THE CALLING OF THE COMPANY MAN

I got a message via youtube about the use of footage I’d taken of the skull and the crocodile being painted on Westmoreland House, footage I’d used to make the film ‘The Wall’. I’d been asked a few months earlier by a representative of the artists who wanted some stills for an exhibition in Leeds and London of their work. I dropped the DVDs I burned for them off at the Here Shop on the corner of Ashley and Stokes as agreed.
This time the request was for the footage to be used by a film company based in Bedminster who’re making a programme about street art and graffiti, mostly in Bristol. It’ll be shown 26th May, ITV West.
I’d texted the rep last night saying ok and he’d texted, ‘Can you make me a copy of the film? I gave mine to someone in Leeds.’
This morning he phoned, ‘I’m on the train,’ he said and the signal and reception was poor so it was difficult to understand what he was saying and I said, ‘It’s difficult to understand what you’re saying.’
I said he could give my number to the man from the film company and within a minute of saying goodbye to Rep, Company Man phoned and I said a time he could call round.
Three fifteen and CMan arrived. I’d prepared everything he might want. First we tried to put it on a DVD but there was too much of it although I made room on my hard drive thinking that was the location of the error...
...then CMan said, ‘You got an ethernet cable?’
The ethernet cable runs from the modem to the computer. I unplugged the modem end, plugged into CMan’s laptop, a MacBook.
‘My daughter’s got one of those,’ I said.
‘They’re the best,’ he said.
An icon for his laptop appeared on my desktop. I dragged and dropped an eight gig file that took minutes to transfer.
‘This is good quality,’ he said then made a phone call. ‘Some of this is really good quality,’ he said, ‘You’d never know it was from a stills camera...er, yeh, almost done.’
I ejected his icon and he unplugged the ethernet cable.
‘If there’s anything we can do for you anytime then e-mail,’ he said. ‘But make sure you say you’re the man gave us the footage so we know who you are.’
‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘I’ll show you out.’
We shook hands and after closing the door behind him but before I’d turned the key in the lock I heard the lift arrive.