Ned Miller
3
COW Coins
Forum Replies Created
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I try to get 50% of the budget (non-travel) up front. When we’re done with the production portion and I have all my travel receipts in, I then bill the travel portion and ask for “fast track” or asap payment. This way I am not waiting for the completion of the video and waiting for the 2nd half + travel. As everyone in the biz knows, the definition of “complete” is vague and can take weeks, but I need the travel money paid quickly because it’s on my credit card. An alternative option is if you can travel with the client, everything related to travel is put on their credit card, but this assumes they are always with you.
I am more forgiving of Fortune 100s and steady clients than I am of new clients.However, some mega size clients have to abide by their internal accounting rules and I have to tack on the travel to the 2nd payment. I always include the travel receipts though.
But getting back to the point I was making in the post: No matter how carefully I estimate, the four categories of travel are so variable. In the good old days I would slip a skycap $20-$50 tip and take on everything, now I may be charged hundreds for overweight and excess bags. Besides, it varies from airline to airline. So if at all possible I get permission to do all the non-travel part of the estimate (but include your travel only days), and the four categories of travel (Airfare, Meals, Lodging, Car Rental) will be billed “In Addition at Cost”. I usually include a line that I will travel reasonably, meaning a Marriott Courtyard versus the downtown Hyatt, etc.
It also depends if you are doing an estimate as a videographer or a full service production company. It is expected that a cameraman is reimbursed for travel very quickly by the producer who has supposedly his 50% up front to pay the shooter.
There have been a few times when they needed an exact travel estimate because they wanted to compare using me against a local video production company, so they needed the travel costs to compare apples to apples.
Ned
P.S. When estimating always take out all the rental car insurance you can. If you get in a bad accident your carrier might not cover you unless you had a business policy, and you can’t look to the client’s company because their legal department may cut you loose as a “contractor”. Verbal agreements mean nothing, so take the insurance. When asking for hotel rates get the bottom line. Here in Chicago a $200 room really means a $270 room when all the taxes and fees (tourist gouging) are added on.
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
http://www.bizvideo.com -
The way I was taught, and this has worked for three decades is:
When bidding, try to avoid estimating the four categories of travel or list as Additional Anticipated Expenses to Be Billed Separately at Cost.
These four areas have incredible variables, such as how far in advance you book the tickets, unanticipated staying at super expensive airport hotels, etc. So I always break Air Travel, Lodging, Meals and Rental Cars as an “additional expense” that will NOT BE MARKED UP. The only category you can possibly come close with is the rental vehicle, the three others are total wild cards. To cover yourself you’d have to bid wildly high, and even if you rebate the surplus like Nick does, your initial bid will look incredibly high.
With the excess baggage factor you have no idea what it will cost, and you never know what kinds of restaurants you’ll find yourself using (per diems are never enough). For instance: at meals you may be treating several people you didn’t expect to be there and you don’t want to appear impolite. So if at all possible tell the client that the 4 categories of travel will be IN ADDITION. If they say they need an “idea or ballpark” then you have to dedicate the two hours to estimate it.
Lastly, since all these items will be on my credit card I insist on that portion of the budget to be upfront, no waiting for payment. Unless it’s a longtime client or Fortune 500 company.
Well, that’s my .02¢. Worked thus far.
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
http://www.bizvideo.com -
Hi Mick,
I don’t join in threads unless I know something about that subject and this one I have quite a bit of experience in:
Video for Social Media, by Professional Video People, Is Now Too Cheap to Deal With. Especially since you mention you are targeting non-profits.
This area of production has become too DIY, or they want a UGC look (user generated content). For a couple of years I had a good run doing videos for SM, mainly for large companies doing B2C, then when they finally realized there were no returns they could prove to the C level it petered out. I receive several trade magazines on this subject such as Website, E Content, B2B, etc., and there are a ton of articles about companies trying to prove the worth of SM in terms of ROI and I am on the look out for articles regarding the use of pro video in SM. The Holy Grail has always been the video that goes viral but they are one in a million. If you can latch onto a large company with a good size digital advertising budget, then producing video for SM can be worthwhile financially. But my experience has been that market is getting cheaper, or perhaps it’s all these low priced competitors syphoning it off?
To my point, check out:
https://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1009197&ecid=a6506033675d47f881651943c21c5ed4
Also:
These articles sum it up: Plateau and No Metrics. After a couple of years of throwing stuff against the wall and see what sticks, many of my clients are slowing down on SM(and online) marketing which means less video. No big deal, I will go after other niches. Beware that many articles in these trades that paint a rosy picture are often PR pieces planted by companies (and SEO/SM consultants), that’s why I like to read the surveys instead.
There are some SEO experts who want their clients to place video on all their SM pages just to increase visibility to the search engines, as if they were blogs, so I get a lot of calls from very small businesses that can’t afford a pro. I have also noticed that a lot of people that used to produce websites moved into SEO consulting when they saw how crowded development was getting and now they have moved into SM consulting. They are everywhere have you noticed?
So in sum, I think the profits for producing pro video for Social Media sites is on a steep decline, unless you can get in with a very large, marketing driven company that needs to present a high quality level for their brand and image. That’s my two cents.
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
http://www.bizvideo.com -
Here is the most important advice that I have given many young guys entering the biz, and this is based on my 33 years in the industry:
Marry a woman from a wealthy family who has a high income career!
You will not go wrong.
Best of luck,
Ned
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
http://www.bizvideo.com -
Hi Bryan,
I have been a freelance Chicago Videographer for thirty years and here’s my advice:
The best option is to ask another producer who they have used but if you don’t have a personal referral there are several directories that I go to. I would avoid the crewing services, even Crews Control. I shot for them for many years but in the last several years they have changed the way they pick someone for your assignment: now they will assign a DP that is closest to your job rather than who may be best. I know this because I live in the far northern suburbs and they would never call me for a downtown gig. They must have a program that compares zip codes or something since many shooters charge portal-to-portal which is an old union rule I never used. Crewing services are best for finding shooters in the boon docks.
Professional shooters list on https://broadcastvideo.com/freelance.html These are experienced pros so you won’t have to filter through wedding shooters, newbies, etc. Another site that pros are on is https://mandy.com/ and productionhub.com There are many others but these are where the pros tend to list.
Also, on my site I have a list of ALL the good crewing sites, since I have to find crews often: https://www.nedmiller.com/video-links.asp But I would avoid a crewing service unless you have absolutely no time to do it yourself. You’d have a DP showing up who has taken a 15-20% hit on their rate as it is. Best to be able to interview over the phone and establish a rapport. You can tell a lot about one’s personality and chemistry just on the phone whereas a service acts as a buffer, despite all their PR.
Lastly, in most of the major markets I know my counterparts so if you contact me I can tell you about Boston.
Take care,
Ned
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
http://www.bizvideo.com -
Hi,
I am a freelance DP and can steer you to private owners suh as grip truck owners who will rent to you cheaper than a rental company. Email me at
ned (at) nedmiller.com
Regards,
Ned
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
http://www.bizvideo.com -
Getting back to the original post: I haven’t used a separate audio recording facility for VO in maybe 5 or 6 years. It seems either the editor has a “good enough” room or the talent have built something in their home. Some have used the master bedroom closet in their McMansion, the deadest room in their house. One has a full isolation booth WhisperRoom on a floated floor and lots of geeky professional gear including a Rode mic. I am often contacted by VO talent and the first thing I ask is can they record at their place, perhaps I will be on a phone patch. If yes, I query as to the model and quality of the mic, what software they will use, do they know how to cut out breathes, etc.
So…what was HSR doing in a specific niche in our industry as the entire business model changed? Debates about debt load are irrelevant, history is full of examples of businesses not adapting: they were delivering ice when the refrigerator started to be sold. Someone moved their cheese:
https://www.whomovedmycheese.com/?gclid=CLixxtmZi6kCFUa8Kgode109sw
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Oops! Original poster here. I meant the Skype video will be on a FIFTEEN FOOT wide video wall, not 15″.
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
http://www.bizvideo.com -
Anything with the words VIDEO & BOCA RATON in the same sentence: run!
OK where do I start…This particular company MAY be legit but this area is what we freelance shooters call the epicenter of the “Boca Bandits”. We call them bandits because they rack up a LOT of bills, get sued (often by the celebrity host), spend down their assets, declare bankruptcy and then move across the street under a new name, owing freelance shooters like myself our money.
These are production companies that mainly produced infomercials but have moved into “Pay-for-Play” PR videos like they are pitching your friend. They do a pretty good job of making a video but seldom can get you the airplay they promise. It’s usually ROS (Rotation-of-Station) which means the station randomly chooses a time slot which often means no one sees it.
They contract C List celebs usually on their way down. Joan Lunden, High Downs, Walter Cronkite, former quarterbacks…they lend an air of credibility.
My theory is that they are in Boca because that is, or was, the center of stock market “boiler rooms” for 20 years, so there’s lots of great phone salespeople there. There are a dozen companies doing this, a scam, you’re paying a lot for the airtime you get. I did one for Titans of Industry or something and their segment appeared at 5AM! It was hosted by famous quarterback Terry Bradshaw. PBS has sued these firms because they usually promise to get you on public TV. See:
https://www.scpr.org/news/2010/04/20/sold-documentaries-on-public-tv-firms-get-ads/
https://floridapayforplayexposed.blogspot.com/
https://www.mountainx.com/news/2008/local_business_owner_sued_for_20_million_over_blog_post
https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2006/02/27/daily22.html
https://www.scam.com/showthread.php?p=903821
https://www.ogletreeseo.com/399.html
In sum, since they are Boca based this seems to be the same thing as before, not a full out scam but a massive abuse of money for little if any return. Just being based in Boca means they’re one of those types of companies. Among us freelance DPs we have traded information as to Boca based companies that run up bills to crews knowing they will have to fold due to lawsuits. Beware!
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
http://www.bizvideo.com -
Thank you David Roth Weiss for vindicating me: “when pointed out here by many who recognized the changes early on, in almost every instance they were belittled and met by post after post from Walter and Bob telling them that everything in the world was just peachy.”
Last year I posted a couple of times about this very trend, specifically how clients were doing video themselves, using Flip cameras, interns producing, etc. and the responses were incredulous. Now I see that this trend has spread out from Chicago and more on this forum are noticing it. There is a fundamental, and I hate to use the cliche: “changing paradigm”, at the bottom, and low middle range. Although us pros don’t care to troll the bottom end, it sure helps pay the bills when times are slow or expenses are high. Perhaps one has kids in college or a boat payment? We could always count on the bottom end and low middle when between high end well paying projects. Alas…no more.
How are others on this board combatting this trend? I for one, on my slow days, market to what I perceive are prospects in growing companies, in hot recession proof industries, based on news stories in local business sections and trade magazines.