[Noisebridge-discuss] Videographer help!

[Anders Nelson]

Oh, and here's the result: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iaqbopQI2k

=]

--
Anders Nelson

+1 (517) 775-6129

www.erogear.com


On Wed, Aug 21, 2013 at 3:03 PM, Anders Nelson <anders.k.nelson at gmail.com>wrote:

> Hey everyone,
>
> Remember way back in April when I asked for videographer help? I got like
> 20 awesome responses and I promised to share my experience once it was
> done. One good turn deserves another;
>
> I contacted a few videographers directly by phone and/or in-person, and
> most had long experience in the field. I looked at demo reels and most were
> of very high quality. One consistent thing I found is most demo reels
> involving products, startup videos, etc. were very corporate-feeling. I
> liken them to welcome videos for new employees. The lighting, clarity and
> sound was top-notch but there was little emotion. The project estimates I
> got across my research ranged from $400 to $2500 and most were in the $1500
> range.
>
> I looked at SmartShoot (www.smartshoot.com), but didn't move forward
> through that service. I wanted to use it as a protective mechanism in case
> I got shafted somehow - they have insurance and there is a path for
> recourse. But they require you to pay the bid up-front and as videography
> goes, time spent and the resultant cost can vary wildly.
>
> The videographer I ultimately chose was Harry Yuan (
> http://about.me/harryhyuan), co-author to the Organic Hobo series of
> videos (http://organichobo.com/). He is based in San Francisco but has
> done work around the world, also doing work for small companies like mine
> (1 person) and enormous companies like Whole Foods. His work caught my eye
> in the human-centric energy it delivered. All of his work was vibrant and
> interesting, and this being a very subjective kind of thing was what I was
> looking for. The image quality, color rendition, perspective and
> depth-of-field work was excellent, and helped make a moving story out of
> engineering-heavy content. His bid was at the high end of the spectrum and
> I feel the value was worth it.
>
> Another huge benefit I got working with Harry was significant help in
> editing the voiceover script. My script was about twice as long as what we
> pared it down to. The big idea with voiceovers is that the video content is
> telling most of the story, so any additional information that is not
> absolutely necessary or obvious will weigh down the viewer. Record yourself
> saying stuff and time it. With Kickstarter videos being in the 120 - 180
> second range you really don't have much time to speak what seems like a few
> paragraphs anyway.
>
> Harry enlisted the services of Blake Brown for production assistance.
> Blake added heavily to my understanding of the subjective parts of the
> video making process and the two of them were fantastic to work with, even
> when we had to do another shoot because I forgot an important scene. And
> when my software kept crashing. And when my batteries died. =P To my
> knowledge Blake also has significant videography/photography experience so
> I recommend him as well.
>
> If you're a videographer yourself, I would highly recommend doing a lively
> Kickstarter-style video for your demo reel. Even if it's for a fake product
> concept that's what sold me when choosing a service provider. It just feels
> different.
>
> Hope this helps someone!
>
>
> --
> Anders Nelson
>
> +1 (517) 775-6129
>
> www.erogear.com
>
>
> On Tue, Apr 30, 2013 at 10:57 AM, Anders Nelson <anders.k.nelson at gmail.com
> > wrote:
>
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> I'm looking for a videographer with a penchant for high production-value
>> and artistic direction, to create a 60-second Kickstarter video. Here's
>> what we have already: vimeo.com/erogear/promo. It's a good video but
>> it's far too long for the Kickstarter audience. Also I had to write/direct
>> it which is terrifically un-ideal. In the right videographer's hands I
>> think we really can reach our goal.
>>
>> Have you worked with anyone who does this, or are you a videographer
>> yourself? I'd love to get in touch with any leads you can suggest. In the
>> spirit of full disclosure, development of this technology has been insanely
>> expensive (and 100% bootstrapped) so I don't have much money left. Any
>> barter content in a contract would be welcome.
>>
>> Any nuggets of wisdom are appreciated!
>> --
>> Anders Nelson
>>
>> +1 (517) 775-6129
>>
>> www.erogear.com
>>
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.noisebridge.net/pipermail/noisebridge-discuss/attachments/20130821/3ae25155/attachment-0001.html>