help with equipment for new business.

Jason Ramsey

Jason Ramsey

Admin
Hey,
I was wondering if some of you folks would mind providing me with some advice on the studio I am going to be setting up soon. (sometime in the next 6 months possibly) There are still some holes in it, but that is why I am here:) I am trying to get all of this in a budget at or under 25k. There will be some equipment that will be purchased later as most of the "paying the bills" work will be at least finished at sd. not hd. But the feature doc stuff I will be working on will be hd all the way. Anyways, without getting to far off on that yet, let me lay out what I have so far:

Camera - Of course, a pair of hvx200's = $11,000

PC - Mac Pro Quad Core 2.66GHz Intel Xeon
- 2 Gigs of DDR2 667MHz ECC Ram (4 x 512mb)
- 3 x 500gb SATA 7200 rpm 3 G b/s HDD's ( What setup would be best? One for system drive. the other two togethor for a cumulative 500gb or do I need the Tbyte for storage of HD footage?)
- ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512mb (2x dual link dvi) = $4,149
- (regarding the display... as most of my early work will be finished SD, still probably shot HD, and will be doing some finishing in HD as well, what should I do? Is it ok to get a 20" Apple Cinema Display @ $700, and then in the future purchase the second display being a 23" HD? Will the 20" view HD, albeit if not at full rez.? Are the HD displays backwards compatible with SD? Forgive me I am very out of the technology loop for the last several years. What are the recommendations on the display at this point?) = $700 or $1000

- 1 Cineporter ( a second later or a larger p2 card wichever is better when the time comes) = $2100

6 xtra batteries = $ 600

Spec Comm Charger = $400 - $600

Sound - Not sure yet?? Suggestions. I am looking @ 1000 - 1500 price range on that. A couple of lavaliers, a couple of shotguns. like that. I know that is not much to spend on sound for you guys, but I am not in a huge market here. I am however in a market with a lot of spendable income and generally pretty crap production quality, from the area stations down to the event videographer companies around. Most of which over charge. at least for the quality I have seen around here. Anyways. Most of the early work I am looking at is event stuff ( weddings, pageants, sports, ect) As well as some smaller market commercials. in some of the cities 30,000 - 100,000 population range around here. And eventually expanding those avenues of the business, and upgrading as needed for feature docs, shorts etc.)... Off the subject... Anyways...
Oh software of course - Final Cut Studio 5.1.1 or latest at time = $1200

There are some other miscellaneous things of course, cabling, accessories, and stuff I am not thinking of. Call it $1000 for now.

Tripod recommendations - I know we need good tripods. If possible I am not looking at 500 bucks and beyond for these just yet. I know, I know, i am crazy, right? I need a tripod and/or monopod that is going to be quiet and smooth and adequate for the uses I have mentioned above. Do need to go that high for these kinds of events? At least yet?

Ok I am sure I am forgetting some stuff, but this is quite long already, and I am by no means locked down. Like I said I am looking at sometime in the next 6 months. These are initial thoughts, and I would love some feedback.

Oh yeah, grand total so far = 20 - 22k I believe. depending on certain options listed above. Plus the cost of tripods and things forgotten.

Look. Thanks a lot for any ideas and suggestions you may be able to provide. Love the forum by the way.
Take Care
Jason

*Oh yeah and i forgot Barry's book, and some tut. on final cut. (I haven't used a mac since my apple II gs :) ) I was just starting to learn a little on vegas. add 150 bucks*
 
Ramjet1979 said:
Tripod recommendations - I know we need good tripods. If possible I am not looking at 500 bucks and beyond for these just yet. I know, I know, i am crazy, right? I need a tripod and/or monopod that is going to be quiet and smooth and adequate for the uses I have mentioned above. Do need to go that high for these kinds of events? At least yet?
Click to expand...

Yes you are crazy ;)

The events you are shooting, weddings, pageants and sports, all require long shots. These need to be done on a tripod and these need to be smooth. You can only do this with a quality tripod and head AND a lot of practice. Cheap heads are somewhat usable in wide shots but they don't cut the mustard on a long shot. Cheap heads are also okay for hobbyist and indies on a budget but not for a business that is charging people money for video services. IMO, you need to spend a minimum $1500 to $2000 for a quality tripod/head. Entry-level choices include Cartoni Focus, Vinten Vision 3 and Sachtler DV-6SB. There are even better choices if you spend more.

If you've got a sound business model, spending an extra $3K for proper camera support should not be significant to a $22K initial investment. The tripods will pay for themselves and will probably outlast every other gear you have--even your camera.
 
wonderful. keep going

wonderful. keep going

Thanks very much. this is greatt. About the ram. since i will mostly be doing sd in the beginning is 2g ok and then a future upgrade to 4g or more planned. I say this cbecause the difference is like 800 dollars from 2 to 4 gigs. and a pparently i need to spend much more on a tripod then i had budgeted for. speaking of that, some of the 500 dollar tripods i have seen posted on here won't be sufficient? If the money needs to go towards the tripods that is fine. I just am trying to figure out these kinds of things. where the most important place to budget my money is. and 25k max. is that possible you think. with upgrades planned in the 6 and 12 month increments. please keep going. i am soaking this up. by the way. I don't have 25 k to drop. this is a business investment. a small business loan for the purchase of equipment. so i am trying to keep the cost per month as reasonable as possible. I still have to add in rent for office space. the good news is in my area i can get good space in the neighborhood of 750 little less little more. thanks please keep going
jason
 
Ramjet1979 said:
speaking of that, some of the 500 dollar tripods i have seen posted on here won't be sufficient? If the money needs to go towards the tripods that is fine. I just am trying to figure out these kinds of things. where the most important place to budget my money is. and 25k max. is that possible you think.
Click to expand...

I don't think the $500 tripods are sufficient for professional use. They are good for people on a budget shooting mainly wide shots, few moves, or repeatable takes where they can redo the shot if their operating isn't that good on that particular take. Since you are doing event work where there is no re-take, you need to get the shot the first time and every time and you need to be able to do it whether it is a wide shot, a medium shot or a long shot. And even if you have a good tripod/head, I can't stress it enough that you need to practice like crazy to know how to operate a fluid head correctly. Especially for sports, it's not that easy to track erratic objects on full telephoto even on an OConnor so imagine how hard it is on a cheap Bogen.

Personally, I'm not sure if the HVX+Cineporter is a good choice. If you can wait until October, the Canon HX-A1 may be a better choice for a low-capital outlay business. The HVX+Cineporter route ties up $13K, over half your budget, while two HX-A1 only ties up $8K plus inexpensive tape. You could add a Firestore if you still wanted and you'd still be way ahead in terms of budget. The lens on the HX-A1 also has 50% more reach than an HVX. Of course this changes a lot of other things because you'd be editing HDV or an intermediary instead of DVCPRO-HD.
 
I gotcha on the tripods. it makes perfect sense. In regards to the cannon. Rightly or wrongly, I am set on the hvx. :) i am not too interested in hdv. And the wedding, pagaent sports, thing is the kinda pay the bills thing. I know i can pay the bills pretty well in this location doing that. I have various contacts for sports with the radio station i currently work at. Various contacts for pageants through my business partner. These are just more a plan to know that i have money coming in while I work on other projects like documentaries, and shorts, etc. For example I am going to Indonesia in a few months and again in a year. I have plans already to shoot the footage for a documentary based over there that I can edit when I come back. And I don't want anything less than the hvx (or 2) by my side :) Does that make sense? the events are the sound business plan. That with some good planning and practice and contacts I currently have I can relatively quickly ( 6 months from start up) turn into a consistent and above average ( for me ) money maker. I won't go too into that aspect of my market. But lets just put it this way. There was a guy a few years back filming football games on his hi8 with 2 ten dollar mics plugged into his mini jack, going home dubbing it on his vcr and making 100-200 dollars a game. And the "immediately" local broadcast stations still aren't doing much better than that. Don't let me get off on that. I guess the point I am making though is that the 30 mile market here is way over priced for the quality. I do appreciate the suggestion for the camera. but after much research into cameras and the longer term goals I have for the business and myself, it's the hvx all the way. the 60-80 mile market ( 12-18 month plan ) starts including 350k population cities in which some broadcast & advertising work is what I had in mind. Anyways, i am gettnig off topic. Sorry, I have been consumed by this for a few weeks now. Hopefuly this will provide you with some info so you can better guage the equipment I need and the best place to put my money. Thanks. You gotta start somewhere right. And in a cheesy moment: in terms of creativity, background, ability, and (oh god) "passion for what i do" I feel I am there. In terms of technical know-how and experience in this medium, i have a long ways to go. Anyways. shut up Jason. lavalier mics? Shotguns? 20" cinema and later hd purchase or HD cinema from get go?
thanks a lot for the info already and anymore you all can provide
Jason

*edit - Ultimately I can continue to be broke and rarely getting to do what I love, or I can be broke and always get to do the kinds of things I love. And maybe one day actually put food in my babies mouth. *
 
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Hi, I'm a newbie in this group and feel a little awkward to add my two cents so soon, but I was involved in video about ten years ago, right around the the years analog was changing to digital. I use to edit on a FAST system, and had hi end equipment for a wedding/event videographer. What I learned was that I would have been better spending my budget, (or at least budgeting), on advertising and getting the jobs before I spent it on equipment. I realize that good equipment is important, just wanted to throw in a budget for advertising so your market knows you are there. My two cents.
 
hey videogypsie. Thanks for the advice. I'm a newbie too:) anybody's 2 or 12 or .1 cents is welcome for me. As far as advertising goes. I work at a locally owned and operated radio station that's listening area is a 12 county area with over 5 billion dollars a year spendable income. They will give me free advertising. plus they have been around since 1947, so they are well known and respected. at least in the immediate listening area of the above mentioned. thanks for the 2 cents. another 1.25 million 2 cents and i've got my 25k :)
take care
 
I won't try to talk you out of the HVX since I know the decision to go with particular camera is a complicated one and often based on emotion. But I still think the Canons are a better choice from a cost/benefit analysis and considering the stage that we in are HD product development.

Anyhow, other things to consider for your budget include wind protection for your mics, wireless mics, equipment cases, equipment insurance and backups for everything. Also, you haven't mentioned lighting but I assume that will come later when you get into the docu/corporate/shorts phase.
 
yeah, i was looking for some suggestions on wireless mics and shotguns. I've got a good studio mic that could be a decent boom, but that would be pretty useless for most event filming. I don't know how various mics that I would normally look at for "radio" production translate to this medium. any thoughts on that? Is the 1000-1500 price range reasonable for 2 lavaliers and 2 shotguns? Probably need a decent stereo omni as well, huh? Any suggestions? lighting is still a question mark. If someone wants a nightime wedding on the beach, then I guess I'll just have to say no. Maybe a couple of lights and reflectors though might be a nice piece of insurance if I get to a place and something is out of whack.
equipment cases and insurance, haven't really thought of yet to be honest. Insurance, i have know idea how it works really.
thx again. phew I have been reading on this site all day. I think I should relax a while huh? learning so much though on this site. friendly, intelligent, etc. keep the suggestions coming if you all don't mind.
jason
 
I'm not really a sound guy but for lavs a lot of guys use the Countryman or Tram lavs. For wireless there's the Sennheiser G2 and Lectrosonics. For a short shotgun the Audio-Technica 4073a is good for the price. For wind protection a Rycote Softie is better than nothing. These are only a few choices. There are many, many other options for mics and mic equipment that I can't list here. But a lot of this audio stuff can be bought used from audio houses on consignment. Here are some places to check out:

http://www.trewaudio.com/consign_wireless.htm (Nashville/Toronto)
http://www.coffeysound.com/consignments/ (Los Angeles)
http://www.colossalsound.com/wireless.htm (Los Angeles)
http://www.gothamsound.com/main.shtml?page=usedgear (New York)
http://www.ebay.com/
 
I think you need to up you budget for audio a bit, getting something with bad audio is very upsetting no matter how good the video is. Nobody likes bad audio, even in small markets. 2 gig for final cut pro is plenty, FCP is not a ram hungry software, speedy hard drive is more important. Don't feel you need to get everything new, check ebay for deals on tripods, mic, monitors etc... You could really save some money that way. A lot of company buy equipment for one shoot and then sell it back on ebay.
 
ok. tks. I am realizing that I undershot my audio. thx for the ebay suggestion. I am weary of shopping there, but will have a look around nonetheless.
 
hey, one more question for you if you doh't mind. spec comm. they are listing the hvx for 5400 +free scpan battery +10% of cineporter when it ships. Sound good? Any disadvantages to getting camera from them? That leads me to my other question. Which is the best battery. I know everyone will probably say dvxuser batt. in terms of battery life and longevity. should i go with dvx, panny, or scpan?
thanks
 
videogypsy said:
I use to edit on a FAST system, and had hi end equipment for a wedding/event videographer.
Click to expand...

Wow gypsy... I'd totaly blocked the FAST from my memory. I cut on it for about 2 years, it was a bit ahead of it's time and I for one am glad it's time has passed!

:badputer:

Welcome to the board...

-filmstox
 
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