[Mike Cohen]

if you are just starting out and want to make a name for yourself and develop a reel, you need to weigh low pay with perceived personal benefits against being taken advantage of.
If you are in business for yourself, which is ambitious right out of school, you need to consider these factors:
1. Profit – the money you keep
2. Cost of goods sold – the cost of materials and of your time
3. Overhead – the cost of electricity, paying of your gear, insurance, etc.

If your sole source of income is freelance work, then figure out how much you need minimum per month to survive, and work backwards to determine how much you need to charge.

Mike

[Mike Cohen]

I see, so it is subtle. Maybe the viewer sees the XYZ company logo on a hat, maybe they don’t.
Are you not offering commercial style ads, such as “This segment is sponsored in part by Ray’s Catalytic Converter Emporium – Insert Catchy Slogan Here” like on NFL games or whatever?

I suppose you could take your Google analytics stats and show prospective advertisers your numbers.

You might make some demo movies showing the different methods of featuring advertisers. What about you in front of a greenscreen, giving a 15 second newsmagazine style intro to the episode, and say “we’d like to thank Bob’s House of Bling for their support of this episode” and show some b-roll from their store or whatever in the background and their logo.

Perhaps send potential supporters a DVD featuring some of your episodes, and the advertising options.

[Mike Cohen]

Let me see if I understand. The advertisers pay you for product placement in the videos?
Or is each episode sponsored by an advertiser?
Seems like an interesting idea.
Do you promote the website using traditional internet marketing techniques?
Mike

[Mike Cohen]

I will chime in on the Fun Factor.
I have been to NAB twice.

1994 – As a college senior I went with some of my mentors at the time. Walking around the mammoth halls was a thrilling intro to the production world I was at the time trying to gain entry into. Plus the cool restaurants and topless showgirls were quite an eyeful for my 21 year old self!

2007 – While visiting Vegas for a medical convention at the Paris, I had a free day and my free exhibits pass. This time I went as a working pro with purchasing power (with approval of course!). I only wish I had a 2nd day, but the 6 hours I spent at NAB 2007 were the most fun I have had in ages. I learned about new products I would never have stumbled upon just browsing the web or reading my favorite production magazines. I evaluated firsthand DVD printers and HDV cameras, two purchases in 2007 which were a result of my NAB visit.

I also got many questions answered about HDV and HD editing and monitoring from Blackmagic, Media 100, AJA and others. And I found the sales folks more than willing to answer my questions. In fact while sitting at the Media 100 booth for about 30 minutes I even asked the product manager to import some SD footage into an HD project, just to see what it looked like, something he at first seemed unprepared to do, but he did it because I asked. No stock factory answer there.

Perhaps my experience is a bit skewed, since the purpose for the expense of my Vegas trip was not to attend NAB.

Anyway, i agree that if you go once every decade or so(kinbd of like Disneyworld), or you happen to be in the neighborhood, it is a hoot!

If you are in the market for some big ticket item, your best bet is to get an on-site demo by your local video reseller such as HB in Connecticut.

Well that is my two cents worth on this long thread.

Mike

[Mike Cohen]

If you search for websites of video production companies, or just check out the sites of fellow COW members, you will see they run the gamut from a simple 1 page layout with vital contact info, to full-on Flash websites with lots of video and sound effects.
In my opinion, your site should be simple and to the point, depending upon, of course, what you are selling.
You could hire a local web designer and for a few thousand dollars get a pretty nice website.
You can search for web design templates, find one you like and with very little web programming knowledge have a functional site.
Embedding video and doing most non-database web layout can be as easy as learning from other websites, to as complex as you want to get.
If you are just starting out, then keep it simple and to the point.

Mike

[Mike Cohen]

You hope enough people with the correct information are the ones that are listened to.

Not to get too political, but the above wish does not always happen in government, so it is bound to be a problem for the rest of the world!

[Mike Cohen]

Timothy – this week I discovered the NASA HD podcasts. Are you involved with that?
I read a while back that HD chips do not work in space. Has that been resolved?

Mike

[Mike Cohen]

one other thing to keep in the back of your mind.

How can I say this in a politically correct way…when shooting people wearing leotards or tightly fitting athletic wear, with hot lights going for hours, watch your shots to make sure you are not revealing any unflattering anatomical details which may be the result of sweating. Was that subtle enough?!

Mike

[Mike Cohen]

I think what Rick was getting at in his original post was that Craigslist ads tend to be 1 of two things.

1. We want someone to do lots of different things for low or no pay.

2. Legitimate jobs.

However, while I have posted ads for freelancers on Craigslist and gotten a mixed bag of results, large organizations likely recruit via more traditional channels.

The format of the posted CBC ad, with not much spacing and a lot of use of the word “must” did appear a bit questionable, just like websites promising overnight wealth (pyramid schemes) often are extremely wordy with lots of long blocks of text (same goes for conspiracy theories).

So while this may in fact be a reputable ad by CBC, which shows the advanced skill sets they are looking for, to folks who have seen a lot of shady classified ads, it can look shady. From a certain point of view.

“Vader murdered Anakin, from a certain point of view.”

Cheers.

Mike

[Mike Cohen]

Jeff

I watched the videos on your website. This exercise video seems right up your alley. I wouldn’t worry if it looks good or not, you know what you’re doing. Those slight jib/dolly moves are a nice touch in the other videos and the lighting is right.

Mike