How To Get Started and Stay In The Business

Rob, I never discuss politics with clients. When having light chit-chat with a client killing time waiting for a shoot, I sometimes mention that I have parrots, or I talk about my daughter. I never discuss politics.

I suspect that what happened was VendorMate discovered that I have $86K in tax liens against my house and the subsequent hit on my credit score, or, possibly that I'm a small potatos operation, not the big, corporate professional operation that I present in person when I work. I always work efficiently, ask direct questions regarding logistics to get set up as efficiently as possible with as little disruption to the client as possible. The marketing person at the hospital probably thought I was part of a multi-million dollar production company, but VendorMate probably revealed sole proprietor with huge tax debts and little to no income. That's my guess. Of course the tragedy of this is that by ceasing to employ me, they are promoting the continuation of my inability to pay taxes and earn an income, so it's a pathetic situation.
I am thinking about writing the CEO of the hospital and asking if other departments have work for me and just hint that I had been working with them last year for a few weeks very successfully and that the work had unexpectedly stopped. Just see what he says, if he even bothers to reply.
 
Congratulations Chris! Timing is everything and even though it took your seed a year to sprout, you've got something going now! Great hunch to follow up; if you hadn't he could have very well found someone else or they might have found him!

Mark, probably the best thing you can do is move on past VendorMate and the hospital situation. Sending a letter won't do you any good if in fact what you are assuming or suspecting is true. Even if it's not true there's some aspect to that corporate dynamic that does not fit for you or them at this time. Time to let it go my friend and move on. As far as your personal finances are concerned, that's none of my business or not my field of expertise, nor is it fodder for discussion in this thread. But, with the economy the way it has been with millions of people losing jobs, houses, cars and practically everything else your financial situation is likely more common than you think. Few if any companies research backgrounds on their vendors so this is only a problem if you let it be one.

Robert
 
chromeboy007 said:
Finding a new client, is like trying to get laid. Once rejected, it's best to move on.
Click to expand...

Funny!

I took me three months doing the best sales job ever to get my wife to ditch the old boyfriend and go out with me! That was 17 years ago! Glad I didn't give up!

Some clients are worth fighting for but in Mark's case it is definitely time to move on.

Robert
 
Well done sir well done! She must've given you enough signs for you to think that it was worth it to pursue though huh?
 
chromeboy007 said:
Well done sir well done! She must've given you enough signs for you to think that it was worth it to pursue though huh?
Click to expand...

I'm very persistent and a good salesman... pretty much as long as someone is still talking to me and not telling me to bug off I'm going to persist until they work with me or give me a shot! Like I said, my best sales job ever!

Back to regular programming....

Robert
 
Hey Robert,

I recently read your post from 2007 on DVXuser.com about how to get started and stay in the business and wanted to thank you for taking the time to write all that out. Also, I wanted to thank you for posting it in a timeless forum so I can stumble upon it years later and still be inspired by it. I also had a few industry update questions I was hoping you would help me out with.


With the state of the industry right now, I've noticed a push from commercial clients for the cinematographers to do their own camera operation. From what I understand, this has pushed a lot of the established camera operators to buy and start using expensive, high end steadicams, now saturating the market of steadicam operation. As a steadicam operator who has been well established for years, have you noticed any of this flux yourself? Or do you feel the competition in the camera team market has not changed drastically?


-Daniel Fritz
www.danielcfritz.com
 
Hi Daniel,

Thanks for the very kind words and thanks as well for the great question! As you've seen, we have a great group of other people here as well who have stepped in to help. They deserve much of the thanks as well.

Actually, your observations and question(s) have much larger implications than just Steadicam so I'll start at the top and hopefully bring it back full-circle.

The "state of the industry" is a broad term view based on an individual's perspective from where they stand or work in the business today and their history in the business. None of us need a crystal ball to see changes in technology or to feel the pressures of a client to do more with less people and less equipment.

Regarding Cinematographer being pushed by a client to operate, I don't see that as the case at the level of jobs I work in; if a DP is inclined to do their own operating that is their decision and part of what they enjoy doing. Nor do I have a problem with it per-sea as long as the picture or project does not suffer from it. The client is not usually the one driving this decision.

What I have seen which has it's pros and cons is that the lower financial thresholds created as a result of lesser expensive equipment, gives an easier entry point into operating and DP'ing. The positive result of that is that talented DPs and operators can join the profession, practice and refine their craft without the barriers of the traditional "old-school" process. That is a good thing. The downside of that is summed up somewhat by a Facebook page entitled "My Momma Bought Me a RED Camera so now I'm a DP", or something along that line. The same statement could be applied to Steadicam or any other segment of our profession.

The extended problem which actually relates back to my very first sentence in this thread is that a camera / owner / operator DP is more likely to push his or her package into the job when in fact the job may be best suited to another camera or piece of equipment. Some of the best DPs in the world still operate but frankly few of them own camera packages and if they do, they still select camera packages best suited to the job.

Moving on to the idea of the above concepts pushing established camera operators into buying expensive Steadicam packages, I don't think that really fly's no pun intended. Few established camera operators own their own camera packages or at least own the ones they work with everyday on set and even fewer are "pushed" into buying full-sized Steadicam rigs capable of flying professional level cameras.

The cost of entry into Steadicam is still substantial even for a used rig and accessories; probably $40k-50k minimum if you want to be able to mostly say "Yes I can fly that" when you get the call. A new rig, plus accessories will set you back at least $75k-$100k and it goes up from there and even then you are making compromises to make it work. Can and do people buy and use Flyers and other entry-level rigs? Yes, but they are limited by it.

The ultimate cost of entry for Steadicam is not buying the gear, it's whether you have the time and skill set to become accomplished at it. By accomplished I mean you are one with the rig in such a way that there is no thought as to the technical or physicality of what you are doing to move the camera through space, within a scene and to emote that scene without drawing undo attention to the camera movement. To get there a lot of things have to happen:


  • You have to have the money to buy the gear or a source for the money
  • You need to be not just a good, but a GREAT camera operator
  • You need to have the time, dedication and the resources to practice and operate for at least 2-3 years to get to the point of skill where you don't think about it.
  • You have to be able to live and do other work during that period to support yourself while learning.
  • You have to love Steadicam so much that it's your "crack" and you'll do anything to make it happen.
  • You have to have a business and marketing plan and treat it like a business.

And most importantly, you have to also have "the touch". By the touch I mean the unique talent we can't teach you in a workshop. We can teach almost anyone how to operate and do the line dances / footwork but it's painfully obvious on the first day of a workshop whether someone has "the touch" with the rig or if they'll ever acquire it. You either have it or you don't and you can't teach it. You can learn the moves the same as my Dad taught me to play a guitar but he couldn't make me an Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai or a BB King and no amount of practice ever would. Can I play the hell out of my 69' Les Paul? Yes I can! Can I play live and entertain people? Yes I can! But...not at the high end professional level for recording. You either have the special talent or you don't and Steadicam is no exception.

The competition for Steadicam work or camera work for that matter at the studio / network level is there but foremost we're all colleagues first and competitors second. We all share jobs and clients and do so respectfully and professionally.

At the beginning levels of Steadicam where someone has some training, they've bought a rig and are out there trying to get started with any job or break they can get, the competition is pretty thick. In LA alone you have 20+ aspiring operators all vying for the same few bits of low-pay no-pay indie and student jobs. A few of those ops are private consulting and training clients of mine so I know the competitive landscape in that market at that level and now they do too. Their challenge is to rise above those with no business acumen even though they might have the gear. Mom can buy you the gear but Mom can't buy you "the touch" or make you a great camera operator.

Established camera ops and Steadi ops are simply not swimming in the same bottom feeding ocean of sharks and killer whales a/k/a shady Producers who eat their faces off and discard the bodies to move on to the next guppy. Eventually though, those with the touch and the business acumen will rise to the top while the rest of us snap up barely used gear at fire sale prices from those who didn't make the grade. There's plenty of work for good operators.

With all this said, everyone is not working on big shows / projects in big markets like LA. The local market scene has a flavor and competitive landscape unique to that geographic area. This is among the reasons why I encourage and do two-day private business consults with people in the business to create their business plan via analyzing their market, getting involved in their client base, local production community and by knowing their colleagues / competitors.

No matter what you are doing, without a good foundation in the basics of a business you're just buying cool gear and seeing what and if anything sticks.

I hope this has helped you some Daniel; if not you maybe someone else. I'm not being judgmental or arrogant about it, writing this helps me dissect and digest the concept in my own mind as well.

Everything in our world has change drastically including our business but sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Hopefully now, some of the regulars on this thread will chime in with their perspectives and opinions!

Thanks again!

Robert
 
Rob,

When he was young, Vai would eat with one hand and practice his chops with the other, presumably his left, the one with 6 fingers. We are not allowed to compare ourselves with him.
 
I am in a situation I'm not familiar with... To briefly summarize, a client did most of the pre-production work herself and now the video is not up to par, parts of it being unusable, all because of weak work in pre-production (ie poor actor selection). I was complicit in letting her do all the pre work because her employer didn't give her the budget to let me handle it.

How should I have handled it better?

I guess I should've insisted on the budget I have originally asked for from the get go. But frankly I didn't think it would turn our poorly. This hasn't happened to me before.
 
Hey Chrome Daddy!

Lesson learned right?

You lost control of your work product in the beginning (pre-pro) and never recovered. There are points in projects where red flags pop up and you missed at least one and likely others along the way as the results of poor pre-pro cascaded down into production. By allowing the client to a-la-carte her budget you ended up with hamburger instead of steak.

Whenever you see or sense a red flag, you have to raise your hand and your voice and even document it in an email; sometimes you simply have to decline and gracefully step away.

Your first responses should have been:

"I understand your reasoning behind wanting to do the pre-pro yourself, but my concern is....".
"I'm sure you're very capable but the last time we did a project like this the footage was mostly unusable and I was left holding the bag"
"If there's no other choice but to do the project this was, I'll need to be intricately involved in each step so frankly it wouldn't change the price very much and it shifts the responsibility to you"
"My other concern is that if the project is not a success are you going to be comfortable explaining to your boss that you tried to save money doing your own pre-pro and it caused budget overruns or worse case failure" This is a somewhat polite way of saying you're not taking the heat for it and you'll have documented it in the end by conversations followed up by CYA emails. At least if you had to go to court you could have some documentation "I warned them your honor".

You get it. The point is you continue to voice your concern and at any time you see or don't see things happening as they should you gracefully and professionally walk away from the project. There should be a clause in your long form project contract regarding termination and that either party may terminate the project with X days written notice.

Also, I want to personally thank you for your continued participation in this thread and for sharing your successes and your challenges for others to learn from.

Robert
 
Yes Rob it truly is a good lesson. When you know the company has a few bucks to spend and they don't, you know they the organization as a whole are not taking me or my client's recommendation seriously.
 
Do the 20 calls per day include not getting past the gatekeeper? If one could talk to 20 decision-makers a day, Hallelujah. But in real life, cold calling is so hard because you never get to talk to the person of interest.
 
I can't sleep, because I'm at a dilemma between continuing with my HPX or try out the HDSLR's like what everyone seems to be doing.

First of all, I know what Rob said. Don't buy gear.

But I have to say I'm thoroughly by now, impressed with what the 7D's and 5D's can do.

From a business standpoint, it doesn't make sense. When the need for a DSLR arises, I can subcontract the work to friends and other experienced DSLR shooters. I can't call myself an experienced shooter. I used a Rebel once and I had trouble with focusing on the fly....

But, to I have to admit they are great tools for artistic expression. There is nothing I want more than to work for the ad agencies here. My corporate work, I'm not sure how far I can get with my current portfolio with those guys. Please take a look and tell me what you think. I know I do a good job for what is it. But these are still kind of straight up corporate video. For cinematography work, we need that shallow DOF. I also want to get into weddings, which I'm finally getting some headways. But I'm envious of what the DSLR's can do. Very much. I also like the stealthiness of the DSLRs. You can go to a baseball game and shoot the game and their players and pretend you are just another fan. Try walking in their with a HPX or anything like that. I also feel that the DSLR's is the way of the future - that even the corporate world will eventually catch up and start demanding 'cinematography', even if they might not fully understand it.

I'm not making enough money to justify the new investments. Simple as that. If i buy anything it would be from my savings.

Another problem I have with the HPX is that despite the fact I own over 176 GB's of P2 cards, I still would struggle with all day long events shooting at 1080. I have to rent more for long events, and download to my laptop, which reduces my competitiveness.

Another advantage of the DSLR is that, well, I can take stills with it. It is another avenue for income, as far as business goes.

Am I suffering from "the grass is greener on the other side syndrome"? Or do I really have point?

So I think my options are:

1, do nothing, stay status quo - the safest choice
2, add a lens adapter for my HPX
3, add a HDSLR and necessary gear - cost up to $4000 (if my business goes to the toilet, I'm sure I can resell the gear for a decent price, so it's not so bad)
4, sell my HPX and P2 cards and replace my setup with the AF100, or the Sony equivalent. I think I'll end up putting out $1000 or so.

The longer I wait the more I feel like I'm falling behind, but then I look at some of the bigger, more established video production companies in my city, they are still on the traditional video cameras. So my yearn for the DSLR's are more motivated by the arts, but also partially by business.

I think more research will help clear my head up a bit, but if some of you can provide some comments, they will be much appreciated.

Thanks
 
Curtis Mack said:
Do the 20 calls per day include not getting past the gatekeeper? If one could talk to 20 decision-makers a day, Hallelujah. But in real life, cold calling is so hard because you never get to talk to the person of interest.
Click to expand...

Yes, the 20 calls count. They're not cold calls they are information gathering calls. Gather information from the gatekeeper if you can.

Building a business takes time... a lifetime. It's not something you do for a while and then kick back even if you invent the next Starbucks or Walmart. Put it all in perspective that its an ongoing process.

Hang in there!

Robert
 
ChromeDaddy,

A DSLR is a tool, nothing more. They are definitely popular these days but they are not the answer to your business growth. Artistic growth maybe but do you want to be a starving artist or a thriving business?

You're already talking about not being able to afford it and then selling it off. What kind of business planning is that?

DSLRs are NOT the future, they are a stepping stone to our future tools and workflow in the evolution of image capture; nothing more. Cameras don't build businesses or relationships, people do.

Build your business, borrow or rent the gear and get the foundation you've started solidified. You've made a lot of progress so save the impatience for something else.

Sorry it took me a while to respond, I've been traveling and working... still building relationships every day I can.

Robert
 
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