Parc Entertainment - A Video Production Company - Birmingham, AL

Running a successful business (whether you are a sole proprietor, small business, or freelancer) depends a lot on exposure. Visibility is incredibly important, because when a company is in the market for your services, you want to be the first vendor on the call list. Sometimes, when you are first starting out, gaining exposure means conducting business trade-offs. For example, you might shoot some photos for a local publication in exchange for ad space. You might design posters, ads, etc. for a local event in exchange for sponsorship recognition. Nothing is wrong with this approach, but it’s important to be very selective for whom you do these trade offs. If you aren’t careful, you will find that you are spending a lot of time and creative energy for little in return. Sometimes the exposure pays off. Sometimes it doesn’t. The trick is to learn how to find those trade-off opportunities that will maximize your publicity. You also want to be aware of those groups, businesses, non-profits, etc. that are only interested in how many “freebies” they can get out of you. Doing favors is fine. Donating your creative talents to a worthy charity is fine. But ultimately, you have to pay the bills and you have to make a profit. So it’s important to strike a healthy balance between the two.

In the past, I have been asked to produce video content for various non-profits. Many times, these non-profits have little or no money allocated for video. I try to help out when and where I can, and I have learned that if you are willing to make special arrangements for them, then they are willing to negotiate with you, so that both parties can benefit. For example, a few years ago I did some video production work for a non-profit. I was willing to do the job pro bono, hoping to gain some exposure among local businesses. Last year, the same non-profit came to me with two video projects in mind - First, they needed a promotional video for an annual fundraiser. Second, they were interested in producing some PSAs. I worked out a deal with them that I would produce the promotional video for free and in exchange they would pay me my normal production rates for the PSAs. It was a deal that benefited both my business and the non-profit.

I would encourage all of you to be charitable, but I would also encourage all of you to be business savvy as well.

This question came to me recently…

We have a cannon XHA1 and are having issues shooting dark objects inside. The pixels within the dark areas become noisy or fuzzy. It seems like lower shutter speeds help this issue but don’t resolve it all together.

If you are shooting video in low light and your camera is set to auto iris, the camera will maximize all available light to boost the exposure. This results in grainy, or noisy video. You can also introduce grain onto your video if you increase the camera’s gain to compensate for low light. Many video cameras with manual controls allow you to control the amount of gain, usually in increments ranging from 0db to 18db.

To ensure that your image is clear, sharp and clean, you need to ensure that there is enough light on set for a proper exposure. If your script requires that you shoot nighttime scenes, or scenes in dark interiors, remember that the illusion of darkness is created NOT by taking away the amount of light on set, but by increasing the amount of contrast. You can shoot nighttime scenes without grain by knowing how to properly light the set.

In the Birmingham film & video production market you can find several independent professionals working away at their craft, creating a wide variety of content - wedding videos, promotional videos, short films, etc. Often they work alone, or at smaller production houses, because of the affordability of production equipment and editing software. This means that one individual sometimes must take on several responsibilities - writer, producer, director, DP, and editor. Some people prefer working solo, but the production industry is all about creative collaboration. Improving the quality of your work is often the result of someone else critiquing you and challenging you to try new things. So, on your next video project, let me encourage you to bring someone else on board who has a stake in the final product. You might shoot while the other person edits. You might like to edit, so let your colleague shoot. The point is to create an atmosphere where different creative voices are allowed to voice their opinions. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Find someone with whom you feel free to voice your opinion, but one who ultimately has a different approach than your own.
• Recognize the differences you have with your colleague and use that to your advantage. An editor I like to work with has a very strong sense of story and structure. He’s extremely talented at seeing the entire arc from the raw footage as it comes in. Me? I like to insert the artistic flourishes in the final edit; the little details picked up in the b-roll that really add a nice element to the finished product.
• Remember that you both want what’s best for the project. If you work with someone who has a different style and/or philosophy, you will disagree from time to time, but realize that you both share the same goal.
• It’s give-and-take. Don’t be stubborn. Be willing to concede to your colleague when he/she is right about a particular segment of the video. For example, for one recent video project, I had a vision for how I wanted a certain portion edited. I shot footage that could only be used for this one purpose . However, when I saw the first cut with my editor, that segment wasn’t in the video. We discussed my vision and I fought to have that section in the final video, but in watching the entire video in context I soon realized that he was right. My scene just didn’t work like I wanted it to.

It can be difficult to hear someone else critique our work. That’s why it’s so tempting to go it alone and do everything yourself. But that approach will ultimately hinder you from taking your craft to the next level.

I’ve been drafting contracts recently for some new projects, and it got me thinking not only about the importance of having a contract, but the value in having the right content written up in your contract. You need to make sure that your contract covers any possible variable, so that if conflicts arise, you and your business will be covered. Of course, knowing exactly what to include can be difficult. After all, we that work in the production industry are creative folks, so the administrative tasks of running a business can be a challenge. Based on my experiences, here are a few guidelines on drafting a contract.

1. Describe the scope of the project. This may sound like a no-brainer, but it’s very important. You need to make sure that both you and your client are clear on the project as a whole. What is this video for? What are the goals? What will the video hope to achieve?
2. Based on the scope of the project, define the specific services you will perform so that the project responsibilities are fulfilled. Make sure you spell out exactly what you will be doing over the course of the production. Also spell out what you need from your client. Sometimes, in order to complete a video, I need my clients to provide me with still images, company logos, backgrounds, fonts, etc. In any contract, both parties should be clear on what their individual responsibilities are.
3. Specify the video project’s budget. Verbage is important here. Don’t say, “the budget for the video production services described herein are estimated at…” Never estimate in your contract. Be specific. Just write in what the budget will be.
4. Specify how much time you will be investing in the video. Every budget I draft is based on a number of factors, including the amount of time I plan on spending in pre-production, production, and post-production. Place these figures in your contract somewhere. It can read something like this, “The above budget includes X hours of pre-production, X hours of production, and X hours in post-production.  Should Client request changes to the project and Company’s time exceeds the budgeted time, Client agrees to pay Company its standard rate of X in order to complete the changes.” This particular clause covers you in case you get into production and your client starts making a lot of unexpected changes. If you aren’t covered in this way, you may find that you’re spending a lot of extra time on the video and not getting paid for it.
5. Define the payment schedule. I always ask my clients for a deposit before I start work on any video project. This money helps to offset initial time invested in the pre-production phase. I also make sure to specify in my contracts that deposits paid are non-refundable. This covers me in the event that a client pulls the plug on the video. In addition to the deposit, you need to specify project milestones at which time additional payments are due. For example, I usually ask my clients for a second payment after the video shoot, with final payment due after the video is approved.
6. Insert a clause to cover late payments. To help my cash flow, all of my invoices are net-15. However, net-30 is more realistic. Clients will often push that to net-45 or even net-60. To ensure that you receive payment from your clients in a timely fashion, insert a clause indicating that a late fee will be applied to any balance that is more than 30 days overdue. This will protect you in case your client is negligent about making payments.
7. Specify the delivery date. Make sure both parties understand when project milestones are supposed to take place, including delivery of the final video. Now, look back to #3 on this list. It’s important to remind the client (within the context of the contract) that any delay on their part in getting necessary materials to you will delay the completion of the video. You don’t want to be locked in to a deadline on the 10th of the month when you’re in your office on the 8th still waiting for your client to send photos, logos, fonts, etc.
8. Be sure to retain certain rights to the video. Every video completed is an addition to your demo reel that can possibly help you land the next job. So, in your contracts, specify that you retain the right to use the final video for display, publication, exhibition, awards, etc. for your own promotional purposes. I have never had a client that had a problem with this and it grants me the permission to show my work to other potential clients.

Working in video production as an independent professional or business owner can be a trial-and-error existence. Mistakes will be made and hopefully, lessons will be learned. The way I write my contracts is based on my experiences as a professional producer/director and business owner. Hopefully, these insights will help you in your own ventures.

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Based on my last post, I received another question regarding clients and client relations. My last post discussed those who like to include a little too much information into their videos. This particular question focuses on clients who can’t stick with the shooting schedule. Here’s the question:

My client is very knowledgeable about his business, but won’t follow a cut sheet to save their lives! We’ve been there to give directions and they are great about that. However, any general advice on how to shoot this smoothly (even w/o the cut sheets) so the post production isn’t a hair puller?

Let me first say that video shoots rarely stay on schedule. Once you get on location, things can get shuffled around and your day can run late. So, don’t panic if you’re at the end of the first day and you haven’t accomplished all that you hoped. I have written some articles on this blog that discuss shooting schedules. Hopefully you can find some valuable info in my archives that will help you schedule your video shoots.

Second, when you’re talking to your client about the shooting schedule, try approaching the subject from a financial angle. Staying true to the shot list will help everything run more efficiently, which will save your client money. I always tell clients that spending the time in pre-production to create and maintain a solid shooting schedule is vital to staying on budget.

Third, realize that many times you will simply have to “go with the flow.” As I said earlier, things fluctuate. Often, the activity on location will dictate how and what you shoot, not the other way around. For example, while working on a video project for a manufacturing company, I simply had to shoot the action as it happened. I couldn’t tell the foreman, “Hey, we need to shoot ‘X’ at station 2 right now,” because the manufacturing process has its own schedule. Sometimes there was no activity at station 2. I simply had to stay flexible and go where the action was. It did mean I had to jump around quite a bit, but that’s part of the documentary process. Sometimes it can’t be contained in a nice, neat shot list.

If you find that you are shooting your project in this style, remember to do one of two things (doing both would be even better):

1. Maintain a running log of what’s been shot
2. Slate everything (simply write down on a piece of paper what the camera is looking at, hold it up in front of the camera, and film it for a few seconds, just for reference).

Having a reference marker in your footage will help tremendously in post-production. That way, your editor can easily match up your shot with what’s mentioned in the script. Let’s say your video is for a drilling company and the script reads, “With our new, state-of-the-art Hole-Maker 9000, we can…” Well, if your editor has hours of footage showing different types of machinery, how is he/she supposed to know which piece of footage is the Hole-Maker 9000?

Yes, staying on schedule will make everyone happier and it will keep production costs down, but remaining open to new possibilities means that you may find a great storyline when you least expect it.

Clients come in all shapes and sizes. For some of our video projects, we simply shoot and then turn over all raw footage to the client so they can edit it themselves. Some businesses we work with have their own in-house marketing team. They create the concept, write the script, and hire us to produce the final piece. Other clients will lean on our expertise to conceptualize, write, shoot, and edit their marketing videos. Every client is different. They have different needs, different expectations, different ideas, and different ways of doing things. Your job as a video producer/director is to listen to their needs, respect their opinions, and advise them when they need guidance throughout the production process.

A friend of mine recently sent me an email asking for my advice on a particular situation. She is currently working on a video and her client has some great ideas, but there is one problem: the client is trying to put too much into the video.

I’ve been in creative meetings when the client throws a lot of information at me. But that’s not a bad thing. When you first get started on conceptualizing and writing a video, you want as much information as possible. The biggest challenge comes when you have to narrow your focus and sculpt that information into usable material for the final script. If you’re having trouble convincing your client to reduce the amount of info that he/she wants in the video, here’s some advice:

1. Listen and Take Notes - during those creative meetings, pay attention to everything they say and take notes as you go. The act of physically writing down your client’s ideas tells them that you value their input. By engaging them in this way, you will earn their respect and trust and they will be more receptive to your creative suggestions.
2. After getting all the information, it’s time to trim the fat. Ask your client a few follow-up questions. These questions will encourage your client to narrow his or her focus and concentrate on those elements of their business that are most important: a) How do you want the public to perceive you?
   b) Using one sentence, how would you describe your company’s identity/mission?
   c) What is your mission statement?
   d) What are three key selling points for your business?
   e) What objections do people have when it comes to making a purchase? i.e. what prevents them from buying from you?
3. Explain the process - As politely as you can, explain the process of creating a video. Emphasize the importance of creating a video with a strong, central theme and a simple message. Bombarding the viewer with too much information will only confuse the audience and will result in more questions being asked than being answered.
4. Make Comparisons - Show the client samples from your reel and walk them through the case study of each project. Show them through these videos how a simple approach is usually the best approach. You might also ask your client to think of their favorite commercials or favorite long-format videos. Walk through those videos and ask your client, “What makes these videos so memorable? Why do you like them? Why are they successful?” Usually, it’s because the director boiled everything down to a simple concept that an audience could easily digest.

And remind your client of that adage, “The simplest solution is the best solution.”

Video production is an industry full of variety. In my career, I have covered several different businesses, topics, people, and places. Browse through any video director’s client list and you will no doubt see a broad spectrum of projects. However, there may come a point when you are approached by one of your client’s direct competitors to produce video content. Should you take the job or should you politely refuse because of your existing relationship?

The answer to this question depends on a number of factors - most importantly, the nature of the relationship with your existing client. Here are some things to consider:

• If you signed a non-disclosure agreement with your client, then legally, you might not be able to accept a job from a competitor.
• If you signed some kind of non-compete clause, then you probably won’t be able to take the competitor’s job.
• Let’s suppose you produce a lot of content for your client on a regular basis. And let’s suppose each video requires you to be out on location meeting with your client’s vendors and other people your client does business with. Over time, these vendors might come to think of you as part of your client’s business (even though you, in fact, are an independent contractor). If those same vendors see you representing a competing company, they may take offense and the credibility of your first client could be shaken.
• If your client considers you as their “go-to” guy/gal for production work, they may get their feelings hurt if they realize that you are doing work for their competitor. In which case, they may not want to hire you for their next project. Be careful not to burn any bridges.

Ultimately, the choice you make should be handled on a case-by-case basis, because every situation is different. Obviously, if you have only produced one video for a client, and that project is now five years old, it’s probably okay to accept a job from a competitor.

It also might be helpful to address these concerns with a new client before the first project gets underway. If the new client is looking for a long-term relationship, then you probably need to discuss any non-compete policies the company may have. I know it’s tempting to jump at a good offer when it comes your way, but more important than new jobs are the relationships you have established with your existing clientele.

So now I’ll open the floor for discussion. What would you do in a situation like this? Do you agree or disagree with the considerations mentioned in this post?

For video production, it’s always helpful to have a collection of sound effects at your disposal, but sometimes you need to create something from scratch. Perhaps you can’t find the right sound effect in your library, or the effect itself sounds too electronic or campy. There are a number of resources across the web that can provide you with great DIY tutorials on creating authentic sound effects. Years ago, I came across a tip on how to create an authentic punching sound effect for fight scenes. All you need is a stalk of celery, a pillow, and a stick or baseball bat. Place the celery on the pillow and then hit the celery with the stick. The pillow provides you with a nice, muffled “thud,” mimicking the sound of a fist making contact with someone’s stomach. And the celery provides a nice bone-crunching sound effect. There are some variations to this effect, like using raw meat instead of a pillow, and cabbage instead of celery, but with a few household items and some experimentation you can create some nice authentic sounds.

A successful video production crew is a prepared video production crew. Every possible variable must be considered before heading out on location to shoot a project for a client. Your job as a video producer is to make sure that the client has everything he/she needs. So, if something unexpected pops up, you will be there with a quick solution to the problem. Accommodating the client in a prompt, professional manner is essential in building good word-of-mouth and repeat business.

Being prepared means building a versatile production kit, so that you will always have the right tools while on location. Now, I realize that everyone doesn’t have a full two ton production truck sitting in the parking lot outside the office, but you do need to focus on building up a solid production kit. This happens gradually, so you will have to rent gear when you need to. The most important thing to remember is that you, as a video producer, need to anticipate. Always expect the unexpected.

In the world of video production, the word “schedule” is used very loosely. Things get shuffled around. Shot lists change. A client’s needs might shift depending on what’s happening on set. For example, a client might tell you, “Don’t worry about audio for Friday. We will only need it on Saturday.” What happens if you leave your audio gear at the office and Friday afternoon the client tells you, “Oh, we need to mike this guy up for a quick interview.”? It doesn’t reflect well on you as a producer.

Even the most experienced video producer/director makes mistakes. The goal is to learn from these mistakes. Remember, luck favors the prepared.

Business leads are great. As a young entrepreneur or freelancer, leads give you a boost of encouragement. However, those leads are worthless if you can’t keep track of them. And if you can’t keep track of them, more than likely you won’t be able to close the deal.

For me, it seems that leads start pouring in while I’m buried with other jobs, making it easier for those leads to fall between the cracks. It’s important to have some kind of management system in place so that you can organize your leads and follow up promptly.

This doesn’t have to be some sophisticated database, but it does need to provide you with some basic information:

1. Name of your potential client
2. Contact information
3. Description of the project
4. Estimated budget
5. Status of the lead

The last item on the list is one of the most important things to keep track of. It tells you how close you are to closing the deal. I also like to make a note of how my contacts find me. This helps gauge the effectiveness of my marketing strategies.

I use Evernote to manage my leads, and I keep everything in a simple list form. Using Evernote is helpful for me because the information will sync between my iPhone and my desktop. So, if I’m out on a shoot and a new lead pops up, I can quickly make a note of it on my phone and have that information when I get back to my office.

What method works best for you?