Ned Miller
3
COW Coins
Forum Replies Created
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Thanks Mark & Steve. Good to know.
Best,
Ned
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Hi All,
I’ve been retired about two years from the hamster wheel but I have one good tech client that gives me a very profitable couple of days a month, I can choose the dates and use my outmoded non-4K camera. I was suppose to go down and shoot at a large trade show in Atlanta March 9 & 10, I was going to drive down from Chicago and afterwards visit old friends in the SE for a week. The virus panic was just starting to get rolling but not the concern it is now.
Well, two days before the shoot the client’s client backed out. Fear of the virus, or rather of the South Koreans, Italians and Japanese who were going to be exhibiting and attending. I had no other work coming in, this would have been a quick $4K profit for me. I was a little nervous about how infectious the virus is but didn’t want to let my client down. I was letting my greed cloud my judgement. After freelancing for 41 years my default response is to always figure out how I can squeeze a gig in because one never knows when it will get slow.
But! And this is why I am posting, the client emailed and wanted me to do a one day shoot in TX for their client who had backed out in Atlanta, and now everyone is freaking out about getting infected. I discussed it with my wife and she started to flip out so I had to convince her how careful I would be: I’d drive down only eating my home made sandwiches from my cooler and cheese and crackers, I’d have no human contact besides the person at the desk in the hotel, I’d pump gas with the glove I now have in the car, etc. The shoot would be simple product demos, 1 engineer holding and discussing how their new gizmos work. But my wife wasn’t buying it and if I did do the shoot I’d have to stay in a hotel for two weeks when I got back.
So I emailed the client, mentioned all my health issues (plus I’m 66) and begged out of the gig, fearing they would find someone new and I’d be replaced and the response I go back was that they just wanted to squeeze this project in before their fiscal year ended!!!! I suggested that I could pre-invoice them and do the job once it was safe in the new fiscal year and I am waiting to hear back. I have done that several times for marketing departments: They have to spend their entire budget or it won’t be fully renewed in the next year’s budget. So think about suggesting that to your clients whose fiscal year will be ending in the next few months. They may need to park that money with you upfront.
I feel for you all, that’s why I visited this forum I was active on for many years, I wanted to see how you’re doing. It is hard enough to survive through a regular recession let alone the uncertainty this virus creates. I think all of our clients, broadcast may be an exception, will be in survival mode for about a year or so.
Good luck, stay positive, look for unique niches like live streaming and most importantly: STAY HEALTHY!
Ned in Chicago
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
Thanks everyone. I upgrade my MS Office and so I was able to get at the individual animations. Thanks!
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
Thanks but Keynote won’t open the builds so I probably do have a Read Only file.
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
Yes, I did that, but it goes against my nature to bother a client for something trivial, so at first I try to solve it myself, ask editors I know and lastly post here on CC. It may be that my version of Office being 2011 does not have something that would enable editing, but I don’t feel like upgrading just for this.
Others have said it could be a PC/Mac issue and some said that I may have been given a read only version because that appears in the heading: Read Only.
I have asked the client to open all the slides including their builds, save as JPEGs and give me those.
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
Thanks Jeremy.
OP HERE: After doing a lot of Googling I am learning that I need to Enable Editing or Enable Macros in PP. However, my problem might be that I have a Read Only version of this PP deck, it may be a PVC vs Mac issue, or perhaps because I am on Office 2011? But there is no button anywhere to allow me to see the individual slides for the build. Any ideas?
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
Oh! That’s a big mystery, over my head. However, there is one post guy I know who knows everything that there is possible to know about all post and that is Shane Ross, do you know him? He’s a Cow Leader. I used to shoot TV shows for 1895 Films in LA, where Shane lives, and he was, or still is, their editor. Sorry, I don’t have his contact info but you can search this site and PM him. Id’ shoot up the Bat Signal for him.
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
Hi Todd,
I once had a similar problem with a different camera so my solution would be:
Call a rental facility you have once used, that has that model camera, FedEx them a card of yours, ask them to please format the card in their camera, roll 60 seconds of bars at the settings you need, and send it back in the stamped self address envelope you provide. Most people like to help and it would be no bother to them.
Good luck,
Ned
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
Hi Bob,
You’re giving me PTSD! I retired in March, or at least I tried to, I work perhaps two days a month to keep my tax write offs open. I unsubscribed to The Cow, DVXuser, and all the others. Trying to forget this business! I get lots of inquiries and turn them over to the young shooters who are OK with these low rates for the fee of upscale restaurant gift cards.
I heard another news story on Watson today, it will soon replace oncologists! Since Watson does Deep Learning it can advise a cancer patient as to what course of treatment and meds will have the best outcome, so who needs an old grey haired doctor who reads and remembers only some of the studies? Watson also now reads biopsy slides much better than humans, and AI is now used in Europe for slide reading and the pathologists are fighting it from coming here. Lots of big McMansions will be for sale soon in the suburbs I think.
So nice to not have to deal with this anymore. I have kept a couple of fun, fast paying clients but otherwise all my video work is for small charities.Never going 4K. Off the hamster wheel.
Good luck to all of you still here!
Ned
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Got to thinking about this thread. When I would get an inquiry and then was hired by a client who was used to paying more, such as if they had to use the company’s marketing or advertising agency, in-house charge back video department or the video came through a “full service” production company, I seemed like an incredible bargain and they would pay whatever I asked, since it was a major savings. I called it “Cutting out the middleman”. Thus I produced many videos for Chase and other Fortune 100s.
However, if the prospect was used to paying much less, and if they were paying out of their own pocket, then whatever I quoted would seem way too high. I blame it on the growth of this interwebby thing that comes with our computers and phones: It makes it easier for the cheapskates to compare our rates with the lowest charging “video vendors”, especially crowd sourcing sites.
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com