New Business

[Kc Allen]

I agree mostly with everyone here. Royalty-Free music has a nice catalog of stuff too – we buy the StudioCutz library. We also get Digital Juice’s StackTraxx, and occasionally visit MusicBakery.com for something different. I really like their music.

Buy a camera. Don’t rent a camera. If you own it you have the time to create things for your reel. You have time to get to know the camera, get used it, get comfortable with it, and it’s always available. During downtime you can take the camera places and just create. Be artistic, shoot a short movie. I agree that the HVX200 is not the best choice. For the money, the Sony XDCam-EX is getting great reviews, and it doesn’t use out-of-date architecture like the HVX200. The HVX200 is a great camera, don’t get me wrong, but the PCMCIA cards it uses are old news. The EX uses SxS cards which will slide nicely into your MacBookPro. The two cams are relatively similar in price, too, and FCP supports the XDCam with no problems. I use it’s older, bigger brother, the XDCam HD 350.

The only downside to using tapeless media is the folks who will want you to tape the event and hand it over to them for editing. If that happens, then you can rent. Beta Cams are a dime a dozen. They’re everywhere. So are MiniDV cams.

For business, you might try aligning yourself with local graphic designers or advertising agencies. At least be their friend and let them know you exist should they get a request for some video.

Another great way to pay the bills early on is to do TV commercials. Yes, they suck. No, they don’t pay well…but they pay. In a small market it’s a great way to get your name out fast. Also, join a Chamber of Commerce and offer to do work for them. Join networking groups. One big decision is to decide whether or not to do weddings. Some people say that either you’re a pro, or you do weddings. Others keep weddings in their business plans because they’re pretty profitable most of the time. I personally don’t do them – anymore.

KC Allen
Allen Film & Video

“Who’s the more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows?”