For the first time in history a documentary was filmed entirely by chimpanzees. It aired last night on the British Broadcasting Channel (BBC). Though this was a great idea for a nature documentary (and an even better idea in regards to budget since the crew worked for free), it kind of made me sad for the following reasons:

1. According to chimpcam.com, the idea came to producer John Capener as he was watching a documentary. The documentary was filmed so poorly that he thought, “a chimp could have shot this!” It was at this point he began to research how to go about using chimpanzees for the crew of his next documentary.

2. If you’ve seen the teaser for Natural World: The Chimpcam Project, you may agree: humans have shot footage more poorly composed and less compelling than the footage the chimps managed to capture.

3. We’re one step closer to realizing that the movie Planet of the Apes is actually not that far-fetched.

All kidding aside, it is a creative approach to the typical nature documentary. And, in all fairness, the chimps did get some instruction prior to their attempt at being videographers. It’s a nice reminder, however, that if we don’t continue to learn and perfect our craft, someone, someday may replace us with our budget-friendly, water-fearing friend, the chimp.

Check out our tips on basic video production and how to make a video better than a chimp.

What value does a professional video producer place on their work? What happens when you contract video work for hire and the client doesn’t honor the work? What price pro for hire?

A couple years ago,  I received a phone call from a woman in tears. She’s a good client of a friend of mine and the caller was going through some deep personal drama. Her mother had just days to live, and she was looking for someone to make a memorial video for the funeral. Knowing I offer this service, my friend, Cathy, suggested she give me a call. I offered my condolences, gently tried to explain to her that time was of essence, and she’d need to get photos to me as soon as possible and I’d make a nice piece for her. “Thank you,” she said, “my mother was a wonderful woman and deserves the best”. I then quoted her a price of $300 and she hesitated… and said she’d get back to me.

A week later, another associate told me she had contacted him, stating I was asking too much money, and she offered him $100 to do it and he turned her down. She then went to the person who manages her website, and he agreed to do it for $150.
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