Can anyone help me with a video idea?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kevin Herrin on July 27, 2010 at 11:18am

Hi Tommy,
I own a video production company and have a been a producer for the last 10 years. The reality is in today's market everyone needs video, especially businesses! So if you have an opportunity to cash in on it good for you!

Some tips to keep in mind. Once you get known as the cheap video guy, it's hard to break away from that. Also, count up how many hours you spent on producing the videos and see how much you made for your time. If this is a hobby that is one thing, but if you want to make a business then you really need to keep track of your time. Most people, usually prospective clients, don't realize how time consuming this is to do right. And last, invest in a mic. Don't use the camera mic. Having bad audio is one of the biggies that separates the poor quality videos from the pros.
Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.

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Permalink Reply by Tommy Eldridge on July 27, 2010 at 3:17pm

Thank you Kevin,

It is not something I am looking at long term but I am going to do my own clip so I will pay close attention to the time it takes.
Thank you for the tip on the mic. I will invest in that.

Tommy

Kevin Herrin said:

Hi Tommy,
I own a video production company and have a been a producer for the last 10 years. The reality is in today's market everyone needs video, especially businesses! So if you have an opportunity to cash in on it good for you!

Some tips to keep in mind. Once you get known as the cheap video guy, it's hard to break away from that. Also, count up how many hours you spent on producing the videos and see how much you made for your time. If this is a hobby that is one thing, but if you want to make a business then you really need to keep track of your time. Most people, usually prospective clients, don't realize how time consuming this is to do right. And last, invest in a mic. Don't use the camera mic. Having bad audio is one of the biggies that separates the poor quality videos from the pros.
Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.

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Permalink Reply by Brian Alves on July 28, 2010 at 11:35am

Tons of experience here -

I make a full time income making video related products for various businesses.

My first thought when seeing your post was that you charge too little for such a valuable asset. Video is a powerful marketing tool and should be charged as such. Sure you made $100 for producing that video but that business likely just pulled in $500 in sales - where is your piece of that?

My fee for a :30 sec video, from concept to completion is $80 an hour. It takes 15-20 hours to finish and post on the web.

I'm not getting paid to produce a creative or technical masterpiece, I'm getting paid for the results produced from the video. It could be a blurry mess or all the bells and whistles of a blockbuster movie- if it pulls in sales or leads for the client the video did it's job.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Schwab on August 26, 2010 at 1:49am

Tommy,

As a business owner with little expertise in video I think your idea is great. With all respect to Brian and Kevin I'm sure they do excellent work, yet I've been scared away from similar local video companies when the budget comes in at >$1,000 for a 30 second clip. Often my need is for a quick video on something that could be better demonstrated than described. While I want it to look good, it doesn't have to be award winning to be effective. I think you've tapped a market & will need to see what the price point becomes.

All the best.

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Permalink Reply by Tommy Eldridge on August 27, 2010 at 7:24pm

Thanks Tom for your imput. I do understand where Brian and Kevin both are coming from but there is a lot of small companies out there that could benefit from a more economically priced clip that just wouldn't even think of paying $1000. Yes some of the bigger ones pay the big bucks. If I could get in the door with a lower priced clip, show them the benefit then I believe they may expand. The $100. clip is to get a foot in. I realize it takes some time to make a commercial grade clip but if I keep it simple I could open the door to a new market.

Thank you all for your imput.

Tommy Eldridge
www.privatepilotinsider.com

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Permalink Reply by Tommy Eldridge on September 22, 2010 at 4:10pm

Hey Brian,
I have considered your thoughts on the cost of my video clips. I see where you are coming from. I guess my ideas was to be able to hit some of the smaller mom and pop kinda businesses that can't swing the $1000+ for a clip. Maybe get a commitment for a multi clip deal. IDK. I am shoppping for a camcorder and had a question for you. I can't do a $3000 unit yet but would like something aleast above a consumer quality. Can you give me some advise on what to look for as a beginner? Thank you for your help. Tommy

Brian Alves said:

Tons of experience here -

I make a full time income making video related products for various businesses.

My first thought when seeing your post was that you charge too little for such a valuable asset. Video is a powerful marketing tool and should be charged as such. Sure you made $100 for producing that video but that business likely just pulled in $500 in sales - where is your piece of that?

My fee for a :30 sec video, from concept to completion is $80 an hour. It takes 15-20 hours to finish and post on the web.

I'm not getting paid to produce a creative or technical masterpiece, I'm getting paid for the results produced from the video. It could be a blurry mess or all the bells and whistles of a blockbuster movie- if it pulls in sales or leads for the client the video did it's job.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Wensink on December 2, 2011 at 8:13am

Hey Tommy,

 

My wife and I run a small wedding videography business and we have a steady income coming in from video filming and post-production in the wedding space.  As we've tried to tap into the small business market, we've found exactly what you and Tom have experienced.  Many small businesses aren't willing to spend $1000 for a 30 second clip or anything like that, it's just not reasonable in their eyes.  That's why a few months ago I started a new video production site where I recommend specific pieces of hardware and software, to give direction and purpose to the entrepreneurial Do it yourself crowd.  People seem to see the value in investing in hardware and producing the content themselves a lot more than paying the $75-$100 / hour that most video production companies charge for their services, including ours.  To answer your hardware questions, we had the same thoughts when we started out and after reviewing the Panasonic HMC40 and using it for over 2 years now I can definitely recommend that camcorder as a great step up from the typical consumer camcorder.  It's a great balance between quality and price.  I would call the camcorder an entry level professional camcorder, and it's been perfect for us. 

 

When we first started our video business, we just had a few consumer camcorders, and after we finished one of the first shoots, we got a full page feedback email from one of our brides, and most of it was terrible comments and complaints about quality and sound and on and on.

 

After Investing in 2 Panasonic HMC40 Camcorders, here are some of the comments that we started getting in:

“Freedom Videography did a wonderful job filming my wedding! I am so glad to have such a special day in my life preserved for a lifetime! They were for the most part unobtrusive before, during, and after the wedding ceremony, but still managed to attain high-quality picture and sound. Freedom Videography is professional, courteous and affordable. They even made copies of the DVD for my parents! You cannot put a price tag on a customized DVD of you're wedding day. I do not regret having Freedom Videography as “guests” for my wedding.” Karey -bride

“You guys did an amazing job! The cool edits, all the footage, and adding our favorite songs really made it special and allowed us to relive each moment.” Rob -groom

“This video service is most accommodating and helpful in making a lovely lasting memory for your family. They do what they say, are on time and have great suggestions.” Donna -Mother of the Bride

If your going to buy your own gear then I have a few other suggestions.  First, if your going to be producing a lot of videos, I recommend getting a stable powerful computer like the quad core i7 macbook pro.  It's an investment up front, just like anything else, but again, speaking from experience, the biggest bottleneck in video editing is the CPU, and the RAM, and that machine essentially has 8 processors and 4GB of ram standard, and it's easy to upgrade the ram later too.

The final thing you want to be sure and have is a good avchd backup solution (avchd is the camcorder technology of the hmc40).  You don't want to go through the whole process of making your videos, only to lose them if something happens to your laptop.

Best of luck to you all.

Chris

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