http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ Videomaker Community Forums » Tag: videography - Recent Posts en Fri, 17 Feb 2012 05:37:03 +0000 http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/working-for-free#post-74097 Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:56:34 +0000 Petar 74097@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Me no expert but you need to do some projects for free for confidence and respect, only you can decide when you start charging people for your work. You dont have to be scared if you ask money for your work its how business works.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/working-for-free#post-73829 Sat, 07 Jan 2012 11:58:52 +0000 vid-e-o-man 73829@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>&nbsp;Mark, you might start your search for a name for your company at your state's attorney general's office. My state has a fictious name registry. You decide on a name and check with them about it's use. Your state may be different but worth looking into. In my state the fee for name registry is nominal and is good for a number of years and easy to renew.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/working-for-free#post-73821 Sat, 07 Jan 2012 01:43:39 +0000 Mark 73821@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Earl -</p> <p>yes I do most of y forum searching at night, when the kids are asleep. And when I came up with this handle, I was a big wrestling fan. I am all over the internet as stonecoldmark, so I just keep running with it. It's not often someone calls me out on it.</p> <p>I am just starting to get my feet wet with the marketing. However I did run into a problem with a video company already having a name that me and my brother in law picked out. So we are going back to the drawing board. I've tried contacting a few of the places you recommend for video work, but so far nothing. but I am going to be working on getting my website, facebook and twitter all situated for all things dealing with Videography. I am also looking into the direct mailing that you speak of. I have made a list of 10+ places so far and plan on keeping a running log that I am eventually going to enter into a database and print off labels. I'm also going to be putting a reel together to show the different things I have recorded for people over this past year. It's quite diverse.</p> <p>Love the tips, keep 'em coming!</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/delivering-hd-to-clients#post-73183 Tue, 06 Dec 2011 01:09:17 +0000 Mark 73183@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Thanks, I am just trying to gather information about all of this. In 2012 I am going to make a serious attempt at creating a business around doing video for all sorts of events. I, much like WSanford, have thus far only worked on stuff for the web, so file size has not been a big deal, but I think about the possibility of doing a few weddings for some $$ right away, and I wanted to know what people are delivering these days. These are a lot of great ideas. Very much appreciated.</p> <p> </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/delivering-hd-to-clients#post-73182 Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:13:36 +0000 langel 73182@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p> HDD, thumbs, BD, online, depending on size, structure and money.</p> <p>As birdcat says, you can use DVD for smaller projects.</p> <p>What's more interesting, you may write your HD work on a DVD not only as a file.</p> <p>You may create a Blu-ray project with a menu, export it to an .iso file and burn it on a blank DVD. It will play with full functionality on standart BD players and, of course on any comp as well. </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/delivering-hd-to-clients#post-73154 Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:08:55 +0000 WSanford 73154@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p> A lot of finished product I do now is intended for the net so that takes care of itself. Doing a lot more FTP or yousendit type than sending drives or discs right now. However, if the projects were longer that would likely be the way to go.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/delivering-hd-to-clients#post-73144 Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:25:56 +0000 birdcat 73144@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>You can also get 8.5GB on a DL DVD so you can deliver HD as .M2V files that way as well (if they'e small enuf).</p> <p>Most of my clients who want HD however, want BD or online delivery (YouTube, Vimeo, etc...).</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/delivering-hd-to-clients#post-73054 Sun, 04 Dec 2011 04:54:47 +0000 EarlC 73054@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I personally think the jury is still out on BluRay disc delivery, what with most home systems having uprez capabilities and even 4:3 SD footage not looking half bad in the viewing, except of course for the purists among us.</p> <p>However, I suspect that HD deliver on a hard drive would prove cheaper, on average, than setting up and delivering on a thumb drive based on cost per GB. I wrote a blog article about delivering on thumb drives, particularly the high costs of ordering custom branded thumb drives for distribution, noting that while it might have a certain "wow" factor, the practicality and economics sucked. But that old opinionated me.</p> <p>If you've read many of my offerings on the forums you know I continue to experience decent business levels while still offering SD production, though I intend to move into HD ... but still do not get much demand for it from my event and individual clients, and I can rent units when doing commercial work that requires it. Even then I usually deliver to commercial clients on hard drive, factoring in the costs.</p> <p>But, if/when BluRay becomes a demand item in my preferred market area I certainly believe that it is probably most economical to simply use, burn and deliver on BluRay disks to the end client ... all things considered.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/working-for-free#post-73053 Sun, 04 Dec 2011 04:45:10 +0000 EarlC 73053@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Running into you a lot tonight, well wee hours of a Sunday morning for me ... sleepless in Southern California. R U any relation to Stone Cold Steve Austin? Just kidding ...</p> <p>A day rate is good to have, depending on what you're working/bidding. So is a half-day rate. NOTE: half day rate is usually higher, on average, for 4-6 hours, than a day rate for 8-12 hours, sort of develops an incentive for the client to go with the DAY rate, as it saves them some money in the event production goes south and can't wrap in half-a-day.</p> <p>I keep my math simple and try to average a $70 per hour rate (used to have two, one for shooting, one for editing, but ...) and occasionally do better than that, but sometimes do worse. I usually use my target hourly fee as the basis for flat fee or turnkey estimates ... not always a win-win, especially if you're a bit too optimistic on how quickly you can get the work done.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/delivering-hd-to-clients#post-73049 Sun, 04 Dec 2011 02:44:05 +0000 Mark 73049@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I am new to videography, but I am about to embark on a career in it. </p> <p>I have not had to do this yet, but as I get more into event recording I am sure I will have to deliver HD video. It seems to me that burning Blu-Ray is very expensive. I have seen videographers put the files on Flash Drives and deliver them that way, I wanted to know how people in this forum are delivering finished HD content to clients, and what one would charge.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/working-for-free#post-73046 Sun, 04 Dec 2011 02:05:57 +0000 Mark 73046@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>WOW! What a great topic to just stumble upon. I am at this stage right now. I decided to go back to school last Fall (2010), and during that time, I did not mind working for free, I was gaining experience shooting all sorts of different video, and recently did a job for a charity that turned out to be the most professional thing I have done. </p> <p>I am currently finishing up my last 2 weeks of schools, and I have two more obligations to do for free and I have decided that at the beginning of the new year I am no longer working for free.</p> <p>The other question I have is I have no idea what one would charge per day. It seems on here $500 is considered a 1/2 day of expenses. Does that mean that most Videographers are charging $1K/day? I find it hard to believe that there are that many people out there charging $1K/day.</p> <p>What about editing, I am also positioning myself to edit the content as well. That is a separate fee, what do people charge for editing? That of course is in many ways more time consuming than shooting.</p> <p>-stonecoldmark</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/what-to-shoot#post-72106 Fri, 04 Nov 2011 10:56:52 +0000 birdcat 72106@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Same as in still photography - document life - just in motion and with sound</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/what-to-shoot#post-72103 Fri, 04 Nov 2011 09:57:06 +0000 Don 72103@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>start by shooting your photoshoots..</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPvwl3tNqQg" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPvwl3tNqQg</a></p> <p> </p> <p>worked for me..</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/what-to-shoot#post-72102 Fri, 04 Nov 2011 09:48:15 +0000 EarlC 72102@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>As Videoman says, but also there is the potential for development of a huge personal library of living scenes like V-man so poetically noted. Given the time, proper equipment and love for say, nature or even planes, trains and automobiles; also sunsets, sunrises, moon and clouds, trees, birds, waterways, waterfalls, beaches, oceans, rivers and lakes, storms ...</p> <p>... the subject matter is virtually endless. The beauty of this is if you capture enough variations of, well even flags for example: flags with clouds in the background, birds flying past, a jet in the background, HUGE flags and miniature flags, flags in groups, stand alone (you get the idea). You develop a portfolio of video clips of these and can eventually offer an extensive selection that will market well.</p> <p>The things in life that you love and enjoy, from puppies and parrots to babies and mature adults, and everything else that hammers our senses on a daily basis, can be rewarding and instructional at the same time while building your experience and at the same time developing footage that somebody somewhere would be willing to pay for to use.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/what-to-shoot#post-72101 Fri, 04 Nov 2011 07:39:39 +0000 vid-e-o-man 72101@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Ahmad, shooting landscapes with a still camera gives you one moment in time. Shooting the same landscape in video will give you motion, the motion of the camcorder in relation to the scenery, or you can capture the effect of wind on the trees, hear the rustling of leaves, spot a bird flying through the frame, etc. Some say that audio is at least half of the video experience. In photography there is no audio unless you create a slide show with an audio bed underneath it. This is actually simulating video! I find that shooting video at non-event situations (landscapes, wildlife, etc.) to be very satisfying, although not usually as income-producing as shooting events. As you develop your skills with the still camera, you will also be developing skills that will carry over to video if you choose to go in that direction. A lot of us who video have some background with still photography. keep shooting.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/what-to-shoot#post-72097 Fri, 04 Nov 2011 04:58:33 +0000 Ahmad 72097@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Hello, i am a beginner photographer i want to get into videography but i just want to know something before i buy a camera, If i won't shoot weddings or events what will i shoot ?? i mean, in photography you can shoot anything like landscapes or anything but in videography if there's nothing happening, what will i shoot ?? i need ur advice :)</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/working-for-free#post-70624 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:10:39 +0000 John Tate 70624@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>&nbsp;If you believe you have enough work under your belt so you have good sample footage of your work, and your now confident/know the ropes. Then yes start charging. "Yeah i can edit this film for you, i'm going to have to charge a fee though" Work out a deal, if they insist on not paying say your going to have to pass then.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/dslr-vs-prosumer-camcorder#post-70034 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 04:49:43 +0000 R23 70034@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>&lt;p style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; margin: 8px;"&gt; </p> <p>Hi, I had Gh1 then waited for the red sub 2k price tag camera, which failed to emerge. With that said i moved to the Canon 550d. This gave me the shots that were perfect for B Roll stuff, but i always had some kind of back up camera to get the full shot on a tripod.</p> <p>I must say its a very deep dark hole which has a steep learning curve for beginners. Also the extras you need to bring with you ie: lights, sound, and all the rest. I think thats one of my issues with the prosumer camera kits, you need to have a army with you. I try to reduce in every way my kit or rigs, this create a less intrusive and intimidating environment for the subject who is being filmed.</p> <p>In terms of the hate towards youtube uploader's, well I think they are destroying the industry but at the same time created a bigger industry online with lower overhead global present and cost effective. The playing ground is almost even, which means quality and production time and cost will reduce at first and then creativity will rise. Oh i don't do wedding's, nice events but its not the way i'm going.</p> <p>Oh here's one i shot with the 550D.</p> <p><a href="http://youtu.be/YJYnOE_2L4E" rel="nofollow">http://youtu.be/YJYnOE_2L4E</a></p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/working-for-free#post-68050 Tue, 17 May 2011 18:45:40 +0000 SargeHero 68050@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Aaaaa...working for free, been there, done that. I worked for free initially to gain some experience, but later on you really need to say, "okay, no more free gigs from me". Like Composite mentioned,<em> "keep an eye out for folks who are just trying to hook you in to get free labor", </em> those people are everywhere in the world, you just need to be firm when is time to ask for money. At first is a little scary, but if you don't learn how to do this, the "parasites" will eat you. What I do is start with a high price and keep negotiating until me and the client agree on the price. </p> <p>One thing I do for free is church and family members social activities. I get some income by selling DVD and the good thing is that church and family members market your product, increasing the chances of selling DVD. A family member of mine manage to get me 25 DVD to sell at $15 each. I'm editing a church activity and they are making a list of people interested in buying DVD (around 10 people right now). For the church the DVD is $20, but I'm donating $5 for each DVD I sell to the church. This is a good strategy because people could buy the DVD to make a donation to their church and preserve and amazing DVD. </p> <p>You are going to learn many things along the way, just don't stop learning. If you are going to work for free be sure to do gigs in which you can learn more than you already know. </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/working-for-free#post-68042 Tue, 17 May 2011 13:22:42 +0000 Tim 68042@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Great advice.  Thank you guys.  It's tough having bills and live and still keep at it.  You've bee a big help though.  If've any of you are in Dallas drop me a message.  I'm open to work on whatever's going on.  Thanks again.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/working-for-free#post-68019 Mon, 16 May 2011 15:22:16 +0000 composite1 68019@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Tim,</p> <p>Grinner called the ball on this one. I'll add that you'll also need to keep an eye out for folks who are just trying to hook you in to get free labor. There are dump truck loads of parasites out there like that who prey upon newbies trying to break in. That said, I've done in-house gigs where we weren't paying. However, nobody got paid on those gigs (including me) and I made that plain. </p> <p>On the other hand, I made it worth the while for those who worked those gigs with perks on the job and covered their meals, lodging and transportation while they were on location. That and they all got paraphernalia swag associated with the project and a first run pressed copy of the final product. Anyone who works those freebies get first call for crew and such during paying gigs. Most of the people I work with regularly all did a freebie either initially or later on.</p> <p>Before hooking up on a freebie, ask around for people who've worked with that producer/production company before and see how they are about giving 'reach arounds'. If they turn out to be a 'one-way' outfit (you work one for free then find your way out the door) give them the 'thanks but no thanks'. Now, if you find a project you're enthused about just make sure whoever you work with is good about giving what was promised. Credits and Reel fodder (as Grinner called it) are only good if you actually get them.</p> <p>Hard truth is; when you're just a student or an otherwise newb trying to break in, you're going to have to do some freebies. Just pick and choose when and how many you do wisely. In the meantime, network with the people you work with as more often than not, newb's get picked up for crews because somebody knows them because they worked them before. </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/working-for-free#post-67989 Sun, 15 May 2011 06:12:23 +0000 grinner 67989@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p> Nobody should work for free unless they are passionate about the charity. That said, we've all done gigs for no currency.... in trade for the other benefits involved, be in contacts, reel fodder, or that client's name on our resume. That's all you have to weigh... can you afford the time invested knowing it'll pay no bills that month and how many bills with that pay down the road. </p> <p>Free is subjective sometimes too. Even spec gigs will cover expenses sometimes and owning your own gear, of course you have xpenses even if you don't whoop up a b udget for a shoot. Meaning, you can always counter with, I don't mind doing a spec gig for you t his time as way of introducing myself, how about a check for 500 to cover my costs then we'll negotiate pricing on the next one? As you know that paints you in a corner because they'll ALWAYS expect the same time next time but in their mind you are doing it for nada and possinly in yours you squeezed at least a half day's pay out of it. </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/working-for-free#post-67988 Sun, 15 May 2011 03:46:26 +0000 WSanford 67988@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>&nbsp;Its not just in video, its in every walk of life. Not only is there a sucker born every minute but ten of those looking to take advantage of each of those suckers.</p> <p>It may seem easy to get caught up in the trap of doing "Pro Bono" work to build a portfolio and get some references that will sing your praises but more like giving into the easy way that never seems to work out. Once you start working for someone for free or even at the "Best Buddy" cut rate, they won't ever be able to understand the full rate or your real worth.</p> <p>It may seem like a longer road but don't cut yourself short. If you take care of yourself first you can take care of a family and then any charity you wish but if you let the charity work run the show you'll never get anywhere.</p> <p>There are some cases where it wouldn't hurt to help someone out but IMHO you don't ever want it to lead to "Go talk to this guy, he's cheap". <a href="http://shouldiworkforfree.com/clean.html">http://shouldiworkforfree.com/clean.html</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/working-for-free#post-67987 Sun, 15 May 2011 03:04:37 +0000 vid-e-o-man 67987@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Tim, probably just about everybody on this forum has struggled with this. You will have to gain enough confidence in yourself and your abilities as a videographer, producer etc. to feel comfortable actually charging for your work. This confidence may only come with some amount of 'free' work. Maybe the best way to make this transition is to set some goals for yourself. Tell yourself that you will shoot 'x' amount of interviews or events or video resumes for actor etc. before you begin to charge for this work. Stick to your schedule and announce when you reach 'x + 1' that your schedule has become crowded and you can only fit paying gigs in. As you gain experience from these freebies, make sure that you get in writing that you retain rights to your work so you can use it for your video resume that you will use to promote yourself. Keep shooting.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/working-for-free#post-67985 Sun, 15 May 2011 02:09:42 +0000 Tim 67985@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I've just moved to a large metro area and have networked with several groups, mainly artists and performers, that have opened up a great number of opportunities for video work for me.  I'm a film student right now, but I've been doing video for around 7 years now.  My dilemma is that a lot of people come to me asking me to help them out by producing a video on the grounds that it'd be good experience, build my resume, spread my name...ect.  I realize that to a degree situations like that are true.  I just don't know at what point I can say "Ok, but you have to pay me." I want to build resume and all that, but honestly I'm afraid of becoming the guy that works for free.</p> <p>Any advice.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/2011-wedding-demo-with-canon-7d-and-xdcam#post-66448 Tue, 15 Mar 2011 20:52:14 +0000 tylerknight 66448@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>that was beautiful period. Very well done man loved the mix of shots and the vows part at the end was amazing! keep it up </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/2011-wedding-demo-with-canon-7d-and-xdcam#post-66432 Tue, 15 Mar 2011 09:30:48 +0000 macelroy 66432@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Thanks for watching <strong><a href="../../members/vid-e-o-man/">vid-e-o-man</a>. </strong>Thanks for the suggestions!</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/2011-wedding-demo-with-canon-7d-and-xdcam#post-66409 Mon, 14 Mar 2011 07:51:49 +0000 vid-e-o-man 66409@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p> macelroy, great job, lots of great shots, enjoyed the music intertwined with the video. I noticed the use of a physical object as a transition element, side of bed, side of pew, column. Maybe this would make a great theme throughout the video but this would make for a lot pre-planning while shooting on locations at weddings, at receptions, field locations, etc. Keep shooting.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/2011-wedding-demo-with-canon-7d-and-xdcam#post-66405 Mon, 14 Mar 2011 05:10:02 +0000 macelroy 66405@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Hello All, just wanted to showcase our new 2011 Wedding Demo Reel. </p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFcPNMxAqCI&amp;feature=player_embedded" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFcPNMxAqCI&amp;feature=player_embedded</a></p> <p>Enjoy. </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/how-much-should-i-charge-1#post-66085 Fri, 04 Mar 2011 11:34:49 +0000 Scott Memmott 66085@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Ronzig, please note that we do not tolerate disrespectful communication. Thank you to those who have made an effort to respectfully answer @filmer77's question.  This topic is being closed to avoid any additional disrespectful comments.</p>