Independent producers in this economic client are facing some tough challenges. Much like a once storied ballplayer whose career is in twilight. What should this great player do? Become a manager!
That was the major theme from Philip Hodgetts session on the future of Web Video Business Opportunities here at the DV Expo. Philip (recently reclassified from “resident alien” to “resident” - congratulations Philip) is a prolific blogger, speaker and author on a variety of independent producer topics.
Philip had some great advice on where the market for independent producers is heading and how producers should reframe their mindset as entrepreneurs. According to phillip, our focus as content producers should be on creating business opportunities (Manager) rather than waiting for opportunities to present themselves (Player). Managers study the tape for upcoming games. Locating niche opportunities to exploit (audiences hungry for content on a specific topic).
The player just waits at the plate for the pitch: The producer calling upon an agency or enterprise to see if there was commercial opportunity (”Have any work for me?”).
The manager anticipates the pitch and puts the right leverage at the plate to create an opportunity: Create content around a niche interest, develop an audience and leverage the value (”Wait until you see what I have for you!”).
Yes, this is more difficult but it’s also more lucrative. You are cutting out the intermediaries that might suck the profitability out of your hard work. Also, you get compensated for recognizing a trend rather than waiting for someone else to ask you to act on it. Who do you think will come to come to next time?
And if you have trouble finding someone interested in your idea, you can always monetize it yourself (10 to 99 cent range). If you have chosen wisely, you have content that people want and will pay for. The “Big Hit” will continue to decline and the long tail (niche content) will continue to rise. Additionally, how and when content is consumed will diversify along with storytelling formats.
Pretend you want to build a nice, 2nd story deck for your home. If this deck was your video and you spent $10,000 on it, where would your money go?…
$1500 to hire an architect (Writer) and a contractor (Producer)
The script is like the plans for the deck. Writing this blueprint is one of the smallest costs so it is especially important to get this right.
How to keep costs under control in this area (pre production) -
Take your time hiring the right producer/director for the job
Hire a writer who is also a producer. (Architect + Contractor in one)
More time scripting = less confusion during production (accurate plans)
Get everyone in planning meetings so you have fewer of them. (fewer cross-town trips)
If you need a studio, hire a company that has one
If you need to shoot in a specific format (like HD) hire someone who has the equipment
$3500 for the contractor and his/her team to build the basic structure (production day)
There are a lot of resources needed at a place and time for the production to go well. Most crews and talent are booked for the day so there is no discount for finishing early.
How to keep costs under control in this area (production) -
Make sure you have all client stakeholders sign off on the plan for the video. (Homeowner AND Spouse)
Make sure everyone agrees on the details. (don’t assume they won’t care about the stain)
Schedule a rehearsal, show the client. (A “tester” sample of the work)
Record excellent audio. (Like wiring your deck for lighting as it is built)
$4000 for the contractor to complete and finish the deck (editing and sound)
Cost here is sheer time it takes for a good editor to do his/her work. Many hours are spent sifting through footage and cutting together the best video for your review. Included in this cost is the sound design (music and sound effects) and output rendering.
How to keep costs under control in this area (post production) -
Don’t shoot extra during production, just capture what you need
Collect the entire list of feedback before the editor makes any changes
Descriptive and specific feedback (“can you make the deck more intense?” doesn’t say much)
Deliver assets to editor on time (logos, stock footage, etc.)
Deliver music to editor beforehand (if applicable)
$1000 or more on the finishing touches
Costs can vary significantly for finishing visual and audio effects. It is also not only the hardest to estimate, but costs can quickly spiral out of control.
How to keep costs under control in this area (post production effects) -
Completely script graphic sequences like open and close beforehand
Take precautions during greenscreen shoot so that you can pull a nice key later
Hire someone that knows what they are doing for complex visual effects
Eliminate any other special effects that don’t contribute to the story
For our $10,000 project, here are some sample additional costs
- Greenscreen on location $1000 per day
- Greenscreen studio $2000 per day
- Matchmoving $1000
- 3D modeling $1500
- Music track $750
- Voiceover track $750
- Sound Effects $500
- Compositing $1500
- Motion Graphics $1500
- Cleaning up poorly recorded sound $750
Now, you have built your video and it is sturdy and stunning. Now you are ready for the party!
What is a longshot? No, not my favorite pony bet. It’s a camera framing description. Here I break down all the different types of shots and what they look like and when you would want to use them. I have also provided a cheat sheet so you can impress all of your friends at your upcoming video production parties.
If a tree captured on video falls in the woods, does it make a (good) sound? The basics of sound are explored after which you will be able to literally hear a pin drop:
What does a producer want? As we continue to develop our Market7 software, we are spending a lot of time with content producers of various calibers and specialties. It occurred to us that we are only using a portion of what producers are telling us. Many of the interesting anecdotes and best practices don’t apply to the problems we are trying to solve. So what do we do with the rest of this great information??? Create a Market7 show of course! (so simple! keep up, will ya?)
We are tossing around the idea of a very basic show (basically me with a camera and a mic) to capture some of these best practices and general “do’s” and “don’ts” for the benefit of our customers. After all, it does seem a shame to waste that knowledge.
Possible names for our “How to make the best corporate video ever” show:
1. Produce this!
2. Video killed the mar-com star
3. You can’t greenscreen composite out an attitude
We are taking all submissions for ideas for a title…
Dear Users : It’s easy to forget that we are a community and we will need reminders and help in this process.
We don’t exist in a vacuum. We are all working together - all of us engineers, designers, clients, producers - to facilitate a new expectation of what a pleasant experience is.
For this reason I would like to encourage any of our users to know that we value whatever feedback they can give us and that we are interested and concerned about giving them the best possible experience from the best possible research and design.
Each person that spends time crafting something of particular matter to a user is extending themselves towards the important details of what is really going on between the human and the interface; together we take a step towards an interesting and unknown future. It is a future that we are building together. Learning from each other and striving towards something that ultimately remains ineffable.
