Mick Haensler
Forum Replies Created
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I just spent the last 3 years at a job using the VT5(Video Toaster) and indeed many of the old cheese wipes including falling sheep are still there. They’ve even added quite a few new ones. Chroma FX is also included. Unfortunately it is PC only. However, in the spirit of Newtek, I’ll bet if you put it out there on the VT forum, someone like Bob Tasca might take up the challenge and make them for FCP. Ya jes don’t know until ya axkuh.
Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media -
[david bogie] “Don’t look in the forums. Look in the manuals.”
Good sir, are you seriously suggesting that I….(gulp)….read the manual? This is a travesty, I come to this forum for help not placating. How dare you suggest such an arcane method…..
Seriously, right you are Dave. And believe it or not, twenty minutes in the manual and I indeed found a solution. I created an aux timecode for each clip with the sync point being zero. Voila!! Everything syncs perfectly now. Thanks for suggesting the obvious. Sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees.
Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media -
It’s actually a very logical emotion that I think we all feel. I have a steady client who more often than not calls me last minute. Since it’s a pretty steady gig I will do whatever I can to accomodate him. He also knows if I have to switch something in my schedule for him that there will be a premium to pay. More than one time I’ve shown up for the shoot only to find it had been cancelled. The first time it happened I politely told him “no problem, but I will have to charge you 50% of my daily rate”. I have to tell you that was a hard thing to do. Tell a client your paying me to do nothing!! But this guy is a reasonable dude and understands that if he books me, I’ve reserved that time for him and noone else, whether he uses it or not, he still has to pay.
My business coach and I were just discussing this very thing last night. Bottom line, if YOU don’t respect your work enough to charge properly for it, then surely the client won’t respect it enough to pay properly for it. But man it’s hard to do sometimes ain’t it.
Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media -
[Greg Lindsey] “To respond to Mick, I do stock video and have a contributer agreement with a well known stock agency already, so what I shoot will automatically have a marketing and distribution channel. I’m still competing but I’m a good deal ahead with this (I hope). I plan to make a niche by offering unique footage”
Glad to hear it. I couldn’t tell by your post which is why I put in the disclaimer. One thing I’m a little confused about though, above you say you’re doing and plan on doing stock video, but later in the thread you say you’re not planning on offering professional video services since you don’t have those skills. Just a little confusing that’s all.
Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media -
[Greg Lindsey] “What is it important to consider before entering this field and what are some common mistakes people make? I welcome all comments both encouraging or discouraging! I haven’t yet committed to anything”
Hi Greg and welcome to the forums. I would have to say the biggest mistake I have seen people make entering this field is thinking that buying a computer and a camera is all they need to make great images. While having great tools is certainly necessary for success, they are only a means to an end. I’m assuming by the sound of your post that you have little to no experience. If this is the case, I would have to discourage you from focusing on stock footage as a means of income. I have over 20 years experience in video, audio and photography and wouldn’t even consider stock work as a viable income source. While the internet has created new outlets to sell stock, you are competing with literally thousands of others. Very few make a full time living at it.
Most people who want to get into this industry with little or no experience usually start in event videography. Again, I’m assuming by the nature of your post that this is you, if not, I apologize for the assumption. If you are serious about this, I would check out Video University, a website dedicated to event videographers with lots of advice for the novice.
Best of luck to you.
Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media -
Great thread, thanks for all the responses. It’s interesting, I’ve posted about other insurance plans we’ve looked at in other forums with about the same response. It seems it really doesn’t matter who you go with, the consensus is “ALL INSURANCE PLANS EITHER SUCK OR COST A FORTUNE”.
I like the idea of the medical savings plan. The policy we chose with NASE has something similar built in that rolls over. We are also doing one ourselves through a money market. The main problem with going outside of a group plan like NASE or maybe a trade association is very limited catastrophic coverage. I couldn’t find any individual program that covered more than $50,000 for cancer or other catastrophic illness. And at the end of the day, we were able to put together a pretty high end plan for around $550 a month, which is less than what I was paying out of pocket at my old job.
Also keep in mind there are some new tax laws this year regarding medical deductions that make those large premiums a little more palatable.
Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media -
[Ron Lindeboom] “The NASE insurance program is a good one if you qualify and pass their entry exam, etc.”
That’s interesting, our rep made no mention of an exam at all. The only issue was some pre existing conditions that might not be covered for a year.
Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media -
Thanks Tom. Completely switching platforms can be a bee atch.
Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media -
The main thing I look for are decent mic preamps. The Yamaha pres are really decent for the price. When I say decent I mean high gain and low noise. In other words, can you drive the audio signal from the mixer to your input devices and achieve a decent sound level without a lot of noise like hiss. And make sure all mic inputs have phantom power for condensor mics. Cheaper mic pres will have a bit of hiss when cranked. Other features I look for are multiple outputs so I can feed the signal to a number of recorders. Good metering is important too, especially if you’re inputting to a deck like the Sony DSR 11 which doesn’t have meters. I like a strong headphone preamp too since concerts tend to be loud, I need to hear the mix over top the house sound. I don’t worry to much about EQ since I run everything flat and sweeten the sound in post. I also like a variety of input types, the Yamaha has 4 balanced switchable mic/line inputs as well as balanced and unbalanced line inputs. The only thing it doesn’t have is switchable mic/line output, only line. This is only an issue if you are feeding the signal to a prosumer camera that only takes an external mic input. Although I have the Yamaha and like it, there are quite a few small mixers like it on the market. My favorite is the Mackie Onyx. A bit pricey but awesome pres as well as the ability(for an extra price of course) to output a multitrack mix to a laptop via firewire which allows you to keep every channel seperate for greater flexibility in post tweaking. Hope this helps and good luck.
Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media -
[Donovan Werts] “(and you pros may groan)”
Guess what Donovan, if you’re doing pro video work, and by the looks of your website you are, you are by default doing pro audio work. Unless it’s a silent movie, audio is just as important as video in any production. If you’re offering finished product and not just shooting and editing, people are paying you for your audio as well as your video expertise. In this case, you have an opportunity to up your game so to speak without risk to a paying client. BTW, the price of a decent 4-6 input mixer might surprise you. For small stuff, I use a Yamaha 6 input that I think I paid around $100. And as stated above, the Rodes mics are incredible for the price.
Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media