Ned Miller
3
COW Coins
Forum Replies Created
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I do believe the “visual effect to stun the culprits” has already been invented:
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
Also, you can do a quad split and add some security type data at the bottom. Here is a MSNBC TV show pilot I shot a lot of and if you ff to :43 you’ll see this:
https://www.msnbc.com/documentaries/watch/heist-terror-in-the-heartland-98734147686
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
I’ve used a DSLR on a suction cup. I always put a pillow or something cushiony on the floor beneath it just in case it falls. I did all of Chases’s videos for years here and PIN security and not getting robbed as you leave was a biggie. You’ll notice there’s a lot of glass walls in banks, for a reason, so suction cup mounts is the way to go. Then B&W it, add a time stamp, if you have the energy add the obligatory flashing red dot signifying recording. I didn’t use the GoPro in case we needed to punch in and reposition, which we did. When your client wants grundgey, you’re better off shooting at a higher quality and junking it up in post than the other way around, but hey, I’m a shooter and you’re an editor so you already know that!
Here’s a screen grab of a typical one I did for Chase. My biker looking soundman is in the scene scaring the young woman. To make it appear realistic place your camera where the security camera would be, show the door and the ATM machine.
Good luck,
Ned
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
Hi Charles,
Nice coincidence. Please email me and maybe we can work together or I can at least steer you. I’m winding down my career and biz. If you do want to pursue AC to DP, which is the realm of Gear Freaks, please monitor the DVXUser.com forums and learn the lingo and keep up with all the (constant) new models and advances, here’s two forums that are the most popular because they are following the Sony FS5&7 and Canon C100 & 300 crowd:
https://www.dvxuser.com/V6/forumdisplay.php?219-PMW-Cameras-(-amp-temp-FS7-FS5)
There’ also a forum similar to this one there called Distribution & Marketing and you should re-post your question there, but beware that rates on the coast are higher than here in Chicago (those damn coastal elites!).
Also bookmark and regularly visit these sites until you understand the geek speak, because shooters are gear junkies that is what they prefer to talk about and if you can’t keep up with their conversation they will raise an eyebrow:
Even though I have been doing this a long time I can not keep up on all these tech advances, after all, software/firmware tweaking is a lot of what a DP is now expected to know and do. Worse, we are expected to keep buying and providing the latest camera(s), yet not charge more, which is why I am stepping off the hamster wheel. Even if your present camera produces a beautiful image, if your competitors have “the latest” at the same or below what you are charging, you’re toast. Video DPing is now a very Darwinian Brutally Capitalist situation.
Best regards,
Ned
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
Thanks Mark. I think if one is young, is a workaholic, has a tremendous aptitude for lenses and electronics, lives in LA or NYC, has an uncle or father in the union with some clout so he can be admitted, has no intentions of getting married or have kids, no plans for a white picket fence in the suburbs, then a career as an AC with an eye to making at as a DP is a possibility. It was easy in my heyday to make a major profit when it was so well paying and you didn’t need to own so many camera bodies.
Good luck Charles!
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
You didn’t mention what end of the biz you want to enter and where you are, I’d need to know that to suggest a range.
As a DP and/or Producer I often ask new people their rate, and when there’s time I enter them into a Word doc called Local Crew, which I update several times a year. I will have their rate in parentheses next to their phone number and most crew members will have a range rather than a plain rate. It’s good to sign off with, “but I’m flexible”, or “will work with your budget”, because you at least want them to call and get the conversation started. If you want to work with someone new who represents possible future business, you may want to do all in your power to encourage them to give you a first try to see how good you are, that’s been my technique. Show them you’re: Fast, Creative, Reliable, Strong, Tough, Doesn’t Complain, Good Around Clients, Babies their gear, Arrives Early, etc. Only by getting that first try can you prove how good you are, so a low “introductory special for the first day only” was a good tactic for me. I’d say when I was AC, first day is $X (which would be discounted) and then I’d list my “regular” rate and say ” rates good until end of this year”. Very important to state that it is a ten hour day, overtime between ten and twelve, double time after 12. If you don’t you will be run into the ground. I have seen many arguments start in OT when some guys were being paid more than others, so list that up front. My last staff gig in 1979 I fell asleep at the wheel after a 16 hour day in the pre-dawn darkness, crossed into the oncoming lanes, that’s how long the hours are in this horrid biz. By charging double time at least you may be able to afford the Motel 6 they were too cheap to get you. But I digress…
A Half Day is not to be taken literally as half your rate, I call mine a “Short Day”, because after all, you still have to commute and if you’re a good “up ‘n comer”, you get there at least a half hour early in case there’s bad traffic, so even though they call it a “Half Day”, really your whole day is blown. There’s an expression: “If you’re on time, you’re late.” So even with a short day you need to get there early.
Most DPs and ACs providing gear will call a Half Day 4 or 5 hours “portal-to-portal”, meaning from their front stoop, but we who live way out in the suburbs can’t penalize a client for us wanting to live so far away, so a Half Day becomes 4 hours “on location”. That’s most of the US, 4 hours on location, but that really turns into longer hours. It’s best if this short or half day is connected with other full days and you want to be known as “flexible”, because a shoot may have to go into another day just because of the weather or something unforeseen.
Since you are trying to transition from PA to AC there are similarities, yet some major differences, in terms of impressing the people who will hire you. You want to demonstrate a skill set so the rate you send is commensurate with that level of expertise. If the DP is using his own gear, like myself, breaking a new guy in who learns how it is all safely packed, what goes with what, how to set up, and most importantly: Won’t hurt my gear!, then I will prioritize hiring him or her. Very important. This way you become indispensable to that DP. Also, how to pack his car, van or truck. Every DP has his own puzzle going so when a crew member learns how it all fits I’m forced to keep hiring him or her. My point is, if a DP you AC’d for asks for your card and to send in your rates in an email, that means he was impressed with you otherwise he wouldn’t have asked.
So in sum, you can list an “Introductory 1st Day Special” which is discounted, and then your rates for 10, 12 and 12+ hour day, and then your Half Day, which is usually done at 2/3rd your full rate because half of a rookie rate is too small to make it worth your while. But what’s most important is the wording sucking up to the DPs as to how you want to make their life easier by doing all the heavy lifting, their work will look better because you’re there, in other words: Benefit Statements. The greater the age difference the more you should do all the heavy lifting and wow, they will start loving you because most cameramen suffer from physical ailments from years of shooting. It would also help greatly if you learn and know the basics of audio to at least do interview audio, and you should be helpful with the lighting and media management. ACs are only “true” ACs nowadays in LA, NYC and on big features, otherwise all crew should be utility infielders. As I need to pick up total strangers around the US (usually on Production Hub), I would not hire someone who list he or she is only an “AC”, but rather I will look for what I would call an “Intelligent Grip”, who can also AC, help with lighting and basic audio and do ALL the heavy work. So I don’t think having AC as your label is helpful unless you’re in LA or NYC or trying to impress people at parties. you don’t want to shoot yourself in the foot.
But…what the Hell do you want to do all the above for? You’re thirty years too late. If you’d like a “normal” life, with a good salary, get out now before it’s too late. The hours are killer, the prices have plummeted, the competition is intense. I looked at this forum tonight, as I do every few days, and I was planning on posting a rant about losing several bids in a row to incredibly cheap competitors, so beware that if you ain’t a rich kid this is not for you, unless you can find one to marry (don’t agree to sign the pre-nup!). Watch this, take two aspirin and call me in the morning. It’s about the people in the biz, mainly ACs, who died falling asleep at the wheel after a super long day, as I almost did. Hey, what other profession do you get to obliviously speed into oncoming traffic? The ACs and lighting crew are the first to arrive and the last to leave:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbd5M6U8syU
Crazy to want to enter the biz in 2017!
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
I had grown up with the myth that golfer Arnold Palmer never had a contract, he only did handshakes but boy I was wrong. I just read about his famous “handshakes only” myth, PR hooey:
Arnie was about to agree to his first endorsement and a young lawyer he met said he would draw up a contract:
I said, ‘No you won’t.’ He said, ‘I’m a lawyer, that’s what I do. My business is doing contracts.’ I said, ‘I don’t really care what you do as a lawyer. What you’re going to do is you’re going to tell me what you’re going to do for me, and I’ll tell you what I’m going to do for you, and then we’ll shake hands and go ahead and do what we said.'”
Wow…so until today I always believed this BS about him doing handshakes which molded my anti-contract attitude. Maybe it’s a Midwest thing? If you can’t trust someone, don’t do business with him. Check this out:
https://www.golf.com/golf-plus/arnold-palmer-img-and-handshake-started-modern-sports-industry
Happy New Year!
Ned
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
Hey Greg,
Perhaps I should do it more your way. I always assumed the purpose of the contract was to collect in a court of law? For over ten years, the client which sent my two kids through college (5 years each of course) was the US largest bank, and their contract, which could not be abridged (take it to leave it), was the size of a short film’s script. If you dropped it on a desk it would make a loud thud. Same with a major university I produced for. I closed my eyes and signed figuring if I was every sued to the hilt, I’d declare bankruptcy because Lord knows I couldn’t pay to defend myself. Too bad a Public Defender can’t be assigned for civil court!
Happy New Years to you and everyone here. May 2017 be healthy and prosperous (because 2016 wasn’t so much).
Best,
Ned
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
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I seldom use a contract because I am too small to sue and they are usually too large to sue. I have gone to Small Claims Court a few times and the first thing the judge says is, “Let’s see your paperwork.” It’s more like a TV court show than a real courtroom, but it does have rule of law. What we consider to be a “contract” is laughable to real attorneys, they can see holes in our contracts you can drive a truck through, but in Small Claims the judge may smile upon you, but there are LIMITS. I use a layman’s Letter of Agreement which spells out who is responsible for what and when and how much. It does get touchy when you insist they sign every damn tweak because I think it’s tantamount to saying, “I don’t trust you.” I have had web designers do that to me and I don’t care for it myself. It is more common when working for government or agency contracts because the bean counters in accounting won’t pay for overages unless there’s a paper trail of Requests/Approvals, but most companies I don’t think it’s necessary.
I have been ripped off a few times in my 38 years of doing this and invariably they can be attributed to miscommunications. I even had a 36 year old female client die without a will, so it went into probate and took forever for me to get .60¢ on the dollar. Bankruptcy Court too. Contracts are used to wipe up coffee spills there because first there’s the IRS, then the Secured Creditors, then the *%#@! bankruptcy lawyers and they make sure there’s nothing left after them!
If you do develop what you consider to be a contract, just for grins, walk into your local strip mall lawyer’s office and ask (for free) what he or she would charge you to enforce it and you will quickly walk out and know what I mean. They will never be able to give you a final figure and will use the word “if” a lot, plus the phrase “On the other hand…”. The costs to enforce your contract are so onerous, possibly way above the budget itself, that having a signed contract and not being able to use Small Claims makes it financially unviable or impossible to enforce.
The times I produced really large jobs, in the tens of thousands and had a real contact written by a pro, the client’s attorney or in-house counsel “marked it up” because the laymen clients I was dealing with naturally don’t want to sign such legalese, and then there was a lot of back-and-forth and the changes are always made in the large company’s favor. When dealing with large Fortune 100s they will have a contract so onerous I have to close my eyes and sign it. Black ink of course…
So in sum, get some money upfront, half is best for me, and beware that most clients don’t want to paid until the job is “finished”, and the definition of that word is really squishy. You can watermark the corner and remove it when fully paid. But…your gut instinct as to whether they are honest is most important, since using the legal system for paltry amounts isn’t viable. Walk away if they smell fishy. That’s what I do. The problem with doing post as a living is that most of the budget has already been blown through by the time they get to editing.
Good luck,
Ned
State Dollar Limit
Alabama
$6,000
Alaska
$10,000
Arizona
$3,500
Arkansas
$5,000
California
$10,000, except that a plaintiff may not file a claim over $2,500 more than twice a year. Limit for local public entity or for businesses is $5,000. $6,500 is the limit in suits by an individual against a guarantor that charges for its guarantor or surety services.
Colorado
$7,500
Connecticut
$5,000 (except in landlord-tenant security deposit claims).
Delaware
$15,000
District of Columbia
$5,000
Florida
$5,000
Georgia
$15,000 (no limit in eviction cases).
Hawaii
$5,000; no limit in landlord-tenant residential security deposit cases. For return of leased or rented personal property, the property must not be worth more than $5,000.
Idaho
$5,000
Illinois
$10,000
Indiana
$6,000 ($8,000 in Marion County)
Iowa
$5,000
Kansas
$4,000
Kentucky
$2,500
Louisiana
$5,000 (city court); $5,000 (justice of the peace, but no limit on eviction cases).
Maine
$6,000
Maryland
$5,000
Massachusetts
$7,000; no limit for property damage caused by motor vehicle.
Michigan
$5,500
Minnesota
$15,000 ($4,000 for claims involving consumer credit transactions, $15,000 for claims involving money or personal property subject to criminal forfeiture)
Mississippi
$3,500
Missouri
$5,000
Montana
$7,000
Nebraska
$3,600 from July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2020 (adjusted every five years based on the Consumer Price Index)
Nevada
$10,000
New Hampshire
$10,000
New Jersey
$3,000 ($5,000 for claims relating to security deposits); certain landlord-tenant suits cannot be brought
New Mexico
$10,000
New York
$5,000 ($3,000 in town and village courts)
North Carolina
$10,000
North Dakota
$15,000
Ohio
$3,000
Oklahoma
$7,500
Oregon
$10,000
Pennsylvania
$12,000
Rhode Island
$2,500
South Carolina
$7,500
South Dakota
$12,000
Tennessee
$25,000; no limit in eviction suits or suits to recover personal property
Texas
$10,000
Utah
$10,000
Vermont
$5,000
Virginia
$5,000
Washington
$5,000
West Virginia
$5,000
Wisconsin
$10,000; no limit in eviction suits
Wyoming
$6,000Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
