Poll - As a video professional, what percentage of your paid work is exciting to you?

[QuickHitRecord]

Here's a little experiment. I know this will vary from person to person based on personal tastes, career level, and attitudes. Let's see where it goes. It would be an interesting sampling of job fulfillment if enough people took the poll. For a somewhat common baseline, I'm dividing this up into three categories: Excitement, Autopilot, and Dread.

As an example (from me; it will probably be different for you):

Excitement would be almost anything narrative or documentary, a shoot in a great/interesting location, working with real actors, or something where I'm getting to design a more creative/moody look.

Autopilot would be most editing and motion graphics, captioning, storyboarding, producing, client meetings, prepping for a shoot, product shoots, shooting corporate talking heads, or shooting multi-camera presentations.

Dread would be editing poorly shot or phone-sourced video, admin tasks (quoting, invoicing, tax prep), or editing anything that's more than seven or eight revision cycles in.

Please choose the option that comes closest to your experience. The votes will be anonymous but feel free to share any insights in the comments. I'm sticking to increments of 20% and giving more weight to Autopilot because it's a job (unpaid passion projects don't count). And I have not included 0% Excitement because if you really felt that way, you're probably making more money doing something else by now.

Bonus question: Are you noticing noticing any trends, pandemic-related or otherwise?

 

[QuickHitRecord]

Is this showing up under 'New Posts'? I'm not seeing it on my end.

 

[NorBro]

It is, but when you're logged in the system doesn't work that well.

Log out and you'll see it under "Today's Posts".

___

I don't know what my exact feelings are regarding the poll, but I can tell you that I used to love traveling and filming. I found that exciting.

 

[QuickHitRecord]

Yeah, I used to enjoy the challenge of travel shoots and got to see a lot of the country that way. At the height of it, I was traveling twice a month. I have a new client who seems to like to travel a lot and I'm hoping to get back out there this summer but we'll see.

 

[morgan_moore]

It has to be 100%

Ive only made this business because if you make pizza, arragne funerals or groom dogs Im gonna be excited about that for that day.

--

ps once you have read/written/viewed a post it is not new anymore so dissapears from 'whats new'.. if you want to find it go to my recent posts if someone posts on the thread it will pop back up. That is different from the good old days.

 

[ahalpert]

yeah where's the 0% dread option lol. I've had 1 client who gave me dread for being a yeller (and I eventually stopped taking his calls). And 1 client who used to have an annual project I dreaded for sheer dullness. I've got a little autopilot these days but no dread. not sure it's fair to count tax prep, but that would go in the sheer agony category. that's like <1% of the year though

 

[Liam Hall]

I avoid dread like the plague but got suckered into a job I've been trying to get out of the door for the past couple of weeks. Never again.

Luckily, I have interesting foreign shoots coming up so normal service (100% exciting) will be resumed.

 

[Peter C.]

I have an odd combination of personality traits, I hate doing the same thing over and over again, but I also get stressed out of the unknown. So often more out of the box creative jobs are more rewarding but can result in a lot of stress. For example I had ballet movie that need to be filmed outdoors for 3 months in all types of terrible weather, lugging lots of equipment, tight unmovable deadline, and no idea how to film it... Then on the opposite side I have dreadfully boring legal video work that I know like the back of my hand, is relatively easy and pays well. I worked many years in a 9-5 corporate cubical job that felt like a jail sentence so I still appreciate most any work that allows me to be free of the man. In short, things don't fit neatly into into categories.

 

[QuickHitRecord]

It has to be 100%

yeah where's the 0% dread option lol.

Luckily, I have interesting foreign shoots coming up so normal service (100% exciting) will be resumed.

So many 100 Excitements and 0% Dreads. I didn't even know it was possible but I'm glad to hear it. Sam and Liam, what kind of work are you mostly doing? As I recall, Abe does mostly weddings.

Overall, I'm at a career average of 40% Excitement/40% Autopilot/20% Dread, with more emphasis on Dread lately because I keep getting edits with poorly shot footage from amateurs or employees. Thirteen years into my career, I want everything I work on to have a certain level of polish but these videos are just never going to get there. I expect that my job satisfaction would go way up if I stopped taking these edits.

I think 100% Excitement for me would be working with budgets to work with small crews on almost every shoot. I really enjoy the camaraderie. I was getting there before the pandemic but it's mostly been OMB since for obvious reasons. And it would be great to hire some part-time administrative and Assistant Editing help. So maybe those should be some long-term goals.

Peter, I came from a cubicle as well and I am the same way. I enjoy the challenge of shooting new kinds of subjects in ways I never have before. It forces me to do my research and learn something new. But I have pretty high standards for myself so I usually want to spend a bunch of time prepping and practicing for these jobs. If I don't get that time, it can be extremely stressful.

 

[Alex H.]

If you learn to say “no” to the dreadful stuff, you can get to 100% positivity. Or, at least, pretty damn close. I’m at the point in my freelance career that I have plenty of work I absolutely enjoy, and I don’t have to take the jobs I don’t want.

 

[QuickHitRecord]

I’m at the point in my freelance career that I have plenty of work I absolutely enjoy, and I don’t have to take the jobs I don’t want.

How long would you say it took you to get to that point?

 

[Alex H.]

How long would you say it took you to get to that point?

Just a few years. 3 or 4? One client leads to another, and eventually (hopefully) one lands a couple of larger clients who can keep the work coming in. But I know that this can be circumstantial, and it also depends on how big the market is.

I’m fortunate to be in a pretty healthy production market. There’s quite a bit of TV around here, and I have some travel in there as well. TV is pretty much my bread and butter with some commercial work, a little corporate, and the occasional feature mixed in there.

 

[Liam Hall]

So many 100 Excitements and 0% Dreads. I didn't even know it was possible but I'm glad to hear it. Sam and Liam, what kind of work are you mostly doing? As I recall, Abe does mostly weddings.

I'm actually less picky than I used to be. In my youth, when I was mostly editing music videos I would turn down jobs if I didn't like the artist. I turned down Paul McCartney, The Spice Girls and Phil Collins in the same year, what was I thinking? LOL

These days I mainly work in the documentary/corporate/marketing/charity and government propaganda sectors of the industry and make all sorts of stuff often in remote parts of the planet. I like meeting people from different walks of life and sprinkling a little stardust their way. Best of all, I like not having a normal job. Indeed, after 37 years in this business, I'm not sure I'm capable of doing a normal job anyway.

I have no idea why I get hired for the jobs I do, but the one piece advice I give those starting out is; never make excuses, find solutions.

 

[morgan_moore]

. Sam ..what kind of work are you mostly doing?

Much of my work is 'terrible' - as I siad one needs to be able to able to be excited about making pizza, or dog grooming.. or steer clear of 90% of this business.

Of course I have challenging jobs.. what I really like is anything where eveyone is there to do a good job. I dislike disinterested people in the room be that models, producers or any camera crew

 

[ahalpert]

So many 100 Excitements and 0% Dreads. I didn't even know it was possible but I'm glad to hear it. Sam and Liam, what kind of work are you mostly doing? As I recall, Abe does mostly weddings.

I'm probably at 90% excitement, 10% autopilot.

I actually edit more than I shoot (although the revenue is probably about 50/50). Most of my editing is for christies auction house, and most of that is artsy style fast-paced videos to showcase art. I love art, and I like that we try to emulate the style/mood of the pieces we show. It's a fun challenge and keeps things interesting. Plus I love editing visuals around music (rather than interviews) because I love music.. The shoots I do for christies have a similar appeal

Weddings are probably about 60% of the shoots I do. The rest are a mixed bag, which is great because those are full of variety and that keeps things interesting

Shooting weddings isn't my lifelong ambition, but they still carry the joy of photography and the thrill of the hunt.. you'd think they would become autopilot. And while that's true for certain rote sections (like the ceremony), during the rest of the day the goal is to maximize beauty from documentary and staged portraiture and landscapes. You have to keep your eyes open and be attuned to the people and the photographic possibilities

I also never pull my punches by telling myself that it's just a wedding. I still try to shoot it like I'm shooting a movie. I'm constantly refining my gear package and stylistic approach, trying new things. So, it carries all the basic pleasures of any other photographic pursuit

like others have said, I've gotten to a relatively happy place by expanding my clientele and then filtering out the duds

Maybe it helps that I wear a big beard and a ponytail. That probably keeps away the types of soul-deadening clients that would be good for my bank account but bad for my morale

I have one partially autopilot client.. I used to tutor her regularly in photo/video production.. now she periodically asks me to do zoom sessions at a moment's notice to help her edit. Mostly I'm a yes man and sounding board, with an occasional valuable insight or technical assist. In our last session, I did a fair amount of house-hunting and news-reading in another browser window. But it pays well and it beats having to put on pants and leave the house

 

[QuickHitRecord]

. Sam ..what kind of work are you mostly doing?

Much of my work is 'terrible' - as I siad one needs to be able to able to be excited about making pizza, or dog grooming.

Doesn't sound so terrible to me. I like shooting footage of people who are doing things, not sitting at computers (I shoot a lot of that).

I also never pull my punches by telling myself that it's just a wedding. I still try to shoot it like I'm shooting a movie. I'm constantly refining my gear package and stylistic approach, trying new things. So, it carries all the basic pleasures of any other photographic pursuit

I like your attitude! I try to do the same. Every shoot is an opportunity to refine technique and gear. As far as weddings go, it must be nice to know that what you are creating is going to be extremely meaningful to at least two people, and they will watch it over and over for the rest of their lives. Most of my corporate stuff veers away from any real emotion and is irrelevant within a year.

Maybe it helps that I wear a big beard and a ponytail. That probably keeps away the types of soul-deadening clients that would be good for my bank account but bad for my morale

Maybe I need to grow a beard too!

I treat every shoot like a potential portfolio piece and I think that my work is pretty strong at this point (13 years in, more than half of it in freelance). I get a lot of praise for my work and clients seem to enjoy working with me. And fortunately most of them have been pretty good to work for too. As of maybe three years ago, I make "enough" money. However, I'm somewhat bewildered that what I perceive to be my greatest strength (telling a compelling, genuine story with moody, naturalistic visuals) never seems to be called on. Instead, I get hired to do a lot of medium-gloss shoots pushing products and services with little to no story and bright, clean visuals. If I start introducing some story elements, or a little film grain, or a choice soundbyte about a failure (followed closely, of course, by a byte about recovery), it's usually not the direction that most of my clients are looking for. One of my fears is that I'll lose the ability to finish a video without a sunset/hero shot and a company logo.

And then I'll see a new video pop up from the same company, whom I haven't heard from in a few months, and it'll be shot with a locked-off GH4 and no lighting and a ton of chroma noise. And I'll wonder what the heck is going on!

 

[morgan_moore]

Fair point pizza making and dog grroming are cool. but not famous ike Mercedes Porche or Kianu Reeves or some Vogue models in micro outfits.

I dont mind computers or people chatting on a podium.

What I dislike is bing told to do a single person greenscreen interview, taking my 2.4m greenscreen one pair of mics and then being told all four want to be in the same shot and doing a film with limbs fying off the keyed area and a poorly boomed single mic for everyone and then getting laughed at.

Hoestly a lot of my work is challenging and communicating through that is what is on my mind the whole time. For the infinite threads wondering if a 50.14 is worse than a 50 1.2 L - its all pointless.. my job is all about trying to leverage half (or quarter?) decent production values.

But I think if you give up and start cruising you are done.

 

[Liam Hall]

I treat every shoot like a potential portfolio piece and I think that my work is pretty strong at this point (13 years in, more than half of it in freelance). I get a lot of praise for my work and clients seem to enjoy working with me. And fortunately most of them have been pretty good to work for too. As of maybe three years ago, I make "enough" money. However, I'm somewhat bewildered that what I perceive to be my greatest strength (telling a compelling, genuine story with moody, naturalistic visuals) never seems to be called on. Instead, I get hired to do a lot of medium-gloss shoots pushing products and services with little to no story and bright, clean visuals. If I start introducing some story elements, or a little film grain, or a choice soundbyte about a failure (followed closely, of course, by a byte about recovery), it's usually not the direction that most of my clients are looking for. One of my fears is that I'll lose the ability to finish a video without a sunset/hero shot and a company logo.

And then I'll see a new video pop up from the same company, whom I haven't heard from in a few months, and it'll be shot with a locked-off GH4 and no lighting and a ton of chroma noise. And I'll wonder what the heck is going on!

This sums up how I roll and I understand your frustration. I used to get bothered by that sort of thing - maybe I sold out but I don't care so much anymore that I'm not making Citizen Kane on every corporate video. It's enough for me that I'm going places, meeting different people, seeing new things and finding interesting ways to showcase those things even if it's a mundane thing. Not everything has to be Kim Kardashian landing on a aircraft carrier in a jet pack.

The artist David Hockney said he can stare at a hedgerow (a wild hedge) for hours and find interesting details missed by most people. I often think of that when I'm stuck in an office trying to make Cynthia from accounts look vaguely rock'n'roll.

 

[ahalpert]

it must be nice to know that what you are creating is going to be extremely meaningful to at least two people, and they will watch it over and over for the rest of their lives.

Erm, sure. I mean - yes, that is true in one sense. The last wedding I shot and edited, the couple told me that after they got the link they played it all day and couldn't stop watching it. But frankly, I have a pretty cynical view of weddings. And the number of people who will get divorced... I like it when a couple is really in love. When they're not, the motivation is somewhat harder to come by. At the end of the day, I'm a sentimental romantic. The parts of wedding shooting I think that I excel at are the verite moments of heartfelt interactions, the exciting dancing, the social aspects. The parts I think I need to improve on are staging jewelry and clothing, the materialistic aspects meant to showcase wealth. My heart's not totally in that, and I see other people doing it better.

Instead, I get hired to do a lot of medium-gloss shoots pushing products and services with little to no story and bright, clean visuals. If I start introducing some story elements, or a little film grain, or a choice soundbyte about a failure (followed closely, of course, by a byte about recovery), it's usually not the direction that most of my clients are looking for. One of my fears is that I'll lose the ability to finish a video without a sunset/hero shot and a company logo.

Ultimately, one has to nail the brief for whatever one is making that day, right? If someone orders a minivan, and you give them a sports car, there's no sense in telling them that it's a superior product. It's just not what they needed.

But if you're bored and creatively restless, I certainly wouldn't rest on your laurels. When I used to AC, all the higher-profile DPs I worked under continued to shoot unpaid jobs as career-boosters. Sometimes it was about working with a director they wanted to connect with, sometimes it was about adding a famous actor to their reel, sometimes it was a challenging visually-creative opportunity, sometimes it was about branching out into a part of the industry where they weren't established. If you have enough money to keep your lights on and you have some free time available, I would look for creative outlets that could lead to good-paying work that you find more exciting.

 

[Alex H.]

And then I'll see a new video pop up from the same company, whom I haven't heard from in a few months, and it'll be shot with a locked-off GH4 and no lighting and a ton of chroma noise. And I'll wonder what the heck is going on!

You got “nephewed”. As in, “Why are we paying this person? My nephew’s really into this kind of thing and has a camera.” They get what they pay for, but it seems to matter less because they saved money.

Over time, I have come to realize that there is an ongoing race to the bottom, and a lot of clients (or potential clients) are doing everything they can not to pay people for good work. This is especially true for clients on the local level. Quality benchmarks are abandoned for how little it costs just to get it done. Truly, these are clients I’m happy to lose, because it’s not worth the effort and the frustration to try and convince them to spend the money. The race to the bottom is also spurred by people who enter the game with a lower cost of entry (cheaper technology) and decide that they don’t have to charge much since they didn’t spend much. Again, I find it’s not worth fighting for the clients that will hire them; they get what they pay for and that’s just fine for them.

I don’t try anymore to go after the clients that don’t really want what I have to offer, just like I’ve learned to say “no” to jobs that are guaranteed to be miserable train wrecks.

What I dislike is bing told to do a single person greenscreen interview, taking my 2.4m greenscreen one pair of mics and then being told all four want to be in the same shot and doing a film with limbs fying off the keyed area and a poorly boomed single mic for everyone and then getting laughed at.

I always have more gear packed than the initial job requires. Of course, I explain very clearly that I will bill for the additional gear, but since they changed the scope of the project at the last possible moment, it is necessary to get the job done.