The Real Importance on Displaying Your Reel/Work: YouTube & Vimeo versus website

Michael B. McGee

Michael B. McGee

Well-known member
For Independent Free-lance DP/Camera Ops. Not owners of Production Companies that work as DP/Cam Ops.

I'm "ideally" looking for dramatic narrative or intelligent comedic feature work as well as documentary gigs.

obviously, having a your own website is an important element in the professional process. but, if you're like me, just starting out, websites may not be an option initially. i'm in the process of making one, but since i don't have the necessary founds to pay a professional web designer, i'm needing to be patient while a friend builds it for me on "his own time". so, i'm just curious to see how "important" it REALLY is to have a website showcasing your work versus displaying it on Vimeo, Exposure Room, or even YouTube as i do now. (I mostly forward potential clients to my Vimeo or Exposure Room page. NEVER YouTube.) i mean if your reel is amateurish or unpolished, (your work obviously shows that there was NO BUDGET and you had to use every resource imaginable just to make it somewhat watchable), then does it really matter if you have a fancy looking, "professionally" designed website? personally, i'm extremely, how would you say, "un-superficial". so, i could care less how one's website looked as long as their reel/work impressed me. if i was directing or producing a project i definitely wouldn't give a sh*t how a DP/Camera Op's website looked. i would ONLY care about the quality of their work. with that said, i've been wondering if i should budget in the founds to have a website built immediately or just go with my gut, personal feeling towards this matter, and let Producers/Directors, of Low-NO Budget projects anyways, view my work elsewhere until i can find the money to make a proper website. not just a URL with movie images to look at. i mean a polished, PROPER website.

what do you suggest?

fyi: i pretty much live paycheck to paycheck. like most americans these days, money is tight.

thanks in advance,
Mike
 
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Depends on who your target clientele is. If you are looking to hook up with production companies and other shooters, then yeah you don't need a website. Having a nice website may actually work against you as some shooters feel that your 'business presence' might be stronger than theirs and thus may see you as a competitor. I personally do not understand that mentality but that's how some of them think.

But if you are looking to shoot corporate videos for businesses, or weddings, your 'business presence' is a huge part of building your credibility, and credibility is probably one of the most important things people look for in a business supplier. 'can he deliver what he says he can?'

3rd factor is how much you need to make a nice website. I got mine done from a friend for a couple of hundred bucks only, and it is pretty polish. So if you have connections then perhaps you can get a friends rate and get a nice website.
 
chromeboy007 said:
Depends on who your target clientele is. If you are looking to hook up with production companies and other shooters, then yeah you don't need a website. Having a nice website may actually work against you as some shooters feel that your 'business presence' might be stronger than theirs and thus may see you as a competitor. I personally do not understand that mentality but that's how some of them think.
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good point, thanks. i should have included that I'm "ideally" looking for dramatic narrative or intelligent comedic feature work as well as documentary gigs.
 
As a DP and gaffer myself, I really actually pay attention to what their website looks like. People who have one that's easy to navigate and actually looks good, it just shows they have good taste, are professional, and chances are they're going to have an easier time impressing me with their work.

The main thing is it's a little package that's very easy to forward around and even without trying. I bought my own domain name, and when I do bigger jobs as a gaffer or electric, I find that people end up checking it out after seeing my email and they say "oh I notice you shoot too..." and the more people who start to know you as that, the better.

Definitely not saying that my website is the bee's knees, but carbonmade.com offers a really really simple design that's easy to implement, easy to update, and easy to just get all your info in one place...and it just costs me 10 bucks a month for their service and another 5-10 for the domain name. Pretty dirt cheap. You can check mine out here: http://www.ryanthomasfilm.com

I think the key thing is that these producers of low-no budget projects are expected to be forwarded to vimeo or youtube. If you wow them with a simple, yet well designed web page and nicely presented material, well, you'll be doing good!
 
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Putting together a simple professional website is really not that hard. I would suggest setting a few minutes aside and actually looking into it yourself. It is immensely satisfying.

But as to your question, I think a website is extremely important when presenting yourself as a working professional. Shows your invested among other things. Anyone can throw a video up on vimeo, having a site dedicated to you stands out. That said it better be a good representation of what image your after. If it is going to be a poorly designed or poorly functioning site I would rather just pass on a Vimeo link.
 
RyanT said:
The main thing is it's a little package that's very easy to forward around and even without trying. I bought my own domain name, and when I do bigger jobs as a gaffer or electric, I find that people end up checking it out after seeing my email and they say "oh I notice you shoot too..." and the more people who start to know you as that, the better.
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i totally agree with you. having your own domain name email address on a CallSheet is like free advertising.

RyanT said:
Definitely not saying that my website is the bee's knees, but carbonmade.com offers a really really simple design that's easy to implement, easy to update, and easy to just get all your info in one place...and it just costs me 10 bucks a month for their service and another 5-10 for the domain name. Pretty dirt cheap. You can check mine out here: http://www.ryanthomasfilm.com
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i love you website. "simple"???? no man, i believe in "Less is More".

i'm gonna look into carbonmade.com

Thanks for posting.
 
William_Robinette said:
But as to your question, I think a website is extremely important when presenting yourself as a working professional. Shows your invested among other things. Anyone can throw a video up on vimeo, having a site dedicated to you stands out. That said it better be a good representation of what image your after. If it is going to be a poorly designed or poorly functioning site I would rather just pass on a Vimeo link.
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you're right. if i want to be perceived as a professional i better have my work displayed professionally. what was i thinking?

thanks William
 
Hey Michael, from my experience, most filmmaker/production company websites look like crap. Have you seen them? I mean they are so basic. So really you can get almost anything up and you'll fit right in. I say get at least something basic up, a few pages and then build on it over time, improving it. There are benefits to having something up at least right away. Even if it's a splash page with just your logo on it for now.
 
GoDaddy has their own program called "Website Tonight" and it's super user-friendly. It's basically built for people who know very little about web design. You can get a site up and running for about $100. They have pre-built templates and a lot of things to get up and running quick.

As for having a professional looking website, I personally think it's very important. If you're showcasing your work online, the person will see your website first before anything. It's the first impression that really counts.
 
Morox said:
It's the first impression that really counts.
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come on??? that's an old wives tale. that statement may be true for superficial, irrational, and unintelligent people. if that's the case then i'd be better off not collaborating with them in the first place. "Don't judge a book by its cover". now there's a statement.

thanks for the GoDaddy tip, though.
 
There are a ton of wordpress templates out there that are geared towards video presentation (many of them free) - and with the use of 3rd party plugins you can do just about anything you want with a wordpress site. Might take a little more time than you like - but it can be free, and very configurable to whatever you want.

As far as vimeo/youtube/exposure room goes - I see no issue with using them.
In fact, all the videos on my site are embedded from my vimeo channel.
I've never felt anyone thought it was unprofessional of me.
(though I'm more in the 'production company' camp you mentioned, not the narrative cinematography camp)

pitchproductions.com

(also built off a wordpress template...though by the time I was done it didn't resemble the template at all)
 
Michael B. McGee said:
come on??? that's an old wives tale. that statement may be true for superficial, irrational, and unintelligent people. if that's the case then i'd be better off not collaborating with them in the first place. "Don't judge a book by its cover". now there's a statement.

thanks for the GoDaddy tip, though.
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You may possibly be right, but I'd personally never skimp on anything that is showcasing your work. Like I said, the GoDaddy option is cheap. You can get a 1 year subscription to Vimeo and register a URL (GoDaddy does this too) and purchase "Website Tonight" for a grand total of about $250.
 
Morox said:
You may possibly be right, but I'd personally never skimp on anything that is showcasing your work. Like I said, the GoDaddy option is cheap. You can get a 1 year subscription to Vimeo and register a URL (GoDaddy does this too) and purchase "Website Tonight" for a grand total of about $250.
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cool, thanks for your input.
 
Totally unrelated to your post, I noticed that you live in Santa Monica and that your current post count is 405! Made me smile. Thanks for that.
 
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