I QUIT…. Working for nothing.

[Scott Sheriff]

[Walter Soyka] “The camera operator has the same protection here that a tradesman does — you have to physically be at the shoot”

Robotics. How many studio camera ops have been replaced by the TD pushing the ‘weather pre-set 2’ button?
There is robotics on remotes too. Maybe not as much, but it’s there and more is coming.

Scott Sheriff
SST Digital Media
Multi-Camera Director, VFX and Post Production

The Affordable Camera Dolly is your just right solution!

“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair

[Michael Hendrix]

Hey, one less person I have to compete with!!!!

[Walter Soyka]

[Scott Sheriff] “Robotics. How many studio camera ops have been replaced by the TD pushing the ‘weather pre-set 2’ button? There is robotics on remotes too. Maybe not as much, but it’s there and more is coming.”

When I wrote that, I actually wondered if robotics would come up — but it still illustrates my point about adaptation. If robotics kill the market for camera operators (which I think they only can in select circumstances like news studios for the foreseeable future), then a smart camera operator might consider climbing the chain of value and becoming a robotic camera-savvy TD.

And let’s be honest — if one guy who is already doing another job on the shoot can also do your job with a couple more buttons on his switcher, then you are clearly not adding a lot of value.

If you are not adding a lot of value, but if you cost a lot, it’s just a matter of time until you are replaced by someone or something. That is the time to start looking around and figuring out how you might adapt.

Again, it’s not rainbows and butterflies, and there’s no step-by-step workflow that will guarantee results. It’s reality, and anyone who wants to stay in any business — not just in this industry — has got to figure out for himself how to deal with it. You need to recognize when you’ve got it good, you need to recognize when it’s going to go bad (before it actually gets bad!), and you need to re-position yourself in the market to stay in business.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Andy Jackson]

Well you won`t be competing with anyone if there is no work to compete with!!!

[Mark Suszko]

What have you got to lose?

[Craig Seeman]

Ahh, I get it. Produce self help videos and make millions.

“I’m OK, You’re Shooting 1080p30”

“How to Win Friends and Influence Clients”

“How to Stop Worrying and Start Slating”

“Who Moved my Record Button”

“The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Line Producers”

“Men are from Mars, Woman are from Venus, Art Directors are from a small planet orbiting a Red Dwarf in Andromeda”

[Scott Sheriff]

[Craig Seeman] “Ahh, I get it. Produce self help videos and make millions.

“I’m OK, You’re Shooting 1080p30”

“How to Win Friends and Influence Clients”

“How to Stop Worrying and Start Slating”

“Who Moved my Record Button”

“The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Line Producers”

“Men are from Mars, Woman are from Venus, Art Directors are from a small planet orbiting a Red Dwarf in Andromeda””

LMFAO!

Scott Sheriff
SST Digital Media
Multi-Camera Director, VFX and Post Production

The Affordable Camera Dolly is your just right solution!

“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair

[Mick Haensler]

A recent conversation with a client we just signed:

ME: This video is a great idea, how do you plan on using it?

CLIENT: What do you mean?

ME: I mean, when I hand over the final product, what happens then?

CLIENT(starting to look uncomfortable): Well you know, put it on Youtube…stuff like that.

ME: Tell me about “stuff like that”

CLIENT: You know, Social Media…Facebook….stuff like that…

ME: I see. Before this meeting, I took the liberty of finding out about your company by doing a comprehensive analysis of your online presence. Which brings us to a crossroads in this conversation. I can give you a price on the video you want, produce it, hand it over to you, get paid and call it a day. Or….I can tell you what I found.

CLIENT: Uuuuuhmmmm…..do we really want to know???

I then proceeded to tell the client more about their company than they knew themselves, including that they didn’t even own their own website domain or have any metadata at all. They were for all intensive purposes, invisible. One week later, my new partner and I did a presentation for the Sales and Marketing Department outlining an online strategy in great detail that if they bought, would be worth 6 times the cost of producing the video to my company. We GAVE them this information freely. We SHOWED them that we weren’t some company out for a quick buck, we wanted a RELATIONSHIP with them. Yesterday, I picked up the signed proposal and deposit for producing the video and we are about 95% confident that they will buy the marketing proposal. This isn’t some little startup either, this is a 60 million dollar a year international company with production plants in several companies. The lead came through a Social Media contact. Furthermore, I just had a very productive conversation with the PRESIDENT of the wholesale company that distributes my clients products. He is very interested to see what we do and wants to meet in 6 months to discuss what my company can do for them. Tomorrow I am having lunch with an old friend who recently started working for a 160 million dollar non profit that needs some serious help, both media wise and marketing. If you are not adding value to what you do and are not sincere about your client’s success beyond your own gains, you will not survive this new landscape.

Everyone has access to the tools now. There is no reason for a client to hire you if you are not bringing added value to the table.

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

[Mark Suszko]

Awesome news, Mick. To me, what it points out is that our job isn;t just production, and never was. production is one facet of the main job which is TO SOLVE THE CLIENT’S COMMUNICATION PROBLEM.
Sometimes that means make a video, sometimes it means nixing that and goin in another direction. And sometimes it means assessing the underlying foundations and needs, and telling the client what they didn’t know.

Now, Mick is taking a risk in laying out his advice for free, sure. Some low-baller could undercut him, or some guy in the company can say they can handle this. But the odds are good Mick gets the job because he’s already proven he knows what’s going on. When somebody works that hard for your business, you’d be smart to give them your business.

Looking forward to the follow up and the happy ending.

[Andy Jackson]

Mick this all sounds a bit far fetched to me!

A company who makes multi millions and you proceeded to tell the client ” that you knew more about their company than they knew themselves, including that they didn’t even own their own website domain or have any metadata at all”

Im sure their marketing department knows what their doing and `I`m sure they would own their domain name.

This Is Total Rubbish!!

Then you have a meating with a president of another multi million company. Your a video producer not a shareholder. You would be lucky to get past the receptionist.

After reading your profile it seems your ego and dreams seem to be getting ahead of you and slightly exaggerated.

I would not read into anything in this post!