FS7: "Backwards" impressions

[Erik Wittbusch]

Let's not forget that cinematography isn't all about money.
I have my paid gigs (not enough of course!) and I have the jobs that I need for myself
in the form of filming things, that I love and the way I like it to be filmed.

In the past the "special" jobs were done with typical 2nd unit cameras or on times were
the big ones were free from friends or colleagues.
Now, I have a camera like the FS7 sitting here, being able to pull out pictures for my personal projects that rival
any other camera I used. This makes me real happy and makes me learn things for the bigger projects too, as
I definitely have more training with similar equipment.
The FS100 did serve me well for such projects, where money really was an issue but I'm really happy it can
stay at home most of the time now.

 

[Nate Weaver]

Let's not forget that cinematography isn't all about money.

Cinematography isn't anything about money. But the buying/justification of cameras is all about money (unless you're using disposable income), and in particular the halfway-useable cameras of today is driven by money.

I definitely went off the deep-end in my rant, but I felt it needed mentioning that the 90k from 2003 still buys you something similar (usable, workable in JPNola's original complaint) in 2015, it's just that shooter clients and what's good enough changed drastically since then.

 

[sebben]

I really do not want to come of sounding superior (I really don't), but that's why I scraped and scraped to buy an Amira. I wanted out. Arri, their customers, and the clients all want stability. People get mad and hate Arri because they don't think those prices are justified, Arri is just ripping you off. I'm here to tell you that if you can develop the clientele to even sort of afford an Arri rental, those jobs are easier, more professional, and you make more money. That's why the "high-end" works. It sifts out the crap. The lower end of the market is such a rat race to the bottom, it's a losing game for almost everybody involved. Fantasy football league with $7000 price of entry. The only way to win is to stick with your choice for 4 years, and hope it's still desirable at the end of that timeframe. This is just a HUGE generalization, there are great clients that only have $500/day for you and cam, and there are terrible, abusive prod cos that will pay you $1500/day + $2K for your camera. But these are the lessons 15+ years in the biz have taught me.

How did you get better clients?