We'll I just finished a my first paid shoot and it was a great experience. It was a 12 hour day and I was fully prepared with two ditty bags full of stuff.
I think I had everything but the kitchen sink.
It was a medical seminar forwhich my background in Pharmacy helped alot not too mention I was facinated with the subject. At one point I wanted to participate in the seminar then I relize I am there to tape it.
The producer "Alden" was a very experience and made the shoot a very memorable day I could not have picked a better subject or producer to shoot with for my first job. Its guys like Alden who re-ignite that fire that was dimming when I was giving up hope.
The shoot itself was in a dimly lit conference hall. Camera held up great except the speakers were moving all over the place from a bright area to a dim area etc. They sure put the tripod thru a workout.
The speakers had a lav which worked great. (note must find an excellent lav any suggestions?) And I also used my AT897 shotgun for background (Note people must turn off cellphones)
The only prolem I had was doing handheld, My arm cramped up so I went back to tripod. I didn't find it comfortable with the jvc camera on my shoulders. i have broad musclear shoulders and it was not stable on my shoulders. Guess I need to purchase a steady cam system or quit lifting weights.
All in all it was a great experience. Camera worked great. and looking foward to my next gig.
Thanks DVINFO for being a great teacher with this valueable fourm.

Congrats!

Maybe post some of our work?

john
evilgeniusentettainment.com

Sounds pretty cool. I see a lot of those seminars since my business is the only one in town that owns a lcd projector. I always stay with the projector so I learn about all kinds of crazy medical junk.

To save my wrist while shooting, I have this steady stick made by tiffen that I love. It was cheap too, but it only works when you are stationary. The stick is strapped to a belt that you wear around your waist and it holds the camera pretty well but you have to take it off if you start walking around while filming. I was surprised how well it worked with the hd100.

Joe,

I'm glad you got this job. If I remember correctly, a few posts ago you were ready to give up. I bet you're glad you stuck with it now.

I think a leading cause for arm fatigue is the heaviness of the lens compared to the rest of the camera. Sometimes this can be remedied by balancing the back of the camera with a heavier battery pack or some other kind of weight. Think also about handgrips that can be threaded to the bottom of the camera. I've never looked into the prices of them, but I'm actually thinking about designing my own set.

My company and I are just starting out too and have met a decent amount of success for having no idea what we're doing running a business. Write me sometime and perhaps we can share some tips.

Take care and good luck with future projects.

Hey thanks guys for responding. We'll my first check was sweet but as my luck goes, the stickshift in my truck won't stay in gear so I foresee my check going to fix this problem. I wish I learned a little more about cars in my life.
Joshua, congrats for starting out. From what I have seen, the more wrk you do the better you get. I made a few mistakes but more important I learned from them.
I know I almost gave up a few post ago but this one job came along at jst the right time and I have a few more possible jobs plus looking foward to working with Johnathon on his Doc.