Has anyone actually been paid by Current.com?

IjabaFilms

IjabaFilms

Well-known member
Greetings,

I was wondering if anyone on this board has actually been paid by Current.com/Current TV?

They want me to submit some cut downs for a few of my docs but so far I'm not entirely convinced they are trustworthy.

Thanks.
 
I've only got 1 video up at current, but I wasn't asked, I posted it just to see if I could get enough views. I still don't know how they choose what they show, but if they asked you, that seems like a pretty good chance.
As I keep getting told, get your fee in writing.
On a similar topic. Besides current, anyone ever get paid from howcast,monkeysee,elastic lab or any of the other places where you film and they say they'll pay you?

Stussey
 
I don't know if they changed their policies but when they first came out they wanted full rights to your work so we never gave them anything. Things might have changed since then though.
 
Looks like you are correct. They do want exclusive rights. Also they keep changing what they will pay for the footage as well. It went from $2500 to $500. I'm moving on.

By the way, I'm hypnotized by that little SuperBad smiley you have in your signature Beat Takeshi. I feel mind controlled. HAHAHAHA
 
Hey,

My name is Heather and I manage Howcast's Emerging Filmmakers Program. I thought I'd answer your question Stussey: The majority of videos submitted to the program are accepted and the filmmakers are paid as soon as they submit the master files. I know this would be better coming from one of our filmmakers, but I figured some answer was better than none.

If you have any more questions at all, you can email me anytime at emergingfilmmakers@howcast.com.

Thanks!

-Heather
http://www.howcastfilmmakers.com
 
I've been paid by HowCast. They are pretty professional. I wouldn't make a habit of giving away footage for peanuts but making how-to videos are pretty fun.
 
If you guys have how to video's that your making especially niche market how to stuff send me a pm and a link to them. I could probably get you a heck of a lot more money. Once you do a deal with them they own your content. Be careful.
 
they've figured out a way to start a network without doing any production or paying for any.
mad props to em.
 
Not to take away from anybody that has been paid, but I was approached by one company, ExpertVilliage. And I just kinda gave up. For the amount of work they wanted and the amount of money that they paid. It wasn't worth my time.

The way Expert Village works (Never used or tried any of the others). You have to come up with a "How to" for something that they don't already have on their website. THEN you have to go find people (experts mind you) that are willing to have you shoot the video. So in your car going door to door. NEXT you have to shoot and edit the video and finally upload.

By the time I found my first person/company I should have gotten the full amount, because it took me like 2 hours to find one company. Then it took 2 hours to shoot and another 3 hours to edit. when I noticed one thing wrong in the video count and knew I'd have to start the edits over, I just said forget it. They were paying, at the time, $300 for the video set.

I can sit in my home and advertise Wedding Videos, meet with a client for 30 minutes (they come to me) and go spend 6 hours at a wedding and about 5 hours at home in the edit. And make $1K easy. So I'm making almost $90 an hour besides the consoltation.

Expert Villiage, I have to do ALL the work, spend 8+ hours of time for $300 about $38 an hour. But at least as a wedding videographer I don't have to go and sell myself. All I need is a website and one or two ads. So people look for me, instead of the other way around.

I'm not against these sites. I wish I had gotten with Expert villiage at the beginning when they were starting so it would have been easier to find the "how to" experts. But between knocking on doors (where they don't want you) and spending my gas, and following their rules, I just was too fed up.

Maybe this is good for some of you guys, but didn't work for me.
 
Thanks for the info jls4. I think you are right about all of that. It's a lot of work for a little bit of money and then they want you to give away world rights.

Now I'm thinking about doing wedding videos. :)
 
I don't think it's worth it, but I'm not knocking it. Wedd and Commercial Videos pay better and they are stable and you get referrals!

EDIT: some interesting documentaries you've got on your website. Good luck with those. I'm surprised you haven't tried to sell to LOGO with the BGL Doc
 
jls4 said:
I don't think it's worth it, but I'm not knocking it. Wedd and Commercial Videos pay better and they are stable and you get referrals!

EDIT: some interesting documentaries you've got on your website. Good luck with those. I'm surprised you haven't tried to sell to LOGO with the BGL Doc
Click to expand...

Is it hard to do wedding videos? How much do you charge?

Thanks! and Thanks for checking out my website. :) I haven't tried to sell the BGL doc because it wouldn't be up to standards for broadcast. It was my first doc and I didn't have as good of an understanding for making films back then. My two new docs though, I'm taking all the way. :)


Hahaha I was just checking out some of your videos! Very funny and fantastic shooting. I love it! I just about died laughing at the neighbor who wanted the guy to give "James" something. What a great character!

Cheers
 
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Hi,

This is Heather from the Howcast Emerging Filmmakers Program again. I truly appreciate all the input on this forum and the others I visit. I can't speak for Current or Expert Village, but I wanted to offer a little more information on our program.

First, currently, in the program there is a cash stipend of $50, and down the road, the possibility of revenue sharing if your video blows up on the web, but I should say the program is really about creativity, experience, exposure and promotion. Howcast spots are great reel-builders for new, fresh directors, but the program is not really tailored for filmmakers who are already accustomed to making an income from their work. After I graduated from film school, I spent a few months temping (i.e. getting coffee), but in my off-hours I'd work on projects with friends. Those projects eventually became my reel. The Emerging Filmmakers Program provides emerging directors a ready-made opportunity to build a better reel than I ever could with my buddies and our resources. Some give one video a try and are ready to conquer something else; some stick around and make quite a few.

Second, I actually did weddings for a while and there are a few filmmakers in the program who do weddings and events for a living. Weddings can pay very well! But, and I know this from experience, they don't always allow for the type of narrative creativity we all crave. Howcast encourages filmmakers to explore new techniques and styles. The best Howcast spots are creative takes on something very simple. So although a Howcast spot doesn't pay the way a wedding would, it does allow filmmakers to really get creative with their work for a client.

We do try to offer as much value as we can for the beginner filmmaker. A final point I wanted to share is that although other work may pay more, Howcast spots are distributed across our network on the web (eveywhere from AOL to MySpace to Break) and beyond (including the iPhone, TiVo and FIOS). Having so many viewers see your work is definitely a bonus for a new filmmaker – isn't having people see our skills another thing we're all after? (We're actually launching a podcast for the Emerging Filmmakers Program this week. It will offer a few lines about every filmmaker along with the video. This is something I've been working toward for quite a while and we're all pretty excited for it!)

I hope this helps clarify the Howcast Emerging Filmmakers Program a bit. As the managing producer, I'm dedicated to making it valuable and fun for filmmakers. I'd love for anyone to drop me a line any time with their feedback and suggestions. You can email me at emergingfilmmakers@howcast.com.

Thanks for listening! Best of luck with all your creative endeavors.

Best,
Heather Menicucci
 
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