[Ned Miller]

Hi Scott,

Busy last week so could not respond. Yes there is definite ageism in this biz. The only benefit of getting older (besides accumulating wealth) is you get more experience and wiser, otherwise it’s all downhill! I’d say as a DP once you get to your late 40’s you aren’t getting the calls for jungle and mountain shooting for one thing. This is actually a pretty cruel industry to try to grow old in (a little easier in post production) unless your name is on the door. But let me ask you your opinion. Here’s a typical scenario:

Get a call for an early morning, high stress shoot:

• Downtown skyscraper, underground loading dock, stiff security, need to roll by 8AM so call at dock is 6AM, crew cars already parked. Should I even consider crew that works part time as bartenders, actors or wait staff and were up till 2:30AM? Single guys out at the clubs? I digress, don’t answer that one, wait. Here’s the deal:

• Get to the location and told the CEO or busy celebrity wants to do just one take and has to get out of there. Teleprompter. Client wants the “view” of windows behind subject (even though sunlight will stream in). Subject is a dark black man, bald, sweaty, wearing a white shirt and glasses. Client adds a three step walk to the shot.

So in this scenario, do I want my soundperson, grip and prompter operator to be around 45 years old with 20 years of experience? 55 years old with 30 years of experience? Or do I want the crew in their mid-twenties with just 2 years of experience? Perhaps for their “youthful energy” as mentioned in earlier posts?

Me? I prefer the crew with the grey hairs…

And if that same shoot was in a far out suburban location the crew members who do not own a car, meaning they don’t know the ins and outs of the city traffic patterns, and they rent a car and rely on what the GPS or Mapquest says as estimated times, my experience is that they will be late 100% of the time. And I have a lot of experience in that situation.

Age brings experience and car ownership promotes punctuality. When you think about it our main task is to minimize Murphy’s Law. I’m very good at that!

All the best,

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

[Ned Miller]

Hi Chris,

I see CS 5.5 on eBay, is that the equivalent of FCP7 in terms of ease of use? Will that work well with the new 27″ iMac?

Thanks,

Ned

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

[Ned Miller]

Hi Chris,

I would be handing it off to editors who use Premiere, many were FCP7 owners who were not thrilled with X, didn’t want to go back to Avid.

However, as a DP who will not use Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, etc. I just need to do titles, lower thirds, transitions, I don’t feel like spending $1900, FCPX looks better. Elements looks a little too basic though, need something in between. I guess I better give X another look.

Thanks

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

[Ned Miller]

Hmmmmm…..I thought X was suppose to be easy. My research shows that it often crashes and is hard to figure out why as seen in a post like this, look at their solution:

https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/335/46927

Now I am getting cold feet and am researching Premier regardless of the cost differential.

Thanks,

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

[Ned Miller]

Well, I updated the OS as John suggested and I hid the files like Charlie suggested in his Point 2 and I am not running off the DVD tutorial so I can’t figure out what is wrong. It seems that an Apple product should work perfectly with a new Apple computer right?

But what really has me paranoid is what if this were to happen during a real edit?

And John, can you please let me know if we can do that session at your convenience any time this afternoon or all day tomorrow? i have 3 days left of the trial period.

I will upgrade to 32GB ram this afternoon and see if it helps. I don’t think so because my error message is something about Thumbnail Request Manager

Many thanks!

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

[Ned Miller]

Thank you friends! I will do the software update, do what you suggest, contact John and take care of this tomorrow, wife wants to go to dinner.

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

[Ned Miller]

Hi Patrick,

I saw your post the other day, couldn’t respond because I’ve been filming (I no longer say “shooting” because of the gun debate) and a whole slew of memories has come to the fore thinking about your post. It’s not the lying thing, in fact I don’t think anyone is dumb enough to fall for that, the other guys probably couched it in terms of “we partner with…” or “our associates have…”, that’s besides the point.

What I have been thinking about is that so many clients won’t give us the REAL reason, some are non-confrontational or have other issues. Sometimes we are a check bid and they were surprised we called and have no ready answer. I too have called and respectfully said, “For my professional development could you please let me know why I did not win the bid?” You can tell by how long the pause is… Perhaps the CEO’s golfing buddy has a kid who just finished film school. I have found that if it’s the price everyone is willing to say that, since bare knuckle capitalism is patriotic and in many cases the lowest price wins.

I’ve been guilty of it too since I want to avoid hurting people’s feelings when they ask why I didn’t hire them. So in sum, I’m thinking that maybe they didn’t give you the real reason?

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

[Ned Miller]

Thank you everyone!!! I will be today’s project.

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

[Ned Miller]

Hey Chris,

I am using AVCcam & P2. I have very little on the internal drive since it is new.

I guess I will have to do the daisy chain method but if experts like you say it’s not faster then why bother buying one?

Thanks

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

[Ned Miller]

OK cool. This is a great place to learn the biz side of video production. I have learned a lot and I have been in this circus for 33 years. So don’t be too quick to take offense or attack and we’ll all be willing to answer your questions.

If you look at all the forums on Cow this is the most crucial one. Why? Because if you can’t make a decent profit on a regular basis then there is no way you can stay in production or post, except as a hobby. Any chimp with some technical skill and basic creativity can muddle through and make a video. However, there are very, very few who have figured out how to run a real business in video where you can steadily pay for rent, groceries, car payment, health insurance and bowling league fees. This is especially true for all the new people under 30 because now the rates are so damn low. So learning the business side is all important.

This forum is invaluable to bounce ideas off folks and gather new ways of doing things. Just above this thread is a bookkeeping thread and we helped the guy with his decision. In sum, you want to be BUDDIES with the people here, even if some grate on you, because you will need this forum to help grow your business and learn about the side of video that will help you survive. Always remember: Anyone can make video but very, very few can make a living at video. The people here will help show you how but only if you come across as appreciative and likable.

In sum, we all like to help the new folks, just be cool.

Later,

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