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ezekielrage_99

macrumors 68040
Oct 12, 2005
3,336
19
If you are serious about starting a company the absolute first thing you must do is a SWOT Diagram (Strengths Weakness Opportunities and Threats) and be very realistic about it.

Work out what your competitive edge is, this is extremely important in defining to the consumer what you do, why you do it and why they should be using your service over other similar companies services.

If all signs point to go and you get to the buying plant stage, don't over capitalise it is an absolute killer of new and small companies, you can always buy the best and greatest gear when you are established. But this doesn't mean buy cheap crappy stuff either, set a realistic target and stick to it because you can easily upgrade plant but it makes thing very hard if you have to downgrade. Also good quality equipment will last longer, and become more cost effective.

Personnally I would be starting off with:
- 20" iMac, 2 GB RAM and 500GB HDD
- I don't mean to over generalise but a camera is a camera but still aim for one with 3CCD (the Sony, JVC and Canon are pretty good)
- Final Cut Studio (FCP, DVD Studio, Soundtrack, Motion), seriously iLife is good but it's not pro.
- PhotoShop or GIMP (http://www.gimp.org)
 

FF_productions

macrumors 68030
Apr 16, 2005
2,822
0
Mt. Prospect, Illinois
ezekielrage_99 said:
Personnally I would be starting off with:
- 20" iMac, 2 GB RAM and 500GB HDD
- I don't mean to over generalise but a camera is a camera but still aim for one with 3CCD (the Sony, JVC and Canon are pretty good)
- Final Cut Studio (FCP, DVD Studio, Soundtrack, Motion), seriously iLife is good but it's not pro.
- PhotoShop or GIMP (http://www.gimp.org)

I totally disagree with getting an iMac, it's just not expandable...I own an iMac and have been upset since I bought it that it isn't expandable..Don't get me wrong, the speed is great, its a great machine, but not if you are taking video seriously and are making a living off of it.
 

jdechko

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jul 1, 2004
4,230
325
LethalWolfe said:
You mentioned talking to a local pro photog at church. Any chance he'd be interested in taking on a videographer partner? The hardest part is building a client base and if you can partner w/someone who's already established that will help smooth out some of the bumps in the road.

I'll start here since there's a lot for me to respond to. I'm not so sure the photographer would want to take on a partner, per se, but it's entirely possible that I could get him to recommend some clients to me who were also interested in a videographer. There are also a lot of wedding shows that I would go to and do some networking with potential clients.

To all those who mentioned contracts: already plan on doing it. I've been doing drafting as my main job for a while now, and that's one thing I've learned. ;)

PegasusMedia, et. al., I understand the concern for the "artform" behind the equipment. I've done several transfers/edits/etc for fun, but I've recently decided that I'd like to make a career out of it. I also understand that better equipment does not necessarily make for better results. My question was simply what is out there that is 1) good equipment that will last and 2) at an affordable price for a startup company.

I need to consider a backup camcorder, but I do have a backup computer. It's an older laptop, and it would be painstaking to edit an entire video from it, but in a pinch, it would do, and it has done before.

I've pretty much decided on a slightly older PM, somewhere around the current-low end (Dual-Core 2.0 G5) with upgraded ram to about 2.5 GB. The expandability and future usability far outweigh the price difference between that and the 17" iMac. (I can get a refurb PM for 1700 on the apple page). I will end up getting at least a 20" monitor (maybe a 23/24 if I can get a really good deal), and FCE.

Thanks to everyone who has given me some advice.
 

Keebler

macrumors 68030
Jun 20, 2005
2,960
207
Canada
good for it and good luck!

jdechko said:
I'll start here since there's a lot for me to respond to. I'm not so sure the photographer would want to take on a partner, per se, but it's entirely possible that I could get him to recommend some clients to me who were also interested in a videographer. There are also a lot of wedding shows that I would go to and do some networking with potential clients.

To all those who mentioned contracts: already plan on doing it. I've been doing drafting as my main job for a while now, and that's one thing I've learned. ;)

PegasusMedia, et. al., I understand the concern for the "artform" behind the equipment. I've done several transfers/edits/etc for fun, but I've recently decided that I'd like to make a career out of it. I also understand that better equipment does not necessarily make for better results. My question was simply what is out there that is 1) good equipment that will last and 2) at an affordable price for a startup company.

I need to consider a backup camcorder, but I do have a backup computer. It's an older laptop, and it would be painstaking to edit an entire video from it, but in a pinch, it would do, and it has done before.

I've pretty much decided on a slightly older PM, somewhere around the current-low end (Dual-Core 2.0 G5) with upgraded ram to about 2.5 GB. The expandability and future usability far outweigh the price difference between that and the 17" iMac. (I can get a refurb PM for 1700 on the apple page). I will end up getting at least a 20" monitor (maybe a 23/24 if I can get a really good deal), and FCE.

Thanks to everyone who has given me some advice.

Best of luck.

regarding the backup camcorder, do research on local audio/video companies. i've found I can rent a camcorder in a pinch at a fraction of the cost of a full backup camcorder.

good luck,
Keebler
 

Miner Willy

macrumors regular
Apr 30, 2004
107
0
Bradford, UK
Practical Advice.

All the technical advice is all well and good but you need to ensure you have some good solid business acumen about you.

If you are starting out and building up a client list etc. then can I suggest http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1568985592/sr=8-1/qid=1143788080/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-3050205-4843000?%5Fencoding=UTF8
How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul. It's an excellent read and will help you consider a variety of thing when setting up. It's not just for "graphic designer" but all people who deal with visual communication IMHO
 

RedTomato

macrumors 601
Mar 4, 2005
4,155
442
.. London ..
My partner runs her own theatre company with several staff, and I am in the middle of starting out as a freelance.

One vital lesson learned:

Separate the creative and admin jobs.

By which I mean that people who are good at creative stuff are generally really crap at the important admin jobs - tax affairs, accounting, report making, keeping in touch with clients etc.

I'm a creative, and I find there's more paperwork than you would dream, and it saps my energy. I spend a week sorting out something simple, which my partner who is an admin genius can sort out in a sec.

Likewise, I create and polish in a couple of hours work which she wouldn't be able to do in a week.

It's very rare that you can find the same talents in one person. Try to hire someone with experience as an office manager for maybe one or two days a week, and work with them face to face - the difference is astounding.

Accept you can't do what you don't like doing, and hire people to do it, say one day a week or so, and on short term contract to start with, so that you can focuss on your core competences and the money-earning stuff.

Also try to get someone with much experience in the field as a mentor. I don't mean a brilliant filmer - they won't know how to teach junk.

I mean someone who has looked after and grown their business in the same field and has aquired a reputation as giving excellent business and career advice to start-ups. Word of mouth is vital here. Ask your filmer mate about who helped him get going.

Hope this helps.

..RedTomato..
 

Takumi

macrumors regular
Dec 15, 2005
158
0
Gunma, Japan
lexus said:
Firstly you will kill yourself trying to do video editing on a 17 inch screen. You need at least a 20 inch.

alternativly buy a second 19 or 21" CRT and run a dual monitor setup

takumi

P.S: Expect to make a loss for atleast the first 12 months while you build a client base, deffinitly don't expect to start making money straight away. Basically mack sure you wont go broke.
 

jdechko

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jul 1, 2004
4,230
325
Thanks for all the business advice, but like I've said, I pretty much have that covered. I've got a business degree. I definitely plan on getting a mentor; most likely the pro photographer at my church. He's already agreed to talk to me for a few hours about some stuff like networking and building a client base, as well as things I need to look for out in the field. He's built up his business and runs it full-time. Running a full-time business isn't something that I will start out doing right away. It will most likely be weekends/evenings/days off. I'm pretty confident that if I start out part-time, I can build a client base, and move the business to full time in a few years (18 months, min.). I plan on fully committing to the success of the business, but I don't plan on quitting my day job (intended) just yet. I've still got bills to pay and a wife to support.

Also, to get some experience and get some references, I'm thinking about doing a wedding or two for free. In my mind, this does a few things. I get experience in shooting a wedding, and basically putting a whole package together. It also gets me advertising through word of mouth, and gives me some demo material to show off to future potential clients.
 

2jaded2care

macrumors 6502
Jun 13, 2003
336
0
Atlanta
Planning to tape weddings and church events... you really prefer to work weekends, right?

I might mention that the Canon XL H1 does HDV, but also has timecode in/out, so if you end up having to sync between two or more cameras, that would be a plus. (Can you tell I hate syncing tapes based on flashes from still cameras?) 'Course, the H1 isn't what most of us would call cheap...

Good luck!
 
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