Videographers needed all over the U.S.

[Scott Spears]

Interesting. If you're just starting out and need a first or second client, it might be a way to start.

I did like going to see their sample videos because it allowed me to compare the different compression qualities of the big three media players, quicktime, windows media and real. I thought Windows was the winner.

Scott

[Jacob Ehrichs]

Anyone get their information packet and NonCompete Contract in the mail like I did? Likely I'd be one of the first being in Dayton OH and her in Indy. I'll fill more in for you folks this evening as I'm back at work.

[Samuel Birkan]

I got mine yesterday. The only part that really worries me is the W2 - I am not too keen on giving social security numbers ect until I actually have a reason too, ie: I actually have done some work for them.
I would like to hear from some of the more legal types here what they think of the non-compete

[Richard Alvarez]

Samuel

Can you post the non-compete agreement here or somewhere else?

[Christopher C. Murphy]

Guys, after careful examination and careful thought...my opinion is that this is a scam. I have communicated with "Skye" via email a bunch of times.

If it's not - at the very least, it's a waste of time.

Murph

[K. Forman]

I got mine the other day as well. I'm also a little leery of the contracts, mostly the ownership of works.

[Jacob Ehrichs]

Hey guys, just wanted to throw up the 'investigation' I wrote up when this whole topic came up. It's quite long and will be split between this post and the next.

Again, this was written back when the topic first came up and has not been edited since so there may be more information now then I had when it was written. I will not be updating or continue a running list of changes or new information as I do not wish to persue my 'investigation' any longer. Some site links may no longer be available. I have not checked or updated these.

My 'insights' are found inbetween the ** marks.



<removed orignal posting by Doug Puckett>

*********
Sure sounds fishy to me. And quite a few others on the messageboard as can be seen. Just establishing the domain name and the name attached to the bottom. Helpful tools in internet sleuthing.
*********


WHOIS DOMAIN SEARCH

http://www.networksolutions.com/en_US/whois/results.jhtml;jsessionid=RPRKO3RSAPVBICWLEALCFEY?whoistoken=0&_requestid=300257

photographersneeded.com
Registrant:
Domains by Proxy, Inc.
15111 N Hayden Rd., Suite 160
PMB353
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States

Registered through: GoDaddy.com
Domain Name: PHOTOGRAPHERSNEEDED.COM
Created on: 27-Sep-04
Expires on: 27-Sep-05
Last Updated on: 28-Sep-04

http://www.networksolutions.com/en_US/whois/results.jhtml;jsessionid=RPRKO3RSAPVBICWLEALCFEY?whoistoken=2&_requestid=300434

yourgoldenopportunity.net
Registrant:
Domains by Proxy, Inc.
15111 N Hayden Rd., Suite 160
PMB353
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States

Registered through: GoDaddy.com
Domain Name: YOURGOLDENOPPORTUNITY.NET
Created on: 12-Sep-04
Expires on: 12-Sep-05
Last Updated on: 12-Sep-04

NNOVIA.COM
Registrant: Make this info private
nNovia (22060252O)
1630 Oakland Rd.
Suite A 206
San Jose, CA 95131
US
Phone: 999 999 9999
Fax: 999 999 9999


Administrative Contact :
Caldeira, Robert
(RCC451)
robertcaldeira@AOL.COM
1650 Zanker Rd, Suite 126
San Jose, CA 95112
US
Phone: (408) 441-6916
Fax: 999 999 9999

Technical Contact :
Brenner, Michael R
(MB1617)
michael@BRENNERNETWORK.COM
PO BOX 1456
PEBBLE BEACH, CA 93953-1456
US
Phone: (831) 384-4141
Fax: (831) 884-0999

Record expires on 10-Apr-2005
Record created on 10-Apr-2000
Database last updated on 07-Jul-2004

*********
The first two websites were both registered by the same proxy company 15 days apart. Not liking that the domain registration was done with an intermediary but there are sometimes legitimate reasons for doing so. First website listed was found at the top of either domain and both are identical pages. Either this is a scam or the people deciding the domain names aren’t really bright. That’s just my opinion however. Site with hardware DV recorder seems to be legit, didn’t pursue that avenue really.
*********



http://fox59.trb.com/news/wxin-pm-meetourteam-bob.story

Bob Donaldson

Bob joined WXIN Fox 59 in 1991. He anchors Fox News at 10, one of the most successful newscasts in the Fox network. Besides his work at the anchor desk, Bob has been an Emmy- Nominated writer and producer of documentaries on Fox 59. His efforts also helped make WXIN-TV "Fox Station of the Year" in 1992. Bob graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism.

Bob began his professional career in the small Texas town of Beaumont. In seven years he climbed up the ladder of success. First in Oklahoma City as a reporter, then in Salt Lake City as an investigative reporter, Oklahoma again as a weekend anchor, and Little Rock, Arkansas, as a main anchor. Then, finally to Indianapolis as the main anchor for Fox News at 10.

Bob and his wife, Skye Winslow are the proud parents of two girls and a boy.

*********
Found this one pretty quickly. Appears that Mrs Skye Winslow and Mrs. Skye Donaldson are likely the same person. Perhaps a maden name that she has chosen to keep. Not a significant flag in my book. Another good avenue is that her husband is Robert Donaldson anchor for Fox News 10 in Indianapolis. Served there since 1991 is what I’m getting out of the bio. I think that’s quite a prestigious position and probably very financially secure. Doesn’t seem like a position to risk any bad press associated with false marketing etc.
*********


http://www.google.com/search?sa=X&oi=fwp&pb=f&q=skye+donaldson+indiana

Skye Donaldson - (317) 581-9847 - 9650 Copley Dr, Indianapolis, IN 46290


*********
Found this number on Google’s search. Listed in reverse telephone lookups to be owned by Skye Donaldson, Skye Winslow, S. W. Winslow, R. Donaldson, and an R. A. Donaldson. Very likely to be Robert her husband. Also found on http://www.daplus.us/ is lists some other information:
Est. Home Value: $350,000 - $399,999
Years at Address: 6
Est. Household Income: $201,000 - $499,999
Dwelling Type: House
I phoned a friend I had in Indianapolis who is familiar with the area and said that the address I gave him and subsequently looked up on www.mapquest.com was in a very wealthy area and would likely reflect a home location of a well-paid individual. He attempted to contact Mr. Donaldson but was unable to reach him at that time.
*********

[Jacob Ehrichs]

http://www.bavc.org/cgi-bin/paid_jobs.cgi?page=week

Accession number: 25576
Position: videographer
Company: Skye Winslow Productions, LLC
Hours: any
Pay: $100 and up
Union/Nonunion: Nonunion
Job Description: Hundreds of photographers in all 50 states to video tape narrated tours of real estate. Realtor contacts our site, requests video, pays immediately and photographer arranges the shoot day and time. Realtor gives on camera "narrated tour" of listed property. Photographer edits and posts FTP file to our server. Pay is immediate. Realtor pays $180. Photographer keeps $100 AND any additional a la carte fees. We are an international company and serve over 90,000 Realtors. NO FEES - NO COSTS to photographers other than required equipment.
Requirements: 3 CCD camera, wireless mic, basic editing skills, ability to shoot and edit within 48 hours. Must fill out questionnaire at www.photographersneeded.com
How To Apply: visit www.photographersneeded.com and fill out questionnaire or skyewinslow@aol.com
Contact: skye winslow
Date Submitted: Tue Sep 28 17:14:26 2004
Other: Permission for a background check, liability insurance and letter of non-compete is required.

*********
Found out the company name “Skye Winslow Productions, LLC” and it’s linked to the website and Mrs. Skye Winslow. Not anything groundbreaking but it’s just more fodder for Google.
*********



http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:S8WG_Z3kkL4J:https://www.filmunderground.com/Filmmaker/State/14/xt/Indiana.htm+Skye+Winslow+Indianapolis&hl=en&start=3

as retrieved on Mar 10, 2004 09:24:37 GMT

as of Oct 04, 2004 19:25:00 EST (when I looked) name no longer listed on site.

Winslow, Skye
9650 Copley Drive
Indianapolis, Indiana 46290
voice: 317-581-0546

Also a mirrored site: http://www.filmdeveloper.com/Filmmaker/State/14/xt/cfs_1.htm had the same info cached by Google but is no longer listed.

*********
Again, nothing huge but notice the phone number. Different than the one found previously. This number also registers to Mr. and Mrs. Donaldson in various forms but on Directory Assistance Plus it shows only 2 years at the current address with all other information being the same. Another phone line installed perhaps? Seems likely to me.
*********


http://www.co.hamilton.in.us/apps/reports/rptparcelinfo.asp?parcelno=1713100401012000

Parcel No: 17-13-10-04-01-012.000
Property Address: 9650 Copley DRIndianapolis, IN 46290 Deeded Owner: Donaldson, Robert A & Skye WinslowOwner Address:9650 Copley DRIndianapolis , IN46290
Legal Description: LACOMA ESTATES 167.6 X 475.2 A 2/11/93 FRM BRUMMER 9305667 9/11/95 FRM BRUMMER 9551305
Section/Township/Range: 10/17/03
Subdivision Name: LACOMA ESTATES
Block:
Deeded Acres: 0
Political Township: Clay
Lot Number(s): 4
Most Recent Recorded Date: Not Available.

*********
Found this on the Hamilton County Indiana page. Just cements for me that the address is correct and Mrs. Winslow and Mr. Donaldson are ‘together’. The pertinent information in email I received from Mrs. Winslow is listed below. Yet another different phone number that is unable to be traced via any of the reverse lookups I have available. I’m not willing to pay for Cellular number lookups so I was unable to determine if it is indeed a cellular number or not. Reverse lookup only had some slightly confirming information available. “The phone number "(317) 581-1766" is a Carmel, IN based phone number and the registered carrier is Ameritech Indiana.” Carmel IN is what I would consider a suburb of Indianapolis and the address provided is very likely in Carmel. I live in a suburb of Dayton and most of my mail comes addressed to Dayton and not the suburb name. The only other clue is that it’s carrier is Ameritech and is in Indiana. Ameritech was recently (2 or so years) bought up by SBC. SBC does have an agreement with Cingular Wireless for cellular service. Didn’t come up with anything conclusive with that avenue.
*********


Email received from Skye Winslow
SkyeDonaldson@aol.com
Tuesday, October 5, 2004 11:31 AM

Skye Winslow
9650 Copley Drive
Indianapolis, IN 46290
317-581-1766



*********

So in conclusion, I’ve determined that 1 I have way too much time on my hands, and 2 that there is a Skye Donaldson/Winslow that lives at the address provided and the numbers listed in other areas are also registered to her. The only questionable number is the one sent in the email, as I can find no information further on it. This leaves me with few options that this situation could boil down to.

1. Legit.
2. Someone is falsely using the Mrs. Winslow/Donaldson name to pull of quite an interesting scheme. Not sure what that purpose would be, and it would seem to be a lot of work to get some names, address (physical and email) and phone # at a minimum. The equipment listing section was optional and I only filled out a few of the fields.
3. Mrs. Donaldson is attempting to con people out of their personal information and gradually take over the world. Wait, forget that last part. Besides identity theft, or junk mail and spam, or physically coming to the address to loot, I can’t think of a reason to do that but the reasons mentioned are probably good enough for most people.
4. Mrs. Donaldson has herself been deceived into this venture, and may be dragging us into it without knowing. It’s a ‘fly by night’ company as Mr. Donald from the DV Info Net message board has suggested and is there to slowly real you in with little bait and then when you take the big hook they leave you hanging with no compensation for the big job you did for them. I can see that situation under the circumstance that Mrs. Donaldson has been deceived into this venture but I would think that with her husband’s position that she wouldn’t want any bad exposure. Plus they’ve had one of their numbers established for quite some years and own a home. Doesn’t seem like the kind of people to just disappear to me. The fact that I received a confirmation email from a noreply@photographersneeded.com and from what I think is Mrs. Donaldson’s personal email address SkyeDonaldson@aol.com. Seems a bit odd that if it was her ‘program’ that she wasn’t set up with some addresses with a. her Production company’s name (which does not have a domain registered that I can find), or b. the photographersneed.com site.




My judgment call on this on is that it’s likely #4 but I think it’d be really cool if it were #1. I look forward to receiving any more information on this venture. Must always err on the side of caution.





*********
Additional Site found Skye Winslow Productions, LLC. Oddly to me it talks about exercise equipment. Doesn’t seem to match anything else I’ve found and it is a cached link from Mar 8, 2004 05:54:08 GMT. Didn’t find any more leads in that area.

*********




http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:PaoUjQY36NAJ:www.alibaba.com/trade/globalbuyer/hotbuy%3FSearchText%3Djump_rope%26stype%3Dgb+%22Skye+Winslow%22&hl=en
YS Manufacturing [United States] Purchasing Products: sports and nutrition,Pilates exersize ball jump rope


Skye Winslow Productions, LLC [United States] Purchasing Products: Rhythmic gymnastic equipment for preschool children(balls, ribbons, clubs, jump ropes,hoops, etc.) 11 inch balloons, 16 inch punch balls, nylon scarfs, bean bags.Rhythmic ribbons should be of good quality, 2 meters in length with a swivel stick. The rhythmic ball or heavy weight plastic or rubber ball should be 6 inches in diameter. The gymnastic hoop should be 24 inches round and non-kink. The rhythmic jump rope has no handles. The gymnastic clubs can be plastic. The nylon scarfs can be 12 inches or 16 inches square. Bean bags should be square with plastic pellets. Punch balls should be 16 inches and be able to be screened with my company logo.

[Christopher C. Murphy]

Man, you should be a PI.

But, seriously...is this all not a waste of time or what? If they have venture capital to sustain their business this long without actually doing anything...well, that's questionable. The fact remains we've been doing all the work trying to get information. Any reputable company would not send out all this communication ASKING for information and not follow-up regularly. In any case, it's not worth the effort if it ain't flying by now..

[Bob Costa]

Jacob, you should do a video on "How to be an Internet sleuth".

I would not give any positive weight to the fact that they are well-known. Lots of well-known people (or their spouses) get into all kinds of questionable deals, including State Governors and Presidents.

Did you by chance do a lookup on their LLC?

Even if completely legit, it just does not look like a good deal unless you are a student, can drop everything on short notice, and don't need much income per hour. It sure would be interesting to see that non-compete and other contractual stuff. I bet it does nothing to protect us against client, copyright, or homeowner lawsuits.

[Rhett Allen]

I'm a little baffled.

WHO cares who it is? Do YOU really feel that your time, skill, sizable investment in equipment and inability to compete with them in the future is worth making a lousy $100 a day? (really, do you actually believe you could do more than one a day if they are across town, and these are Realtors we're talking about, you'll be there all day while they tell you how to do your job) The company makes more than you do off this and what do they have invested? Some website and a few phone calls? Whoopie! Why don't videographers just get off their butts and go get the work by themselves, and charge a fair price! (read, don't sell your soul for a nickel)


I don't really think it's a scam per se' as much as I think they are just trying to make a buck off of some poor unsuspecting soul.

[Jacob Ehrichs]

<<<-- Originally posted by John Galt : Jacob, you should do a video on "How to be an Internet sleuth".

I would not give any positive weight to the fact that they are well-known. Lots of well-known people (or their spouses) get into all kinds of questionable deals, including State Governors and Presidents.

Did you by chance do a lookup on their LLC?

Even if completely legit, it just does not look like a good deal unless you are a student, can drop everything on short notice, and don't need much income per hour. It sure would be interesting to see that non-compete and other contractual stuff. I bet it does nothing to protect us against client, copyright, or homeowner lawsuits. -->>>


I'll consider the video. :) No, not really, I just fed information into the google machine and out came more stuff. It's like that old TV show where they put in a bunch of random objects and out came a story book about it or something. Man that memory goes way back. :)

I didn't look up their LLC, as I really didn't have a good resource at the time for it, nor did I even think of it.

I also agree that it doesn't look like a very good deal for normal 'established' videographers. I'm full time employed in another field and the only times I'd be able to do such a thing is after work hours and possibly on the weekends. It'd take a lot of filming to make a living at $100 a commercial.

I'm not really interested in the 'work for hire' nature of the contract. If I do some good work, I'd want to keep it for a demo reel or something. Within their contract, you'd be giving up that right.

I think we should go section by section through the contract to see if anyone has any particulars they'd like to talk about. Think it'd be good, just from a learning standpoint, even if you don't become employed by GoLookInside.com.

[James Emory]

I totally agree with Chris and Rhett. Even if it's not a scam, it's just not worth fooling with because of the terms, all of that red tape and most importantly that low pay. No legitimate job should be that hard to get. If it's that difficult to just get started, imagine trying to get paid!

It sounds as if this is their last minute attempt to get in on a market that is quickly shrinking. There are alot of people doing this so it makes more since to just do it for yourself and keep the middleman out of it.

[Bruce S. Yarock]

I talked to her a month ago.She has no conceete business. It's either a scam, or fantasy/delusion. A big WASTE of time and bandwidth. The original poster was probably her shill.
Bruce Yarock

[James Emory]

Uhhh, what is a shill?