Patrick Inhofer
Forum Replies Created
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[Craig Seeman] “Not sure if anyone noticed this or if it made Cow news but Compression Master is now Episode / Episode Pro.”
Craig,
Have you given it a spin?
Does this look like a re-branding or are there feature enhancements?
– pi
Patrick Inhofer
editor, compositor, nice guy
Fini, nyc -
Check out Ripple Training.
They’ve got a great downloadable tutorial.
That thing had me rocking on Mulitcam in about 30 minutes.
– pi
Patrick Inhofer
editor, compositor, nice guy
Fini, nyc -
[Sean ONeil] “Ctrl-V (add edit) is the closest thing to it. However, this will razor all of the clips in every video and audio track.”
Use the timeline’s Auto Select feature to direct the ctrl-V command.
So if you have 8 video tracks and 4 audio tracks, but only have video tracks 1, 3, and 7 auto-selected as well as audio track 3 & 4, the cnrl-v command will place a splice in only those tracks.
– pi
Patrick Inhofer
editor, compositor, nice guy
Fini, nyc -
For a one person company, it’s tough.
As far as insurance goes, you’re considered an individual. Group insurance generally does not kick in until you have at least 1, sometimes 2 or more employees on staff. In NYC we found Healthpass (healthpass.com) for small businesses. You need one employee, must be located in one of the 5 boroughs and at least 70% of your employees must participate. If you qualify they let you select from among 5 insurers and about 6 plans from each insurer. Not bad at all.
I’d love to see the notion of employer supplied health care go by the wayside. Until then, from my research, individuals and 1 person businesses are at a big disadvantage.
– pi
Patrick Inhofer
editor, compositor, nice guy
Fini, nyc -
[aaron ekroth] “Part 1) how should / can one bring up the issue of holding/cancellation/confirmation charges if the hold stage is skipped altogether? If they confirm you it seems like they’ve confirmed you.”
During the conversation when they “confirm” you, always ask, “Is this is a firm booking or a hold?” If they don’t know what that means then you’ve created an opportunity to educate them. Explain the difference while also explaining your cancellation policy. If they agree to the cancellation policy then you can agree to the firm booking.
[aaron ekroth] “Part 3) is it worth it to go after a post -house for an issue liek this or will it do more harm than good? or is it more important to set a precedent?”
You said this happened last summer, so at this point I’d just write it off as a learning experience. In the future, if this happens to you again (which it won’t because you always ask, “Is this a firm or a hold?”), it’s extremely important to follow up with the person who booked you – that day or the next. Be nice. Mis-understandings happen. But when they finish speaking with you it should be clear in their mind that you’re running a real business, even if you’re “just” a freelancer. Hopefully they fully understand the position they put you in and they’ll offer you a half day… after all, you showed up exactly as they requested. And you stuck around for half a day.
Again, if you follow my suggestion in Part 1, you won’t have to worry about how to handle it. Just send out your invoice that night and follow up three days later to make sure they’ve gotten it and there aren’t any objections.
Money is tough to talk about. Occassionally I still have problems with it (usually with jobs I *really* want but am nervous about not getting), but we shouldn’t be nervous. It’s business. You’re exchanging your services for their money. It’s very simple, really. You should expect to have a discussion about both sides of the transaction whenever necessary and always at the time of booking.
HTH.
– pi
Patrick Inhofer
editor, compositor, nice guy
Fini, nyc -
[Stuart Reid] “I do already seek feedback either face-to-face or over the phone. I had two thoughts in my mind when I considered supplementing this feedback with a form to be e-mailed back – one is that some clients might find it easier to give feedback about things they didn’t like in a more impersonal way, rather than directly (and I want to hear about the things they didn’t like as much as the things they did, so I can do something about it and win their future business).”
I forget where I read this, but one way to ask this question without putting your clients on the defensive:
“If you could change one thing about my business, what would it be?”
I tried this myself a few months ago. I found if I just spring the question on them they tend to stammer. It was better for me to prep them by saying I’m doing some homework on my business and I’m calling my favorite customers for feedback but not to worry since I’m only asking one question, then I pop the question.
The first time I did this a few months ago I got some interesting and useful responses.
– pi
Patrick Inhofer
editor, compositor, nice guy
Fini, nyc -
Jeremy and I may not agree to disagree on other things…
But on this I’m with him – save your money. The component inputs are plenty good.
– pi
Patrick Inhofer
editor, compositor, nice guy
Fini, nyc -
[JeremyG] “720p footage looks pretty damn good on the 20L5, better than anything I’ve seen for the price and definitely above and beyond plain old NTSC. To use the term underwhelming, is well, very underwhelming.”
If you’re saying that 720p looks as good as 1080i on a 20L5…
Well then we’ll have to agree to disagree.
If you’re saying considering the price of the monitor it looks pretty good – I’d agree.
But after evaluating 1080i and then pulling up 720p – I stick by my evaluation; underwhelming. Not bad, just not as good as interlaced HD.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
Patrick Inhofer
editor, compositor, nice guy
Fini, nyc -
[jaser] “so 24p support via component?”
I have a 20L5 that also supports the various HD formats via analog component.
To help you manage your expectations I’ll share what I found…
Interlaced HD footage looks really good. Just what you expect out of HD. And it’s terrific that such an affordable display is so versatile. But a 20″ monitor feels a little small for widescreen, so it loses some impact – yet you should be able to do good critical viewing.
Progressive footage is completely underwhelming. It looks SD. There’s no pop to the image. And while not fuzzy, it’s not as crisp and defined as I’d expect. This isn’t entirely surprising given it’s a CRT designed specifically for interlaced footage. Progressive is best watched on a true progressive display.
Good luck!
– pi
Patrick Inhofer
editor, compositor, nice guy
Fini, nyc -
I’m late to this conversation but I regularly use the First-Hold / Second-Hold / Firm method of booking my time.
It works like this:
First-Hold: You have booked me for specified date(s). The time is yours but you may cancel at any time, up to 48 hours before the booking. At 48 hours you must Firm or Release the time. If you Release, no problem, you owe nothing.
Second-Hold: Someone has me on First-Hold but if they release you are next in line for that booking, You become a First Hold.
Firm: A firm booking has a financial obligation, usually a half-day for every day they’ve Firmed. I turn down all work once a date has been Firmed.
Frequently a client will call and is ready to put in a Firm booking, but someone else has a First Hold. At that point I call the person on First Hold and tell them I have a Firm buyer. They must either Release or Firm. I usually give them 4-6 hours to get back to me – which is usually enough time. If they Release then anyone on Second Hold has an opportunity to Firm or Release. If they also Release then the person putting in the Firm gets the time and now is obligated should they subsequently release the time.
Reading the above it seems a bit complicated, but I’m following a system that’s been used in my market for at least 15 years. It works, it’s fair. Though the details of how many days in advance you must Firm or how much you owe if you release a Firm varies from company to company.
– pi
Patrick Inhofer
editor, compositor, nice guy
Fini, nyc