Shortcut, Longcut, or the wrong way???

[googalizer]

I got the equipment, I've been learning the ins and outs as much as I can with much much more to learn. But with a goal like; paying off loans then making money, where do I start???????

I'm trying to make money doing music videos, commericals, wedding videos, etc. Not really excited about weddings but I've got a few booked in the next few months..... Mainly I'd like to make features of my own but I've got to work up to that.......

Anyways so I get a client. Do good work and hope for another client. Is that right????

I was thinking of a shortcut, but i might just be going in the wrong direction.

What if I just made a commerical for a product. Any product like A car, Mcdonnalds, a radio station, etc etc. Then I just show that company the video and see if they want to buy it.

Would that work??????

 

[milksac]

What if I just made a commerical for a product. Any product like A car, Mcdonnalds, a radio station, etc etc. Then I just show that company the video and see if they want to buy it.

Would that work??????

No. It's called spec work. You can make some spec spots if you want the practice. Just don't expect any money for your efforts.

Anyways so I get a client. Do good work and hope for another client. Is that right????

That's the general idea. Do good work and get more clients. Keep up all the good work and more clients will come. Once you have a lot of finished work to showcase craft your reel to the type of work you prefer doing. Meaning don't include any wedding videos. With enough talent and hard work you can make enough money to start on that feature you've been wanting to do.

 

[David W. Richardson]

Yeah, wedding videos are a real challenge. To do them well requires multiple cameras and multiple camera operators. With only one camera, you can do an extremely 'bargain basement' type video. I prefer to stay away from wedding stuff personally.

You might approach local car lots about doing commercials for them. Some of the lots here even have 1/2 hour infomercials, which seem to be pretty basic. Also, consider doing some sort of promo film for a local charity. I did a 30 minute dramatic short for the local Crisis Pregnancy Center, which they use in their community outreach program. I did that one for free, but later they paid me to do another video project for them. I also got paid to do an industrial training film for the company I work for.

Right now I'm producing my first music video. I'm doing it for free, to gain experience and have something I can showcase. But the band I'm doing the video for already asked me to shoot them in concert -- for pay. And I expect to do more music video work in the future.

Meanwhile, don't neglect your first love -- features. Do some shorts for experience and making contacts. Pretty soon you'll have a large body of varied work you can show to prospective clients or investors.

Good luck!