[Ned Miller]

Do not do two entities, I did that for around 15 years. You’re doubling your marketing efforts and costs, from logo creation, printing, ads, two websites, two SEO efforts, ugh! And whatever you do, don’t incorporate the two, even as a DBA (Doing Business As). That’s twice the IRS and state paperwork.

I had one entity for producing and one for just DP services figuring my target markets were distinctly different. Now I have just one, but I have three types of business cards in my wallet depending on who I am hitting up:

• me as Producer/Micro Production Company
• me as freelance DP
• me as a litigation support video service just for attorneys and law firms (conservative font)

So having different business cards would be the cheaper, less confusing, way to go. And here’s a really important tidbit: Try to incorporate your name in the company name. The reason is, when offering creative services, if you are small, it’s easier for the clients to remember you since after all, it’s you pulling the train. You are the brand. The clients you work with will remember your name but a year or so down the road, or when new execs come in, they may not remember your company’s name. I’ve seen this happen quite a lot. However, if your company is mid size where you’re offering the services of others, then you’d want a branded company name.

Lastly, many websites that you will want to be listed on and even pay for are, unbelievably, still alphabetical! So stay close to A so you can be on the first page of results.

That will be $100.

Good luck,

Ned

Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
www,bizvideo.com

[Ned Miller]

I have been to Small Claims Court twice and both times, when we approached the bench, the judge said the same thing: “Let’s see your paperwork”, meaning a contract. So I don’t know how you would fare with a verbal agreement or a handful of emails. The judges are impatient, very busy, a lot of people waiting behind you. For this amount you don’t want to get a lawyer involved.

If you email me privately I can give you a boilerplate Work For Hire clause for a contract so next time it will be plain who owns the footage. I assume he doesn’t want to hand over the files because that’s his leverage to get paid, I have done that myself. If he feels he’s being “stiffed” it’s more about him getting his money rather than who owns the footage. Why would he want to own music video footage of no economic or stock footage value? I imagine he wants to be paid what he feels he is due. When I read the post I thought how can you do a two day shoot, edit, dancers for $5K? To me it was under budgeted from the get go, but maybe prices in LA are cheaper?

As Terry said you made a few mistakes, it’s always best to learn on other people’s money. I’d suggest signing up for one month on Lynda.com for $25, go to Video Production, there’s a NYU film school professor named Anthony Artis. He does a couple of courses on producing that I found valuable and I have been doing this for 30 years.

Lastly, I am very strict about the difference between the words Estimate and Quote. Estimate is squishy because the parameters of the job often change and who knows what Murphy’s Law will enter, so I use Estimate on all my paperwork with clients. I try to stay within it but if factors change that I can not control, then there will need to be a bump up. If for some reason I am left holding the bag, then there’s a “problem”. This seems to be the situation you are in.

Good luck!

Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
www,bizvideo.com

[Ned Miller]

I’ve been a freelance DP for over 30 years and I think it’s very smart to promise coffee and pastries before call time so you insure everyone arrives early. Otherwise, I would tend to look for a Paneras or Dunkin Donuts on the way in to top off my thermos, assuming there would be no coffee there and arrive one minute before call time.

As to lunch, I learned in the 70s that the production companies started to offer lunch on the set because they didn’t want the crew looking for nearby restaurants and drink during lunch, which was common then. Think Mad Men. In those days we were told to “be back in one hour”. We didn’t have the fast food and catering we do now.

Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
www,bizvideo.com

[Ned Miller]

This thread is an interesting problem that I often run into. I usually have in my “Letter of Agreement” or “Scope of Project”, since I don’t have formal contracts, some nomenclature that states the terms “two rounds of reasonable revisions”. Sometimes I spell out, or the client asks, what does “reasonable” mean, and to me it means: “You can’t change what you previously approved and you can not ask for something more that wasn’t in the estimate.”

When I have a phone conversation with the client regarding changes I usually ask them to send the request in the form of an email so when it comes time to discuss overages I will often write: “As per your email of…” So I am giving them fair warning that this is not really a revision but a distinct change, addition, upgrade, etc. It is best for me to do this in advance of the final bill because some of the companies are so bureaucratic there was an original purchase order and it is difficult to change it upwards, very difficult.

But what I would like to ask you guys is a typical problem I have: I am not interfacing with the final decision maker. I can make a video that is then sent up the food chain for approval and they come back with changes, that should be an additional cost, but the person at the company I am dealing with is med-level or there’s an unchangeable PO, so I have to eat the cost or start arguing with the client who doesn’t want to get in trouble with their boss. They all claim to be working within a “budget”. This is often the case with music, which may not be a big deal if the visuals weren’t cut to the beat but what if they were? Or the CEO now wants a gravelly male voice instead of the softer female VO? My contact’s hands are usually tied.

Some of my clients remind me of the children’s book about too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the broth and when my “final” video is presented it turns out there were more cooks, some of whom never saw the script, several levels above my client contact.

How do you folks handle that? It’s depressing to watch overages eat into the profit when my contact can’t get me more budget.

Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
www,bizvideo.com

[Ned Miller]

Hey Nick I’m blushing!

Thanks for the endorsement!

Best,

Ned

Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
www,bizvideo.com

[Ned Miller]

A directory ad like that one would be a total waste of money. However, you can get a free, more effective ad by listing in your state and city’s production directory. I imagine they are free, at least here in IL.

Anyone needing a studio the size of the PBS station is by definition “in the biz”. They know where to look. If they want to cover their bases they will Google: San Diego Video Studios. Your problem is your site will have low SEO compared to the studios that have been in business a long time and have tweaked their SEO, you will never, ever catch up.

What you can do with the seed money you were about to waste on that ad is to hire a Certified Google Adword Agency. These are consultants who have gone through Google’s course and know the intricate tricks for a Google Adword campaign. It is very complex to do it on your own so paying a hourly fee for a couple of hours to have it set up is worth it. This way when someone Googles “San Diego Video Studio” your PBS station’s ad will appear either on the top or side next to the competitors with great SEO. This is the only hope you have to appear on the same first page. If you need help you can email me privately. A friend of mine does it for car dealerships and there is no more competitive business than car sales. Google makes it seem easy but it isn’t, you need an experienced expert to set it up and monitor the first few months.

Also, make allies of the studios, somehow become their friend. When a client needs a studio and everywhere they inquire is booked for that day the clients will ask for their referral. Somehow arrange an agreement with them to trade referrals.

Our local PBS station tried what you are looking to do but priced themselves too high. Also, clients were afraid of being bumped at the last minute. In sum, what you are trying to do is very difficult because the station will have a fixed schedule of production times and they’re asking you to fill in the gaps with rentals. It would only work if you greatly under price your competitors. Also, most studio days need a pre-light or very early arrival on the shoot day, then at least a ten hour day, so I don’t see a PBS station studio being viable.

Good luck

Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
www,bizvideo.com

[Ned Miller]

Hi Greg,

For quite a few years in a row I used to shoot for The History Channel and we would go to local historical societies/museums. They usually preferred we didn’t remove anything so the producers would bring an oversize scanner. Also an easel and shoot a RAW stills with a DSLR and small soft light, so the editor could pan and do moves. By using them it’s free and they’re very helpful, often retirees who are volunteering. So that approach could provide a wealth of visuals, especially maps, platt surveys, etc. captured in DSLR stills.

I do know there are services that look for public domain visuals where rights clearances are already taken care of. Even shooting from a book you would need to have a copyright clearance from that publisher, even though their source was public domain. Plus, working on a government contract I would expect a clause that your company would be responsible for any errors and omissions, especially if it’s the Feds such as the National Park Service.

For historical pieces I would budget for some nice antique graphic maps with animation. I think if you look online at what other visitor’s centers have done with that time period, in terms of no original videotaping, that would be a good starting point. Google anything Daniel Boone, French & Indian War, etc. plus Park, Visitor Center.

Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
www,bizvideo.com

[Ned Miller]

I forgot to mention the real problem in disability is what is called Own Occ:

https://www.about-disability-insurance.com/ownocc.htm

The cheaper policies will screw you by saying that you are no longer disabled because you are capable of selling pencils on a street corner, they don’t care if you can still work in the video biz. So the better policies are what’s called Own Occ which means if you can NOT make a living in your present OWN OCCUPATION then they will give you the full amount of your claim. Of course they usually have to be dragged kicking and screaming to pay off, regardless of what the agent says at signing.

However…because many of us on this forum make good money doing post they could claim that since you can sit, see a monitor and click a keyboard you are NOT disabled, hey, you can still edit! If you say you’re mainly a producer they can snake out of even an Own Occ policy claim by saying, Hey, you can still use the phone and email! You can still produce! So you can’t go on location anymore to supervise the shoot? OK, we’ll pay 20% of your limit for that.

In sum, for those of you with or contemplating disability insurance, make sure it’s an Own Occ policy and be sure to tell them most of your revenue is because you can carry a large camera on your shoulder. They are very savvy and put videographers in the same rate category as roofers, so it is more expensive than a policy for a sit down profession. They are very wiley…Remember, everyone thinks they’re covered until it’s a good size claim…

Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
www,bizvideo.com

[Ned Miller]

I agree with Nick, although I’m in IL. As the owner I was not eligible for WC. In theory, in IL, if you hire an employee or non-incorporated “Independent Contractor”, you’re suppose to have a WC policy. A cheap one starts at around $1200 a year. I had only one client, a national crewing service, who required I have a WC policy. When they stopped using me I dropped it. When all things are equal it is safer to hire an incorporated freelancer.

As to disability, I had a policy with the US’s largest writer of that. However, when my BIL was severely injured and tried to collect from that company they told him to “Sue us”. Little did they know he had the money and fortitude to do it! They do a push back based on your zip code if you don’t want to settle for peanuts. Many people figured they are covered but the test is when you want to collect and it’s a serious case. If you Google the name of the carrier and reviews you will see that disability is such a squishy diagnosis that, unlike SS or the state, the independent insurers will do all they can to screw you. So, I dropped mine.

When I add up all I pay for all the various insurances I pay I want to cry. It’s not noticeable when business is booming but when you’re slow you realize it’s a waste of money, when you see how little they want to pay on a claim. As you can tell, I have fought a few insurance companies for what they were suppose to rightfully pay in the first place.

However, the next puppy we get we will get the vet insurance!

Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
www,bizvideo.com

[Ned Miller]

Wow Max, this is a problem client from the get-go. First, there’s no “industry standard”. In my Letter of Agreement (contracts are useless on small gigs) I write: “final half payment due upon completion to client’s satisfaction”. Sometimes I write that…That gives them a feeling of control. If they couldn’t trust that I would do a great job, why would they hire me?

I do trade show shooting all the time, just did the US’s largest auto show. Audio is easy: close miking. You have no control over what you can’t control, we have an expression, “It is what it is.” If there is a booth that is blaring music we move. I often will pass the headphones to my client for a CYA. If I were you, I’d get half up front and then you don’t remove the watermark of VERSION # on the screen until you get the second half.

There has to be a certain amount of trust for a relationship between client and vendor. For the auto show two day gig we gave an out of town agency 30 days net. On this forum we have discussed the subject of contracts. I find them useless. Been to small claims court a few times but I can not afford to hire a lawyer for a job that’s below around $15K. Usually the client is too big to sue and I’m to small to sue.

So in sum, if it smells like a problem client don’t do the job. My two cents.

Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
www,bizvideo.com