Editing Funeral Service's...

ryan brown

ryan brown

lOwEr CaSe Member
is long, depressing, and tough.

I've just spent the last 24 hours editing a funeral that my guys shot yesterday morning. Sounds harmless enough, huh?

Here's the catch... There was a car accident, and the man driving was killed. Well, his wife was in the car, she's in critical condition at the hospital and wasn't able to attend the service's for her husband of 30-40 years. Her children don't think she's going to make it, so they wanted me to film the funeral service's, throw together some musical montage's, and have it back to them ASAP so they could show they're mother [in the hospital] before she passes.

Talk about pressure in a strange, sort of morbid way.

Well... I'm finished with it, and I must say, it's some of my best work... especially for the pay and turnaround time. I figure good karma is pay enough on this one. Well, I didn't do it for free, but I will say that I'll be getting less than $500.

Whew... now I just have to drive it over to the family.

Then I'm going to get a drink... or two... or twenty.:huh:

-brown
 
Man, that is rough. I used to write ads for a chain of discount funeral homes, but I had never had to come into contact with the end users. Wow. But yeah, you did a good thing for the family that's for sure.

You work for/have a production company in Dallas?
 
JasonFox said:
Man, that is rough. I used to write ads for a chain of discount funeral homes
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Ever see the 'WKRP in Cincinnatti' epp where they're doing funeral-home ads...?
 
Man, from an editing standpoint, that is a really tough gig. From a children standpoint who are about to lose BOTH their parents at relatively the same time, its an even tougher gig.
 
Sad Max said:
Ever see the 'WKRP in Cincinnatti' epp where they're doing funeral-home ads...?
Click to expand...

Yes, I have. Fortunately, the client did have class. They were "discount" in the sense that they only had a 100-200% markup instead of the typical 400-800%. I'm not lying. People don't want to price shop at a time like that (understandably so), but you can really get taken if you don't.

But that WKRP was a riot.
 
Must be twenty-five years later, and I still remember the lyrics...

Ferryman, Ferryman,
He's the Man with a Plot!
The Man with a Plan!
 
JasonFox said:
You work for/have a production company in Dallas?
Click to expand...

I'm in the middle of starting my own company (4am Productions), right now I'm freelance... but I'd say about 90% of my work come's from one company in Dallas. I'm the lead editor and shooter for them.

How bout you?
 
rlm7189 said:
From a children standpoint who are about to lose BOTH their parents at relatively the same time, its an even tougher gig.
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Agreed 100%. That's why I did it, that's why I did it cheap, and that's why I put a LOT of work into it.
 
rcbrown23 said:
I'm in the middle of starting my own company (4am Productions), right now I'm freelance... but I'd say about 90% of my work come's from one company in Dallas. I'm the lead editor and shooter for them.

How bout you?
Click to expand...

Freelance copywriter/wannabe director. Writing portfolio here: http://www.jasonfox.net. Moved down here in early 2005 for a job at a small agency. That job recently went away, but I don't miss it.

Good luck with your startup.
 
I had the idea a few years back to start videotaping wakes & funerals for people that aren't able to make it to them or just want to have them to see their loved one one more time.

I figured in a way it'd kind of close the chapter of life. People video tape births, birthdays, graduations, weddings, anniversaries, special events, etc so why not funerals to close the chapter. A lot of people told me there was something wrong with me and no one would go for it. I still think it's a good idea.

I told a kid I used to go to school with and he wanted to do somethign similiar but set up a webcam for people who can't make it.

good job with it and good luck w/ 4am
 
Thanks.

Yeah... That market could either take off, or get nothing. Who knows. One thing that has been making a rise in that type of video work is the "life memoirs". People are paying a pretty penny to have you sit down with thier elderly family members and get a story of thier life on video. Incooperate a few pictures and home video's, and there ya go... a nice tape to show the family and friends.

I may offer something like this with the new company. Have to research a little more first, though.

-brown
 
one of my friends started doing that for a friend for a 40th birthday party. I taught her how to use fcp and photoshop and ae a little bit and she had a cheap camera and videotaped the family members and everything and edited it together to a decent looking piece. (decent for someone who has very little experience). Everyone loved it and she's done a few more since then, raking in a few hundred a piece.

If I didnt get the job at ESPN, and was still working at Friendlys and a local news station, I would have started to do that and weddings since there's good money in both. I'm still interested in doing it but am not ready or at a point in my life where I want to tackle that type of obstacle.
 
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