What do you do for a living?

February 11th, 2003, 02:48 PM

hello from ny. i can tell im a youngin to the scene. im 17 and ive been skateboarding for years now. it has done alot and has got me into filming (filming is major in skateboarding today) and video editing. i have since developed a skill which i hope to make a career as some of my friends have already started attending art universities. im highly interested in nature and observant of human behavior causing me to seem a bit antisocial at times. i am using a trv950 and hope that i can build on with my filming career.

Tim McGreggor · February 11th, 2003, 06:40 PM

Hi, I am 18 and have had a passon for film and tv ever since I could remember. I was makeing short films back in the early 90's with my brother. I can still remember Hooking the Camera Up to the VCR that you actually had to carry around with you on your sholder while you filmed.

I now Film with A Gl2 and Love it. I have done Special Effects In Vancouver on a short film. "Salmon Chanted evening" And A tv Commerical. For A local dary farm.

Since Im still in school I cant start work in film, But what I really want to do Is become a Camera Opperator, Or DOP.

Michael Dontigney · February 19th, 2003, 03:09 PM

Hello,
I've been a commercial electrician for the past 15 years. The last 5 years I've been getting into video making, and doing wedding/event videos (mostly wedding). Three years ago, I got a business licence and started "TekVideo" http://www.tekvideo.net
Last year business really started picking up when I started offering free demo DVDs and more people were able to see the quality of my work. Even my demo DVD has advanced motion menus which hardly nobody in the Atlanta area offers for wedding clients. This year I've booked many weekends in a row, and many months are completely booked up. Business is very good. This winter I did my first big time video for Yamaha Golf car division that was shown at the PGA tour. The client called me yesterday and requested roughly 200 copies of the DVD At $30 a copy which cost me $2 a copy to make, you do the math. =)
I just got off the phone with my employer of 10 years.. I'm going part-time in the electrical field. Things are looking good for me this year. I'm a bit nervous, but think I can make it happen.

George Brackett III · February 21st, 2003, 02:00 PM

I'm a chemical engineer in snowy central NY. I used to be into 35mm SLR photography (Minolta SRT-101) but that got boring. Bought my first camcorder over 10 years ago (Pansonic VHS-C), got a cheap JVC digital a couple of years ago and learned NLE on Video Wave and Premiere. Just got my GL2 and Vegas 4. I make instructional videos for work, hope to branch out. Oh, and I'm a computer geek, and used to make web sites on the side. This forum is by far the most useful I've seen yet...

Max Mishler · February 23rd, 2003, 01:34 AM

I've been a shooter in a live entertainment theater for around 8 years now. I use a full size camera (Hitachi Z-One) minus a deck since we are doing video solely for image mag. We also have 3 other remote control camera's that are strictly used for go-between static shots when I need to change position or something. Considering we do on the fly, live editing I think we get a good product. I'm fairly new to dv but I do have an Optura Pi for fun. I will be purchasing a GL2 in the next few weeks and I'm hoping to get into a some small event videography as well as hopefully do some small shorts and what not. Of course already being committed to shoot six nights a week doesn't exactly leave me available for much. In case anyone is planning on coming to the Myrtle Beach area, make sure you drop in to see a show. (shameless plug...lol) visit us at thecarolinaopry.com

Max

Will Fastie · March 3rd, 2003, 09:16 AM

I am an independent, management-level, information technology consultant. My work is usually about IT strategy, architecture, and costing. I also do project and IT department audits, tasked by management to help clean up a problem or at least understand what's going on. I usually operate at the CTO level.

I've gotten interested in video and, along with my brother, am working on a commercial project for sale to the mass market. I guess it's technically a film project, but not a movie.

My entrepreneurial side has been piqued. I'm finding the whole thing much more interesting than my day job. Now all I have to do is finish it and sell it.

If only I knew as much about this business as I do about my business...

Steve Briante · March 3rd, 2003, 04:57 PM

I'm a union camera assistant in NYC. This is my first posted entry. I just joined your site today, and I think its great.

I worked at a corporate production house first as a PA, then working up to the "in house" art director. We did all the media suport for Pfizer Pharmaceutical here in NYC and abroad. I made a few good contacts and left to freelance as a PA in the film and television industry in NYC. Couldn't sit at a desk any longer.

Starting over as a freelancer, I supported myself as a PA then as a coordinator and finally as a production manager in the commercial film industry. I finally realized I was staring down being a producer when I left that side of the business to get back to what I truely loved, the camera. I took the union test in '99 and three years later here we are.

Throughout all this story telling I had been shooting film as well as video. I have a good friend who allows me to shoot with his cameras a Sony DSR500, VX-1000 or a Arri SR3. I am now looking into purchasing the Panasonic AG-VX100 or either the Sony VX-2000 or the PD150. I also have invested in a G4 tower a Sony DRS11 along with FCP3 to edit my projects. Any advise on comparing these cameras is more than welcomed.

I have numerous music video credits, one unseen documentary (produced by the Greek government) indie-features as well as short credits and commercial credits as a DP.

I still make more money in one day as a camera assistant than I can in a week as a DP on some indie jobs but I love to do it. I also agree with what Redgumtv stated earlier about never giving up.

Richard Austin · March 10th, 2003, 06:16 AM

Hi all this is my first post on this site!,

im currently a greenkeeper in Western Australia and have been into dv for 2 years now. I started by doing small things for my local church and youth group and as i became more into it I purchased more equipment. I became accociated with a few other guys in our city and recently we made a youth style series for our local community TV station. This was an awesome experience for me, seeing my work on TV was very rewarding (even if it was community tv) we were also nominated for several awards.

At the moment im always thinking of how i can get out of my current job and move into the area that im passionate about---dv. We are currently in the middle of starting out our own business in the area of wedding videos and promotional work. There are three of us going into this, all with different talents----camera and editing, media and graphic design and sound.

We are hoping to develop a good production team so that one day we may be able to break our positions up more and allow us to tackle larger productions.

We are at the stage of developing a business plan so i guess you could say we are still dreaming but we are all committed and very passionate about making this work. Its quite dawnting seeing the price needi\ed to start up our business. But we will start off small and work our way up i guess.

Im rambling on, thats a bit of my story anyway.

:-)

Aaron Koolen · March 10th, 2003, 04:55 PM

I'm a 31 year old software engineer for Symantec New Zealand - most well known for Norton Antivirus but I work on a program called Ghost which is a hardrive imaging product. I programmed computer games for a few years before that which I really enjoyed until being ripped off by the company I worked for . ;)

Strange as it may seem, it took a very long time for me to realise that the reason I got into computers (way back when I was 12) was more because of a creative desire than a technical one, but once I did, things became a lot clearer. Over the last couple of years my creative urges started to take hold and I took acting classes and started to get into DV.

My main desire is to tell stories, and inform, through pictures - and DV is a realtively cheap way to get into it, learn, and actually get stuff done without a massive budget. My biggest, long term interest lies in documentary filmmaking, with the topic of heart being animal rights. I am also keen on dramatic movies and have a short movie in the works that I want to shoot sometime this year for a laugh.

Hopefully, like others here, the passion for drama, dv, doccos, whatever, can turn into what I do fulltime and earn enough to live while I do it.

Thanks to all on the board for both the technical help and inspiration you've given over the year I've been here.

Cheers
Aaron

Ed Fiebke · March 13th, 2003, 01:09 AM

My "Day Job" (actually I work nights): an RN staff nurse in an ICU/CCU for a small rural hospital.

My "Other Job" (which requires me to be an RN to help pay the bills): My wife and I own a small production company with a focus on nursing and healthcare issues. We produce albums (CD's) and live shows for nursing and other healthcare organizations that are humorous and educational in nature.

I basically got into DV world as a way to produce DVD or VHS demo tapes to help promote our small and growing business. To be honest, though, video work has been a long sought-after dream (over 20 years) which is only recently coming true.

I lurk around here a lot (and even post a few questions here and there). As said before, this is an informative and supportive site. My gratitude to those who keep it running!

Regards,

Ted

Yow Cheong Hoe · March 13th, 2003, 05:01 AM

In the day, I am a nerdie and normal civil and structural consulting engineer, chasing the bucks by doing design and answering queries from the construction site of the bridges under my care.

In the night I am... drum-roll... spot lights... smoke and lasers... husband of 1 wife, father of 1 daugther (more children to come by), hobbyist in video and photgraphy, part-timer in graphics design, active in church cell-group and in my free time, I go to forums like this, spend some time and get to know other photography and video folks. Sometimes, I also freelance videos for trainings and events.

I started video about 4 years ago, straight into MiniDV, because I found analog quite a bore to work on. My serious photography started last year, when my pay came to a level that I can actually enjoy these expensive hobbies!

I am a Malaysian Chinese, staying and working in Singapore. And I can tell you that Malaysian rainforests are WONDERFUL for photgraphy and videos of nature.

Frank Granovski · March 13th, 2003, 05:53 AM

Doug Quance, yes there's money to be made with shooting funerals. I don't charge a lot though. Anywhere from $120 to $220; sometimes I do it for free. It's a lot easier shooting a funeral than a wedding: the main subject keeps still for you, and there isn't a lot of action---so you don't have to run silly all over the place. Instead of shooting a happy occasion, you are shooting sadness. You get used to it, plus I look at this as doing something good, since I don't think that too many videographers are dying to get into this business.

Ed Fiebke · March 13th, 2003, 05:07 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Frank Granovski : . . . .It's a lot easier shooting a funeral than a wedding: the main subject keeps still for you, and there isn't a lot of action---so you don't have to run silly all over the place. . . . . -->>>

ROFLOL!!!

I know your post was meant to be serious, but this sentence really tickled my funny bone! <chuckle>

As an oncology and ICU/CCU nurse, I've seen a lot of death. As a church organist and choir director, I've played countless funerals (and weddings!) One thing is for sure: Dead people are very still! Certainly slow on the action too! :)

Peace and humor! :)

Ted

Rob Lohman · March 15th, 2003, 08:05 AM

Aaron,

It seems we have the same occupation and I can tell you that
I've used both products you have worked on extensively
(especially Ghost! Thanks for that!!)

I might have gotten into computers for a creative reason as
well. Writing computer programs could be seen as a creative
thing... I think.

Aaron Koolen · March 16th, 2003, 02:33 PM

Hey Rob. Good to here Ghost goes well for you. I think games development is very creative, well it was when I was doing it cause we were all involved in the design and decisions so we had to make everything from scratch but yeah it is also very technical ;) Do/did you write games at all? There are/were a lot of skilled developers from the netherlands expecially in the days of the Amiga, with all the demo crews and all. Oops, going off topic.

Cheers
Aaron

February 21st, 2003, 02:00 PM	#34
George Brackett III Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Waterville, NY USA Posts: 83	I'm a chemical engineer in snowy central NY. I used to be into 35mm SLR photography (Minolta SRT-101) but that got boring. Bought my first camcorder over 10 years ago (Pansonic VHS-C), got a cheap JVC digital a couple of years ago and learned NLE on Video Wave and Premiere. Just got my GL2 and Vegas 4. I make instructional videos for work, hope to branch out. Oh, and I'm a computer geek, and used to make web sites on the side. This forum is by far the most useful I've seen yet... __________________ If the quality of mercy is not strained, then how do they get the lumps out?

March 10th, 2003, 06:16 AM	#38
Richard Austin New Boot Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 20	my dream Hi all this is my first post on this site!, im currently a greenkeeper in Western Australia and have been into dv for 2 years now. I started by doing small things for my local church and youth group and as i became more into it I purchased more equipment. I became accociated with a few other guys in our city and recently we made a youth style series for our local community TV station. This was an awesome experience for me, seeing my work on TV was very rewarding (even if it was community tv) we were also nominated for several awards. At the moment im always thinking of how i can get out of my current job and move into the area that im passionate about---dv. We are currently in the middle of starting out our own business in the area of wedding videos and promotional work. There are three of us going into this, all with different talents----camera and editing, media and graphic design and sound. We are hoping to develop a good production team so that one day we may be able to break our positions up more and allow us to tackle larger productions. We are at the stage of developing a business plan so i guess you could say we are still dreaming but we are all committed and very passionate about making this work. Its quite dawnting seeing the price needi\ed to start up our business. But we will start off small and work our way up i guess. Im rambling on, thats a bit of my story anyway. :-)

March 13th, 2003, 01:09 AM	#40
Ed Fiebke Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: New Lebanon, New York Posts: 240	My "Day Job" (actually I work nights): an RN staff nurse in an ICU/CCU for a small rural hospital. My "Other Job" (which requires me to be an RN to help pay the bills): My wife and I own a small production company with a focus on nursing and healthcare issues. We produce albums (CD's) and live shows for nursing and other healthcare organizations that are humorous and educational in nature. I basically got into DV world as a way to produce DVD or VHS demo tapes to help promote our small and growing business. To be honest, though, video work has been a long sought-after dream (over 20 years) which is only recently coming true. I lurk around here a lot (and even post a few questions here and there). As said before, this is an informative and supportive site. My gratitude to those who keep it running! Regards, Ted __________________ iMac Pro (3.2 GHz 8-Core Intel Xeon W ): OS X 10.15.6; 64 GBs RAM; Radeon Pro Vega 64X 16 GB graphics; 2 TB internal SSD; 3 external SSDs; MOTU 828ES

March 13th, 2003, 05:01 AM	#41
Yow Cheong Hoe Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Singapore, Passport: Malaysia Posts: 407	In the day, I am a nerdie and normal civil and structural consulting engineer, chasing the bucks by doing design and answering queries from the construction site of the bridges under my care. In the night I am... drum-roll... spot lights... smoke and lasers... husband of 1 wife, father of 1 daugther (more children to come by), hobbyist in video and photgraphy, part-timer in graphics design, active in church cell-group and in my free time, I go to forums like this, spend some time and get to know other photography and video folks. Sometimes, I also freelance videos for trainings and events. I started video about 4 years ago, straight into MiniDV, because I found analog quite a bore to work on. My serious photography started last year, when my pay came to a level that I can actually enjoy these expensive hobbies! I am a Malaysian Chinese, staying and working in Singapore. And I can tell you that Malaysian rainforests are WONDERFUL for photgraphy and videos of nature. __________________ Cam: Panasonic MX350EN, SOLD my MX8EN Mac: G3 400MHz PowerBook, 256 MB, OS 9 PC: Pentium 4 2800MHz, 512 MB, WindowsXP SW: iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, Ulead Video Studio, various little utilities

March 13th, 2003, 05:07 PM	#43
Ed Fiebke Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: New Lebanon, New York Posts: 240	<<<-- Originally posted by Frank Granovski : . . . .It's a lot easier shooting a funeral than a wedding: the main subject keeps still for you, and there isn't a lot of action---so you don't have to run silly all over the place. . . . . -->>> ROFLOL!!! I know your post was meant to be serious, but this sentence really tickled my funny bone! <chuckle> As an oncology and ICU/CCU nurse, I've seen a lot of death. As a church organist and choir director, I've played countless funerals (and weddings!) One thing is for sure: Dead people are very still! Certainly slow on the action too! :) Peace and humor! :) Ted __________________ iMac Pro (3.2 GHz 8-Core Intel Xeon W ): OS X 10.15.6; 64 GBs RAM; Radeon Pro Vega 64X 16 GB graphics; 2 TB internal SSD; 3 external SSDs; MOTU 828ES

February 11th, 2003, 02:48 PM	#31
polyamory Posts: n/a	hello from ny. i can tell im a youngin to the scene. im 17 and ive been skateboarding for years now. it has done alot and has got me into filming (filming is major in skateboarding today) and video editing. i have since developed a skill which i hope to make a career as some of my friends have already started attending art universities. im highly interested in nature and observant of human behavior causing me to seem a bit antisocial at times. i am using a trv950 and hope that i can build on with my filming career.

February 11th, 2003, 06:40 PM	#32
Tim McGreggor New Boot Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Toronto Ont Canada Posts: 20	Hi, I am 18 and have had a passon for film and tv ever since I could remember. I was makeing short films back in the early 90's with my brother. I can still remember Hooking the Camera Up to the VCR that you actually had to carry around with you on your sholder while you filmed. I now Film with A Gl2 and Love it. I have done Special Effects In Vancouver on a short film. "Salmon Chanted evening" And A tv Commerical. For A local dary farm. Since Im still in school I cant start work in film, But what I really want to do Is become a Camera Opperator, Or DOP.

February 19th, 2003, 03:09 PM	#33
Michael Dontigney Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Atlanta, Ga. Posts: 103	Hello, I've been a commercial electrician for the past 15 years. The last 5 years I've been getting into video making, and doing wedding/event videos (mostly wedding). Three years ago, I got a business licence and started "TekVideo" http://www.tekvideo.net Last year business really started picking up when I started offering free demo DVDs and more people were able to see the quality of my work. Even my demo DVD has advanced motion menus which hardly nobody in the Atlanta area offers for wedding clients. This year I've booked many weekends in a row, and many months are completely booked up. Business is very good. This winter I did my first big time video for Yamaha Golf car division that was shown at the PGA tour. The client called me yesterday and requested roughly 200 copies of the DVD At $30 a copy which cost me $2 a copy to make, you do the math. =) I just got off the phone with my employer of 10 years.. I'm going part-time in the electrical field. Things are looking good for me this year. I'm a bit nervous, but think I can make it happen.

February 23rd, 2003, 01:34 AM	#35
Max Mishler Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Myrtle Beach, SC Posts: 53	I've been a shooter in a live entertainment theater for around 8 years now. I use a full size camera (Hitachi Z-One) minus a deck since we are doing video solely for image mag. We also have 3 other remote control camera's that are strictly used for go-between static shots when I need to change position or something. Considering we do on the fly, live editing I think we get a good product. I'm fairly new to dv but I do have an Optura Pi for fun. I will be purchasing a GL2 in the next few weeks and I'm hoping to get into a some small event videography as well as hopefully do some small shorts and what not. Of course already being committed to shoot six nights a week doesn't exactly leave me available for much. In case anyone is planning on coming to the Myrtle Beach area, make sure you drop in to see a show. (shameless plug...lol) visit us at thecarolinaopry.com Max

March 3rd, 2003, 09:16 AM	#36
Will Fastie Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Jarrettsville, MD Posts: 353	I am an independent, management-level, information technology consultant. My work is usually about IT strategy, architecture, and costing. I also do project and IT department audits, tasked by management to help clean up a problem or at least understand what's going on. I usually operate at the CTO level. I've gotten interested in video and, along with my brother, am working on a commercial project for sale to the mass market. I guess it's technically a film project, but not a movie. My entrepreneurial side has been piqued. I'm finding the whole thing much more interesting than my day job. Now all I have to do is finish it and sell it. If only I knew as much about this business as I do about my business...

March 3rd, 2003, 04:57 PM	#37
Steve Briante Tourist Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: New York, New York Posts: 2	I'm a union camera assistant in NYC. This is my first posted entry. I just joined your site today, and I think its great. I worked at a corporate production house first as a PA, then working up to the "in house" art director. We did all the media suport for Pfizer Pharmaceutical here in NYC and abroad. I made a few good contacts and left to freelance as a PA in the film and television industry in NYC. Couldn't sit at a desk any longer. Starting over as a freelancer, I supported myself as a PA then as a coordinator and finally as a production manager in the commercial film industry. I finally realized I was staring down being a producer when I left that side of the business to get back to what I truely loved, the camera. I took the union test in '99 and three years later here we are. Throughout all this story telling I had been shooting film as well as video. I have a good friend who allows me to shoot with his cameras a Sony DSR500, VX-1000 or a Arri SR3. I am now looking into purchasing the Panasonic AG-VX100 or either the Sony VX-2000 or the PD150. I also have invested in a G4 tower a Sony DRS11 along with FCP3 to edit my projects. Any advise on comparing these cameras is more than welcomed. I have numerous music video credits, one unseen documentary (produced by the Greek government) indie-features as well as short credits and commercial credits as a DP. I still make more money in one day as a camera assistant than I can in a week as a DP on some indie jobs but I love to do it. I also agree with what Redgumtv stated earlier about never giving up.

March 10th, 2003, 04:55 PM	#39
Aaron Koolen Trustee Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 1,727	I'm a 31 year old software engineer for Symantec New Zealand - most well known for Norton Antivirus but I work on a program called Ghost which is a hardrive imaging product. I programmed computer games for a few years before that which I really enjoyed until being ripped off by the company I worked for . ;) Strange as it may seem, it took a very long time for me to realise that the reason I got into computers (way back when I was 12) was more because of a creative desire than a technical one, but once I did, things became a lot clearer. Over the last couple of years my creative urges started to take hold and I took acting classes and started to get into DV. My main desire is to tell stories, and inform, through pictures - and DV is a realtively cheap way to get into it, learn, and actually get stuff done without a massive budget. My biggest, long term interest lies in documentary filmmaking, with the topic of heart being animal rights. I am also keen on dramatic movies and have a short movie in the works that I want to shoot sometime this year for a laugh. Hopefully, like others here, the passion for drama, dv, doccos, whatever, can turn into what I do fulltime and earn enough to live while I do it. Thanks to all on the board for both the technical help and inspiration you've given over the year I've been here. Cheers Aaron

March 13th, 2003, 05:53 AM	#42
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Doug Quance, yes there's money to be made with shooting funerals. I don't charge a lot though. Anywhere from $120 to $220; sometimes I do it for free. It's a lot easier shooting a funeral than a wedding: the main subject keeps still for you, and there isn't a lot of action---so you don't have to run silly all over the place. Instead of shooting a happy occasion, you are shooting sadness. You get used to it, plus I look at this as doing something good, since I don't think that too many videographers are dying to get into this business.

March 15th, 2003, 08:05 AM	#44
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	Aaron, It seems we have the same occupation and I can tell you that I've used both products you have worked on extensively (especially Ghost! Thanks for that!!) I might have gotten into computers for a creative reason as well. Writing computer programs could be seen as a creative thing... I think. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

March 16th, 2003, 02:33 PM	#45
Aaron Koolen Trustee Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 1,727	Hey Rob. Good to here Ghost goes well for you. I think games development is very creative, well it was when I was doing it cause we were all involved in the design and decisions so we had to make everything from scratch but yeah it is also very technical ;) Do/did you write games at all? There are/were a lot of skilled developers from the netherlands expecially in the days of the Amiga, with all the demo crews and all. Oops, going off topic. Cheers Aaron