It looks like video production is going the way of photography. It will be harder and harder to make a living from delivering high production quality video when it is increasingly in the hands of more people.
It also means we'll see larger sums of money traditionally paid to one person be split up between a wider group of people. (i.e. in the example of this startup) Competition is an exciting thing. On Thu, Jan 21, 2010 at 8:55 AM, Rupert Howe <rup...@twittervlog.tv> wrote: > I agree with all of you. $25-100 for 1-2 days work is not acceptable, > and debases the market. There are a lot of filler video content work > for Q&A sites being parcelled out that pays appallingly, as I think we > discussed before. > > On the other hand, the proposition that was offered by Turnhere was > that you shouldn't spend more than 3-4 hours in total (pre-production > to delivery) making each 1 minute video, for businesses in walking > distance from your house. They have a checklist, provide all the > documents, etc. They don't want anything fancy - just a basic to- > camera interview with some cutaways and a clip of the company's > signage. So it should work out as $50-70 per hour. They also won't > take on newbies or students - they require professional commercial > experience. And have QA standards for everything submitted. > > I'm not sure about the WMV thing. They specify that you upload H264 > 3000kpbs 864x486, and talk about how they provide iPod/iPhone > compatible files to show businesses. Odd that they have a WMV > download for their intro webinar. > > I'm not pimping them - I haven't even signed up with them. The > commoditization of video production concerns me because it affects the > price and value of genuine creative filmmaking in this arena. But I > just wanted to put it out there for discussion and get some of the > facts clear. > > Rupert > http://twittervlog.tv > > > On 21 Jan 2010, at 04:12, Bohuš wrote: > > > > > Hiya, > > > > Just a word of background, I do TV production for a living. Mostly > > independent stuff, but some broadcast stuff... > > > > I've been approached a lot by companies like this, especially start- > > ups. > > They want me to find ways to reduce costs, and still deliver a large > > percentage of what I do to clients. The problem is that I do actually > > have to make a living off of making video, and that's not going to > > happen if each one takes a day or two to make and the most I can > > hope to > > get is $25-100. > > > > It's great if you're on vacation, take a few fun videos, and then > > get a > > check for $25... that's great. The problem is when I'm asked to > > create > > videos with the same level of production that I usually charge many > > time > > more for. You're right... there are a lot of start-ups out there who > > think that the best business model is to create a venue for other > > people > > to do all the work, and then they make their cash off the backs of > > others. > > > > Ebay is a great example of that. They've created this quasi-community > > (less and less these days) and behave as if they were a store like > > Amazon (with special quasi-promotions, advertising, etc.), but they > > don't actually stock anything or even lick a postage stamp. They've > > made their fortune by creating this virtual market. That's fair since > > everyone is making a little something, but what do I get out of > > making a > > video review for $25-50? It's fine if you're having fun, but how to > > move to the next level? > > > > What affects me now is that many clients who approach me now think > > that > > this is the status quo for video production. I love the FLIP camera (I > > have several of them, after all...), but its ease has made my clients > > think that all video is just that easy. it's funny how shocked people > > are when they call me for a gig, and I don't jump at the chance to > > bring > > thousands of dollars worth of gear to their $200 shoot. > > > > Oh well, these topics have been covered before here so I'll quiet > > down. > > I love the video revolution, and I love that more people are using > > video > > to communicate than ever, but I don't love opportunistic companies who > > devalue the industries that they try to exploit. > > > > > >>> TurnHere.com, who are an agency who match up filmmakers with small > >>> businesses, have a new promo going for US & Canadian filmmakers. > >>> You can offer free 1 minute videos to small businesses, and Turnhere > >>> will pay you $200 to make them. > >>> It's a very small amount of money, and is undercutting other people > >>> who are trying to do the same thing on an individual basis. > >>> But the requirements are much lower than your average bespoke video > >>> job. It's pretty much video by numbers. Turn up for an hour, shoot > >>> an interview with the proprietor, shoot some B roll, cut a 1 minute > >>> film, get paid $200. > >>> > >> > >> I looked into their business model. I'd want to here from video > >> producers who did a lot of work for them. Seems more like > >> http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/10/ff_demandmedia. > >> > >> Ironically, Turnhere's orientation video is a downloading WMV: > >> http://producers.turnhere.com/orientation-webinar-video.html > >> Guess some there doesn't know how to do simple transcoding? > >> > >> Sorry to be a scrooge, but I hate companies that just want to profit > >> from other people's work. Like an Amway scheme. > >> > >> Jay > >> > >> -- > >> http://ryanishungry.com > >> http://momentshowing.net > >> http://twitter.com/jaydedman > >> 917 371 6790 > >> > >> > >> ------------------------------------ > >> > >> Yahoo! Groups Links > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > > > > > > -- > > -- > > Bohus Blahut > > (BOH-hoosh BLAH-hoot) > > > > modern filmmaker > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
