I video Weddings, and small odds and ends video stuff. I was wondering when if you guys care to share what are some of the ways you make money with video. I was just wondering if there is something I can be doing when I don't have any Weddings to do. Any suggestions?

Back about a decade ago I asked a guy who serviced professional gear about what I should be aware of when it comes to major format changes in the industry.

And he told me not to laugh, but it was true. The part of the video production industry that had the biggest influence on format popularity was the porn industry.

It makes billions.

But if not that, there might be a market to do corporate work. I did one for Shriners, our City and County and for a couple of organizations involved with our fisheries. I also did some work as a subcontractor for a couple of commercials.

BTW, my main income is from producing a fishing show for our local cable TV company. The trick is finding sponsorship. That's a chicken-egg problem. Sponsors will buy into a quality program that attracts a good audience. But it takes money to produce a quality program. And to do that you need to get sponsors, who are looking for a quality program that attracts an audience.

How to start the cycle?

Invest in the project. Either by raising funds or by putting in a lot of sweat equity. Or both.

You'll be taking a big gamble on a risky business. And if you don't make a big enough investment (or gamble big enough), the product might not be as good as it could or should be and that might be worse than not doing it at all.

Need inspiration? Take a look at what Steve Jobs did with Apple after he learned some tough lessons that led to the founding of Pixar. Besides having grand ideas, he was also nit-picky about details.

Come up with a good concept, along with a plan to provide a continuous supply of interesting content.

Hi Tyson

During the week I do Property Condition Reports for Realtors...basically a quick video of a rental home done room by room with a running commentary and dumped onto DVD. The realtor keeps and copy and the tenant gets a copy so when they vacate 6 months or 12 months later we have proof of condition when they moved in....it ain't glamorous or creative but it's quick and easy work and keeps me busy and puts money in the bank!!!

I also believe there is a good market for funerals but although having been asked I'm not sure I would want to film such sad occasions!!!

It's a good idea to toss suggestions into a thread here...it will be interesting and maybe very fruitful!!.

Chris

I did a funeral once and not to make the thread morbid, it was the toughest job I have ever done.
Thats good info there Dean, thanks for that.
Anyway what about event video like event photography. Video the event and set up a table near by with 'order DVD here ' sign nearby.
There are all kinds of ways to get the footage on display in a matter of minutes after the show.
Id be interested in it myself.
Obviously no charge to the organisation in charge of the event. Money is made on copies.

I took part in a roast of a TV boss at a restaurant in Brisbane recently, it was videoed by an independant company.

Looks like there's a market for that type of video where the client company wants to bypass their advertising agency who will load their invoice up with all sorts of crazy items.

Circularise local businesses with offers to produce things like new product offers, sent out on those business card DVDs. You could include extras like a letter box drop .. your girlfriend/wife will love that :)

Cheers.

I did a few video presentations for funerals. It was for friends or family.

Of course it's always on short notice. But it's basically photos and some video of the person's life set to music.

Or someone can record a eulogy, then edit visuals to fit. It's a great keepsake.

Over here the funeral home simply grab some photos from the family and make up a slide show as part of the funeral package with the deceased's favorite songs...they keep it simple. However with video one would rather film the eulogy from the preiest or officiant and then the little bits family have to say. Most of a funeral video should be much like the speeches at a wedding ??? Still, it's supposed to be a good market but having always refused them, I figure you might need to be discrete and look sombre??? You would obviously not zoom in to the grieving widow while she is sobbing...I would expect it to be a tough gig but I did speak to some ladies at a funeral home a few weeks ago and they said plenty people film funerals!!! (I was at a wedding rehearsal and they arrived at the Church with the coffin so the priest could do some sort of rosary blessing...aparently it's always done at night!!

Chris

My wife asked me to take some photos at her grandmother's funeral.

I was as discrete as possible... until everyone started going up to the casket, and taking various group shots with the deceased. Filipino funerals here are a little different. Part of it is so the family can send photos to relatives back home.

Another funeral I videotaped was for a friend whose husband died in a traffic accident. The son was only five, so she wanted something for her son to see when he was older and could appreciate what friends had to say about him.

So the middle and end bits have been mentioned here (weddings and funerals), has anybody ever been involved in recording the beginning, i.e. a birth.

(I'm sure it wouldn't be like the scene in Monty Python's 'Meaning Of Life'!)

Steve

I did that, too, for my stepdaughter. I'm surprised the med staff didn't usher me out of there. Then again, everyone was in there including her sister, mother-in-law, grandmother.

No one seemed to mind me with a Canon XL1s with a shotgun mic on the top. I left the on-camera light at home.

Someday my granddaughter will know exactly where she came from.

I have found an un-filled niche in my market area and keep fairly busy with it. I shoot awards videos for several health regions ( Doctor/Nurse/Dentist of the year sort of stuff), some commercial sub-contract work for a couple of online business directories, and a slug of very short ( a minute or less) talking head shots of local political figures offering congratulations on 60th wedding anniversaries, the opening of a new arena, etc.
Also some longer stuff for a couple of national Health related foundations for internet publication. Much of what I do is VERY quick shoots, nearly as quick edits, final production done within 48-72 hours.
Some of it is somewhat exciting/interesting, a lot isn't...BUT, I have made some extremely good contacts in local and Provincial government, which led to some excellent business contacts.
It seems in my area a lot of the video shoots are for end product destined for internet use as opposed to mainstream media...lower the production costs and increase the coverage through the huge Youtube/Vimeo market.
I like the idea of doing the real-estate occupancy video work. That sounds like a great "meat and potatoes" sort of thing...not a huge paycheque for each, but steady work year round. I've shot one funeral and doubt I'd ever do another. Same with weddings...I've shot them, don't enjoy shooting them, and there are tons of people around here already doing a bad job of that, so they don't need an extra foot in the door.

You can also take video of school activities like recitals, sport events and graduations.

Hi Wayne

Our realtors are "advised" to charge a flat rate of $220 for someone to go out and inspect the property prior to occupation so I do them for $200 each...it is definately "bread and butter" work with no creativity whatsoever ...I shoot the footage room by room and then render each clip to an SD MPEG2 and assemble onto a DVD with a template menu so all I have to change is some text and the photo of the house!! There is no editing at all so a 3 x 1 home takes me around an hour plus just under an hour to make the DVD's (and get to and from the house) so it's fairly easy money and just a camera and I have a mounted receiver on my cams and a transmitter and lav in my pocket.

Doing an average of 5 a week only eats up maybe two hours of your day and puts $1K in your pocket!!!

It's repeat business to as most rentals are 6 or 12 months ...I've already done houses maybe 4 or 5 times!!!

Over here schools are a BIG issue (I used to do school plays on stills years ago) Nowdays you need a permission slip of consent from each and every parent PLUS police clearance to say you are not a child molester!! I stay away from that now..too much red tape!!!

Chris

I'm not in business due to health problems, but if I were, I would interview and film life biographies. It would be like creating mini documentaries. Find interesting people, add some history, and information about the communities they live in. There are some amazing life stories out there.

Thanks Guys for all the input!

My Video Business is just part time as of now, so that was why I was wondering what some of you other guys are doing.

I did a live Web Stream of a Funeral the other week. Pretty easy as far as that goes. I have done a birthday party, editing on peoples old Wedding Videos, recorded Race Horses that are ready to go to auction.

I would love to find out more about Real Estate Videos! I know some companies have them but I don't think any in my area do. Is there a market for this?

I've been asked by various "website" companies based on the mainland to shoot client company commercials here in Hawaii. I was supposed to shoot the interviews of the president or company manager who explains what they do or sell, shoot b roll of the product/services, then upload the raw footage back to the website company for editing. I keep turning them down because they only pay $125-150 per shoot, and it takes 2- 3 hours to shoot. Add the prep, driving, and uploading time, it might take about 4-5 hours per project to complete...not worth my time in my opinion, but could be acceptable for others who might be interested. Based on the amount of requests I've gotten, I'm guessing there are quite a lot of companies looking for shooters in your area.

Hi Tyson

Apart from "Millionaire Homes" Realtors don't want to invest in promo videos for homes as they can usually get by with printed or web ads with just photos!!

However with rental homes they really do need to have an inspection before each new tenant takes occupation so it's a nice little niche market!!! Very much "bread and butter" as already mentioned but quite a nice source of income!!!

Chris

I was wondering when if you guys care to share what are some of the ways you make money with video. Any suggestions?

Tyson, looks like there's about 10 car clubs in your area ... contact each of them with a proposal to produce a DVD of the cars in the club, their owners, the makers history, and the club. They can sell this to club members and on their web sites to others.

Also research other types of clubs in your area.

Cheers.

Get in touch with local news affiliates, who are always looking for freelancers to shoot stuff for them when they're short on photographers and/or slammed with a busy news day.

Go door to door to local businesses and offer to do commercial spots for their business for cheap. Once you've gotten a few under your belt, you can up your charge. Make contacts with local AE's who will help you and the business owners get their spots on the air.