to do their own work. The whole model is changing but our major asset is production. CVM, TVJ, CPTC and JIS have one, so we are the only independent owner.
We do DVDs and videotapes of the highest quality and can stand up to world standards
BE: Delano, as a winner of the CBU Best Music Video of the Year award for three consecutive years and a past winner of the Prime Minister's Youth Award for Entrepreneurship, where do you plan to take the company?
DF: Ultimately I would like to see Phase 3 as the largest production company in the Caribbean; that means we will be producing content at a higher level. Becoming the top production company means constantly raising the bar and producing at international standards. It is a bit difficult now and costly to produce quality television programming but through digital cable and digital distribution, there are a number of avenues opening up through which we can play a critical role in supporting Jamaican cable providers.
We are proud of the ICC World Cup Cricket lottery launch. Initially some people felt it could not be done, but we did the live production for the Caribbean and the United Kingdom. We will be meeting with them to discuss the opening ceremony in 2007.
BE: What is the most challenging aspect of running this business?
RF: The fact that we have never had a regular contract. We have had good people like Suzette Patterson who has been with us for 10 years. We go from day to day with repeat business which accounts for 80 per cent of what we do. We can book certain dates annually, but the business
has changed and we have grown. For the future we will be involved in local production and content creation. We will not be involved unless we can produce at First World levels.
I am a perfectionist; I majored in film and television and I insist on the right tools for the job. I have to always balance the artistic and economic sides. You are only as good as your last job, so I often make the sacrifice to guarantee repeat business. I fight constantly with the accountant to achieve the balance between art and economics.
BE: What is the typical work day like for Richard?
RF: Each day starts with taped messages to everyone and I do not erase them till each task is complete. In spite of the blindness, I sometimes go on the road and get involved. I keep all the phone numbers I use on tape too. I have everybody under raps and I go home at about 7:00 in the evenings.
BE: What gives you greatest pleasure in this business?
RF: When we have back-to-back outside broadcasts lined up or when someone says something cannot be done, solving problems and we do it and the client and crew are happy even with back-breaking work. We enjoy trying new things.
BE: How many people do you employ?
DF: We have 14 full-time and another 12 part-time who we constantly use.
BE: What was your most satisfying job?
MF: The years of Reggae Sunsplash. We began in cramped surroundings and went back and forth to Kingston after working all day and night without sleep. We had to move fast to get tapes to the crew on time. I learnt a tremendous amount from the experience; we roughed it but we made tremendous strides and I did everything. Those days Delano worked as cable puller. He once refused, but was severely disciplined by his dad.
BE: Was there any assignment you wish you never had to do?
DF: I don't like the production process for documentaries; it's long with hours of footage. One of the most frustrating was filming a series of cultural documentaries and I went to a Nyabinghi camp and met lots of restrictions. We once had to sponsor all the weed for the ceremony and on top of that, our van was stoned in Bull Bay. Another big challenge is doing jobs for some dancehall elements who refuse to pay. You would be surprised at some of the delinquent clients who suddenly develop cancer of the wallet!
BE: What has surprised you most in your company?
MF: The new unit and its transformation from an old dump of a truck to being designed to something that even foreigners want to copy. At the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) trade show in Las Vegas, the original owners were very surprised too.
DF: For me, it is the next phase of high-definition videos that will make the technology cheaper or sometimes being on assignment and sitting back and seeing that it is all working and it's yours. I enjoy when a foreigner calls and you can speak the language and they don't expect it.
BE: What would you say to someone who wants to get into the business, and Delano, when did you realise you wanted to follow in your parents' footsteps?
DF: It's the most exciting time to get into the business and there are many opportunities, but it's hard work; it's not all glamour and glitz. The most important thing is that when you see us at an event, the back end involves all the work, from editing to spending up to five hours pulling down equipment after a show.
You never really want to do the same thing your parents did, but when Daddy became blind, that was the catalyst. The company was going through a bad phase; Mom was overseas studying and the top technical person was about to leave the company. I jumped in, while still in sixth form. I was sent to a film school for a three-week course. But even at age 11, I travelled with Daddy to choose equipment; I used to study the trade magazines and I enjoyed it so I was learning.
I had an interest in architecture and was even on my way to university overseas but I diverted and I have no regrets. The ability to draw was a big plus. I now do some set design and with my work all the assets I have are key. I wanted to do it but was reluctant but no matter what people say, I have to bring my skills to it.
BE: Will you retire, Richard?
RF: Not at all, I will be here even when I cannot come upstairs. I will remain in the background and give Delano the freedom to spread his wings. Some clients want the youth and some want the wisdom.
Send feedback to Barbara.ellington@gleanerjm.c om.
