[Steve Martin]

It has been pretty slow lately, hasn’t it…

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!

[Steve Martin]

Thanks for all insight Todd and Mark.

And this, ladies & gentlemen, is why I love the COW! Terrific advice, information and insight into something that I knew nothing (or little of) beforehand.

Now I at least “have a clue” and know what questions I need to be asking.

Cheers,
Steve

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!

[Steve Martin]

This is an interesting thread as I’ve been poking around this market as well. The problem is that I don’t have anything for a political reel. I do have a friend that is running for a local county commission race and have offered to do some nice looking spots for him – just so that I can create a reel (and help my friend of course).

We’re going to shoot him direct to camera with prime lenses and nice lighting. It’s unlikely to air since this is a small local race that generally relies on yard signs and direct mail, but we’re hoping to make it look like the production values of a US Congressional or Senate race spot.

Any advise or pitfalls to avoid along the road I’m on are welcomed!

thanks,
Steve

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!

[Steve Martin]

Hey Nick,

I have no idea where their people are, but I think the company is in LA. Nonetheless, I have been pleased with the results. Not perfect, but very very good.

I agree that using transcripts is no substitute for a real editor making good decisions. But it’s a good tool if you have hours and hours of interviews and you need a sound bite about a topic. A quick search for a word or phrase in MS word will yield a bunch of results along with the TC of where to find. From there, we can make a choice as to whether the clip works or not. Saves us 2-3 days worth of making and labeling sub-clips.

Of course, your mileage may vary…

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!

[Steve Martin]

Whenever we do work for a client that we deem to fall into the “danger zone” we always ask for a credit card in advance.

Just a few of our danger zone warning signs include:

• Last minute projects from someone we’ve never heard of
• Out of town “producers” who talk really fast
• When we hear, “I’m so glad we found you, the last guy we hired was terrible…”
• When it just “feels” like a scam

The more of the danger factors we smell, the harder we push to get paid. We don’t get nasty or anything, just inform them of our policy and explain that it’s a reasonable request. And the more they resist, the more we insist. Bottom line is that we try to trust our gut.

When in doubt, get it up front.

I hope this helps,
Steve

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!

[Steve Martin]

Hi Bob – oops… hold on while take a sip of my adult beverage!

(OK, for all the young ones that aren’t familiar with the “Hi Bob” drinking game from the Bob Newhart show, my apologies as I show my age)

Where was I? Oh yea, transcripts…

We use ProductionTranscripts.com and have been pretty darned happy with them over the years. They price one-on-one interviews at $1.50 per minute. We simply export the audio to an MP3 and upload to their site. Within a few days we get the word doc back. If we send the file as a video with TC window burn, they’ll include TC notes at the head of each question or paragraph – making it easy to cue up the shot in the edit suite.

If you less than perfect audio (i.e., difficult accents or lots of background noise, etc…) their rates go up.

Hope this helps!

Steve

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!

[Steve Martin]

Grant, I’ll echo what others have shared and offer this as well…

First, do your best to evaluate weather or not the person you’re talking to is “coach-able.” When they say they don’t have any idea what things cost, it doesn’t mean they’re telling the truth or worse that they even want to understand.

If in fact, they don’t but want to understand, then it’s often worth your time to educate them. You may or may not get the job, but it’s still worth your time since you can learn to hone your message and sales approach in both wins and losses.

Before attempting any client education on costs, you need to educate yourself on the things that matter to the client. I usually try to get them talking about why they’re doing the project. What’s the desired outcome? How will they define success? Ask penetrating “big picture” questions about the their business and the audience that will watch the production. If they’re a serious potential client, they’ll likely relish the opportunity to talk about their organization, themselves and the project goals.

During that process, two important things will happen.

1) You’ll have a much better understanding of the client’s needs. This will give you a leg up on any competitor who just talks about cameras, software and other technical gizmos that the client doesn’t give a hoot about

2) You will gain the client’s trust. You’ll likely ask questions that no one else did. They will sense that you understand them better than the other production companies they talked to – because you will.

This process doesn’t have to take long. It can be a very simple phone conversation that lasts only a few minutes. But each situation is different – so you’ll need to adapt as necessary.

Once you’ve earned their trust (because you’re focusing on them and their needs), they are open to your education message.

One education process that I use is to break down the process into three bite sized steps (pre-pro, production & post) with basic non-techie explanations for each. For each part, you can explain some possible approaches and related costs. Ask questions about their thoughts along the way so that you know that your message is getting through. Encourage them to ask questions as well. The more engaged they are more they understand what you’re “teaching.”

This “consultative” approach is much more work than simply providing a price, and not every prospect will have the patience to participate in it. It also takes practice and you’ll learn as you go.

But in my experience, the effort is worth it.

I hope this helps…

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!

[Steve Martin]

Jason,

First of all, congrats on your success. It’s nice to hear that you’re doing well when many talented folks are not. For a reference point, my advice/comments are from a “small” production company with 7 people working out of a 4500 sq ft production facility including an insert stage in a Top-25 TV market.

When you say that you are “pondering on the potential of becoming something more than a one-man-band” you might want to define what you mean.

For example, if it means hiring staff and/or real estate (either leased or purchased) or significant equipment purchases, I’d encourage you to be very careful. Adding automatic recurring expenses is a big step and represents significant risk for any small business. Especially in a difficult economy.

You need to make sure you have the cash flow and reserve capital (i.e cash on hand) to survive the inevitable slow periods. As a one-man-band, you have much more financial flexibility than a larger enterprise. Of course a larger enterprise may have more capacity to do larger projects.

There’s no right or wrong answer, and in the end you have to make decisions based on how much risk you’re comfortable with.

I’d advise you to start by asking yourself a few key questions:

• 1) What measurable improvements (financial, creative, operational) will an expansion likely bring to my business?
• 2) How much will the expansion cost over the period of time that I’m committed to it (i.e lease payment, loan payment, etc…)?
• 3) How certain am I that I will not only recoup those expenses, but contribute additional profit to the bottom line?
• 4) How will the expansion change my responsibilities? For example, if it means hiring people, that brings with it a whole new set of tasks (not all of the pleasant) that may take you away from the reason you started your business 11 years ago (you like making videos).
• 5) Are there other people in your life (Spouse, kids, family) who could be affected by your decisions? If so, what do they think?

Clearly, these are not video industry questions, but questions that can apply to almost any kind of small business. They are deceptively simple but I think you have to take off any rose colored glasses and answer them as objectively and as thoroughly as you possibly can. A good exercise is to play the role of a banker in your mind. Would you loan yourself the money for an expansion?

As you delve into these questions as well as the others that will be posted here in the coming days, the answers for your particular situation will slowly start to become into focus for you.

I hope this helps & Merry Christmas!

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!

[Steve Martin]

Farging Bastages…

You should hang ’em on a hook!

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!

[Steve Martin]

Time, materials and mileage are “variable” expenses. That is, the costs associated with the specific job or project. But don’t forget about fixed expenses that you have regardless of the projects you do – your equipment for example. Even if it’s paid for, you’ll eventually have to replace it when it either wears out or you need to upgrade to remain competitive. Amortize the cost of your gear over it’s useful life to determine your costs.

Another way of determining how to bill clients for use of your gear is to find out what it would cost you to rent the gear for the project in your market area.

Good luck!

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!