Steve Martin
Forum Replies Created
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Yup – we use SmartSound quite a bit! They have a nice interface where you can “customize” the cuts to fit a specific length. Also, many of their newer CD releases are layered so that you can separate and mix individual elements in the music.
Holy crap, I sound like a commercial for these guys… I should be getting a PAID!
But I’m not 🙂
Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!
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I like the flat bid idea and have been using it here more and more often. It takes a client/prospect willing to trust you with all the details up front. But when we are able to set up a project that way typically everyone is happier in the end!
Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!
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And it will probably still be relevant in 2021 Nick!
🙂
Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!
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Hi Rich,
I think you are spot-on! Back in the day (circa 1990?), I think I was in one of the first waves of relatively low cost gear.
To be sure, the Video Toaster had some really cheesy effects (seriously, who remembers the “Kiki Wipes and the really pixilated DVE”) but the opportunity to build a real A/B roll edit suite with a CMX style editor, Time Base corrected signals, scopes and other goodies without having to spend $250k+ made it possible for little guys like me to make inroads into the big-boy club.
It allowed me to continue to develop my skills and get better clients along the way. I’m sure the guys who ran the big post houses who were billing $400/hour+ hated it. The world changed for them – just as it continues to change for us. The ones who adapted are still around. The ones who didn’t went the way of the “buggy whip maker.”
As for fees, again – I think you’re right! Yes, fees are lower, but so are costs. It’s up to us as business owners to provide real value to our clients. To address their needs and requirements as best we can. And finally, to understand the ultimate business truth: The person that signs the front of the check makes the most of the decisions. The ones who sign the back of the check rarely do. The latter serves at the pleasure of the former.
There’s an old saying, “The Customer is Always Right!” I don’t think that’s really true because clients are sometimes (often?) dead wrong. So I’d like to modify the saying… “The Customer is Always The Customer.”
It really puts the task on us as experienced producers and story tellers to help clients understand that there is so much more to our craft that the tools. Insert your favorite analogy here about Carpenters/mechanics/doctors/etc… here!
P.S. – Just for fun, we still have one of the old Amiga computers with 3 TBC cards, a waveform/Vscope card and a Video Toaster Board inside. Believe it or not, it still works and we use it in our our duplication rack to check scope levels for the occasional analog dubs!
Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!
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Hi Mark,
We have both an HPX300 (P2) and a Pany AF-100 (SD Card) and like them both for their respective roles. The HPX300 is more of a run-n-gun camera for us while the AF-100 makes really pretty pictures with the shallow depth-of-field primes.
While I don’t know that I would invest any new dollars into P2, I don’t see it going away in the foreseeable future. The price of P2 cards have come down (and will probably continue to do so). But you’re right – they’re still much more expensive than the same capacity Class-10 SDHC cards. And the fact that P2 is a proprietary format doesn’t help.
When I bought the P2 a few years ago I remember reading a bunch of stuff about how the P2 card does redundant record/verify – supposedly being a more robust platform with less opportunity to errors. Of course, all of that may have been “marketing speak” from Panasonic and it’s really no different than off-the-shelf SDHC cards.
Regardless of the tech analysis, you’re right to think of this as a business decision for your particular workflow requirements. My only rule is that the technology generally only useful for half the life (or less!) of the previous generation.
Back in the day, I got 10+ years of good service from my BetaSP camera. My current ROI requirement for cameras is no longer than 24-30 months. If I get more than that, I consider it a bonus! I’m 9 months into my AF-100. So far, so good…
I hope this helps!
All my Best,
Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!
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About a million years ago (OK, about 20 years ago) while I was still cutting my teeth in the production business, I recall an episode that made a huge impact on me. The company I had started as a college student was in the process of making a transition from doing personal work (i.e weddings, events, etc…) into corporate work.
We got a call from a lady who wanted to make a photo montage video for her parent’s 50th anniversary. She came in and spoke with our staff editor. During that conversation, she mentioned to him that she was with an ad agency and that she had approached “her production company” but they blew the project off as beneath them.
After a few minutes he excused himself and popped into my office and told me that I needed to meet and make nice with the client. I did and made sure she got our demo reel and propaganda about our (still fledgling) corporate and marketing work.
It turned out that she didn’t work for the agency, she owned it. A week later, her freelance writer/producer shows up and asks us to bid on a promotional video for a large petroleum distributor in town. We got the gig and a new client.
In short order, we became the agency’s “new” production company and the business relationship lasted many years until she retired and disbanded the company.
Moral of the story: stay sharp looking for opportunities in odd places and be very careful of who you blow off. They might have been your new best client!
Oh, and what happened to that guys that blew her off. They went out of business 8 or 9 years later during the economic slowdown after 9/11.
Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!
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Love it!
Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!
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Nice list Nick. I’m interested in your thoughts (and others too!) on how to bill travel days. We keep going round and round with clients & crew on this issue and would love to hear how others are handling it.
Do you guys typically charge full or discounted day rates for travel days.
It seems like a double edge sword. If you don’t charge for it your profit margins suffer. If travel costs get too high, it encourages clients to hire “local.” For some long term clients who really value the service you provide them, travel costs are a non-issue. For some, however, it’s a hard pill to swallow.
Thoughts?
Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!
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There’s no right or wrong way to lay it out. And sometimes i use a different approach depending on the client.
If you want to draw very clear lines (almost always preferable) about:
- What services you will perform,
- For how long and
How much each element will cost
a line item approach might be best. Typically we show day rates for people (10 hour days) and equipment. With hourly rates for editing, graphics, etc… Over time you get better and estimating how long things take. If things take longer than you estimated, you can decide if it’s because you’re slow, you misjudged the project or if the client bears some (or all!) of the responsibility for the overrun. At that point you can decide what (if any) changes there should be on the final invoice.
If you and your client have a good understanding for the scope of work and it’s all very simple and straight forward, a flat fee for the project might be OK. But you have to be very careful with flat fees because once there’s no “cost differential” the scope of work tends to expend dramatically as clients try to add things or get you to redo things for free because of their own poor planning.
That’s when disagreements pop up and your best friend might not be any longer!
I hope this helps!
Steve
Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!
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So is the agency providing all the creative (i.e concept, storyboards, script, graphic elements, etc…)? Any pre-production (i.e shot planning, location scout/permitting, production coordination, casting, etc…) on your part?
I ask, because if they are handling all these elements, all you’re really doing is providing “below the line” technical services and it’s pretty easy to put together a proposal/estimate:
X numbers of days for equipment at $??/day
Camera operator @ $??/day
Audio Engineer@ ??/day
Gaffer @ ??/day
other crew @ ??/day
X number of hours editing @ ??/hourand so on… you can break each line item down as much (or as little) as you want/need to depending on the complexity of the project.
Make sure you (and your client) understand who is directing the shoot and making final creative decisions. If it’s them, that’s not to say that you don’t have input and make suggestions – but ultimately it’s their show and their responsibility.
If on the other hand, you are responsible for creative development and direction, there’s nothing quick about it. You need to slow down and ask enough questions until you have a complete understanding of the scope of work.
Then AND ONLY THEN, can you even begin to write a proposal that addresses your ability to provide those services and the corresponding fees that you will charge to do so.
Good luck!
Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!