Video production / general small business questions

[Roger]

So, I've been thinking about starting a part-time business doing video production (not sure I can make a go of it full-time currently) and I've been trying to do what research I can to see how viable an idea this is.

 

For those of you that do this (or something similar) I'd like to pick your brain. I did some brief googling to see what I could find regarding franchises geared towards video production, the only one I found sounds a little too good to be true (some outfit called HVS). There is a pretty large capital requirement/franchise fee, something like $60-70k. That is a bit steeper than what I thought, I figured even buying all new gear I would be hard pressed to go beyond $10k on my own. Not to mention, the website sounds a bit like they are painting an ideal picture (I quote "keep bankers hours! Work as much or little as you want!")

Seems to me that there is a good chance that I will be working as much as possible to keep bills paid (unless I'm just doing it part time) and spending my non-work time shaking down clients for money they owe me.

 

Here are my thoughts as far as services to offer:

 

1. Event videography (weddings, anniversaries, birthday parties, etc)

2. Corporate video (training, other?)

3. Public access commercials

4. Service bureau type stuff (VHS to DVD, DVD duplication, etc)

 

1, 3 and 4 might be easier to do, considering I don't have any contacts in the industry. I figure I'm going to be doing a lot of cold-calling and knocking on doors in any case.

 

Those of you that are doing the small-biz thing, any caveats? Glad you struck out on your own or wish you hadn't? General advice?

 

One thing that concerns me is the availability of pro level equipment (quality wise) at the consumer level. The "why pay you when my nephew or buddy will do it for a six-pack" scenario. Of course, photography has been around forever and people still pay professional wedding photographers, so that bodes well.

 

I might be better off focusing on just one or two areas, given I know almost nothing about producing weddings. I looked into the average daily rate and it seems to be about $1000 for wedding videos. Don't know what the low end or high end of that is.

I've thought about discounting services to build a name for myself, but that can bite you in the butt.

 

I don't think I will offer much in the way of animation services at first, although I would like to eventually.

 

Anyone have any thoughts?

[Shelton]

I did event videos for several years. I filmed weddings, corporate meetings, board of directors meetings, birthday parties, training videos, childrens's videos, funerals (yuk), births (yuk yuk). Well you get the picture.

 

I had really good luck by teaming up with some larger churches and chapels in the area and getting to know the coordinator. Once a couple would come and talk with the facility coordinator she or he would pass out my card to the couple. 50% of the time the couple would have their own video guy. But that left me with the opportunity to talk with the couple.

 

As in animation, put together a sample reel of what you can do. That will sell yourself. In weddings keep it straight forward. Some will want the flash though. Give them options. I had a four tier plan that gave a simple filming and editing to a full blown production that included filming bachelor and bachelorette parties.

 

As a business protect yourself with some type of liability insurance as well. You might want to buy a both at a bridal fair as well selling yourself there.

 

Make sure you have multiple camera views that was a huge seller for me. I had one wedding we had the bride and groom mic 'd and 5 cameras from all views. Let me tell you we did not give the couple the audio from them being mic'd. It was pretty funny hearing all the things that were said before, during and after the wedding!

 

I did coorporate training videos and that is what led me to animations. That can be time consuming. Best thing, is a person with good voice over!

 

I did conversion as well! Did not like that.

 

Anyway had a blast doing it as a side business. Lot of fun things happened while filming!!! Had night mares and weird request as well. Got to the point I could not keep up with the side business and regular work as well. Had to make a decision what was going to bring in the most $ and concentrate on it. Also, it was right at the time the cameras were changing over to HD. Was about to lay out a lot of money on new equipment.

 

Memories!!

 

Best of luck

 

Steve

[Roger]

As in animation, put together a sample reel of what you can do. That will sell yourself. In weddings keep it straight forward. Some will want the flash though. Give them options. I had a four tier plan that gave a simple filming and editing to a full blown production that included filming bachelor and bachelorette parties.

 

As a business protect yourself with some type of liability insurance as well. You might want to buy a both at a bridal fair as well selling yourself there.

 

Make sure you have multiple camera views that was a huge seller for me. I had one wedding we had the bride and groom mic 'd and 5 cameras from all views. Let me tell you we did not give the couple the audio from them being mic'd. It was pretty funny hearing all the things that were said before, during and after the wedding!

 

I did coorporate training videos and that is what led me to animations. That can be time consuming. Best thing, is a person with good voice over!

 

I did conversion as well! Did not like that.

 

Anyway had a blast doing it as a side business. Lot of fun things happened while filming!!! Had night mares and weird request as well. Got to the point I could not keep up with the side business and regular work as well. Had to make a decision what was going to bring in the most $ and concentrate on it. Also, it was right at the time the cameras were changing over to HD. Was about to lay out a lot of money on new equipment.

 

Memories!!

 

Best of luck

 

Steve

 

Wouldn't think anyone would want video of the bachelor/bachelorette party (from an angry spouse point of view).

Hadn't thought of funerals, that seems like it would be a bit of a drag. I didn't think anyone really wanted to "capture the moment".

 

Insurance is a good idea, I need to look into that. I hope that won't be too big a chunk.

 

Going to local churches might not be a bad idea, I hadn't thought of that. I'm not really the churchy type, though, I might burst into flame if I set foot in one.

 

I think I might have the most fun with public access type stuff, but will have to figure out how to market myself.

 

Conversions seem like they would be boring, but also seems like easy money.

 

Thanks for your input, I've got a lot to think about.

[Shelton]

I did not enjoy editing the parties, as you said can get crazy. But some wanted to document everything!!

 

Insurance is not bad on liability only, if you get e&o (errors and omissions) can be costly.

 

I would not give up those years that I did the video gig. Built a lot of great friends and valuable contacts. I still get calls wanting some help. Just took on the worship arts job (sound, video and lighting) for a church based on past experiences.

 

It might be harder in todays market since cameras are so cheap and everyone has editing software on their computer. I learned the art from a kid at the time, that could video, film, edit tape, edit video , non linear, could animate and model, etc... When I started with him he needed the salesmanship of which I offered. After the first gig I got hooked and began filming and the rest as they say ...

 

Keep it fun

 

Steve

[Roger]

I've been referring back to my other thread I started way back about DSLR cameras, I think as far as a camera goes I will need to do some more research before settling on a camera but I'm not sure HD is the way to go. Seems like I would need to consider hiring a professional makeup artist considering how much HD would bring out flaws in the complexion.

 

I have a desktop and laptop, an analog capture card (but I'm pretty sure it won't work under win7, but I should have a win 2k license I can use). I priced out lighting kits, they don't seem too bad. I have most of the software I need (AM for 3d, Pinnacle HD for video editing, Corel Draw/Paint for 2d stuff). What about audio recording, do I need to worry about that? I know some people record audio separately. I have a minidisc recorder I can use, it is a pain to get sound off faster than real time but I'd rather use something I already have than buy a new thing. I am set on monitors, that is not a problem but do I need to consider getting a TV to make sure stuff is TV-safe? Is it even worth bothering having a 4:3 set for this purpose, seeing as everything is going widescreen? Should I bother with SVHS decks or 8mm decks ( I suppose I would need these for transferring video, but almost never in my actual production work). Do they even use tape anymore, or has everything moved to solid state or hard disks by this point?

 

Is there anything else I'm forgetting? Mic kits? I have a shotgun mic but nothing else.

[Roger]

I did not enjoy editing the parties, as you said can get crazy. But some wanted to document everything!!

 

Insurance is not bad on liability only, if you get e&o (errors and omissions) can be costly.

 

I would not give up those years that I did the video gig. Built a lot of great friends and valuable contacts. I still get calls wanting some help. Just took on the worship arts job (sound, video and lighting) for a church based on past experiences.

 

It might be harder in todays market since cameras are so cheap and everyone has editing software on their computer. I learned the art from a kid at the time, that could video, film, edit tape, edit video , non linear, could animate and model, etc... When I started with him he needed the salesmanship of which I offered. After the first gig I got hooked and began filming and the rest as they say ...

 

Keep it fun

 

Steve

 

That's just it. A while back a cousin of mine did a video for my great uncle and his wife's 50th wedding anniversary. It came out really well, looked just as good as any pro-level stuff I've seen. He even had a seamless edit where it looked like his daughter got in his car and was doing donuts (but of course it was him). Point is, if you've got the time and creativity it is pretty easy to produce professional results now. That's what spooks me. I am ok with making an investment of a few thousand, I can still use the gear for producing my own stuff. But sinking a ton of money into a franchise has me a bit scared. Here is a link to the place I found earlier:

 

http://www.myhomevideostudio.com/

 

The only reason I was thinking about the franchise route is it seemed like it might be a little easier to get business, and not having any actual experience running a business, there would be the guidance aspect or plan that you can follow that is appealing but $60k is a bit rich for my blood.

[Roger]

Another thing - can't remember if I read it on this board or somewhere else but seems like DVD authoring is not long for this world. Maybe we have another 5 to 10 years, tops, for physical media. So I can't see that being profitable for very long.

[Fuchur]

Another thing - can't remember if I read it on this board or somewhere else but seems like DVD authoring is not long for this world. Maybe we have another 5 to 10 years, tops, for physical media. So I can't see that being profitable for very long.

 

Still it is part of the whole thing. If you are creating videos today, it is still common and needed to create a DVD for the people, especially in a small business doing wedding films and stuff.

These very likely wil not be distributed using any kind of Cloud or Amazon-films-service (or which one ever).

 

See you

*Fuchur*

[Roger]

Another thing - can't remember if I read it on this board or somewhere else but seems like DVD authoring is not long for this world. Maybe we have another 5 to 10 years, tops, for physical media. So I can't see that being profitable for very long.

 

Still it is part of the whole thing. If you are creating videos today, it is still common and needed to create a DVD for the people, especially in a small business doing wedding films and stuff.

These very likely wil not be distributed using any kind of Cloud or Amazon-films-service (or which one ever).

 

See you

*Fuchur*

 

 

True, I imagine most people, even if they would like a digital download as an extra, would prefer the physical keepsake. So for the foreseeable future they will probably still be around.

[fae_alba]

While considering if there is a market for your video skills, do not forget the ever present need for the true business side of things. How much will you need in advertising/marketing (you will need to do that!), how much for a lawyer to help incorporate (you should at least consider that). Make sure to consider taxes (if you don't incorporate, you will get taxed very heavily on your personal income tax (SSI hits you double hard as a self-employed person).

 

Also for incorporation, if you don't, if someone sues, you are personally liable, even if you have insurance. Incorporating, insulates you somewhat from liability and taxes. You will want a good accountant to handle your books and tax filings. Going it alone may save you some, but the hassle and added protection of someone else is worth the cost. So you know, I ran a publishing company for 9 years. It was a great experience/time, but it had some very very stressful moments as well. My basic addage, if you're not willing to lose everything if your business goes south, then don't go into business.

[Roger]

Well, I've been trying to get myself to the point where I can manage on a very modest income. So hopefully that wouldn't happen.