Parc Entertainment - A Video Production Company - Birmingham, AL

Some people working within Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 have experienced two specific problems while trying to preview their edits on an external monitor:

1. They are unable to send a signal out to their external monitors.
2. They are unable to preview clips from an HD project in full HD resolution on their external monitors.

In this brief tutorial, we show how to properly set up Premiere Pro CSC4 to ensure that you are able to preview your edits on an external monitor and in HD (when working with an HD project).

*Note - You might want to watch the tutorial in full screen mode.

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.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Manage: Freelancer’s Guide to Budgeting (womensblog.score.org)

Shooting under flourescent lights while on location can be a nightmare. First, the light emitted by the bulbs creates a very flat, even, and uninteresting scene. Second, each flourescent bulb gives off light at a different frequency, which can play nasty tricks on your camera’s CCD. For those of you who have been forced to shoot under flourescents, you may have noticed that the color of your footage will gradually shift from a cooler tone to a warmer tone, then back again. Ideally, it would be best to turn off all flourescents while on location and set up your own lights to ensure maximum control over the lighting situation. However, this isn’t always an option - especially if your shoot is more run-and-gun. So, how can you best control the lighting when using your own light kit isn’t always an option?

1. The very first thing you want to do is set a MANUAL white balance. Don’t leave control of the color in the hands of the camera’s auto white balance function. This could make things worse and the color shift could become even more noticeable.
2. Try using a minus green card for your white balance. Flourescent lights will add a green tint to your scene. White balancing off of a minus green card will negate that tint and give your scene a more natural look. However, I’ve noticed that some green cards when used with certain cameras will make the scene look a little too rosy. you may have to experiment here.
3. Adjust the camera’s shutter speed to 1/120. Usually, this will sync up the camera’s shutter with the rate at which the flourescent bulbs give off light, preventing the scene from color shifting. In my experiences, this has worked well with the Canon XL-1s, Canon XL2, Panasonic DVX-100, and Panasonic HVX-200.

Those are a few tips for correcting in-camera. If you ARE able to use your own lights, here are a coupe of additional suggestions:

1. If you are able to use your own lights, but are unable to turn off the overhead flourescents, be sure to add green gel to your lights to compensate for the green tint emitted by the flourescent bulbs. Then, after adding the gel, get a manual white balance.
2. Invest in a Kino-Flo light bank. the flourescent bulbs in a Kino kit emit light at a constant color temperature, so you don’t have to worry about fluctuations in the color of your scene.

Following these suggestions will certainly help compensate for an unpleasant lighting situation. I would also suggest that you visit the forums at Cinematography.com for tons of useful information on camera techniques.