Video tips and tricks

Color Correction

It’s easy when you first start out in the video production field to focus on the simple things like: hitting the record button when you want to start so you get the bride walking down the aisle and hitting the record button a second time when you want to stop so you don’t film your feet for ten minutes.  It’s also easy to think about how to show your client that you are knowledgeable and have experience (even if your only experience is filming Christmas morning for you family).

Once you get settled in to producing wedding videos, you’ll find the importance of color correction.  I always make sure the cameras are white balanced to the correct setting, but at times I notice that when I’m editing, they still need a hint of color correction.  Sometimes worse than others but you can still see a huge difference in the brides dress when you color correct and when you don’t.  It separates the amateurs from the pros.  Most editing programs have some type of color correcting.  Final Cut Express, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, Magix Movie Edit 10, Pinnacle Studio, and Ulead VideoStudio all support color correction in some form.

Original frame but white balanced in camera from a recent wedding

This is a view of the couple without color correction.  Notice how the bride’s dress appears dingy and not crisp and pure white?  If the entire wedding is like this, then you might be able to get away with it but I would never recommend that. The skin tones are also a bit off and appear dirty and not true to life.

Color Corrected frame from a recent wedding

AHHHH…much better.  Doesn’t that look a lot better?

The Bride’s dress look a lot more pure white and the skin tones seem more natural.  This process only took me a few seconds but makes a world of difference.  Most programs allow you to adjust the colors and even let’s you determine what is true white and then adjusts the footage accordingly.

So the next time you shoot a wedding video, make sure you white balance your camera (or you’ll have results worse than those above) and spend the extra time while editing to white balance.  The Product will look better and you will look more professional.

That’s how to Improve Your Video.

Video tips and tricks

How to break in (and not get arrested)

I hear from high school students, college students and others that are interested in breaking into the video production field but don’t know how to do it. There are several ways and some of them are more costly than others. Let’s go over a few of them.

College: Get a degree in a media related field.
Pros: It looks good on your resume and you can use that if you want to work at a production house and to brag to your friends (Hollywood may not be as impressed though). If you find the right school with the right teachers, you will come out knowing a lot and having a lot of real world experience.  I have plenty of colleagues that have gone this route and do quite well for themselves.
Cons: You pay a lot of money and might learn on outdated equipment…the teachers may not even know what HD is (High Definition for the unlearned). I have plenty of colleagues that have gone this route and do quite well for themselves.  I’ve heard plenty of students complain that they wasted money on the degree when they could have just learned and worked at a tv station or at an internship for a video production company. Which brings us into the next topic…

Internships, working for cheap and/or volunteering:
Pros: This can be a very wise choice as you are learning from the pros while in the field. You aren’t learning from a professor that was in the field 20 years ago (a lot has changed…think VHS was the king of media then). This is also a great choice because they can teach you while filming various types of videos. You can learn how to film: weddings, corporate training videos, promotional videos, infomercials, live events, and much more. After the internship you could walk away with a wealth of knowledge. You may not get paid a lot but money shouldn’t be the focus during this time. You can discuss the length of time that you would be working with the video professional. You cold also work with a wedding videographer, t.v. station, cable access station, court videographer, or any other professional that is offering work. Be clear that you want to work with them to learn all aspects of the biz. If you are lucky, they will let you on the inside and how to deal with clients, write proposals, edit, and deliver a great product to the client…but don’t assume they will give away their secrets. As you can tell, this is a great idea and something I would highly encourage.
Cons: You probably won’t be earning much money during this time and will be doing everything from learning the fun stuff (how to film, edit and work with clients) to the boring stuff (cleaning up after a shoot, setting up the equipment, filming stuff the owner doesn’t want to, and getting coffee). Overall, the cons for this are pretty short.

Learning on your own: teach yourself by learning online, from blogs, podcasts, magazines, etc
Pros: You can do this for a lot cheaper. There are plenty of sites (like this one), Lynda.com and VTC.com (online training for a small monthly fee) that teach you how to improve your skills as well as learn various video programs. Talk to video professionals and see how they got their start. They are always willing to talk the biz (just not during the shoot after they’ve yelled, “quite on the set”).
Cons: This may take you longer if you aren’t motivated and don’t do your homework (yes, you can still do homework while not in school, except this homework is a lot more enjoyable). Your family/friends may look down on you if you don’t go to school for your degree (no problem if you have a vision/passion and don’t need to go to school for it).

These are just a few options.  I just heard of a guy who went to Hollywood and learned everything from an incredible DP but then the DP died shortly after that.  Which means, this guy learned a bunch from the pro and was able to take over the biz after the death….I wouldn’t recommend counting on this to happen in your situation though.  You might have better luck doing one of the above approaches

Best of luck.  Leave a comment on how you broke into the biz.

Video tips and tricks

How to price your video…and make the money you want.

Pricing is the best part of the job. You can literally make what you want to make regardless of where you live. I would say, if you’ve never filmed a wedding, to keep it under $1000 (at least for your first wedding). Search online around your area to see what others are charging. Remember, their will always be “cheap” and “discounted” wedding videographers in the area but they will always stay in those price ranges. Once you set a price and the word gets out, it’s hard to up your fees. The best time to do that is when weddings are slow which is usually around January through February. I have met people who filmed weddings at under $500 and have never been able to raise their rates because they attract the kind of people who will only pay for a $500 wedding video. Your prices reflect your clients pockets. Are they the type of client who will pay anything for the wedding or are scraping by and trying to find the cheapest deal. If you have a couple who complains about your price, remind them that they will be able to watch this forever and you can’t put a price on the memory (don’t get too cheesy or they won’t book you).
If your plan is to get into the market with cheaper prices ALWAYS put the full price (let’s say $800) and give them a 50% discount. That way, if anyone asks you can tell them that you charge $800. Like I said before, it’s hard to bump up your prices once you are labeled a “discount” videographer. Your reputation follows you.
So, it’s up to you…what do you want to make and what type of clients do you want to work with? Look for future posts about finding Clients (which are good) and Grinders (which will waste your life away).

Video tips and tricks

Secrets of the video production trade

I just met with a fellow video producer today that has his own company and is expanding his reach.  He started in live events and weddings and has moved to corporate weddings.  I’ve noticed most professional videographers take that coarse.  Interesting.

Here is a secret of landing that big contract with the large company.  Let’s say you are working with company X and they are a medium size company with no marketing/video branch.  If come right out and tell them you will create a video for $20,000 (or $10,000 or even $2000) always tell them what the “big companies” are charging.  “They usually charge $50,000+ for this scope  of work.  Since I am a smaller company and am more nimble, I can cut costs while still creating a great video”.  When they drop their jaw at $50,000 for a video and you mention, $20,000 for the same video, your price will seem great.  But, if you drop your price right away, they may be expecting to pay half that ($10,000 or less).  It’s only a perception thing but it helps.  Make sure you lay out the benefits to the video and how it will: 1) save them money 2) earn them money 3) inform their customers or 4) train their employees…  You get the idea.

What do you think?