Chris Blair
Forum Replies Created
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Send them a short (1 minute) sample of each and ask them if they’re both ok.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com
Read our blog http://www.videomi.com/blog -
Two years ago I actually talked to an Aberdeen Sales guy a few times when we were researching shared video storage. They claimed to have done quite a few video specific installations at some high-profile companies and their website (at the time) even had a video shared storage page.
But when it came down to me asking them critical questions about system setup, networking etc….they had some confusing and sometimes inaccurate responses…most of which seemed steeped in IT misinformation rather than in an understanding of the demands of digital video.
Ultimately, the two companies we found that knew what they were talking about technically were Apace and EditShare. We chose Apace because they gave us emails and phone numbers of numerous end-users…all of which raved about the system. EditShare wouldn’t or couldn’t supply us with names of real-users to contact…nor would any other company that we talked to (there were many) .
Another storage company that claims to do video specific installations is Winchester, but our experience with them was exactly like the one with Aberdeen. Maybe they’ve both improved in the two years since, but I’d stick with companies that make proven systems for video specific purposes.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com
Read our blog http://www.videomi.com/blog -
It also helpful to cut a separate “creative” reel to show that you can edit more than just news style pieces. The majority of news edited pieces I see are hamstrung by footage that is anywhere from fair to downright awful. News shooters in general are not good at shooting sequences of scenes that cut together…they seem to shoot individual shots of various things, none of which seem to have much relation to the other (other than they’re in the same location and are part of the same event).
From my experience, bad footage or poor coverage makes for bad editing, regardless of the skill level of the editor. So find some great footage, with good coverage and showcase your editing skills by cutting a creative piece on your own. Include some graphics and compositing using Photoshop and AE. Color correct the footage etc.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com
Read our blog http://www.videomi.com/blog -
That’s similar to what we pay storyboard artists. For color illustrations we pay them $25 a board. B/W sketches, $20. So if they do a 12 shot B/W board, they get $200. A good illustrator can usually do 3 to 5 shots an hour, so they’re making $60 to $100/hour depending on what they’re drawing.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com
Read our blog http://www.videomi.com/blog -
I was kidding based on the images in your other post. They made me laugh because they look like the storyboards I draw! We often have clients want storyboards but not want to pay for them. So I’ll sketch something out (as best I can) for them. When I’m doing them just for myself, they look like what you posted!
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com
Read our blog http://www.videomi.com/blog -
Fernando…are you available to do some freelance storyboarding?
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com
Read our blog http://www.videomi.com/blog -
I’d have to second Mike Smith’s suggestion…and I’d avoid using “per second or per frame” rates. Using that formula usually ends up putting the cost prohibitively high. As an example….call NASCAR or NFL Films and ask them what it costs for a 10 second clip of a game or race. In both cases it’s something like $10,000..which is quite ridiculous. They obviously don’t charge networks that since they’re promoting their product and have already paid rights fees to broadcast races, so I’m not sure exactly who’s paying these ridiculous fees for 10 seconds of footage.
But in my experience, per second or per frame rates always end up being or sounding unreasonably high. Just figure the time & cost it took you to shoot the thing then lower it some and ask then for that amount. How can they object to that?
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com
Read our blog http://www.videomi.com/blog -
As a facility owner in the midwest, I have hard-time believing an AE artist with 10 years experience is going to get $80k, even in Philadelphia!
We’ve worked with a handful of clients based in Philadephia and we’ve been shocked by their expectations on rates. They think OUR rates are high! They think charging $100 for a piece of needle-drop music is high. They think charging $500 for a national quality voice-over track is high. They think charging $85/hour for scriptwriting is high!
Anyway…I have to agree with Tim. There is so much more to consider when taking a full-time job than just the salary. Work environment, cameraderie, heck…even fun. Are they a fun bunch? Are the work conditions pleasant? Are they mindful that you have a life outside work? Are they fair about comp time if a project requires extra work or overtime? All of that can make a HUGE difference when it comes to assessing a salary offer.
Money is great, but if you’re miserable making $100k…it still sucks!
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com
Read our blog http://www.videomi.com/blog -
We’re not seeing individuals or companies “throwing in the towel” so to speak, but we are seeing a definite change in budgeting and project logisitics.
Projects where clients had no problem spending $25-$30,000 are now budgeted at half that amount. Yet they want the same quality on their $15,000 project that they were getting on their $30,000 project. Clients are combining work during a project, meaning still photography takes place DURING the video shoot. The client thinks they’re saving money (maybe) but in our experience it just complicates and lengthens the shoot and creates a scheduling nightmare when there are many setups.
Travel budgets are being trimmed with more expected to be done in less-time because it saves hotel and meal expenses. Clients are wanting to log and transcribe interview footage (rather than us do it or farming it out to a transcription company) because they think they’re saving money. When in fact, it just delays and complicates the project because the client doesn’t know what they’re doing and takes weeks or months to do what could be done in days. It also takes us longer to edit because the transcriptions are poorly done.
Clients are shooting their own corporate video on prosumer HD cameras then wanting us to edit it. Never mind the video and sound quality (framing, heavy compression, mic’ing) are awful. Their audiences don’t seem to mind. Corporate clients have actually asked to make their internal videos look amateurish because they don’t want their employees to think they’re spending a lot of money making videos when they’re slashing expenses and salaries and staff size everywhere else.
We actually had a client want to produce a roughly 25-30 minute training video that was going to be used internally to help staff meet continuing education requirements. We estimated the project at $45,000. The client had budgeted $12,000! Obviously, the video didn’t get produced.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com
Read our blog http://www.videomi.com/blog -
I’m not sure I understand the suggestions of using Openfiler…unless the original poster is primarily a Mac shop. His question was about setting up a:
NAS system consisting of an array with a 10GbE port, and a GbE switch with a 10GbE uplink port, that will give me SAN functionality in a heterogeneous (Mac & PC) environment, without needing SAN software.Apace has 10GB systems like that available right now that use Linux based server arrays. No SAN software needed. Mac (Final Cut & Avid) and PC NLE systems see the files just fine without anything extra needed. You can’t do multiple channels of uncompressed HD, but you can do up to 20 DVCProHD, or 14 Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHD streams in real-time.
I’m not sure why Apace doesn’t get more attention in the shared storage arena. I can say from experience their systems just plain work, their marketing is 100% true with no bogus claims, and their customers service is the best I’ve ever experienced in 25 years. That’s saying a lot from me…because I’m pretty critical of companies in our industry.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com
Read our blog http://www.videomi.com/blog