I need help!!!

[Spiros Zaharakis]

Originally Posted by Mike Beckett

Your statement implies that there are no useful options under $2k, and that Amanda (and anyone else haplessly browsing along here) will assume there's no point going for anything other that a $200 piece of crud.

I don't think that his statement implies anything like that. Maybe the offers you mentioned have true fluid heads but he didn't say that the friction heads are not useful and that there is no point for anything other than the Chinese tripod.
It's amazing how people interpret words.

[Mike Beckett]

Spiros,

First of all, I'm not trying to pick a fight with the wedding guys, I'm not experienced in that area and am not trying to tell anyone off. If equipment works for you, then that's all that matters.

My interpretation of the post is just that, an interpretation - yours will be different, as will everyone else's. I may be wrong, you may be wrong, who knows, but I believe my interpretation is no less valid than anyone else. Maybe I came over a bit strong, for which I apologise for - sorry, Denny, I did not been to be abrasive.

Regarding this: "No sub $2000 tripod is a true fluid head":
- You can now get very good heads at the $1000 level, and lower. Vinten and Sachtler have really good models in that price range, with "proper" fluid heads. This is mainly driven by the DSLR market, who up until now have had no way to get a quality tripod that copes with lower payloads.

I clearly do not know which Chinese tripod Denny is using. I have used tripods that cost $50, $200, $500, $1000, $2000, made in all sorts of places - China, Korea (I think), Germany and England. Someone once said that an expert was someone who has made all the mistakes - I may not be an expert yet, but I've made enough mistakes to feel I can comment occasionally.

I would be very surprised if a $200 tripod could come close to a $1000 tripod in performance. It may suffice, and it may be just what you need - who knows, it's all up to the individual to decide.

But I would rather that any newcomer heard an alternative view, that there were options available in the price range.

I'll get me coat and crawl back off to the tripods forum now...

[Chris Harding]

Hi Mike

Don't feel bad!! Plenty of us would LIKE a $2K tripod!! But it's not business sense to spend $40K on gear when your business is only going to turnover $20K!!

I I was doing commercial shoots then I could justify a $2K tripod. I just do budget weddings so my tripods are pretty cheap (yes, around the $200 mark) Actually they perform remarkably well (Weifeng with 75mm bowls) and even after a year the action is silky smooth!! Made in Taiwan to be exact.

Amanda here is basically testing the waters in her area so she could get by with a cheaper tripod for now. I have got by with both my Weifeng's for many years and never a jerky shot!!

Chris

[Mike Beckett]

Hey Chris -

I guess as a hobbyist, I don't need to justify buying myself expensive presents like a tripod, I can just go out and buy them! <insert smiley>

[Amanda Duncan]

I work in an office of women. One of the girls here paid 700 bucks for a woman to shoot her wedding in Nov. The lady was a friend of her mother's. When the wedding was over (as in that night!) the lady hands her two digital 8 tapes and says "here ya go kiddo"!!! She didn't even put the raw footage on DVD....NOTHING!!! Soooo, Jackie hears through the grapevine that I am getting started and begs me to take these tapes and do something with them. I tell her that I am just getting started and she's fine with it being a first editing project and says she will pay me $500 just to give her something ANYTHING. I tell her it is going to be a while because I have this huge learning curve and still don't even have editing software, just a brand new mac. Again, she's fine with it.

Then, a friend of mine who owns a resort in Utah asks if I will come there to shoot an informational dvd/commercial type deal for his biz and says he is willing to pay 5K!!!! I tell him the same thing that I don't even have all equipment yet, plus learning curve, yadda yadda. He says he doesn't care, just do it when I feel comfy doing it, but if I can do it by April that would be great.

THEN, my old piano instructor gets wind that I am getting started and asks if I will video recital in April. Same conversation....again!!! And again...she says no problem, just want the basics anyway.

THEN THEN THEN....friend/coworker from old work calls and says she has wedding in June .....same conversation...same response.

So, here I am....haven't even picked up a silly camera and I have all the projects in line that my friends are confident that I can pull off. My big fear is the Utah project because it's a lot of money. I'm glad my people have faith, but I'm slightly on the scared side. The utah project will generate enough cash for some really cool equip. I'm nowhere and you guys KNOW that I am NOWHERE close to being ready and so do they but still are holding out for me...gotta love southern loyalty!!! I also have some transfer projects that came in by same means. So, I'm gonna get my feet wet there too. All together I have like five projects with nothing even bought yet. All of that just because so and so told so and so that I was moving into the world of video. So, without advertising (wasn't even on the schedule to do for months and months and months anyway) I have already got my hands full. God HELP ME!!! Lol.

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Chris Harding

I I was doing commercial shoots then I could justify a $2K tripod. I just do budget weddings so my tripods are pretty cheap (yes, around the $200 mark) Actually they perform remarkably well (Weifeng with 75mm bowls) and even after a year the action is silky smooth!! Made in Taiwan to be exact.

Amanda here is basically testing the waters in her area so she could get by with a cheaper tripod for now. I have got by with both my Weifeng's for many years and never a jerky shot!!

I think that it was Chris who put me on to the Weifeng tripods but they are really amazing value. They are of course not quite as good as a $1K or $2K tripod but may be plenty good enough & it does mean that you can afford to have multiple cameras each sitting on a half-way decent tripod. The are sold under other names too. These are branded 'Fancier' Fancier WF-717 Pro Video Camera Tripod with Fluid Head on eBay (end time 07-Feb-11 12:37:00 GMT)

[Claire Buckley]

Originally Posted by Amanda Duncan

I'm losing my mind with information overload... I want in the biz. I know I can produce a wedding vid that will melt brides....because I was one!!!

Hi Amanda.

To turn the phrase in your OP: I was once a baby but I don't want to be a midwife :)

I have just loved reading this thread and your enthusiasm, and the great advice given by all the guys here and I wish you your hearts desire.

It's really a story about creating something where something didn't exist - gosh, maybe I should have been a midwife?

I came into this biz in the mid 1970s (I'll leave you to work out my age). I did so because I wanted to work in television. I had a degree in electronics and worked in the electronics manufacturing industry and battled my way through all the dross comments when my peers were becoming typists and secretaries. I was definitely not of this world at that time.

I was fortunate to be awarded a traineeship in one the UK's biggest television networks - and so it began.

Having a dream - an ambition - is fine, but it does need to be backed up with knowledge and skill, ability and (often) good luck. If you have one or more, then off you go. But alll here often learned from mistakes too, so expect to make one or two on your journey.

Hope to see your first video, but remember learn the very basics, learn the knowledge and develop the skill. The information from others here will be a good start.

Good luck :)

[Michael Simons]

Originally Posted by Amanda Duncan

One of the girls here paid 700 bucks for a woman to shoot her wedding in Nov. The lady was a friend of her mother's. When the wedding was over (as in that night!) the lady hands her two digital 8 tapes and says "here ya go kiddo"!!! She didn't even put the raw footage on DVD....NOTHING!!! Soooo, Jackie hears through the grapevine that I am getting started and begs me to take these tapes and do something with them.

So you're the guy in the desert selling hamburgers. ;-) If you build it, they will come.

[Claire Buckley]

To quote the title of your thread Amanda "I need help". Yep for sure girl! How about subcontracting the work and becoming second string as someone has already suggested?

@Michael

"If you build it, they will come." Wasn't that about about some dead people who had potential but never really made it? Oh, I see your point here :)

I think Amanda, now's the time to break the alarm glass and seek some hands-on help.

:)

[George Kilroy]

Is Digital 8 still a used format?
How are you going to get that onto any system?
I though I was in the backwoods here in the middle of England but I've not seen or heard of anyone using Digital 8 in a decade, and even then never for shooting weddings for other people.

[Michael Simons]

@Michael

"If you build it, they will come." Wasn't that about about some dead people who had potential but never really made it? Oh, I see your point here :)

Kevin Costner built a baseball field in the middle of his cornfield..the people came. I'm guessing he was the only game in town. Much like Amanda, she's the only game in town and she should capitalize on that.

[Claire Buckley]

Yep Michael I know the film (movie) I was just trying to give a different slant - but I think it really was a film (movie) about the reward of missed opportunity.

:)

Edit: Field of Dreams

[Bill Vincent]

Amanda, I still have a Digital-8 camera, although I don't shoot with it. It was my first digital camera! ;)

I will transcode to ProRes and put the footage on a drive for you if you'll send me the drive or just order a cheap one off Amazon to send to me. There are others here who know me and will vouch that I won't just be taking a drive from you. :) I can turn it around quickly and send you the drive back with the files. If you need references, lemme know. Others here can probably offer this too, but I didn't see anyone offering - so I'll step up. Email me - bill [at] billvincent dot net and we can work out details - I'll do this for next to nothing for you.

As for your corporate shoot in Utah, I'd be very careful if you haven't really done much of that type of work before. Arrangements and talk may seem informal until you arrive, but the situation you are walking into may be totally different than you had imagined before you left. You'd be much better off talking to one of the local Utah people here and teaming with them on this. David Perry is in Utah, and would at least probably know someone to help you, if not helping you himself. Look him up - davidperryfilms.com.

[Noel Lising]

Originally Posted by Amanda Duncan

I work in an office of women. One of the girls here paid 700 bucks for a woman to shoot her wedding in Nov. The lady was a friend of her mother's. When the wedding was over (as in that night!) the lady hands her two digital 8 tapes and says "here ya go kiddo"!!! She didn't even put the raw footage on DVD....NOTHING!!! Soooo, Jackie hears through the grapevine that I am getting started and begs me to take these tapes and do something with them. I tell her that I am just getting started and she's fine with it being a first editing project and says she will pay me $500 just to give her something ANYTHING. I tell her it is going to be a while because I have this huge learning curve and still don't even have editing software, just a brand new mac. Again, she's fine with it.

Two (2) Digital 8 and she get's paid $ 700? I am moving there tonight. =)

[Don Bloom]

I've watched this thread with interest. Funny how we all got started. Not HA HA funny but ironic.

Anyway, Amanda, you've gotten some really great advice and insite here, and God love you for getting the kind of work without even really "being" in the business. As for Bill Vincents offer, I would take him up on it. I think about 100 or more people here would vouch for him. To the best of my knowledge he's never been convicted so he's OK ;-) (Bill you know I'm kidding) You can use your MAC and just use iMovie and iDVD to edit and burn and you would be surprised as to how much you'll pick up just from doing that.

As for the Colorado job, while it sounds great on the surface there is a whole lot of information you'll need before you even buy your tickets out there not to mention equipment. Not just camera(s) and tripod(s) but also audio gear, probably more than just a single lav, and lighting is probably going to be needed.

All of that aside, there is also the fact that you'll need to figure out by talking to the client exactly what they want and how they want to present it. I always ask a corporate client, 1)"What's the message?" 2)"Who is your audience?" and 3) "What is the method of delivery? Is it DVD, webamercial, TV?"

Weddings are quite different than commerical work so perhaps for that you might want to think about "selling" the job to another more experienced person and work with that person as a grip/PA/cameraperson. Especially since the "client" is a friend. You never want to lose a friend over the work.

Just my $.02 worth. I could make it a dollars worth but my post is long enough.
Not matter what you decide, good luck in your venture, keep your eyes open, do you best and most importanly, just get out and do it.