Frank Otto
Forum Replies Created
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Here ya go, Jason:
https://www.tek.com/Measurement/cgi-bin/framed.pl?Document=/Measurement/tutorials/index.html?wt=257&link=/Measurement/tutorials/index.html&FrameSet=elearning
This is the Tektronix site…Tektronix is the leader in test measurment equipment and they have a e-learning center that will give you everythingh you want to know about the video signal.
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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I have to echo John and add that you’ll see a certain amount of client snobbery in regards to equipment. John may remember when many of us who couldn’t afford Sony cameras (all the rage in ’77 – ’80) would buy SONY nameplates from Sony’s parts department and put them on cameras ranging from JVC KY’s to Sharp 800’s and the occasional less expensive Thompson (identical to the Sony 300 and 600). All the client saw was SONY and that made them happy…and kept them as clients.
In 1980 the Greene-Crowe Company created one of the most technologicaly compleate mobile units availible and equipped it with Ikegami cameras. It took a bit of convincing of the Hollywood client base to shift – the reputation of Mr. Crowe and Mr. Greene as front runners in the industry made the deal work…but it was a battle.
The last go-round of purchases I did was for rental HD remote units…clients specifically had their HD flavors in mind as well as cameras. I favored the Ikegami’s with Fujinon lenses. After significant market research we ended up with Sony because of the ability to provide a name brand product to producers AND multiple signals out for production and distribution needs. Having the client’s comfort zone met with the branded gear being able to fullfill the technical side made the units more profitable.
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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There is no “one size fits all” business plan. If you try to use an existing plan from a book or website, then you’re asking for problems…been there, done that, got hurt.
A business plan isn’t what you want to do or what you want for a career …it’s what you need to do – for your sucess in your market based on market conditions, global advancements, delivery technologies and personal skills and economic capabilities. Here’s what you’ll need to think about as you plan…
First, what type of production do you do now and where do you need to grow? What do you percieve as the market to use your services? Local, regional, global?
Next, research your intended market. What’s already there, what do you bring that is different. Look at existing price stratagies and alignments, market resources, availible affiliations and most importantly, need. Is there enough business locally, regionally? Do you have the resources to go big or small? Who loses if you open your doors?
Competition: How many production shops exist – or – how many companies already have internal production? Can you draw from that pool or will you need to do heavy promotion to get clients? Do you have an existing base to draw from? Can that base be expanded?
Sales: Will you offer client “value added” resources and technology or fee base everything? What’s the market billing proceedure – days, weeks, months, quarterly? Also, think about just the cost of doing business; legal, accountant/tax advisor, stationary, cards, mailers, DVD handouts, power, spares, storage, insurance, rentals, fees, dues, quarterly payments, sales incentives/promotionals, etc. Are you a strong enough sales person to do the day-to-day, plus creative plus contact/calls? If not then you’ll need sales repensentation – more costs. Very important – how are you going to compeate – posh suite vs. brilliant ideas? Better technology vs. pricing? One-stop vs. niche/boutique?
Technologies: Are you “state of the art”? Home based or getting a working space? What services and technology are you offering and is it equal to or better than the current market fare?
Life Needs: How much resources do you need to live on…maintaining or bettering your current life style ( yup, some folks think going into business for themselves will increase their free time and improve the ol’ paycheck).
Paying yourself is job one, paying your debts down and securing profit for expansion and upgrades is job two. Profit is about the last thing you should worry about, unless you have shareholders to contend with.
Once you have these items under control, you’ll have the basis for a business plan…the rest is accounting.
My first company in 1979 was based on a singlar need…when that need dried up in 1982, I had to re-invent the company and pull a new business plan – it required a lot of changes in my life, professionally and company-wise just to be sufficient – much less profitable.. When I re-opened the company in 1994 after a 5 year shutdown, it required a whole different view of the market, global as well as local – new technologies, new distrubution channels. What I’m saying is that your business plan is not static – it changes and needs to change every year or as major market changes dictate. And you need to ask the same questions all over again.
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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I’d go with the Arri kit. It will get you through a lot of assignments.
It’s more expensive, but you have more fixtures and more accessories should you expand from your core use.
I use the same kit right now for most of my day-to-day shoots – product and food photography, restaurant interiors, celebrity interviews and gaming promotion videos and spots. I augment it with a couple of HMI’s when I need to and I also use a few extra Source Fours for really big room shots like large convention facilities.
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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As anyone who has ever eaten in a restaurant knows, ala carte is more expensive. Couple that with congressional mandates for must carry and subsidies to the economically disadvantaged, I pretty much can assume that I’m goning to spend more for content.
And the smokescreen about this is to better enable our families more access to “quality children’s programming” along with the aid parents so desperately need to protect our children from smut….the Honorable gentleman from Alaska has jumped on to this to tie it to his bill for more govenmental control of content (read censorship)
Methinks our congressional leaders need to get away from Capitol Hill and camp out in a few school yars – take a listen to the vocabulary of our 5-6-7-8 year olds… I think it’s a bit too late to protect their precious ears.
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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Once again, the FCC is getting involved in marketplace issues rather than doing their job which is to maintain the spectrum use and develop and adopt technolgies.
This smacks of cable operators in the guise of consumer protection, trying to beat back the programmers (example: Disney and the multiple Disney channels with the ol’ you want ESPN you got to take Cartoon Disney/Jetix on the second tier.)and using the same old whine about the sat ops not having to be regulated.
The ultimate goal of the cable companies has been to eliminate “must carry” and this could open that door very wide.
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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When I was in a daily ENG situation, I used what has become known as a “chicago light kit.” It is a golf bag that carries 3 or 4 heads mounted on stands (up to 6 – dependent on your bag size – in my case it was 4 Mole 600w. w/ barn doors and a Colortran 1k pan). Big ol’ shoulder strap made it easy to carry.
The pouches carried spare lamps, a gel roll, foldable diffusion holders, extra scrims, C-47’s, a short roll of gaff and a roll of black wrap. 6 – 25′ ac stingers were clipped to the bag via PortaBrace velcro straps that were attached to the bag rim and one ac distro – a quad box with a 6″ pigtail was in the lower bag pouch.
My bags never had wheels…I once used a bag trolley (sold separtly) for a month while I was tooling around Congress. For air shipping, I put the bag, heads and all in a hard shell golf bag shipping case along with a few power strips.
The kit got it’s name fron the Chicago (WGN and WMAQ) news crews who used taxi and bus to get to downtown stories and press conferences.
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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That was the opinion of legal. The infringment case was based on the decision of the producer to “feature” the band and, as such, the producer has the obligation to verify if the work being performed was licenced (note – Kentucky was also named by CBS Records as a party – later removed from the suit as the school had “bought” the arraingment).
The court ruled that the producer of a live event has no control over background sounds duing announcer segments or game play. However the control was excercised when the producer, specifically asked the camera operator to cue the band, then featured the band playing the song in question. Additionally, the producer saw fit to record the segment, use it as a bump out at a later time (i.e. not live) and then use it again as bg for a promo days later.
1990, 91 and 92 brought on a lot of litigation against the producers of sports televison – the nets all believed they had paid royalties under the “ASCAP-BMI blanket” for broadcasting. That blanket was determined to only apply to non syncronized playback of music as programming (i.e radio or background to non-syncronized text or images). It did not cover the use of licenced material as sync’d background, thematic or scored incidental for programming or re-recording.
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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When I was doing a lot of ESPN work we always had an issue with the bands at half-time and the rally bands for basketball. ABC got sued over using “Rock The Casbah” as a live bump out on a Kentucky game so as of 1992 we could only (for ESPN) use the band if they played the “Sportscenter Theme” or the school music.
It wasn’t a problem for incidental, just if the band was featured or recorded and played out later.
(that was also the year ESPN created the “no shots of women without a head” rule)
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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Bob, it’s a magazine…unknown if it’s quarterly or not. Let me find the issue at home and I’ll post that info.
Cheers,
Frank Otto