Joel Servetz
Forum Replies Created
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What Greg and Vince said, plus if, in good faith you attempt to negotiate and/or get at the root of their issues and you find they’re stonewalling, you have your answer, it’s a scam. Short story, years ago I managed a retail camera store. We would occasionally get people who would purchase an expensive camera and flash shortly before a weekend and return it for a refund shortly after the weekend. We eventually caught on to the fact that they were treating the “purchase” as a free rental for a weekend event. When we shifted to credit only instead of a refund that scam dried up fast.
Joel Servetz
RGB Media Services, LLC
Sarasota, Fl
videobyjoel@aol.com
http://www.rgbmediaservices.com -
$2.50 per shoot? WOW!!!!! Finally, a way to earn a living in this crazy business.
Joel Servetz
RGB Media Services, LLC
Sarasota, Fl
videobyjoel@aol.com
http://www.rgbmediaservices.com -
On the advice of someone else I bought a Z-96 light from LCD4Video for $200.00 and it’s actually a very nice light. Good output, much better than my Lightpanels Micro, dimmable and seems well made. In fact, much more solidly constructed that the more expensive LP Micro. As a bonus, it operates on either AA batteries or sony/canon camcorder batteries. It also comes with a handy bracket to join multiple units into a larger light. Interesting product and definitely worth the money. Check out their website.
Joel Servetz
RGB Media Services, LLC
Sarasota, Fl
videobyjoel@aol.com
http://www.rgbmediaservices.com -
What’re you in for? Oh, smuggling drugs. How about you? Me? I was caught transmitting between 698 and 804 Mhz. Got life.
Joel Servetz
RGB Media Services, LLC
Sarasota, Fl
videobyjoel@aol.com
http://www.rgbmediaservices.com -
Sebastian, a couple of things. I don’t do weddings anymore, but when I did I partnered with a friend who was a DJ to split the cost of a booth at several wedding expos. There was a discount for booking multiple shows. We sold our own services but also offered a package deal for booking us as a team. If you know someone you can team up with give it a try. In addition to exposing your work to potentially hundreds of people, you have an opprotunity to network with allied professionals who might be additional sources of referrals.
As for pricing, I learned long ago that being the cheapest guy on the block wasn’t necessarily a good thing. For what you’re offering I have to say you’re definitely under-valueing your work. I would suggest doing some local price research and position yourself somewhere in the middle, with packages and up-sell options so that you can offer good value without giving it away. I hope this was helpful. Good luck.Joel Servetz
RGB Media Services, LLC
Sarasota, Fl
videobyjoel@aol.com
http://www.rgbmediaservices.com -
See the link below. I have used an older version of this dolly for more than 2 decades and I still think it’s a great product. It’s relatively heavy, which makes it stable and it rolls extremely smoothly on most surfaces. The wheel brakes are very positive and easy to engage/disengage. I rhave rarely used the removeable cable gasrds because the ground clearance is very small, but in some cases they can be handy. Give this one serious consideration, it’s a great investment.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/553954-REG/Manfrotto_114_114_Heavy_Duty_Cine_Video.html
Joel Servetz
RGB Media Services, LLC
Sarasota, Fl
videobyjoel@aol.com
http://www.rgbmediaservices.com -
In my opinion, “ouch” is the wrong way to look at this. In reality you dodged a bullet by not getting these idiots as “clients.” Be happy and move on.
Joel Servetz
RGB Media Services, LLC
Sarasota, Fl
videobyjoel@aol.com
http://www.rgbmediaservices.com -
Unfortunately Canon no longer supports the XL-1 so your only option if service is needed is an independent shop. It may be time for a new camcorder
Joel Servetz
RGB Media Services, LLC
Sarasota, Fl
videobyjoel@aol.com
http://www.rgbmediaservices.com -
I recently had a shoot using a client-supplied XL-H1 and I let them know that their viewfinder was also apparently blown out, black and white and very dark, so you should get that camera to a Canon service center.
Joel Servetz
RGB Media Services, LLC
Sarasota, Fl
videobyjoel@aol.com
http://www.rgbmediaservices.com -
This is the simplest of setups and something I’ve done literally hundreds of times. Buy or rent a powered speaker with an XLR mic. input. Plenty of choices available from Anchor, Mackie, etc. You don’t need a lot of power, 50 – 100 watts is plenty, maybe even overkill, but you can always turn down something that’s too loud and these powered speakers sound great for the limited purpose you described. here’s a parts list:
The powered speaker
Dual RCA male to single RCA female Y-adapter (out from camcorder)
6′ RCA male – male cable (Y adapter to 1/4″ adapter)
RCA female to 1/4″ phone plug (mono)(plug into direct box)
Direct box (Whirlwind Director or similar)
50′ XLR mic cable, male – female (direct box to powered speaker)This never fails to sound great. If you feed the whole thing through a mixer instead of straight out of the direct box you’ll have even more control on the send end, but realistically you’ll need someone in the other room to monitor and control the level so the mixeer won’t really add much functionality. For the doubters, I’ve used this over distances of 150′ or more without a hint of trouble. BTW, the ground lift switch on the direct box will save your butt enough times to make it worth having in your kit all the time. I travel with at least four.
Joel Servetz
RGB Media Services, LLC
Sarasota, Fl
videobyjoel@aol.com
http://www.rgbmediaservices.com