[Sam Cornelis]

… Or he can take adobes monthly subscription plan for after effects – just for the duration of the project. Don’t know if this is possibkle for the plugins.

– I have read the entire internet, and I am feeling a little bit bored, so I started to reply to interesting forum topics.

[Sam Cornelis]

Maybe you can offer them the video embedded in a very basic website, combined with guest book and photo album from the wedding? This makes it easy for the client to share it with family and friends, and you can use the sites as reference material. Create (or let a webdesigner create) two or three templates and you’re off to go.

– I have read the entire internet, and I am feeling a little bit bored, so I started to reply to interesting forum topics.

[Sam Cornelis]

Have you checked vimeo pro?

Sam

– I have read the entire internet, and I am feeling a little bit bored, so I started to reply to interesting forum topics.

[Sam Cornelis]

mmm, the thread seems to be a little bit mixed up. This post had to be placed before my previous one.

[Sam Cornelis]

Tom, you are right, this is the true question: how do you make money from it? I honestly don’t know, but I have some thoughts about which path to follow, a path that fits for us. Time will tell if it is a good one.

Lowering the rates is certainly not an option. Putting a different value against those rates could be an option. If we start a new project, we don’t assume it will be a video in the first place. It may be a broader experience – think website, campagne on narrowcasting systems, campagne on USBstick/DVD … . Maybe animated graphics combined with video will show the message in a better, more spectacular way. The thing is: all those extras are software driven. And using software means automations and templates, means re-usability, means lowering production time, lowering cost – but giving a greater value. This means you can sell it at the same rates (or even higher rates), and with a lower cost you can increase your margins. I call it being creative with technology.

We have to invest a lot of our time to constantly improve ourselves – but it is fun to do, since you can achieve great results and those results are easy to sell at a good price.

I never said you will be in trouble when you tell no-pro-youngsters to go away (that was someone else). I just wanted to say that you can’t stop them by acting like that, nor can you bring anyone else in danger by advising them. Actually, everyone’s situation is so different that everyone should follow their own path: being it the broad approach, being it the high-quality approach, being it the I-don’t care companies you mentioned, or even being it the cheap stuff.

As long as the end result is something interesting to look at, its okay for me, and if it is not … I’ll find something else to look at.

[Sam Cornelis]

Scott, Tom, I think were are close to a conclusion here … after all, that’s what discussions are meant for: to learn something.
(Scott, what do you mean with TL;DR?)

Scott, maybe I should clarify myself. If I speak about using cheaper equipment, I am not talking about in-camera edits nor do I ever skip proper lighting. Let’s take the example of lighting. A red head set is is not that expensive. You can even rent it on a project base. With good use of 3 to 4 red heads, you can achieve great results with a camera of, let’s say 2500 to 3500 Euro’s (I am European – so all Euro’s here). Yes you can use a 10-20.000 Euro camera as well – but since many corporate videos are viewed on the internet – no one will notice the difference. Especially if the content of your video is good. As a requirement for the camera, I’d say you should be at least be able to adjust most things manually (white balance, exposure, … you know). That’s where most consumer camera’s fail – but most prosumer or low-end professional camera’s can do it.

My point is – if you are starting, you should practice a lot with the equipment that is available to your small budget. With that practice, you can achieve surprising great results. Of course, you need to learn the rules of the game, such as the influence of lights and sound.

Sound … let’s go to the 60 year old CEO of your post. Actually, that kind of job is even more challenging your creativity than you might expect. Why ? Because most CEO’s are not-so-good-speakers-as-let’s-say-Steve Jobs or the average TED talk-speaker. (I don’t want to use the word boring here, but … you know). You can take the sound from the available audio equipment in the house – and/or you can use a thing like a Tascam digital recorder. Camera … it is not that difficult, since those guys don’t move a lot. Make sure your lighting is ok, and maybe use two camera’s: a wide angle and a close-up. Lighting, camera, sound … you can use the cheaper gear, or the expensive ones. This doesn’t give you an interesting video – if the CEO is not a good speaker – the video will be boring. So what do you do then – since you are paid to make a great video? You will use your creativity. You will start to listen to what the CEO is saying, and try to find a way to illustrate what he is saying. You may integrate photo’s, graphics, small animations, slides of his presentation, other corporate footage … in your video to make it interesting and get the message to the audience. This has nothing to do with the price of the equipment, but has a lot to do with using your creativity. It is certainly not lowering the standards.
(if the CEO is a good speaker … everything becomes more easy of course – just show him. Look at all the TED talks)

So, Scott, I agree with you that lowering the standards is not the way to go. All I want to say is that you don’t need to swear by expensive equipment to produce good quality. In fact, keeping high standards is your main weapon to protect your business. The question is: how do you reach the high standard.
I would never call you or anyone else a dinosaur – I have great respect for experience – since I believe it is experience and creativity that produces great results. But not the tools.

(FYI, I am not making entertainment video’s – my topics are for most people even more boring than the annual CEO’s speech. We are specialised in the creation of instructional video’s and animations for high tech equipment … . The video’s are only liked by the people who have to work with the equipment. But nevertheless, these video’s are very challenging to produce. That’s why I felt I had to reply to the original topic of this thread).

Tom, … I’ll answer your post in a next post.

[Sam Cornelis]

Yeah … being creative, I like this discussion. I know it is getting off topic … but hey, it’s friday.

Thank you for protecting my business, Scott, but I don’t feel threatened by this question, not even after you made your point. If you read my thoughts about creating a marketing video, you’ll see that there are no big secrets hidden in it. Just like Mark writes: you won’t become a Cordon Bleu chef.

Will not giving tips and in stead trying to talk Andrea the assignment out or her head and switch over to a professional organization, save the business? I doubt if you can change their minds.

In this case, Andrea has gotten an assignment: “make me a video”. If you weren’t in your current position, but in Andrea’s, you’d love to get a question like that and start working on it, immediately. Just because -admit it – making video’s is big fun. So why pass it? It is a chance to start with something.

And of course, the result would be better with a professional crew, and as you point out in your long (very well thought) post: the result may be disappointing – or maybe just good enough. Lessons will be taken for the next project – and maybe they spend the 50.000 (I doubt it), or they keep on the same track. That’s up to them to decide.

You say that Andrea may be able to convince her boss to go professional if she has your information. I don’t see any incentive for her to do so, and if a boss has an idea …. very often they’ll stick to their ideas. Especially in this DIY age – “Go Create”, remember.

And yes, many professionals say that good work can only be produced by experienced people with expensive equipment. This is something I read in a lot of places in this forum.

In my opinion, this is not true. One reason is: it is not the equipment, that makes a video that people love to see. It is the idea and the creativity that is important. In your example about Cogswell vs. George: if George had a more creative and appealing idea, he’d win. Actually, you say it in your example: he did exactly what is boss asked, nothing more. That is the reason for his loss, he didn’t use his creativity.

Another reason why you should take small budget project seriously is, that the audience is very, very much used to watch the average youtube video. Whether you like it or not, standards are lowering. The big thing is here: how can you still make money out of it? Not by offending the people who work like that, but by embracing this new evolution and … you can guess it: use your creativity. Since you have a lot of experience, you also should have a lot of creativity. That is your biggest strength against a competitor – especially against a “cheap” one.

If you try to protect your business the way your are doing it right now, it will be a dead end. There is a wave of new competitors coming … think of all graphic designers, photographers, youngsters who have a perfect feeling of the new times etc. that now have access to the world of filmmaking – and often have a very good eye for design. You can’t stop them from changing their minds. If you try to do so, you are making the same mistake the music business did. And look where they are now.

On the other hand … there may be a new, big market for cheap, lower standard video’s, but there is also a big new market for high quality video’s. Think of infotainment systems, narrowcasting etc.. there are much more channels that need to be filled with content than there was ever before. And trust me, big chains with lots of stores will always relay on professionals.

All I want to say is: everyone deserves their space, even the kid with the camera – and they are no threat to anyone. In fact, they can sometimes produce very interesting and inspiring stuff.

(note: if my car dealer had I sign like that … I’d go for the 50$ option and never return. I don’t like it when people treat you as a morron – even when I am one.)
(for the record: I am somewhere in between the high-level video guy and the kid)

[Sam Cornelis]

If have worked a longtime in a department that was a little like a small company within a larger organization. We were employees, but we acted like we were entrepreneurs. This is my experience:

[Sam Cornelis]

Don’t worry about it. It is not because Scott and Tom want to protect their business, that you may not ask questions.

In my opinion, the only thing that matters is that you don’t make boring video’s. Have respect for your audience. I have seen boring video’s from very experienced people, I have seen even more boring video’s from first year students. But the other way is also true: I have seen amazing video’s from 16 year old kids and I have seen amazing video’s from very old bastards.

The thing is, if it is interesting for yourself, chances are great that it is interesting for your audience. And how do you keep it interesting ? Look at your footage over and over again. Try to spot what is different with the ones from others that you like. Redo it and repeat. That is the only way to learn it. Do it, do it do it. Also, try to find people who are not afraid to say that they don’t like the video. Ask them why they don’t like it – and fix it.

If there is one thing that both the 16 year old wizard and the genious old bastard have in common, is that they are very passionate, dedicated and committed to settle only for the best result.

And to the ones that are afraid to loose business by giving away some “secret sauce”: you shouldn’t be afraid. If someone got “it”, you can’t stop them. If someone doesn’t have “it”, he/she will never be a thread to your business, since you can perform always better, thanks to your experience.

And if the boss doesn’t want to pay for your experience, you don’t loose any business here – because he wasn’t going to give you the order in the first place.

I have been a long time reader (not contributor) to this forum, and I often spot this weird fear for youngsters – you know, the kid making great video’s with the handycam. You know what ? Today it is not even the handycam anymore, it is the smartphone. Times change – tools change – requirements change – and even more: the expectation of the audience is changing. But what doesn’t change is the the need for dedication and talent.

Let’s keep it interesting, and just create good stuff – novice and experienced. Shall we?

(uhm, it seems that I got a little bit carried away)

sam

[Sam Cornelis]

I’d say, don’t get too aggressive here. Everybody has to start somewhere. Suppose the question is: “Hi, I want to learn what it takes to make a good mkt video for engineering tools. Then I’d say: do not focus on the tools, since you are starting. Tools and equipment grow as you grow. Any camera and computer will do to learn how to tell your story. And what is your story ? That is the main question you have to ask when you produce your video – or, what is the question the buyers of the engineering tools have. Try to answer that question, and you are on a good path to make a good video. Now, buyers of engineering tools have one special thing: they want to know how it works, what it does and want to see that the tool is the best fit for their needs. They often look very close to technical details. And you have to find a way to show the technical details at a glance. But get those details perfect. The technical details of high-end engineering tools are their main selling point. Very often you may want to incorporate animations in your video to explain that.

Sam