Steve Kownacki
3
COW Coins
2
Premiere Pro Coins
Forum Replies Created
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I’m totally on board with Ron – it’s passion that gets you started and wisdom to learn from others that leads to success. This forum is filled with bits on how to market and run a shop – it’s your job as the reader to glean this. If someone has to point it out you should be an employee not self-employed. And I’d stay away from those that “had family money, a wife with a good job, etc” and are now retired. Unless they returned the investment and really made a go of it. Running a losing business with constant free money is not someone to look to for advice nor someone I’d admire. The pyramids are amazing, but at the cost of a continuous stream of slave labor. That’s just wrong.
Complacency. That’s what I got out of this thread. If you sit around thinking that work will just come in the door and current client will keep coming back you are wrong. Much of your time will be spent marketing and selling – probably upwards of 40%. You MUST keep your customers happy. Did you ever complain at a restaurant about anything? Stop complaining, write it down and NEVER do that to your customer. A dirty fork at a restaurant is a typo in a graphic. This cannot happen. When was the last time you sent a gift card to somebody? I spend a few hundred bucks a month on that.
My shop is now solely me with a bunch of independents – It gives me great control over expenses and reduces recurring overhead like salaries. Ryan Mast blogged “If I ask you what’s your specialty, don’t answer ‘a jack of all trades.'” If you are being everything to everyone you have no time to sell. You get a great gig in the door that will keep you busy for 4 months… then nothing. It’ll take 3 months to get you back on the radar. While I love doing all the trades, my main job is to get biz and shoot. When a big job comes in the door, I can get an assoc prod to help out with scheduling so I’m not burdened; or an editor to ingest & do rough cuts for a week and then I can sit in for a few hours and finish up; or maybe I do the roughs and call in a finish person. The other option is to work that additional 30-50 hours that week and never see my family. Not gonna happen. This keeps work flowing in, keeps clients happy and I still make money on other people working. I don’t need 100%, just a portion of a bunch of work. Don’t forget that you can “grow broke”.
That’s all I can think of now.
Steve
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Thanks Bill. Crazy story.
This tape is more for my interest at this point, the customer said to forget it and toss the tape. I’ll check with the folks at the airline association and local nat’l guard facility.Steve
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Ding dong. Flower delivery. YIKES! They’re here!
True on the resolution I think.
Years ago a guy did bring a tape about the choppers & militia and I took one look, literally tossed it out the window and told him it was in the front yard & come and get it. That was scary.
Steve
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Thanks Mark. The guy was never able to play them, he just got it from his son (and for some reason wasn’t able to get any info from him). Appears that the audio may be on the AFM tracks. I have a digi8 cam that plays Hi8 & 8mm and usually selects play speed of SP or LP. Reading the TEAC site more closely this may be my issue:
Recognizing the expanding operational video requirements of the Arny and the limitations imposed by the existing AH-64 AVTR, the TEAC/Merlin system includes a standard 525-line V-80AB-F Hi-8mm and a scan converter that converts the 875-line RS-343 video signal to an RS-170 “standard” 525-line format prior to recording.
By down-scan converting an 875-line signal to 525 lines, a standard video recorder can record and reproduce the 525-line signal at 400 TV lines of horizontal resolution that an 875-line signal will reproduce on a videocassette recorder. Using a scan converting system, the signal can also be converted back to the 875-line format for playback in the cockpit on existing AH-64 video displays. Also, the videotape may be left in the 525-line format or converted back to the 875-line format on the ground.
Steve
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Including your graphics from PowerPoint into your video: $250 per image.
Steve
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You’ve got a few days till your shoot (way better than a few hours notice!), best bet is to do a few short tests in the room you’ll be shooting in, import it and see what it looks like.
My concern would be more the limited functions of the flip – no audio input, auto exposure, auto white balance and auto focus. I’m assuming the flip will be your wide shot, so the wider the better so things like people in the foreground will have less effect on these elements. And the built-in battery is good for 2 hours at best – make sure its charged. I have a flip UltraHD and it seemed to stop recording after an hour of a presentation I was doing. The flip was still on, just not recording. May want to test that too prior to Wednesday.
Steve
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Hi Joseph
Taking a quick look at the online manual, do you have the switch on the front of the camera near the XLR jacks set to mic or line input? If its on mic, you may be overdriving the preamp; move it to line in and hopefully your problem is solved.Steve
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In this day and age, take a hint from attorneys and this prior thread https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/17/870379.
Why not figure out what a weeks potential work may be and have them front you a retainer for services? You diligently track the hours and are then “committed to them” which can make them feel relieved that work will be completed. And like in the construction industry, at the end of each day you review the deliverables/products/services and both sign off on the time sheet. Then you invoice them at the end of the week and reduce their retainer account. When the account gets low, you get more fronted money.
Like the thread above – if you do everything professionally and treat this as business and not art, you’ll be profitable and moreover HAPPY.
Steve
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Back in the mid-80s we used to call it “Quick Cuts Hip”.
Steve
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Ron/Tim can Jeremy’s question be re-posted as a fresh thread? I don’t think enough people will see it as this thread is from January.
Hi Jeremy,
I compliment you on searching for answers first and then asking your question. Music or any footage rights can get confusing. I’m not an attorney, but as far as I’m aware that “synchronization license” is what you need – internal or not. It’s a gamble whether an outsider finds out or not, but what a legal hassle it will be. I realize that the sound-alikes never have the same impact without the lyrics but it spells trouble. I suggest trying to do your private research on BMI & ASCAP for publishers before heading to Harry Fox Agency. You don’t need people snooping on you for asking questions.Steve