[Mike Cohen]

I agree that different projects call for a different approach.

Here are a few recent examples:

1. Product promo – raw footage included scripted interview segments, narrated videos of the product in action, and some marketing script.
– First I laid everything I have out on a timeline
– Next I cut out obvious unusable material
– Next I cut picture to the marketing scriptage – in this case I made an attempt for final look and feel
– Next I cut the interviews and narrated videos for content
– Final pass polishes, adds effects

2. Marketing piece for Nursing Research as a career
I shot hours of interviews and classroom and lab scenarios
Having already gotten approval on a script based upon what I shot, again I laid everything on one timeline, then cut each segment separately, but only for cleaning up extraneous shots. Then, like Grinner said, I let the content tell its own story. This took days and days to get it to my liking.

Then I took my laptop and a rendered AVI down to the client’s office and we further refined the rough edit. While at the client’s office we re-shot one of the interviews, and pretty much used this material verbatim, because we had the luxury of figuring out exactly what we needed based upon the original material.

So each project is a little different. Going for final polish on an initial edit certainly takes more time, but sometimes it is called for.

I do not work with clients in the edit bay too often. Usually when I do, they are content with me saying “let’s just put this in as a placeholder – you don’t have to sit and watch me make this pretty.”

But when you are working alone, sooner or later you have to sit and make it pretty.

This is just the type of thread I enjoy.

Mike Cohen

[Mike Cohen]

4 out of 5 dentists recommend Crest.
1 in 3 kids prefer the nutty taste of Honey Nut Cheerios over the supermarket brand.
99% of computers have Flash player.

Statistics like these are part of advertising.

Personally, I also prefer the satisfying taste of Honeycomb!

But seriously, if your clients need to be fed these kind of statistics to give you money, maybe they are not the kind of clients you need.

I know it is not your website we are talking about.

[Mike Cohen]

I think Steve is right. Like most new technologies, they are expensive for the first few years. Flash media gets cheaper by the day.
You can buy an 8gig USB thumb drive for what you used to pay for a 1 gig.
The first SCSI 9gig drive I bought cost $3000, the last Ultra SCSI 2 32 gig drive I bought on ebay for $50.
In a couple of years there will be flash media in the hundreds of gigs, and then suddenly the next technology will come along and we will start all over again.
Flash forward to 2015 – Sony’s new SuperDuperHD 4K camera takes 2TB flash media – their proprietary media costs $1200. Everyone complains. Five years later it will be cheap because the next technology will be out, yadda..yadda..yadda.

Now if we could just avoid the total collapse of the world Copper supply we will be all set…!

Mike

[Mike Cohen]

Good job in growing your business.
As others have said, your website need updating. That huge graphic F is distracting. I am wanting to click on Conceptualize, Edit, Script, etc. Each of those keywords should be tabs on your services page.

While Craigslist is a mixed bag, I have had great luck posting ads for freelance designers and getting some good applicants. It should be easy enough to find local talent in most cities.

You may be able to find someone who can, for a few thousands dollars, design a style for your whole operation – website, letterhead, print advertising/brochures etc.

Do you have a local advertising club or other such organization? If so, get yourself into their events.

Direct mail for selling services probably isn’t the way to go.

Surely you know some people who work for large businesses in your area. Find out from them what agencies they use – take a grassroots approach.

You can always make friends with someone at your local ad agencies to try to get a meeting with an account manager.

Don’t set a budget until you know what it is you need to be spending money on.

The website should be the first thing to do. And use Flash video – when I see Windows Media on a website I find a different website.

Good luck, let us know what you decide to do.

Mike Cohen

[Mike Cohen]

It is difficult to predict the future. Disney tried it for years:
https://www.pollsb.com/polls/poll/4702/disney-s-highways-of-the-future

I recently re-read 2 books written in 2000. Both books talked about the move from television to the internet, and both wrongly predicted that no one would be interested.

[Mike Cohen]

the best kind of family docs are the ones you do for your own family. I spent about 40 hours on one for my grandparents’ 60th anniversary.
There are a few companies doing non-funeral family videos if you look on Google.

Mike

[Mike Cohen]

I am thankful that I did this with 3/4 of my grandparents, in various forms. And there is generic home video/8mm of all of them.

If you haven’t done this yet, do it before you forget.
Mike

[Mike Cohen]

I vote for the superimposed live action advertisement. Networks know that most people who watch a lot of tv skip commercials – well now we are going to start skipping the programs and just spending all of our time watching DVDs.

Rather than a writer’s strike, maybe what the tv industry needs is a viewer’s strike.

No offense to COW members who work on these shows – it’s not your fault networks do crazy things.

[Mike Cohen]

I think you need to lay out where the weak links are in your business.

Do you have customers who go beyond 30 days to pay?

Do you rely on credit cards for purchases?

Do you have to make payroll regardless of incoming work?

If so, can you cut an employee?

Do you use an accountant to balance your books?

How much time do you spend soliciting new work?

How much repeat business do you get?

Do you bill by the hour? Are you accurately billing?

etc

A lot of the “business acumen” of running a small business comes from years of experience and making some mistakes, but also having a solid plan for the future and someone to implement that plan.

Do you have a written business plan. Even though it sounds like this is an established business, doing things the same way as they have always been done can catch up with you.
Maybe, as VP, sit down yourself and try to write up a document with how you currently do things, and then cull your “best practices” from that with some goals for improvement, then share that with your boss.

Sometimes it is difficult to look inward.

Mike

[Mike Cohen]

Mark

We charge more for a shoot and quote an overall project price, based upon estimated hours. Inevitably the editing takes longer than anticipated, so the extra shoot cost makes up for that a little. If a client wants to hire someone with a lower day rate and pay hourly for the editing they are of course welcome to do so.

From a business point of view, it is not the best idea to give a price quote over the phone. Get the details of what the client wants, then compose a formal quote on your computer, with letterhead etc and e-mail or fax it over to the client, then they can try to negotiate. Or not.

I agree your prices are low. A half-day 1-man shoot in CT should cost around $500. A full day about $800. Add a 2nd person (sound/grip) the day rate is $1000 – $1200.

If someone like Ms. Haughty von Cheapo wants to nickel and dime your quote, send her a detailed time estimate, including things like digitizing (1 hour), quality assurance(30 min), mastering to tape(30 min) etc. You don’t work for free.

You are right, looking at the woman’s picture you can make a pretty good guess as to her personality. Sometimes you have to walk away, or if you take the job, you may have to fire your client.

But if money is tight and you need to work, you can always bite the bullet and know that you know more than the client. Money is money.

Mike