TurnHere, strange phone calls

[bikefilms]

Anybody else get a strange phone call from TurnHere.com today?

Our discussion went something like this:

TurnHere: "Do you have editing experience?"

Me: "Yes, lots."
TH: "Do you own a lav microphone?"
Me: "No, but I can walk down the street and rent one."
TH: "Well, that is unexceptable!"
Me: "Miss, renting equipment is a pretty common practice..."

-CLICK. Phone hangs up.

Pretty much the funniest phone call I've ever received .

But wait, there's more. Five minutes later I get a call back, telling me that after a managers approval, renting was "OK".-Andrew

[ryan brown]

WTF?? I hope that wasn't an interview for a job (but I'll bet it was).

[mikkowilson]

If it was for a job, and you get it; turn it down.


- Mikko

[Luis Caffesse]

If it was for a job, and you get it; turn it down.

Absolutely.
That has 'PITA Client' written all over it.

[bikefilms]

Hahaha, thanks guys.

I'll let you know what comes of it.

Ryan- Where are you thinking of moving to? I'm a newbie in Portland, OR. It's nice overall, but pretty nasty in the winter.

-andrew

[ryan brown]

Hahaha, thanks guys.

I'll let you know what comes of it.

Ryan- Where are you thinking of moving to? I'm a newbie in Portland, OR. It's nice overall, but pretty nasty in the winter.

-andrew

I'm thinking of moving to Portland, Oregon, as a matter of fact. I'm also thinking of moving to L.A.

I just got back from portland to visit and check it out, and I absolutely loved it. BUT... I'm headed to L.A. in a couple weeks to check it out, and I'm trying to keep an open mind. I've been to both before, but I need a refresh for the memory ;)

I'll know within a month.

[Zander]

Hmmm... I'm start to second guess my decision to work for TurnHere.

[bikefilms]

Ryan,

Most of my buddies here go back and forth. Portland to LA. There's just so much work in LA, its hard to pass up. Portland is a waaaaaaay better city though :)

-Andrew

[Zander]

I just got a call from TurnHere and the representative I talked to was totally cool with renting a lav. Maybe you got the pyscho bitch with little understanding?

[RE1000]

I just got a call from TurnHere and the representative I talked to was totally cool with renting a lav. Maybe you got the pyscho bitch with little understanding?

Or maybe they reprimanded her....
I just checked out their site.

What kind of work are you guys shooting for them, if you don't mind me asking?

[Zander]

Based on the info that I've gathered the videos are 30 or 60 mini-documentary pieces about local businesses. The rep I spoke to gave me a rundown of the typical shoot: 1 hour, 30 minutes for interviews and 30 minutes for b-roll. 2 day turnaround. Sounds a bit quick but totally doable.

Smpproductions has done some work for them. Maybe he can provide some more details.

[ugafan]

But wait, there's more. Five minutes later I get a call back, telling me that after a managers approval, renting was "OK".-Andrew

you should have said, "but me working for someone as clueless as you isn't."
--CLICK

[craigkendall]

Did you fill out their form online to indicate interest in shooting for them? Probably an intern given the task of calling folks who indicated interest in shooting for them online. Bet their web form doesn't ask about sound equipment (or didn't) and they are having to go back and get that info from those who they signed up but did not get that info from... maybe?

[Luis Caffesse]

Okay - you're phone call make a lot more sense now.

I just got off the phone with someone calling from TurnHere.
Only reason I answered the phone was because it was the third time today that number had called me and they hadn't bothered to leave a message.

She sounded like a telemarketer reading from a script.

Long and short of it was a bunch of questions:
"Do you have a 3 chip DV camera?"
"Do you have a lav mic?"
"Do you have a pro editing system?"

After a minute I found out they wanted me to shoot, edit, and deliver a 30 minute video complete with interview/broll/graphics/titles for $200.

I told her I couldn't possibly do that.
She seemed a bit confused by my reaction.

So, signed up around 6 months ago... got a bunch of email newsletters...then finally get a call from someone to do a total low ball job.
Ah well.

Luckily I'm busy enough right now.

[Zander]

Okay - you're phone call make a lot more sense now.

I just got off the phone with someone calling from TurnHere.
Only reason I answered the phone was because it was the third time today that number had called me and they hadn't bothered to leave a message.

She sounded like a telemarketer reading from a script.

Long and short of it was a bunch of questions:
"Do you have a 3 chip DV camera?"
"Do you have a lav mic?"
"Do you have a pro editing system?"

After a minute I found out they wanted me to shoot, edit, and deliver a 30 minute video complete with interview/broll/graphics/titles for $200.

I told her I couldn't possibly do that.
She seemed a bit confused by my reaction.

So, signed up around 6 months ago... got a bunch of email newsletters...then finally get a call from someone to do a total low ball job.
Ah well.

Luckily I'm busy enough right now.
I got the very same questionnaire.

I think you heard them wrong. They don't do any 30 minutes videos. They do 30 second and 60 second videos.

[Luis Caffesse]

HA!
I asked the woman, no joke, THREE times, "30 MINUTE videos?"

She said, "Yes sir, 30 minutes"
I guess she got confused.
I thought it sounded a bit too ridiculous.
:)

Ah well.
I'm not going out and doing a 30 second spot for $200 anyhow... so no big loss.

[ugafan]

HA!
I asked the woman, no joke, THREE times, "30 MINUTE videos?"

She said, "Yes sir, 30 minutes"
I guess she got confused.
I thought it sounded a bit too ridiculous.


lol. probably the same woman.

[Max R. Wilson]

I just got the call the other day also, signed up about 2 months ago...

She was hard to understand but after a few What? and Huh? we made it though the call.

Only time will tell if this is a way to make some cash on the side or not.

[Zander]

HA!
I asked the woman, no joke, THREE times, "30 MINUTE videos?"

She said, "Yes sir, 30 minutes"
I guess she got confused.
I thought it sounded a bit too ridiculous.
:)

Ah well.
I'm not going out and doing a 30 second spot for $200 anyhow... so no big loss.
Seems to me they gave some total idiots a phone and told them to dial it.

[RE1000]

30 minutes for $200?! Did you guys laugh out loud hysterically on the phone?

[aalleexx]

I got a call today as well and they gave me the same BS questions and the same BS offer, I think they are fishing out there to see who falls for this, nothing against anyone but for 200 bucks they want me to shoot and edit, I think that if I did that I would end up losing money, I think this is for people that are just starting out and I dont think I stand alone when I say this but I have a lot of equipment and its just not worth the time for 200 bucks, come on, I dont know what to say, I just told the guy that I have done projects exactly like this one and it never comes in below the grand, its just what it cost and for 30 minutes, there is just no way just my .00002

[Max R. Wilson]

If you have seen the stuff they do $200 for a 30 - 60 sec clip is totally reasonable.

Shoot a interview and then lots of b-roll, its really simple stuff...

Spend 1 hr shooting and then 2-3 editing, Still ends up paying a little more per hour then i charge normally.

It may not sound like much but its better then nothing, they also said they try to book multiple gigs in a day.

[longshanks]

I signed up a year ago and I received the same call a couple of days ago. It seems TurnHere is desperate. They barraged me with the exact same questions: 3 chip camera, lav mic, pro-edit system. Check, check, check. That's funny you guys mention 30 minute because that's what I thought I heard too and I just rolled my eyes. I guess its 30 seconds though. Anyone here enjoy their experience with TurnHere?

[RE1000]

Sounds like the lady on the phone is really f@#king it up, if she's telling everyone 30 minutes instead of 30 seconds, they are probalby losing tons, and tons of potential employees for the job.

[Noah]

I got a call yesterday about this. Keep in mind that a 1 hour shoot is never really a 1 hour shoot. Also factor in travel time. If shooting on the hvx for instance, you can minimize logging and capturing time. If you could film and edit a video every day, it wouldn't be that bad for someone just out of school, etc.

[Zacatac]

I got a call from them, nice guy on the phone... his firs question was do i have a 3ccd camera? i was like no, but i have a 1CMOS camera... he said yeah, but can you get one... i said kind but the CMOS would be better, he finally let it go, saying the form only had 3ccd camera as an option, we lauyghed... lol... but it looks cool... i only hope they call with jobs... i haven't heard anymore from them besides and email

[joemiked]

i got the call last week a weird i cant tell you my name asked me the required equipment list qiustions i asked who is it they replyed" i cant tell you my name"
what evs i still think its ok i did have to turn down a shoot in 16x9 but listed my self as 4x3 only for futer shoots
m.d

[j]

I did a shoot for them.

I Just had a baby and could use the extra money. I thought 1hr shooting and 1hr editing slapping a :30 internet spot together, how bad can it be...?

First of all, the client was too nice, and I couldn't bring myself to spend only 1hr shooting and editing, so let's just say I spent "hours" on this project.

Second, I also spent "hours" (seriously) filling out the TurnHere paperwork, and getting my avid (they apparently only know how to do FCP) to compress to their specs. After back and forth and back and forth, I ended up burning NTSC to DV tape and fedexing it to them so they could encode it themselves!.

Now I know how to read red flags, and there were plenty of those, It's just once I commit, I have to see it through.

Longest "two hours" of my career...

[mainstreetprod]

I have a different perspective (telemarketers aside). I signed up months ago but only recently started getting jobs - 6 on the calendar right now. First job took about 8 hours to accomplish, including travel time, encoding and paperwork, because I was new at it.. Yesterday I did a shoot that took 2 hours to shoot including travel time, 2 hours to edit,
and about an hour for encoding /paperwork. So it now looks like 5 hours invested will be typical and the pay is $225. This is for a one minute video with a 15 second trailer. Once the main video is done, it takes about 5 minutes to pluck out a couple of segments and make the trailer.

That means I'm working for $45 an hour. If I were to average a shoot every day, nearly 60K in a year, for a 5 hour day. I make more than that in my main business, real estate investment - but to me, not exactly an insult. And the jobs come to me, I don't have to go out and find them. The people I have talked to at Turnhere are very professional. I have never been contacted by a telemarketer, I found them on the net somewhere.

[Noah]

Keep in mind, however, that this is not a steady, 5 day a week job. You won't be getting a job a day. They aren't paying you sick days or vacations. It's freelance, so considering it to be the equivalent of a $60k a year job is not realistic. It is cheap for freelance work, especially when you are expected to provide the equipment without a kit rental. You couldn't even rent the necessary equipment for one of these shoots from a rental house for $225. The main thing about the turnhere work is that it seems to be easy work.

[Zander]

I just completed the 8 minute presentation and am now waiting for my first assignment. Turnhere has been getting some mixed reviews but I figure it's worth a shot.

[mainstreetprod]

No, it's not a full time job, but the potential is there for a lot of work- Turnhere has the contract to produce internet spots for, as far as I know, every Yellow Page, Citisearch and Kudzu business that elects to have video - in the US. That's a lot of footage. I guess it is worthwhile to me because I have spent many years owning equipment as a side business / hobby but not generating much income, since I seldom went out and solicited business. I never rent equipment so that's not a factor. At the link below is a Quicktime of a spot I just shot and uploaded today (19mb)


http://download-v5.streamload.com/70c850b1-ec7e-42f5-b3e1-de4c9f80d2e4/mainstreetprod/Hosted/proclean%20for%20web.mov

[vjtk]

I've done 4 gigs for TurnHere and am pretty happy. They do lowball, as it does really take about 4-5 hours to complete a job - if you include all the time for exporting, proofing, driving, shipping, and paperwork (there is a lot). Right now I'm being paid $225 per job (plus $25 if job is more than 8.3 miles away from my place of business), which is low. I agree with other members here that say you can't even rent gear for $225 a day, let alone a turn-key video production proofed and delivered within two days. It is insulting to a freelancer like myself, to be offered such a low rate for a turn-key job. In the end, however, they will let you do "shoot only" jobs for what turns out to be a higher rate than a "shoot AND edit" job. I think they offer $100 to shoot (shoot takes 1-1.5 hours). This turns out to be about $65/hr as opposed to $45/hr - so if you don't think $45/hr is worth it, they offer $65/hr for shoots only. I can say I have 8 jobs booked with them this month, so there is a lot of work to be had. I will continue to work for them, even though I many times am tempted not too. They are very professional and nice, good people to work with IMO.

[aalleexx]

that is just rediculous, if you are poping 8-10 gigs a month you need to get out there and look for clients that apreciate your work man, I think this is actually hurting the market, 250 bucks to go out there and shoot, edit and upload??
on gas prices today well I think I would go out of business really quick, 250 covers my expenses on average for gas and food. By what I have been reading I think turnhere is for the junior film maker so they can learn the ropes and get some experience, not for the feelancer that has to worry about overhead, taxes and employees like myself......just my thoughts poured out on html :)


I've done 4 gigs for TurnHere and am pretty happy. They do lowball, as it does really take about 4-5 hours to complete a job - if you include all the time for exporting, proofing, driving, shipping, and paperwork (there is a lot). Right now I'm being paid $225 per job (plus $25 if job is more than 8.3 miles away from my place of business), which is low. I agree with other members here that say you can't even rent gear for $225 a day, let alone a turn-key video production proofed and delivered within two days. It is insulting to a freelancer like myself, to be offered such a low rate for a turn-key job. In the end, however, they will let you do "shoot only" jobs for what turns out to be a higher rate than a "shoot AND edit" job. I think they offer $100 to shoot (shoot takes 1-1.5 hours). This turns out to be about $65/hr as opposed to $45/hr - so if you don't think $45/hr is worth it, they offer $65/hr for shoots only. I can say I have 8 jobs booked with them this month, so there is a lot of work to be had. I will continue to work for them, even though I many times am tempted not too. They are very professional and nice, good people to work with IMO.

[mainstreetprod]

I've done 4 gigs for TurnHere and am pretty happy. They do lowball, as it does really take about 4-5 hours to complete a job - if you include all the time for exporting, proofing, driving, shipping, and paperwork (there is a lot). Right now I'm being paid $225 per job (plus $25 if job is more than 8.3 miles away from my place of business), which is low. I agree with other members here that say you can't even rent gear for $225 a day, let alone a turn-key video production proofed and delivered within two days. It is insulting to a freelancer like myself, to be offered such a low rate for a turn-key job. In the end, however, they will let you do "shoot only" jobs for what turns out to be a higher rate than a "shoot AND edit" job. I think they offer $100 to shoot (shoot takes 1-1.5 hours). This turns out to be about $65/hr as opposed to $45/hr - so if you don't think $45/hr is worth it, they offer $65/hr for shoots only. I can say I have 8 jobs booked with them this month, so there is a lot of work to be had. I will continue to work for them, even though I many times am tempted not too. They are very professional and nice, good people to work with IMO.



So how do you get the shoot only jobs? I haven't been offered one yet. Although i may have made it one step up the hiearchy, today they called me directly to offer a job instead of emailing the general list for my town.

I would love to get paid $1000 for a 1 minute spot but it hasn't happened , mainly cause I was in a small town until last year. Now the possibility is there, and the calls are finally starting to come in locally. In the meantime, Turnhere will keep my busy
and making something instead of nothing.