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Newbie question re freelance
Sorry for the basic nature of this post.
I have been using Final cut for about a year now on my own after taking some courses at a local digital arts college. I would like to move into this field in a more professional capacity but I am unsure what would be the best way. I have a opportunity to do some freelance work after putting out some feelers by offering my services for free so that I could build a demo reel and gain some experience. Problem is Im not super confident of my knowledge of how to capture the clients rough footage if its not in the form im familiar with (HD mini DV tape) what form does this usually take?..do they bring it to your office?…upload to a ftp site? copy to DVD? and what if its on say a P2 card? this is something I have not had to think about before and i’m drawing a blank on anything I may have learned about this.
Also, can anyone make a recommendation on the best way to proceed for me to enter this field successfully?..One thing I am concerned is that my age (late 40’s) may make it difficult,unlikely or un desirable to attain a “junior” type position so thats why I am attempting to learn as much as I can on my own.
Thanks
Chris -
2 Replies
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Generally, when you’re providing post production services, your client will give you the footage (be it tape, card, whatever), and it’s your responsibility to deliver them a final project in the format that they specify.
The technical side of post production is constantly evolving, and difficult to learn without hands-on experience. The COW forums are your next best bet – read them daily to get a snapshot as to the problems that working professionals are running into with their gear.
However, I wouldn’t recommend jumping into paying work cold, without the required technical knowhow (although that seems to be a popular choice with some folks who post here). The time you spend chasing down tech issues will seriously eat into your bottom line, if you don’t know what you’re doing.
I’d suggest partnering with a larger post house or a rental house in your area. If you’ve got the work coming in, they could help guide you through the technical – either by renting you decks, or handling your ingests and outputs, while you do the editing work.
Or, look to hire an Assistant Editor, who can come in at the beginning and end of your jobs and guide you through the technical process.
Regarding your second question, please describe your system, location, and what type of work that you do (event, commercial, broadcast, etc.). Also, I’d recommend reading the _entirety_ of the Business/Marking forum here on the COW. It’s amusing, and you’ll learn a lot.
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Thank you for your reply Bill, thats good advice.
I have a MacPro 2 x 2.8 Quad core intel Xeon, 2GB ram which im upgrading to 4, ATI Radeon HD2600, 1 Terrabyte of storage on two internal hard drives, Final Cut studio 2, Canon HV20 for shooting my own stuff.
Im in Vancouver, Canada. And the work I have been contacted about is mostly web based for comedy shows, music etc.
Thanks again for the info, I will definitely check out the business/marketing forum.
Chris
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