[Chas Smith]

Liability / Property Damage Policy for AV production.

I feel your pain Stephen. Before I got out on my own, I saw too many accidents made by inexperienced PA’s doing dumb stuff like burning ceilings with bounce-light, scratching up wood flooring with crates & stands, scarring up walls or worse. So when I got my name as the responsible party I got insurance. I’ve had it for several years and never had a claim. Now it’s almost doubled and I’m a bit chagrined.

I’ve had to lower my rates to be competitive in my business yet insurance companies keep raising their rates. So I’m looking for some coverage at a lessor premium. If I don’t get coverage, I may not get gigs because a lot of the companies ask if I’m insured and sometimes request proof (which I don’t blame them).

[Chas Smith]

Thanks again John. For the price and package, this little cam packs in a lot of stuff. Not going to replace my main gear, but for special applications and convenience… not a bad little tool to add to the gear bag.

Chaz

[Chas Smith]

Thanks for the tip John. I’m guessing the 1080 is 60fps? Can’t seem to find a 30/60fps option for the 1080. Any thoughts?

(I really am impressed with this little camera pic-wise… shooting outdoors and even in limited light it does a heckuva job!)

Chaz

[Chas Smith]

Got my Kodak Zi8 over the weekend and am testing it out. Hooked up the HDMI output to my 42″ Plasma and all I can say is the footage looks fantastic. For a little palm-corder, the HDMI out shows some great video. My PC / Vegas Pro is a bit older and I really need to get a faster machine to take advantage of the HD. Has anyone captured footage from the Zi8 using an HDMI connection? Seems like there’s some convergence box that allows for this.

I got a flex tabletop tripod to use as a handle…helps steady things out a bit. Can’t imagine zooming in too much unless I was using tripod only. But this little Zi8 is impressive. I think using the EIS setting helps keep the moving image from “stroboscopic effect” (i.e. “Saving Private Ryan” action sequences look). Got a spare battery as I understand it’ll suck power.

Any tips on edit ingesting, etc. would be much obliged.

Thanks,

Chaz

[Chas Smith]

Thanks for the reply guys. I saw the Kodak and thought it might be worth a look. Thought about the Sony “flip” versions but reviews are mixed. Was thinking they might be seamless with Vegas but haven’t found any reviews to that effect.

Chaz

[Chas Smith]

Thanks John, that did the trick. Don’t know why or how this setting got changed as I’m the only one on this machine and work in 16:9 exclusively. Opened the last project which was in 16:9 and it was squished. Weird but thanks for the tip.

Chaz

[Chas Smith]

Thanks to all for posting. Great advice on all counts. I’ve used non-disclosure agreements with freelancers in light of Health Information Patient Privacy Act (HIPPA) so that they understand that they are not to disclose any information regarding a medical story we’re working on for a client ( I do a lot of medical media).

This non-disclosure agreement underscores an understanding. While it may be hard to prove/enforce, it does let colleagues know that they could be held for damages if they disclose confidential health information learned during a job as it underscores the situation.

I guess this is what a non-compete/non-solicitation agreement would do, merely underscore a situation and let a would-be poacher/client scalper to think twice about going behind my back to steal a client.
Having something legally enforceable in place is more symbolic but it might help those ethically-challenged folks from acting on their impulses.

Thanks again,

Chas

[Chas Smith]

My response: MOOOOooooOOO!! 🙂

All kidding aside… I don’t consider myself to be all that creative, especially compared with others I know. However I
am persistent and practical if that makes sense. My creative
comes from delivering a good product within very limited resources
at times. Does this make sense?

Chas

[Chas Smith]

ShaZAAAM!! 🙂

[Chas Smith]

Well said Tom… couldn’t agree more. That’s what I like about CreativeCow forums… 99.999% of my experience here has been positive. I’ve been in “da biz” for 30+ years and I consider myself an old analog dog trying to learn new tricks. I’ve asked questions on CC that I should know the answers to but I have to admit, despite my experience…there’s a lot I still don’t know or have a tough time grasping… (and a lot I’ve forgotten too!). I’m always grateful when someone takes the time to address my posts to lend a hand in learning how to deal with stuff.

And I have to credit the generous spirit of CC members for some of my success in tackling issues. CreativeCow Forums ROCK!!

Thanks everyone!

Chas