How To Get Started and Stay In The Business
- Thread starter robstar1
- Start date
JonathanLB
Carbonite Member
Another client on board today, excited about that! They chose a competitor that was cheaper, they got lousy results (this is a known national competitor but I won't mention the company), and now they're giving us a shot. I'm very satisfied, it's a testament to the quality of work we do.
craigbowman
Veteran
Its BASF.
AllAroundFilmLV
Well-known member
Hi robstar! I noticed you are in Vegas. Would you be ok with me emailing you asking a few questions about this business in the valley? Thanks!
(I'm a Vegas native, btw)
(I'm a Vegas native, btw)
Jewlz the director
Active member
Absolutely Excellent post,Thanks a million!!!!
<<Hi robstar! I noticed you are in Vegas. Would you be ok with me emailing you asking a few questions about this business in the valley? >>
Feel free to PM me but I prefer to keep as much of the content open source here for everyone to benefit. What happens in Vegas probably happens in Wichita too... well, most of it... :engel017:
Feel free to PM me but I prefer to keep as much of the content open source here for everyone to benefit. What happens in Vegas probably happens in Wichita too... well, most of it... :engel017:
chromeboy007
Well-known member
I wonder. If Rob recommends rental gear (and by extension, hiring crew) to help you shoot projects for your clients, how does one get around the problem of 'no portfolio, no client / no client, no portfolio' dilemma?
I want to expand my service base to include 3D animations and motion graphics. This is a portfolio base business. Before people hire you for a certain type of work, they want to see that you have such work in your portfolio. I'm planning on even hiring an animator to help me put together a demo mixing motion graphics and animations with my own footage. (to be fair, if I do get graphics project, I'll hire him to do it for me) But without doing at least this, how can you convince somebody to go with you if you don't have similar work to show them?
I want to expand my service base to include 3D animations and motion graphics. This is a portfolio base business. Before people hire you for a certain type of work, they want to see that you have such work in your portfolio. I'm planning on even hiring an animator to help me put together a demo mixing motion graphics and animations with my own footage. (to be fair, if I do get graphics project, I'll hire him to do it for me) But without doing at least this, how can you convince somebody to go with you if you don't have similar work to show them?
AwakenedFilms
Veteran
You definitely need to have something to sell, Chromeboy. It could simply be an idea. It could be a package based on sample work. It could be someone else's work that is hired by you (although ethically, I could only justify that if they were a full time employee or long time independent contractor of mine or my client asked me to do specific services for them and I had a contact who was proficient in those same services).
I have found that giving work away to a deserving non-profit is a great way to create samples, get exposure and network. Instead of doing a 'spec' project simply for demo purposes, why not choose a non-profit and create a fantastic piece that helps them. Then use this piece to open opportunities.
I have not found the need for 'similar work' to gain clients. It has been my experience that clients hire people, not just products. If they like you and there are no questions as to proficiency, you can probably get the work without a specific show piece that has similar characteristics.
As for needing gear to do the work, beg/borrow/rent the gear that you need. Call in favors for help with the stuff you are weak in. And most importantly, practice, practice, practice.
Jason
I have found that giving work away to a deserving non-profit is a great way to create samples, get exposure and network. Instead of doing a 'spec' project simply for demo purposes, why not choose a non-profit and create a fantastic piece that helps them. Then use this piece to open opportunities.
I have not found the need for 'similar work' to gain clients. It has been my experience that clients hire people, not just products. If they like you and there are no questions as to proficiency, you can probably get the work without a specific show piece that has similar characteristics.
As for needing gear to do the work, beg/borrow/rent the gear that you need. Call in favors for help with the stuff you are weak in. And most importantly, practice, practice, practice.
Jason
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chromeboy007
Well-known member
Isn't it both? I have never hired anyone who hasn't show me at least something that proves that he or she can do what is asked of him or her.
basspig
Veteran
Renting equipment is a hassle. The credit checks (what credit? I'm self-employed!), the inavailability of the equipment on the day you need it, the hassle of driving 150 miles round trip to get it and return it, hopefully on the same day or before you incur a 2nd day charge.. the fact that rental gear is often abused/not working optimally.. the fact that unless you own it and play with it every waking hour of your spare time, you will not likely ever master that piece of gear.
No, I prefer ownership, as it reduces stress and logistical nightmares.
No, I prefer ownership, as it reduces stress and logistical nightmares.
JonathanLB
Carbonite Member
Yeah
Yeah
I personally think you should always own the basics and rent above that. I bought too much stuff, I will admit that, I wish I had the cash and not all of the stuff I got talked into buying, back when I had more confidence in my ability to buy gear than my ability to make great work. Now I am on the other end, I don't care about gear, I could make way more just writing and directing without owning anything. But in corporate work, it's still good to have a base of equipment you always need. A camera, a lighting kit or two, an editing computer, that kind of stuff. There is other stuff that I think has paid for itself, my jib, my dolly, those are tools I have used a ton and owning them absolutely was worthwhile. I would have already paid at least half the price to own just renting them by this point, with NONE of the convenience of having them at my disposal every time I need them.
Cameras, well, you have to be either poor or a moron (poor is ok, moron is not) if you don't own your own camera and you call yourself a production company unless you're a HUGE production company, in which case you may have no need to own gear because you do such high budget work that you basically don't care. It's a super cute idea that every client will have different needs, but in reality, doing the work 95% of production companies do, you are going to need one go-to, base-line camera, like an HVX200 or whatever it is that fits your workflow and client needs. If it's a RED One, that's awesome, good for you! But for us, it's an HVX200, because we do a lot of Web videos. The reason I think it's moronic to rent is because I have done what I can only describe as fairly light work over the last 3 years shooting-wise, I mean I'm not a cinematographer, I'm a director-producer for my company, but even still I have paid for my two cameras easily through rentals and using them on my own shoots. At $200 to $250 per day to rent an HVX200 with the P2 cards and tripod and all of that, you only have to use the camera ONE TIME per month for one year to justify owning it. That would already be $2,400 and if you bought the camera package for $5,000 or $6,000, rest assured you could sell it for only a thousand or so less than you bought it for. Renting just makes no sense unless it's something you literally never use or that's extremely expensive and you can't afford.
Rentals make sense when it's like a crane, haha, I mean come on, or really expensive lenses, you may not want to plunk down $50,000 or $75,000 on high-end cinema lenses. That's a fortune! But when you're talking about the basics like a lighting kit you can get for $1,000 or less, or a basic camera package, you really should own that kind of stuff if you want to call yourself a professional. Besides, there are a lot of clients who hire people and expect them to have gear, myself included. When I hire out-of-market, I need people who have their own gear to bring to the shoot.
As for whether clients hire people or hire products, eh, they hire both. It hurts us when we don't have something in our portfolio to show the client for exactly the type of business they do. Clients arent always the most imaginative, they can't just picture that if you can do X, you can easily do Y. They just don't get that.
I like the idea of building a portfolio on non-profits, that's very smart, not a bad idea at all. Then again, it's not always the best idea either, if you can find a better connection. Like if you could do a video for a company that has 15 properties, and you do the first for free to build your portfolio, if they love it and it helps their marketing, who do you think they're going to call about doing the other 14? We've used that strategy before to break into a new market segment.
June and July were decent growing months for the company, we will have shot 10 videos during that period and it looks like we have another 5 projects lined up for August as well. Plus my company co-produced my first feature film, so it was a good few months!
Yeah
I personally think you should always own the basics and rent above that. I bought too much stuff, I will admit that, I wish I had the cash and not all of the stuff I got talked into buying, back when I had more confidence in my ability to buy gear than my ability to make great work. Now I am on the other end, I don't care about gear, I could make way more just writing and directing without owning anything. But in corporate work, it's still good to have a base of equipment you always need. A camera, a lighting kit or two, an editing computer, that kind of stuff. There is other stuff that I think has paid for itself, my jib, my dolly, those are tools I have used a ton and owning them absolutely was worthwhile. I would have already paid at least half the price to own just renting them by this point, with NONE of the convenience of having them at my disposal every time I need them.
Cameras, well, you have to be either poor or a moron (poor is ok, moron is not) if you don't own your own camera and you call yourself a production company unless you're a HUGE production company, in which case you may have no need to own gear because you do such high budget work that you basically don't care. It's a super cute idea that every client will have different needs, but in reality, doing the work 95% of production companies do, you are going to need one go-to, base-line camera, like an HVX200 or whatever it is that fits your workflow and client needs. If it's a RED One, that's awesome, good for you! But for us, it's an HVX200, because we do a lot of Web videos. The reason I think it's moronic to rent is because I have done what I can only describe as fairly light work over the last 3 years shooting-wise, I mean I'm not a cinematographer, I'm a director-producer for my company, but even still I have paid for my two cameras easily through rentals and using them on my own shoots. At $200 to $250 per day to rent an HVX200 with the P2 cards and tripod and all of that, you only have to use the camera ONE TIME per month for one year to justify owning it. That would already be $2,400 and if you bought the camera package for $5,000 or $6,000, rest assured you could sell it for only a thousand or so less than you bought it for. Renting just makes no sense unless it's something you literally never use or that's extremely expensive and you can't afford.
Rentals make sense when it's like a crane, haha, I mean come on, or really expensive lenses, you may not want to plunk down $50,000 or $75,000 on high-end cinema lenses. That's a fortune! But when you're talking about the basics like a lighting kit you can get for $1,000 or less, or a basic camera package, you really should own that kind of stuff if you want to call yourself a professional. Besides, there are a lot of clients who hire people and expect them to have gear, myself included. When I hire out-of-market, I need people who have their own gear to bring to the shoot.
As for whether clients hire people or hire products, eh, they hire both. It hurts us when we don't have something in our portfolio to show the client for exactly the type of business they do. Clients arent always the most imaginative, they can't just picture that if you can do X, you can easily do Y. They just don't get that.
I like the idea of building a portfolio on non-profits, that's very smart, not a bad idea at all. Then again, it's not always the best idea either, if you can find a better connection. Like if you could do a video for a company that has 15 properties, and you do the first for free to build your portfolio, if they love it and it helps their marketing, who do you think they're going to call about doing the other 14? We've used that strategy before to break into a new market segment.
June and July were decent growing months for the company, we will have shot 10 videos during that period and it looks like we have another 5 projects lined up for August as well. Plus my company co-produced my first feature film, so it was a good few months!
chromeboy007
Well-known member
How are you doing Basspig?
Me? Spring and early summers were pretty good months, July sucks as back when I was busy I didn't have time to network, but it looks as though August and September will be better.
But don't volunteer for non-profits, they get so much govt funding sometimes they are more funded than private businesses. Volunteer for charities though, that's worth while.
That's awesome Jonathan!
Me? Spring and early summers were pretty good months, July sucks as back when I was busy I didn't have time to network, but it looks as though August and September will be better.
But don't volunteer for non-profits, they get so much govt funding sometimes they are more funded than private businesses. Volunteer for charities though, that's worth while.
That's awesome Jonathan!
My first words when starting this thread several years ago were: "First, quit buying gear! Don't buy gear yet!"
The point being if you have no clients you'll never be able to afford the gear you want. There's nothing wrong with owning a few of the basics but your focus should be on building a clientele as the #1 priority in your business because without clients you don't have a business; it really is that simple.
Own a closet full of the best gear but no clients to support yourself and you still are not in business. Have a ton of clients and going through the inconvenience of renting gear... you're in-business as long as you're charging a decent rate for your time, creativity and a mark-up on the rentals.
When you own gear, you pigeon hole yourself as well into the limitations of the gear you own; always trying to make it work when it may not really be the best tool. With a variety of clients and charging good rates you rent the EXACT gear that is best suited for the job.... period.
Granted renting can be challenging but it does not require a credit check usually; just a secure form of payment like a credit card and of course insurance. If you don't have insurance then you're not really serious about your business / profession. You can even get short-term policies for specific project periods. Any sizable corporate / broadcast client will have insurance where you can request a Certificate of Insurance to cover the gear whether it's yours or rented but you should still carry your own. Many require you to carry your own.
Over the years I've acquired several camera packages, audio, lighting etc. and also rent it out to others. BUT... we didn't buy the gear BEFORE we had clients to support it. Some jobs we booked and bought a package specifically for that job and that job specifically paid for the gear. But again, we had clients first, gear second.
I'm sticking by my mantra:
" You can always rent gear but you can never rent a client".
Robert
The point being if you have no clients you'll never be able to afford the gear you want. There's nothing wrong with owning a few of the basics but your focus should be on building a clientele as the #1 priority in your business because without clients you don't have a business; it really is that simple.
Own a closet full of the best gear but no clients to support yourself and you still are not in business. Have a ton of clients and going through the inconvenience of renting gear... you're in-business as long as you're charging a decent rate for your time, creativity and a mark-up on the rentals.
When you own gear, you pigeon hole yourself as well into the limitations of the gear you own; always trying to make it work when it may not really be the best tool. With a variety of clients and charging good rates you rent the EXACT gear that is best suited for the job.... period.
Granted renting can be challenging but it does not require a credit check usually; just a secure form of payment like a credit card and of course insurance. If you don't have insurance then you're not really serious about your business / profession. You can even get short-term policies for specific project periods. Any sizable corporate / broadcast client will have insurance where you can request a Certificate of Insurance to cover the gear whether it's yours or rented but you should still carry your own. Many require you to carry your own.
Over the years I've acquired several camera packages, audio, lighting etc. and also rent it out to others. BUT... we didn't buy the gear BEFORE we had clients to support it. Some jobs we booked and bought a package specifically for that job and that job specifically paid for the gear. But again, we had clients first, gear second.
I'm sticking by my mantra:
" You can always rent gear but you can never rent a client".
Robert
JonathanLB
Carbonite Member
Right on that, Robert, it is true. Overall I still think that's good advice -- I bought a lot of stupid gear I wish I hadn't bought, and got into the whole "gear is good" phase where basically I thought it was cool the more stuff I bought, the more option I'd have on projects. Part of it was cool because I learned about a lot of equipment and could play with more tools on a shoot, but it was also a waste of money.
Overall I think most investments were good, though. The cameras paid off, the computers were all necessary, the dolly and the jib have absolutely paid off and I continue to use them, the basics are always good because they don't decrease in value if you take care of them (c-stands, flags, that kinda stuff lasts so long). The generators turned out to be good investments, after all, which I kind of regretted until we used them on the feature. I bought a 6,500 watt generator and two 2,000 watt putt-putt type of generators, all Hondas, and I really thought it was stupid because I hadn't used them too much previously, just a few times. But then on the feature we didn't have the budget to rent a large genie truck, so we were just using house power everywhere, which was sufficient sometimes but other times we had to plug into the generators I brought, and that 6,500 saved us. That's a lot of extra power when you're doing an indie shoot where we made sure we were never filming exterior nights. In the entire script there are no night exteriors actually, haha, for just that reason. We knew we couldn't make that look good. But with the power needs we had, the generators I had worked fantastic.
I've had two people ask if they could buy the generators now, but the more interest I get the more I think, huh, you know... those are pretty useful! Plus I don't think they depreciate much in value either because they aren't film tools -- they can be sold to construction, campers, RV owners, whatever. They have so many uses. Whatever value they have lost, I have definitely made up in use!
The main reason I don't care much about equipment right now is because a lot of the projects we do, I don't even direct and I don't even show up to the shoot. I just hire a local videographer with his own equipment, he does his thing, I get the footage, pass it off to my editor, then deliver to client and collect the paycheck. That's the majority of our work at this point, too low budget to afford a real crew and a director. That and the fact that I basically have to be just a producer on this stuff now since I'm DGA, so if they want my services it's going to have to be a DGA shoot if I'm to direct.
Overall I think most investments were good, though. The cameras paid off, the computers were all necessary, the dolly and the jib have absolutely paid off and I continue to use them, the basics are always good because they don't decrease in value if you take care of them (c-stands, flags, that kinda stuff lasts so long). The generators turned out to be good investments, after all, which I kind of regretted until we used them on the feature. I bought a 6,500 watt generator and two 2,000 watt putt-putt type of generators, all Hondas, and I really thought it was stupid because I hadn't used them too much previously, just a few times. But then on the feature we didn't have the budget to rent a large genie truck, so we were just using house power everywhere, which was sufficient sometimes but other times we had to plug into the generators I brought, and that 6,500 saved us. That's a lot of extra power when you're doing an indie shoot where we made sure we were never filming exterior nights. In the entire script there are no night exteriors actually, haha, for just that reason. We knew we couldn't make that look good. But with the power needs we had, the generators I had worked fantastic.
I've had two people ask if they could buy the generators now, but the more interest I get the more I think, huh, you know... those are pretty useful! Plus I don't think they depreciate much in value either because they aren't film tools -- they can be sold to construction, campers, RV owners, whatever. They have so many uses. Whatever value they have lost, I have definitely made up in use!
The main reason I don't care much about equipment right now is because a lot of the projects we do, I don't even direct and I don't even show up to the shoot. I just hire a local videographer with his own equipment, he does his thing, I get the footage, pass it off to my editor, then deliver to client and collect the paycheck. That's the majority of our work at this point, too low budget to afford a real crew and a director. That and the fact that I basically have to be just a producer on this stuff now since I'm DGA, so if they want my services it's going to have to be a DGA shoot if I'm to direct.
basspig
Veteran
Geeze, I think I finally paid off my two VX2000s from 2003 after all these years.. it may be the year 2056 by the time my XDCams are paid off from work profits! LoL.. that said, I'd rather own, since it's a tax writeoff and avoids the embarassment of being declined for rental for lack of a large enough credit limit for deposit. Imagine putting a deposit on a $70,000 piece of rental gear. How many folks have more than a $1200 credit limit on their card? Just ain't happening..
JonathanLB
Carbonite Member
Ouch, $1,200 are you serious? My first card when I was like 15 was $500. If I was sent a $1,200 card at this point I would not only cut it up, and have done so, but I'd call the company and give them a piece of my mind for insulting me. My lowest card is only because I'm lazy and my mom is the primary signer on it, and she is deceased, so it has never increased above $2,500 (and I never use it for that reason). I'm too lazy to send them a death certificate and it's my oldest card so it's bad to cancel it. My business card is $20,000 and I got that thing before I even had a real company -- back in the day they were giving out cards with high limits to people with a taco stand or a mariachi band 
What it sounds like is you aren't quite doing it right or you're imagining it wrong when it comes to rentals. You don't ever, ever put down a deposit for the value of equipment, haha, if you had to do that you'd need millions of dollars to shoot a feature film just on deposits alone at the higher levels. It's actually very simple and very logical. My production insurance has a $1,500 deductible for most of my rented gear, so I give the company an insurance cert. then they put a hold on my card for the deductible amount. If I broke a $50,000 camera or something, insurance would pay for $48,500 and I'd pay for the $1,500 deductible, and the rental company is 100% covered because they have verified the insurance is legitimate and up to date and they have also put a hold for the difference between what insurance would cover and the deductible amount, so there is no chance of them losing a dime. Very smart!! If you rent out your equipment regularly, you should do the same.
I don't know what I'd do with a $1,200 limit on my card frankly, this laptop I'm using now was $4,500 and it's almost impossible using a credit card without a high limit because there is simply too much you can't put on it. Ideally, I'd have an Amex black (centurion) card but that's going to take another 15 to 20 years
What it sounds like is you aren't quite doing it right or you're imagining it wrong when it comes to rentals. You don't ever, ever put down a deposit for the value of equipment, haha, if you had to do that you'd need millions of dollars to shoot a feature film just on deposits alone at the higher levels. It's actually very simple and very logical. My production insurance has a $1,500 deductible for most of my rented gear, so I give the company an insurance cert. then they put a hold on my card for the deductible amount. If I broke a $50,000 camera or something, insurance would pay for $48,500 and I'd pay for the $1,500 deductible, and the rental company is 100% covered because they have verified the insurance is legitimate and up to date and they have also put a hold for the difference between what insurance would cover and the deductible amount, so there is no chance of them losing a dime. Very smart!! If you rent out your equipment regularly, you should do the same.
I don't know what I'd do with a $1,200 limit on my card frankly, this laptop I'm using now was $4,500 and it's almost impossible using a credit card without a high limit because there is simply too much you can't put on it. Ideally, I'd have an Amex black (centurion) card but that's going to take another 15 to 20 years
Chris Santucci
Veteran
Some of us HAVE to own gear, and if you're smart about what you buy, you can save mucho dinero from having to rent considering the attendant costs for insurance, time to pick up and return or shipping costs, and time lost due to faulty rented gear.
Not to mention some of us don't work in markets that have even one rental house in them. When the cost to ship gear by FedEx from out of state is a large enough percentage of your profit, then renting is not a great option.
In the market I work in, everyone who shoots bought their own gear to the point where the local rental company that's been here for maybe 25 years recently closed. The next rental house option is an hour away and has no flexibility whatsoever with regard to rates.
But yeah, absolutely, base gear purchases on clients and jobs, not on the hope that having the gear will get you work and impress people. And certainly you don't want to sit on gear that doesn't get used.
.
Not to mention some of us don't work in markets that have even one rental house in them. When the cost to ship gear by FedEx from out of state is a large enough percentage of your profit, then renting is not a great option.
In the market I work in, everyone who shoots bought their own gear to the point where the local rental company that's been here for maybe 25 years recently closed. The next rental house option is an hour away and has no flexibility whatsoever with regard to rates.
But yeah, absolutely, base gear purchases on clients and jobs, not on the hope that having the gear will get you work and impress people. And certainly you don't want to sit on gear that doesn't get used.
.
basspig
Veteran
JonathanLB, the best I can do is a 'secured' credit card. My wife has the larger line of credit.. used to be 12,000, then in 2009, for no reason, the issuing bank slashed her line of credit to a paltry amount. I'd bought 3 cameras on that card and paid them off with zero interest, never late. Finally, they cancelled her card after I bought the EX3 and she signed up for another card and the most she could get was $1200.
When I tried to buy something from B&H using BillMeLater, I always got declined.
Only thing I can think of is lack of sufficient income and credit history keeping us down, plus the numerous tax liens on our home seem to be on our credit history, which is just wrong, since I'm not a willing party to any of the 'debt'.
Everything I buy, I pay cash when possible. Except my debit card has a $1500 daily limit, so back when credit avail was good, I'd buy the camera on the wife's Visa card and pay it off in 12 months. One good auto collision personal injury suit I won paid a portion of my EX purchases. The rest came from the sale of some very much increased value vintage audiophile gear that I sold to finance the rest. Almost nothing came out of regular income.
Since I don't earn enough to pay for a blanket insurance policy, rental of anything requires a full deposit of the replacement value of the gear. Back in '87, a friend of mine and I rented a Newvicon video camera and he and his wife's credit card were both needed to cover the total of the deposit, which was something like $2,000.
My way of building my tools is bootstrapping. I buy what I need, when I can afford it, sometimes working creative financing deals. A friend of mine, back in 1992, acted as an 'angel investor' and loaned me $6,200 so I could purchase a Number Nine GXiTC graphics card and an NEC 6FG monitor for my color prepress/graphic design business I was running back then. Back in '87, I almost convinced a client to front me $15,000 for Wavefront Technologies animation software, so I could do an animated TV commercial for him. Problem was, I also needed a professional VTR that would work with an animation frame-accurate controller. That was several tens of thousands more.
Right now, I'm pretty set on equipment, but considering getting some basic lighting kits when I can afford it. At the moment, Google Adwords is bankrupting me.. I had to shut down my ad campaign as I found my checking account overdrawn last afternoon. Kind of a catch 22 situation.. can't pay for advertising, but badly need a flow of new clients, as many are one-time situations from individuals. Of course, being in a non-life-support/food/medical field at a time when the economy is about to crash Argentina-style, doesn't help. I do use my gear, but more often for speculative projects, in between infrequent paid projects.
When I tried to buy something from B&H using BillMeLater, I always got declined.
Only thing I can think of is lack of sufficient income and credit history keeping us down, plus the numerous tax liens on our home seem to be on our credit history, which is just wrong, since I'm not a willing party to any of the 'debt'.
Everything I buy, I pay cash when possible. Except my debit card has a $1500 daily limit, so back when credit avail was good, I'd buy the camera on the wife's Visa card and pay it off in 12 months. One good auto collision personal injury suit I won paid a portion of my EX purchases. The rest came from the sale of some very much increased value vintage audiophile gear that I sold to finance the rest. Almost nothing came out of regular income.
Since I don't earn enough to pay for a blanket insurance policy, rental of anything requires a full deposit of the replacement value of the gear. Back in '87, a friend of mine and I rented a Newvicon video camera and he and his wife's credit card were both needed to cover the total of the deposit, which was something like $2,000.
My way of building my tools is bootstrapping. I buy what I need, when I can afford it, sometimes working creative financing deals. A friend of mine, back in 1992, acted as an 'angel investor' and loaned me $6,200 so I could purchase a Number Nine GXiTC graphics card and an NEC 6FG monitor for my color prepress/graphic design business I was running back then. Back in '87, I almost convinced a client to front me $15,000 for Wavefront Technologies animation software, so I could do an animated TV commercial for him. Problem was, I also needed a professional VTR that would work with an animation frame-accurate controller. That was several tens of thousands more.
Right now, I'm pretty set on equipment, but considering getting some basic lighting kits when I can afford it. At the moment, Google Adwords is bankrupting me.. I had to shut down my ad campaign as I found my checking account overdrawn last afternoon. Kind of a catch 22 situation.. can't pay for advertising, but badly need a flow of new clients, as many are one-time situations from individuals. Of course, being in a non-life-support/food/medical field at a time when the economy is about to crash Argentina-style, doesn't help. I do use my gear, but more often for speculative projects, in between infrequent paid projects.