Chip Thome
Forum Replies Created
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Find a Panasonic GH1 and apply the hack to it. The GH1 you should be able to find on Ebay for around the $300-$400 price point. If you want a cheap auto focus lens, then look for the Panasonic 14-42 to go with the GH1. Those on Ebay should be able to be bought in the low $100s range. Now you are looking at out of pocket being in the $550 range and it is going to blow the doors off the T2i or anything else in the low-mid dollar price range. This will “get you in the game” to learn and with real good quality, then from there you can decide how to proceed.
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We did one first dance where the groom’s uncle was also shooting the entire wedding as his gift. The uncle was shooting to VHS and had this killer 50w spot on top of his cam. I had nothing but my second shooter had a 160 LED on-cam light on top of hers. We were all positioned so we weren’t in each others shots, with the uncle given prime location. I ended up with the photog on my shot but neither the uncle nor my second shooter had him in theirs.
Moral of the story…. on cam lights are NOT just for illumination. 🙂
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Going in with your post production background, you should have a good idea of the shots you need to make a nice video of the event. If I were you I would start with that, putting together your list of what you think you need and want to capture. Then look at each of those “scenes” and determine what additional gear may be essential to capturing both the video and audio that you need. Depending on what is planned for this party, you might want to go with a locked down wide shot on your tripod and use your 600D as the roving B Roll cam. In that case I would get a shotgun mic for the B Cam to get any interviews with the guests. The locked down cam’s internal mic, although not great, will work to mix in the ambient sounds from the room. If there’s to be music, a digital recorder plugged into the audio source for the music should give you nice audio from that. I’m not sure about the lights, but you know the venue and the ambient mood they are going for.
That list should give you some nice footage and audio to work with and give you pretty good coverage that you should be able to handle yourself.
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There’s nothing for M4/3 so might as well look toward legacy glass and there you will find quite a few. Tokina, Nikon, Sigma, Canon all made at least one fixed aperture zoom, which I think is more referred to as “variable focal length”. The question becomes what lengths you are looking for and what aperture you want ???
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As far as how jarring the differences, it could be very stark depending on the lenses you use and depth of field you select on the DSLR.
I good buddy did a music video and used both his SD DVX100B and his HD HMC 150 camcorders. He used the SC camcorder for his wide shot and did all the close up work in HD. You really had to look to see any difference. His SD camcorder was located probably 30 feet away from the stage, compared to right in front for the HD cam.
If you have never shot a pair of cams, two identical cams cut beautifully and easily together, in most cases. When you mix them up, it takes a bit more work in post to get them to gel nicely.
The decision I would say comes down to your audience and what they expect for quality from what you are going to be shooting. In many cases a camcorder is plenty, as the audience that views those types of video isn’t real demanding, right now.
Where the whole video recording market is going is toward interchangeable lenses and large sensors in the cameras. With both of those components you have the capability for the “wow” factor out of the footage they produce.
If you do not already know photography, a DSLR has a huge learning curve ahead of really using and utilizing it to its full potential. IMO, the time and effort spent on that earning curve is justified as soon, IMO, all shooting is going to be utilizing more of ISO, Aperture, Shutter speed etc.
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See if you can rent something else for your gig and worry about this after. The few dollars to rent something is cheap insurance that this tripod and it’s noises don’t ruin your most important gig.
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After dark is the easy part, you mix to the color temp of the bulbs (tungsten, LED etc), not the color of their tint or gels. 3200K is 3200K whether it’s a blue bulb, or red or or whatever color.
The setting sun, that’s in constant temp change until dark. What you don’t mention is how much natural light is shining on the stage and utilized by the lighting crew compared to the stage lighting. If a setting sun is shining directly past you toward the stage and it’s being utilized as the light source, you have to balance for that. If it is shining on the backside of the amphitheater and coming around toward the audience, but the stage is primarily utilizing stage lighting to illuminate it, I would balance for the bulbs.
Care to fill us in more on where the sun is in relationship to the stage?
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I would not be at all surprised if this person had seen a Craigslist ad that offered this. Michael also most likely described this shooter to a T.
In my day job when I have been presented these comparisons by people, I would send them on their merry way telling them “that’s a great price and they should get back there and snatch it up quick!” Don’t try to negotiate your value, congratulate them on their fantastic bargain and send them on their way. If they don’t leave and want to discuss your product some more…. you know what they are saying is BS and they are just stroking you.
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Phil you don’t mention where you are going to be conducting business, be it the US or elsewhere.
Here in the US to get a license to use for broadcast, it is the same for your website as it is for national syndicated TV.
As far as what others are doing, don’t assume ANYONE is legal and then copy what they are doing. Check out the rules and regulations for your particular use and need, yourself. Then you will know for sure exactly what is involved to proceed forward.
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Sebastian I am going to take a wild guess and say if we had to classify you as either a business guy or a creative guy, you are the latter, just like most of the other people on these boards. Coming here looking for a “tweak” for a promo idea, that’s great to see if someone has a new wrinkle they tried in the old promotion game.
From what I read though, you have zero business experience, yet lots of creative and your problems are all on the business side of what you are doing. Sorry to say, but this is the wrong place to be looking for solid business planning and promotion education and advice.
So far you have taken the “pot shot” method to your marketing, wishing and hoping something hits with the public.
What you need to be doing is put together a cohesive marketing plan, if not entire business plan for your road map to how you are going to make your business a success. Doing that can be a painful experience and what you will swear is a waste of time, until it is finished and you see how to get from now….to where you want to be. But most of all, you need to understand WHY you are going to go through all the steps necessary to market your business successfully.
I hate to send people to an external site, but in this case its not a creative site, go to startupnation.com and start reading. The site was created to give novice solo business people a ton of free resources and network needed to get up and going with their ideas.
Once you have a good solid busienss understanding, coming back here and reading this thread, the psots already here will make far more sense to you. All the basics are here, pressing flesh, making calls, SEO, market comparisons, all things you need to be doing…you just need to know why and in which order.
Good luck…if you can work with brides and like it, you can do anything !!!