[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

I’m with Mark on this one. I had a similar situation last year with an Award event. A good and trustworthy friend got me involved last minute, 3 cameras, one evening of filming + cost to tapes and transport. In return we would build a broadcast property that we would co-own with the event creator for a minimum of 5 years. All good so far.

Except after the event, the deal was suddenly off the table. In fact, it was a favour all along to the event creator – who turned out in my opinion to be a dishonest slime-bag. I told the lot of them to either pay our firms normal reasonable fee for the shoot, or get stuffed. They didn’t have the money (or any money at all), so I’ve got the tapes. Next time, no matter how good and sincere my friend is, I’ll ask for contract and cash upfront. Another lesson learned.

All the Best
Mads
London, UK

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Mac Million Ltd. – Digital Media Production
Blog: https://macmillionltd.blogspot.com

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

Hey Noam,

I had to read your post twice – you want to put both a teleprompter and your beloved camera on a consumer solution tripod + expect it still to be sitting there when you return?

It does say in the specs that it can handle 15 kg, but with all the kit that you are going to load it with. Setting aside the loading support on the legs, I would suggest that you want something where it is easy for you to lower and raise the legs and make sure that the camera is in level with the subject – this tripod does not seem to offer you those basic functionalities?

All the Best
Mads
London, UK

Please do visit our faceBook page here: https://www.facebook.com/MacMillionProductions

Mac Million Ltd. – Digital Media Production
Blog: https://macmillionltd.blogspot.com

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

I must admit (being a PC user through-out – edit*, Adobe and Avid) that I do not understand why the “Mac brigade” is surprised about about FCP’s death and no backward compatibility – after all, through nineties they were known for treating their third party soft and hardware developers very badly by always introducing upgrades that would force a complete rewrite or just kill of products if “management” didn’t like them.

Plus, Apple’s future are in apps and content for the masses. There is no money in producing “also ran” packages, when you can sell the software as a premium app to the affluent consumer iphone & ipad market 😉

However, there is plenty of tools out there that will allow you to convert FCP projects into Avid and/or Premiere Pro + if you hand over your FCP to Avid, they’ll for now give you a competitive upgrade path too.

The only thing to hope for is that the competitors to FCP doesn’t see this latest under-development as an opportunity to hike their prices back up – after all, as a buyer I do like competition between my suppliers. Where as a supplier, I like to sell it as high as possible – just normal market-forces at play

All the Best
Mads
London, UK

Please do visit our faceBook page here: https://www.facebook.com/MacMillionProductions

Mac Million Ltd. – Digital Media Production
Blog: https://macmillionltd.blogspot.com

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

Hey Daniel,

There are several high speed camera systems around that will easily give you up to 4,000 fps. However, in our experience in tests done by Michael Brennan (also see https://hd24.com/page8/page38/page38.html) you need to select your shot carefully. Wide shots won’t work as well as fast moving close-ups. Also, expect to do some work in post to deal with flickering and grading – but that is not any more difficult than when trying to use HD progressive material for slow-motion.

If you want to do this on a budget, check out industrial camera suppliers. Normally they use high-speed cameras to capture processes such as machinery, vehicle crash tests and shooting guns, that are all too fast to see.

All the Best
Mads
London, UK

Please do visit our faceBook page here: https://www.facebook.com/MacMillionProductions

Mac Million Ltd. – Digital Media Production
Blog: https://macmillionltd.blogspot.com

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

I’m sure that there is a patent for moving menu’s. However, that should be covered by the DVD authoring Software provider. i.e. if you use Adobe Encore, one would think that they’ve negotiated with the patent holder in order for their users to use the feature. In a similar way that DVD manufacturers licence very technologies such as DTS and Dolby to make their product more advanced.

So yes, there is likely to be a patent place, which should be covered by the software used to produce the menu with – but you’ll need to check with those guys first, before showing the lawyer the door 🙂

All the Best
Mads
London, UK

Please do visit our faceBook page here: https://www.facebook.com/MacMillionProductions

Mac Million Ltd. – Digital Media Production
Blog: https://macmillionltd.blogspot.com

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

Hey Ty,

Contact me off forum (mads [at] macmillion.com), I’m a 5 min walk away from British Museum – if I can, I’m happy to help.

However, do note that UK museums, charities, government, consultancy companies, PR companies and so forth are notoriously bad payers first time. In all likelihood your invoice is sitting on a desk with someone on holiday, or they got it into accounts on the 16th, when the payment run is only done on the 15th of every month and so forth… A system that is always difficult to get through, but after the first payments those big NGO’s are normally very good.

All the Best
Mads
London, UK

Please do visit our faceBook page here: https://www.facebook.com/MacMillionProductions

Mac Million Ltd. – Digital Media Production
Blog: https://macmillionltd.blogspot.com

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

Hey Pat,

I’m with Bob on this, a year is not a long time.

[Pat Chrysalis] “This sounds to me like some of the situations discussed in this thread– the recruiter does not have my skill-set in house, is doing nothing hands-on to complete the project, and wants to continue milking this particular cow for as long as possible.”
I know that there is number of freelancers around that thinks, that because they are able to do a task that their “provider” are not able to do, that this gives them the right to do a stampede on the end-client.

Please do remember that the one thing that you were not able to do, was to land the client in the first instance. Think of yourself as part of a racing team: You might be the driver, but without the mechanic you won’t stay on the track and without the person selling the advertising, you won’t be able to raise finance to race in the first place.
Aah, I hear the clever clogs say, but we can do all of that ourselves. In which case Pat: You do not need the recruiter or their client… get my drift?

However, instead of looking for loop-holes as to why you need the recruiter, you need to change the perception of him. By him hiring and paying you to do a job for a third party, he will no longer acts as just a recruiter. He is now your agent, or employer. Your contract needs to stipulate what it is?

In that scenario the “recruiter” should state whether you are able to take on work for your own clients during the contracted period? Who covers insurance and taxes + how about holiday pay? It suddenly becomes a very expensive and complicated exercise.
Normally an agent will take 10-12.5% fee and contract you not to seek work direct for up to 12 months after the last invoiced job, but you carry your own expenses.
Where as an employer… one might not want to do that if he has to sort out all of the small print…

In regards to your fees. If you are paid your normal full fee and you don’t have to do the “small print” stuff, including negotiating with the end-client, what do you actually have to complain about?

Either you are not charging enough for an excellent product? Or your “sales-man” is a fantastic marketeer and sells based on value rather than what is the mark-up on the production/purchase-price from supplier.

If you get paid on time, what you’ve asked for, then you do not have the right to question or moan as long as you are not asked to about it lie to end client or anyone else. I.e. as an example the recruiter might claim to take less of the fee than what they actually are taking etc.

Hope this yet another point of view helps? 🙂

All the Best
Mads
London, UK

Please do visit our faceBook page here: https://www.facebook.com/MacMillionProductions

Mac Million Ltd. – Digital Media Production
Blog: https://macmillionltd.blogspot.com

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

It looks nice to use as a tool, but the pricing seems a bit expensive – not sure what the money is actually spend on?

I would be interested in knowing if anyone are using any competing software products to merge WMV and PPT into the same web page?

All the Best
Mads
London, UK

Please do visit our faceBook page here: https://www.facebook.com/MacMillionProductions

Mac Million Ltd. – Digital Media Production
Blog: https://macmillionltd.blogspot.com

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

Hey Mark,

The only way to truly secure over $100,000 worth of kit (my estimate looking at the list Nick is referring to), is to ask for $110,000 in deposit. At least the cost of buying and shipping is covered. In a fraudulent hire situation there is just no cover except for the insurance company clearing the hire before the kit goes out (near impossible to get in print) – but this will still hit by you loosing the no-claims bonus + a 30% hike in next years premium.

This is really important to understand for anyone reading this tread: Identity theft crimes are up there on the list next to smuggling and trade of drugs & humans. The people doing it are really good at it!

If you are an overseas company, the only way to avoid a case of theft by foreign passports/identity papers being used, is by finding the customers contact details directly on the net or yellow pages, phone them and ask them if they are about to hire/buy the services in question? And if they can provide 2 six month old utility bills with their current address and a contact reference at their UK bank.

And even if it is a local hire, spare a thought for a friend of mine who just recently had a similar case, except: The fraudsters used a local trading address, with a properly registered Limited company as a front. They did a couple of small hires, paid on time, and build up a report with the hire company. There was nothing suspect about it when they hire $40,000 worth of kit – which is today still missing and the limited company has seized to exist.

All the Best
Mads
London, UK

Please do visit our faceBook page here: https://www.facebook.com/MacMillionProductions

Mac Million Ltd. – Digital Media Production
Blog: https://macmillionltd.blogspot.com

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

Hey Mark,

I agree wholeheartedly with all of your points. And I also believe that some the changes that we are seeing today in places like the Middle East is down to the movement of free speech, and that this should in NO way should be curtailed. But it has to be recognised that as soon as you turn on your mobile or similar device, that you are in electronic view of anyone with the means to monitor your signal.

Instead of me suggesting the answer, the question should have been: How can our industry, its suppliers and the authorities be more pro-active in reducing fraudulent hires and thefts?

What would also be interesting to know, is whether the members in the US are having the same experiences as in Europe?

All the Best
Mads
London, UK

Please do visit our faceBook page here: https://www.facebook.com/MacMillionProductions

Mac Million Ltd. – Digital Media Production
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