Experienced DP just replaced by Flip Camera ($229)

[Rob Grauert]

that’s crazy. i couldn’t imagine just walking out of a job like that.

Robert J. Grauert, Jr.
http://www.robgrauert.com
command-r.tumblr.com

[Ned Miller]

Ugh! Here’s a test of 4 one button camera models:

https://webvideouniversity.com/podcast/video/2010/03/05/4-way-camera-shootout-wvu-75/

The reason they are a threat to pros is that all the people who hire us that are afraid of camera controls now only need to press ONE BUTTON! If they figure out how to light and attach a lav mic, why call us?

Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
http://www.bizvideo.com

[Ron Lindeboom]

[Ned Miller] “The reason they are a threat to pros is that all the people who hire us that are afraid of camera controls now only need to press ONE BUTTON! If they figure out how to light and attach a lav mic, why call us?”

Wow, I realize that I am not Monet or Michaelangelo, and that my work is ‘art for the moment’ and is not art for the ages, but just as Microsoft Word did not invent a single new author, I am not convinced that a box with a single button will get the job done either.

A threat to pros? I don’t think so. Well, unless the pros are not very pro. (And yes, Bob Zelin, you can use that one. I stole plenty of yours over the years.)

Best regards,

Ron Lindeboom
CEO, CreativeCOW.net

Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual.

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
– Antoine de Saint Exupéry

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
– Gandhi

Better is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure than to rank with the poor spirits who neither enjoy much, nor suffer much because they live in a gray twilight that knows no victory or defeat. – Theodore Roosevelt

[Randy Wheeler]

I actually just gained a client because of the pocket HD camcorder they tried to use to shoot a demo video of their product that was going to be shown at a convention this week.

This business had many thousands of dollars invested in this product and it really cheapened the appearance of it by using a pocket HD camcorder, especially being all handheld and with the built-in mic for audio. All the video was shaky, jittery, jello-effects, poorly lit and the audio had inconsistent volume levels making hard to hear what some people were saying.

Since they had no time to have me re-shoot everything properly, I showed them how to use what they had for the convention because they didn’t even have a clue on how use what they had.

First they needed me combine all 22 H.264 video clips they had shot into one video and then train them how to play that video in a loop on a large LCD monitor from a laptop that was going to be setup in their booth at a convention the next day.

By the way, the owner of the business called me at 5pm and urgently needed me to work on it that night so that he could have it the next morning to leave for the convention. This is after he had two other experienced video production people try and help him with no luck. I just happened to have experience with and own several pocket HD camcorders so I knew what to do in this situation.

Second, I showed the owner an HD demo video of how much better their video could look if he hired me. He was in shock, asking why did my video so clean and stable looking and not have the jittering, grainy or jello/shakiness that his pocket HD video had. After viewing my demo, he said that I was hired to shoot all their upcoming videos.

I guess the lesson here is you need to learn and embrace new technologies, in this case pocket HD camcorders, that your clients or potential clients are using so that when you are called upon by them like I was to help solve a problem that you can confidently respond and possibly gain a new client.

Randy