Ned Miller
3
COW Coins
Forum Replies Created
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I use Prompt Dog. I highly recommend them. Dirt cheap. Stay away from phones and iPads. I have a full size teleprompter but for poor clients I can use the laptop.
The reason to use your laptop rather than phones and pads is that when you are doing a VIP, whether it’s a celebrity, CEO, etc., their time is very short and there’s often copy changes. You need to change it FAST. So having the keyboard of a laptop is a plus. Also, as people age they can’t see as far. The vain don’t want to wear their glasses. The LARGER the text the safer you will be since you never know on a gig how far the text will be from the subject.
Try Prompt Dog, there’s a free trial.
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
Oh! Here’s some others. I guess Wednesday the news hit that many ACA providers were going to raise rates big time:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/obamacare-worries-largest-texas-insurer-191310560.html
https://www.bizneworleans.com/June-2016/Insurance-Rates-Going-Up-New-Concerns-For-Obamacare/
https://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2016/04/21/Get-Ready-Huge-Obamacare-Premium-Hikes-2017
and on and on. I’m a news junkie. My wife is a teacher protected by the union and I get the spousal option, is great insurance but not cheap either. I pay in the new school year $1060 per month for myself with the PPO plan, which I believe is just one down from the top-of-the-line plan.
My favorite line from The Big Short: People hate to think about bad things happening so they always underestimate their likelihood. Everyone thinks they’re covered until a major incident occurs. Then when the deductibles, copays and coinsurance bills come in, according to my bro and others, it’s very bad financial news. Helps to be dirt poor! All I care about is if something really major needs to be done, such as I need a brain transplant, that I can go downtown to one of the humongous teaching hospitals where the pros are, not these podunk suburban chains. That’s all I truly care about because of the horror stories I’ve heard and experienced. A broken toe I’ll check in here but I do not want a policy to save money and then I can’t “go downtown.”
But this is why I don’t want employees and partners. I don’t want employees because I don’t want to pay for their insurance, and I don’t want partners because I don’t want to split the profit.
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
To Todd the OP’s question: Small Business Owners will be more screwed in 2017. This is why I never wanted employees! See today:
https://digitaledition.chicagotribune.com/launch.aspx?pbid=3e7227b1-e3b7-4fac-aa07-5f943e58b4c5
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
Yes Tim, some good. I have a few pre-existing conditions so if I were to be shopping on the open market I could get coverage now thanks to the ACA. And I have two kids in their twenties who will only get covered if the government puts a gun to their head as they are now doing. And the poor are now covered, technically.
However…in the middle class world I inhabit, when you back out the corporate types covered by work, all I know who were forced onto ACA policies are very, very, VERY unhappy. They got dropped by their current carrier and what was replaced was higher premiums but what’s worse: Higher deductibles, co-pays and this new co-insurance thing. My own bro can’t see the doctors he’s been with for years and remember, that was the mantra: You will still be able to keep your doctors. Uh Uh. New term: Narrow Networks. And my bro is a staunch (rabid) Democrat. Not happy. I suppose it makes one have healthier habits???
In sum, yes you are technically covered but…God forbid you come down with something expensive, THAT’S when you find out what the real cost will be, and I hope that doesn’t happen to you. It has happened recently to members of my extended family of various ages who tend to all be self employed.Tremendous sticker shock even though they are “covered”. I’m glad my wife is in a strong union but we were told just the other day the next school year will have a 6% premium increase. I suppose I should be thankful it ain’t the usual 10%? Hmmmm…I thought inflation was 1.8%? Glad the poor are now covered but they are now using the ER even more because less doctors are now accepting Medicaid. Unintended consequences:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-emergency-room-visits-keep-climbing-1430712061
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
Due to the fact I live in the northern burbs of Chicago, surrounded by Pharma HQs and often shooting and producing for their hospital, medical devices and medical society allies and enemies, I can assure all the uninitiated that: EVERYTHING is controlled, killed and promoted by their lobbyists, so nothing will ever improve. All legislative proposals are re-written by them. Former government regulators are hired by them. I know this for a fact since I do their talking heads. To me, Obama, and Hillary before him, were Don Quixotes charging windmills. Nothing will change. Seen it first hand. My wife loves House of Cards but I can’t watch it because I know it’s real. They all drink their organization’s Kool Aid so they each, on a personal level, don’t see themselves doing harm. They will spin it, and have the videos promote, that they are actually doing some good. Go figure. Their salaries are so astronomical that they are impervious to the pain of increased premiums, their families will always be on the Gold Plan.
Sorry.
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
I get my coverage through my teacher wife’s union and we were just informed that mine will go up 6% next school year so I will then pay $1000 per month just for myself for a BCBS PPO plan. Growing up they were the gold standard but now I see them as evil.
Personally I don’t know how you do it Todd. I am anti-overhead and I see having staff as overhead.The inability to contract when things get slow. Insurance is just going to keep on going up and now they have tricks, even on Obamacare, that the premiums look reasonable but you get killed on the deductibles, copays and something called co-insurance. We sadly found this out lately with various close relatives having some major medical issues.
Why did I dodge the draft? I could be on the VA’s dime now!
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
Ahhhhh….being in Silicon Valley tech runs in your blood.
So my logic was, this would be a $20-$30K project and I’d get half up front. However, if the feed went south I could expect the client to balk at paying the last half and I didn’t want to take that risk.
Best,
Ned
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
Thanks Matt. Yes, I know Atomic Imaging. Are you in Chicago?
I did pass on this due to the clause of supplying the feed, that is technically out of my comfort zone. In fact, I am not a fan of producing live events-Too Stressful. I don’t mind shooting them but I avoid producing them.
This job is in Milwaukee so I did some research, found the best, most experienced company that does webcasts and we have worked out a commission if they land the project.
Thank you,
Ned
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
Hey Nick,
Hope your house is getting better.
This will be of interest to the OP. Ever since the move towards using still photography lenses for a shallow depth-of-field, I have hated, hated, hated shooting that way unless it was an easy, slow day. I specialize in servicing clients that need me to move fast, usually documentary style, keeping up with reality or they always try to fit three days into two, two days into one, etc. This Canon servo zoom is what I really need and although it’s $6K w/tax, I would then be able to sell my servo zoom HPX300 for perhaps $4K, so for gigs where I need to smoothly follow and zoom, and avoid constant swapping of lenses I think of the zoom costing $2K. I only keep the 300 for gigs where I need to zoom which may be 35-50% I always do the interviews with shallow DoF cameras but in about half the b-roll segments I do servo zoom cameras, I can give the editors so many more b-roll shots because I can change focal length instantly.
For instance, today I shot a corporate video and they wanted me to show their app in use, outside which makes it tougher. I had a 11-16 for the wide shot, then swap to the 24-105 for the obligatory over-the-shoulder and face shot, then the 70-200 for the screen. Ugh! If I had a zoom it would have been so much easier!
I am two years away from retiring so I have been trying not to throw money down the gear hole and I have to curb my usual lusting, but something happened today that made me very happy with my new gizmo: I shot for the first time professionally with my new Osmo X3!!!!
I was going to start a thread on this but after practicing a week I worked out all the bugs and I got some great b-roll today! It’s like a mini Glidecam using the camera and gimbal system of DJI’s drones and fits in your hand. There’s a swirling controversy that DJI released it before it was ready for pro usage, but it is really a toy for the masses that we can adapt. There is a higher level X5 for pros but I’m waiting for all the bugs to be ironed out. It cost $650 but with all the accessories it is $900 all in. I highly recommend it, anyone can use it. I was teaching the producer to use it so he could grab smooth shots while I do other stuff when the folks who we were to film came in the room to do a faux big meeting.
I told the producer I needed 5 minutes to do some Osmo work and started doing circles, swirls, figure 8s, faux slider moves and the producer was on my left side watching the monitor (my Droid phone!) and he actually said this was better, more authentic than us doing “the usual” so we don’t need further footage. But I felt that since this was my maiden voyage with the Osmo we better do the usual coverage just in case. I could have done it in 4K but chose to match the previous 1080 shooting.
Then we needed to do exterior establishing shots and I hung out the window and stood up in the sun roof for corp HQ drive byes and wow, no bumps. In the foliage I did faux slider moves. The pressure of being on a real shoot makes all the difference, even though I throw it in as a freebie to pimp up shots. If you have little kids it will be great for home movies. So check it out at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJZzgNwLoNA
And then I promise, after the zoom lens purchase, I will not buy anything else!
Later,
Ned
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
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Hi Oliver,
To answer your question I’d need to ask: What do you want to do with the camera? If you are going to use it as I do, to make a living, before buying a model and then looking for paying clients you need to analyze who will hire you and which camera will service the MOST amount of paying clients.
Let’s say your main business is educational, such as filming a professor at the front of a class pacing back and forth, perhaps live events or legal videos, the servo zoom on your SONY PXW-Z100 is better than shooting with still lenses. It takes a high level of experience to keep someone in focus and composed on a still lens. I have both: a camera for stylized work (Canon C100) which will give a shallow depth-of-field plus a small chip ENG camera (Panasonic HPX300) with the all important servo zoom. If you make videos for local manufacturers they tend to want the world in focus so your Sony is useful. As a freelancer I tend to rent other models quite often so if you plan to freelance as a videographer you may be best off investing in good lights, support gear, glass, audio and van.These cameras change in popularity every two years now.
What you need to do to satisfy your most clients will determine what you own. Plus, don’t buy any gear until you find paying clients. Since you already own the SONY PXW-Z100 perhaps keep that and prospect for clients who can use that look. Buy something that will allow a more stylized look such as a used C100 which is more user friendly (XLR inputs, NDs, etc) and will give you a similar look but ONLY when you have clients that appreciate and need that look.
Coming this fall is the answer to my prayers, a servo zoom for our shallow focus cameras, but it costs $5800:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KN0ybmjUF4
So in sum, if you plan to put food on the table with your main camera, land some clients first. If you’re Hell Bent on going DSLR I can tell you from the requests I get the Sony A7S is now the camera du jour.
Good luck,
Ned
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.comSome contents or functionalities here are not available due to your cookie preferences!This happens because the functionality/content marked as “Google Youtube” uses cookies that you choosed to keep disabled. In order to view this content or use this functionality, please enable cookies: click here to open your cookie preferences.