Who Are You? What Kind of Video do you Create?

Video production is such a wide and varied field, from hobbyist and amateur producers, to Lone Wolf business people and full-fledged production facilities. Is your interest in editing video production or video production service? Are you a wedding video producer or a newbie looking for advice? Are you making online video or educational video? Video producers come in all flavors and inquiring minds want to know: who ARE you? What kind of video work do you do? Let us know, we're curious about what type of video you make, and for what purpose.

Recently, EarlC, one of Videomaker's moderators, posted a Videomaker Forums Survey looking to answer some questions about the type of video producer who reads Videomaker, either online or in a paper edition, and who reads our forums and who is active on them. As many of you might know, Videomaker forums are chock full of advice from real video professionals working in the trenches – and best of all, they're FREE! How many places can you get service for free, huh?!?!

Looking for help on shooting your first wedding gig? The forums has many users offering advice from finding clients to what to shoot, and they also have great ideas about keeping it legal, using contracts and the pitfalls that might come across your path. Look to forums members Don, WeddingMaster, Composit1 and EarlC, among others who have been running successful wedding or events businesses for years.

Looking to upgrade your Camcorder? The Videomaker forums have pages dedicated to just the gear, and many of the brand names specifically. Many forum members are working with these camcorders in Real World applications, and can offer you an honest opinion that isn't filled with PR chatter. Videomaker forums poster Dagunner says: The forums have helped me choose equipment, software, and methods of setting up, filming, and editing. I learn a lot by looking on here and reading daily. This is like my second home. Thanks to all that share the wisdom!

Trying to Create a Video Production Business? Our forums is the place to be to talk to like-minded people and share your ideas. Many of the forums members on these posts have been working in the business for quite a long time and have good advice for starting out, and ideas for succeeding that you might not have thought about before. Forums moderators and members EarlC, BirdCat, vid-e-o-man and Composit1 know what they're talking about, when they posts, others listen! And you can't beat Grinner's entertaining wisdom and sage advice! Extremely active forums moderator, BirdCat says: I started coming here as a serious hobbyist and now do video pretty much full time. I check these forums at least three times a day now and have them bookmarked on my smartphone…I teach video production… [and] I find that I learn something new almost daily, much of it from the dedicated professionals here as well as from those who are just starting out and ask "why" when an answer is given, challenging me to think of the reasons rather than just "we've always done it that way".

Looking for an Honest Critique of your Video? Our forum members love to watch your videos and will give you a genuine evaluation. Sometimes it might be bit biting, but it's always valid honest criticism that your friends and family might be afraid to say; or when it comes to proper techniques, they might not even know. These critiques help you become a stronger video producer so that your value as a creator can move up several notches. Forums user Charles Schultz says: This is the best forum for videographers if you want to learn about something new or even to have a video critiqued by others in the field.

How do you Stay on the Right Side of the Law? Video production has dangerous waters to wade through sometimes, from copyright issues regarding music in your production to shooting in public places. What are your rights? What can land you in jail? This forums link answers some of those question and many of the moderators and users have 'been there done that' and can help you navigate those shark-infested waters. More more more! There's so much more about the Videomaker forums that readers can take advantage of, and did we mention they're free! From Technical to Techniques, and Festivals and Contests, our forums users can help you figure it out. WSanford says: If you need tech advice you can find that here. Need marketing tips, its here too and everything in between. Some cool surprises as well. You'd never think killer heavy metal music video from the mild mannered avatar of Charles Schultz. Videomaker forums member Lomaymi says in the survey: Videomaker forums is the place to network with other professionals and learn how others are doing in this HARD industry. I like to respond toposts whenever I know about the topic and hoping that my answers can help others. I invite inactive members to participate more. You can learn a lot more helping others or simply extending discussions with related questions. Gilberto adds: I visit daily and I watch the forums carefully. This site has been fantastic for me. I'm learning a little each day. Notes, tips and comments from members like Shaun: At moments like right now, when I'm losing my mind on a new video project, it's really good to know this list is here to educationally distract me from the stress, and give me some solid pointers on how to move forward… and what gear TO and NOT TO get… …. to Palladini971: I am on Yahoo Answers quite a bit, and I often send people here to look at posts for answers, especially if they're asking about syncing audio and video in Consumer Electronics… …. and Ophelia: There is a huge amount of information here and very patient professionals / serious amateurs who donate their time and overtax their synapses for free… demonstrate a trust in Videomaker's forums.

Some forums topics (among many!) include:
Head to Head Compare equipment head to head.
Industry News Discuss the latest here.
Making Profit The various ways in which one can produce video for profit.
Tech Talk Talk about anything Tech related.
Action Sports Specific discussions about action sports video.
Educational Video Specific discussions about video meant to educate.
Commercial Video Specific discussions about video meant to sell something.
Online Video Want to get your video online?
Outdoor Video Any type of video shoot outdoors.
Special Effects Specific discussions about special effects.
Wedding and Event Video Specific discussions about event-specific video.
Worship Video Specific discussions about any type of worship video.
Legal Issues Discussions of legal issues surrounding video production.

The Videomaker forum is a great place to meet-n-greet and get answers to your burning video producing questions! Please fill out the survey, check out the forums, and let us know what you think and tell us who you are and why you're here!

Jennifer O’Rourke is an Emmy award-winning videographer & editor.