F.64 Backpack Review - The Best in Big

I'm not hatin' on you, but here's the truth:  my bag be better than your bag.

If you love big bags (and who doesn’t) then my absolute favorite is the F.64 Large Format camera backpack. It is the best big bag at any price, and it costs less than any other bag in it’s size range.  

As a one-man production band, I like to keep my gear compact, and as easy to carry as possible.  This means one backpack for all my camera and audio gear, a rolling bag for lights, and a separate golf bag for stands and sticks.  I can get my full camera setup, complete with back up camera, three lenses, gimbal, audio gear, and drone into the F.64.  Or three cameras and four lenses.  Or... you get the idea: it's big and it's flexible.

I kept my eye on the F.64 for almost 3 years before I sprang for one.  It’s designed for large format film cameras.  This not only means more space, but it somehow avoided the rat-race of bag pricing.  This well-made backpack comes in at the phenomenal price of roughly $140 bucks.  I honestly can’t tell you how much more room you get for the dollar.  The Mindshift Gear 26L, for example, give you 20% packing space and costs $100 more.  Don't even talk to me about Manfrotto packs.  The base unit comes with two side bags, and you can purchase more for about $20 each. 

The zippers are pretty strong, the shoulder straps are probably not comfy enough for long hikes, but they’re great for getting your gear short distances. Much of the bag is double-stitched for sturdiness, and I expect it to last a least a decade. I'm told that the backpack minus-the-side-bags qualifies as a carry on, but it pushes the limit so you might want to check with your airline just to be sure.  Not all airlines (or all airplanes) have the same size limit.  How big is it?

The Specs:  

• Exterior: 23"x14"x7"
• Interior Lower compartment:  13"x13"x6"
• Interior Upper compartment:  8"x13"x6
• Maximum volume: 8.5lbs
• Bag weight:  6.3lbs

What’s it missing?  Well, there’s one aspect of the bag that may give some of you pause:  It doesn’t have a slot for a laptop.  Depending on how you shoot and what other bags you carry, this may be a deal-breaker.  For day-to-day work, I find that I never take my laptop.  Unless I'm re-creating a studio setup for a client (extremely rare), it's just too cumbersome.  For longer trips, though, the lack of laptop space could be an issue.  It also doesn’t have a tripod holder, if you like that sort of thing.  I don’t, because they’re usually not very good for larger sticks, and smaller ones are easy enough to strap onto the side of the bag.

 You can’t find them very many places, but B&H and Amazon both carry them.  And like any product that starts to get noticed on YouTube, supplies may not last that long.  Honestly, I almost want to buy a second bag just for the future.  I’m not an affiliate, so I don’t get anything by it, just tell you what works for me.

Z Cam E2 In-Depth Review Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of our in-depth review of the Z Cam E2.  You can read the first part here!

In our second installment we're looking at Flexibility and Ease of Use.  I define these terms a little differently than most cinematographers.  Flexibility is the ability of the camera to take on different tasks-- it's technical adaptability; ease of use is how easy it is to work with in the field (i.e., does it set up quickly, screen functionality, app, etc.). Flexibility is physics, Ease of Use is workflow.

Flexibility

One of the great things about the E2 is how well it can work with your existing gear.  Being a modular camera, you’ll need a monitor, but an Android or Apple phone does just fine; you can connect via USB C or Wifi.  The batteries are super cheap Sony NPs, and there’s a good chance you already own some.  I had ten lying around.  If you have other NATO rail attachments, those will work for handles and monitor holders. 

But you’ll still need to buy some stuff you if come from the mirrorless world. CFAST cards are darn expensive.  A 128GB card starts around $120, and you use up space quickly with those high Mbps.  You can attach an SSD via the USB-C port. I discovered that the SSD’s I use for my Atamos recorder work well with a $15 case.  Between a 128GB card and 500GB SSD, my memory needs are set for both wireless hand held work and longer tripod setups.  I may buy an external hard drive with automatic backup that can transfer my CFAST cards on the road.  That way I can keep clearing out a single card, rather than have multiple cards.

With all of the quarter inch holes, you don’t need a cage, but you’re going to want one.   The Smallrig cage starts at $90, but it comes with a few quirks.  I love that it hugs the E2 so closely that it barely increases its size.  There are two NATO rails built into either side, keeping the unit small, but they also bring problems.  With the cage attached, it’s almost impossible to open the CFAST slot without a key or thin object.  And tightening NATO rail attachments is a fiddly process because there’s not enough room between the camera and the cage.  But these shortcomings are well worth the reduced size in my opinion.  

The other accessory you don’t need but you’ll want is a speed booster.  I originally bought a Viltrox for my Nikon lenses.  At $85 it was a fifth of the cost of the Metabones, and I’d heard good things about them.  After I bought it, I read a couple of reviews that claimed the Viltrox isn’t quite as sharp.  When mine arrived, I found that it was sharp but not snug; it wiggled on the camera.  So I found a used Metabones adapter for Nikon on Ebay for $150.  But while superior in fit, the Metabones speedbooster is actually inferior in other ways.   You can find a more detailed review/comparison of the Viltrox and Metabones here.

Having shot full frame exclusively for the last few years, the one thing I didn’t realize is that Speed Boosters don’t allow your Micro Four Thirds sensor to capture a full frame image from your lens.  It captures a Super 35 sized image.  While I’ve seen and heard numerous explanations as to why a Micro Four Thirds sensor with a speed booster is just as good as a full-sized sensor, it’s more complicated in real life.  My favorite focal length is 28mm.  It just looks right to me.  With the speed booster I need to use a 20mm lens to get the same angle of view, and these wider lenses often don’t have the same speed, compact form, image quality, and lack of barrel distortion.  And a fast wide lens is often pricier. As a Nikon user, I’ve got a solid option with the 20mm f/2.8, but I miss the “character” that comes with narrower lenses.  A lens shouldn’t just be wide or narrow, it should have a character that supports your visual aesthetics, and wide angle lenses tend to be pretty flat.

Another claim of speed boosters that doesn't hold true in my set-up, is that you get increased speed.  In other words, that your f/2.8 lens will act like an f/1.4.  When I compare the E2 setup to my Sony a7iii with a "dumb" adapter I get more than a stop less light.

Both images were captured using the same lens (the Sony is cropped in post) and settings.  I used the widest and narrowest apertures in order to make sure the adapter settings were consistent.  The only difference is the speed booster and sensor.  What's more, if you use a light meter, the Z Cam under-exposes the image.  Though to my surprise this image is less than 1 stop under.

Z Cam (top) Sony (bottom) exposure set by light meter

The loss of light is a bit of a mixed bag.  The Z Cam's lowest ISO is 500 (currently), and that's pretty high for daylight use; it actually helps that there's less light hitting the sensor.  But if you're shooting in low light, you want every stop you can get.

The E2 has HDMI out for a monitor, USB-C out for SSD or phone monitor, Wifi for phone/tablet monitoring, a mini XLR in, an Ethernet for live broadcast, and a LEMO port for tethering multiple cameras together.  The HDMI 2.0 Type A port outputs up to C4K @60fps 10 bit 4:2:2.  You can build up you camera into a full cinema rig with monitors, support, matte boxes, follow focus, etc.,  or strip it down to just a small battery and wireless phone-monitor to balance on a lightweight gimbal.

I give the camera a flexibility rating of 9/10.

Ease of Use

There are some clear differences from a use standpoint when compared to a mirrorless camera or DSLR.  While this modular camera can be quickly set up, it’s not a run-and-gun unit.  The menu is well laid out, but for gunning purposes, the buttons are too difficult to access, making things like changing your ISO a lengthier process.  You have to re-grip the camera and then slowly click up or down.  This works fine when you’re on set (and with a bigger crew), but as a one-man band with a client waiting, or on the street, or in harsh weather, these adjustments have to be quicker and easier.  And you probably won’t just pull it out of your bag fully assembled and ready to shoot.  Anytime you have to assemble your camera in public, attaching handles and monitor, you attract attention.  This is doubly true with such an unusual looking camera like the E2.  There’s nothing stealth about the Z Cam.  

If you want to speed up your ability to adjust your exposure parameters, the only option I’ve found is a beautiful but very expensive handle from RVLVR.   I bought it because I realized that I really needed a DSLR functionality to be fluid.  With it, the ease of use becomes a lot closer to that of a DSLR (which in my opinion is the high water mark).  I’ll have a separate review on the RVLR soon.

So while the E2 isn’t intrinsically easy to use from a physical standpoint, it’s really designed for “build up” ease of use.  Adding a handle, control grip, and monitor makes the Z Cam much easier to use.

The tiny screen is surprisingly clear, even for someone with my mediocre eyesight.  People say you can’t use it for focusing, and that’s mostly true.  At least, you wouldn’t want to.  But in a pinch, it can work.  My first trip out with the camera I forgot to charge the phone I was using as a monitor, and it died after 20 minutes.  I switched the Z Cam screen to black and white and turned on peaking because a Black and White image with red focus peaking makes it easy to quickly check and adjust your focus.  In this setup, I couldn’t evaluate the aesthetics of the image on the tiny screen, but I could see the framing and what’s in focus easily.  I’ve left it in this setup since then, even when using a real monitor.

So far, I’m very pleased with how the Wifi system works.  There’s generally low latency, though, it is variable.   I was surprised that I saw the biggest lag when in the woods, away from other signals. You can’t connect multiple phones or tablets to wifi, which is a bit of a bummer, but you can use both Wifi and HDMI out so your client can watch on their own screen.  I use a 13 dollar magnetic phone holder for my monitor that’s super convenient.  I can pull the screen off and walk on set to make an adjustment while seeing the change on screen.  It snaps back on in less than a second, and I’m ready to go.  And while it seems like unscrewing a monitor is no big deal, I’m surprised by how often that little act prevents me from doing something. Honestly, I live by these little time savers.

The newest version of the app is great.  You can not only monitor over wifi, but control the camera.  Monitoring includes all of the essential tools like Zebra, false color, wave forms, peaking, and de-squeeze display for anamorphic lens users.

There are some odd quirks that I hope get ironed out in future firmware updates, things like unwieldy file names that can’t be re-named, and the inability to see the file name while recording.

On the whole, I give the E2’s Ease of Use an 8/10.  The loss of two points is really due to the form factor, and this would be true of any brick-brain camera.  I’d rate the Blackmagic 4k about the same, even though it comes with a built-in grip.

Tomorrow: Reliability and Conclusion.

New Visions

This blog (in its on-again, off-again manner) has been many things.  Four years ago, it started as a chronicle of 100 days of photographic learning.  It morphed into a journal of my process of becoming a professional photographer/videographer with its "Going Pro" series.  (We've reached our 1 year anniversary as a company, in what is still a work in progress.)  With a more active Hurricane Images blog, which focuses on posts designed to help potential business clients, this humble highlight of blown images has become more difficult to focus on, and bring into focus.

Moving forward into year 2 of Hurricane Images and year 4 of this blog, my intention is to have this be a place for photographers and videographers: a home for tips, reviews (though I try to buy as little equipment as possible), and techniques and approaches for both hobbyists and professionals.  Let's see if we can move our craft forward.

So here's to the new year.

Going Pro: It's a wrap

Ian Robin Walker

Okay, clearly it's been a long time since I posted to this series, and the reason is largely about success.  While I do hope/plan/aspire to continue with the odd post on videography/photography business, product reviews, and technique, for now I'm putting a peg in this topic.  You can also check my other (even slower moving) blog at Hurricane Images Inc.  This is a client facing blog-- rather than this peer facing blog-- and there's a lot you can borrow from that.

I wrote that the end of this series is due to the success of my own process of turning pro.  I mean this in an "in progress" kind of way.  Since jettisoning my regular employment four months ago, I've been working continuously.  I've not consistently earned what I need each month-- I don't expect that to happen for another eight months-- but earnings have exceeded expectations this first trimester... even as turn-around times have proved painfully longer than expected.  My projects have included small jobs for big companies like BitDefender, Silicon Valley Air Experts, and The California Department of Public Health, and large jobs for small outfits like Davis Properties and Rocket Interview.  Balancing 45 hour work weeks with raising an infant (and keeping my sanity) has pushed writing projects like this to the side.

I started this post with a picture of yours truly, though, which is pretty unlike me.  Why?  It's a reminder that ultimately you  are your brand.  If you look at some of the most successful media producers out there-- from Philip Bloom to Casey Neistat to (one of my personal favorites) Brandon Li-- you realize how distinctive their personal style is.  Not just their artwork, but their personalities and how they put themselves forward.  Everyone, regardless of where they are in their career, should reevaluate their online presence and branding every six months.  This includes cleaning up the website, checking that you're still appearing on other sites and searches, and retooling your communications.  So if you're bored right now, get to it.

Going Pro: Client Journeys - The Unexpected Call

One of the best-- though unnerving-- pieces of advice for new videographers/photographers is to make a pitch to your day job or a current associate, be that a hobby or a related businesses.  The bottom line is that every organization can benefit from a video, and people who know you will (hopefully) trust you.

I was lucky.  I didn't have to pitch my day job; they approached me to create a video and it was no small project.  They wanted a 4 part series on the statewide program, complete with a mini-narrative (or extended role play).  It took months to plan, weeks to shoot, and I'm still working on translations for them.  It didn't pay well by an independent contractor standard, but it did by a regular employment scale.

But that wasn't the Unexpected Call.  That call came from Hilton Worldwide.  They didn't want a commercial or even an in-house industrial; a senior Vice President was celebrating his 50th anniversary (and likely retirement due to illness), and they wanted a "thank-you" video from his colleagues and staff who were spread out across the U.S.  The video wasn't something they had planned on, either; it was a last minute addition, and it needed to be organized and edited in three weeks.  They wanted staff to film themselves-- using phones or cameras or whatever was available.  They also wanted it to be clever, humorous, and heartfelt.

I had no idea why an international company based outside of LA would cold-call me in the SF Bay.  He said he liked my website (really? the one with five videos?) and I didn't ask any questions.  He also said there wasn't a budget for this, but he wanted to see what it would cost to edit the staff contributions.  We talked about how many staff would contribute; I asked about general themes he thought we should cover; he told me a little about the Vice President, Greg.  I quoted him $1200.  It wasn't a living wage, really, but it wasn't embarrassingly cheap, either.

The next day I sent him filming guidelines for the staff, and based on our discussion, eight questions for them to answer, based on themes about Greg's personal style, computer style, driving technique, etc.  Everyone was to answer three of the eight questions, plus a statement about "one thing they appreciated about Greg."  I set up a Dropbox account for the incoming footage.  A week later, the files started to arrive.

As you can imagine, it was a hot mess.  Footage was shot on iPhones, in offices, in hotel lobbies, conference centers, vertical for Christ sake.  Airplanes roared in the background.  The President of Hilton Worldwide had his professionally done.  The 15 on-camera interviews ballooned to over 20.  Everyone had to be included.

Greg had started as a valet, and I found some archival footage of the Hilton where he worked; I organized the clips around the three major "questions."  And then I edited to the bone. Instead of fighting the bad and inconsistent quality of the footage, I went with it... allowing it to help shape the flow of the video.  

Rather than share the draft video with my client, I shared how I was structuring the piece.  After 10 days, I produced a draft for his review.  It was rough-hewn, a visual jumble tied together with playfulness, and audio earache to the refined.  He loved it.  I don't recall a single suggestion.  They played it at the 50th Anniversary, and the audience fell out; Greg and his family were deeply touched.

My client sent an email, introducing me to four new Hilton owners in the SF Bay (Hilton is a franchise), recommending me.  New businesses hasn't come from that-- at least not yet-- but I appreciated it as a sincere compliment.

Five months later I received an email from my client.  Greg has passed away from the illness that forced his retirement.  They played the video at his memorial.

Going Pro: Conversations about taking it to the next level

Photographer Ming Thein recently posted a discussion on his blog about the process of turning pro.  If you don't know him, his architectural photography is quietly phenomenal, with a subtle Miksang influence and flawless post production technique.  He writes a good blog, too.

www.HurricaneImagesInc.com

For a unique perspective he shares this post with Robin Wong, a photog who's mid-stream in his journey of turning pro, and together they reflect on both the pitfalls and the tricks to being successful.  On point that can't be emphasized enough is how to think about and manage cash flow. 

"The reality is that most material work tends to be planned anywhere from one to six months in advance, and some clients may not pay for a month or two after that – which means your cash flow cycle should really be six months to a year once everything is stable."

An even bigger take-away in the piece is using smaller short-term jobs with quicker turnaround with the larger "meat" of your work.  This can sometimes mean taking on jobs that don't typify your work.  Ming may take the job, but he doesn't add it to his portfolio.

"Everything I’ve done up to this point has that question at the heart of it: is it core to what I want to shoot and what I want to be as a photographer? If no, unless I really, really need the money, I don’t do the job – and even then, I don’t tell anybody about it. So the answer is – let’s call it ‘identity building’ – must happen directly or indirectly, all the time. In practical terms, this means 3-4 hours a day answering email, making content for the site, maintaining the other social media channels (FB, IG, Twitter) etc. And that’s of course on top of the actual shooting and admin and logistics."

It's a long read, but a good one for anyone thinking about the leap.

Going Pro: Facebook or Twitter? Or Instagram? Or Tumblr?

The only social media tool I advocate for one hundred percent is blogging.  Which, of course, isn’t really a social media platform at all.  Which is probably why it's so useful.  It allows you to target your audience and craft a detailed message and a precise brand over time.  So even if you only post monthly, write a blog.

But what about the rest?  What follows is just my opinion and anyone who tells you they know the right answer is just a dingbat.  And take everything I write with a grain of salt because I’m not a social media type of person.  On a personal level I shy away from these services, engaging with them as little as possible even as I use them as a professional. 

For business purposes, I am not a fan of Facebook.  Yes, Facebook is by far the most popular social media platform;  according to the PEW Research Center, nearly 70% of Americans have a Facebook page with higher earners being more likely to participate.  Yes, Facebook is second only to Google in advertising buys.  But it’s really social, and that's a problem for businesses.  It’s for your friends, and it’s a clumsy tool for getting out a brand or message.  You may have "Liked" a business of Facebook, but do you really visit their page on a weekly or even monthly basis?  I visit my favorite blogs daily.  That's engagement.  Facebook will also filter out posts that are targeted to potential clients; unless you pay for a boosted post, they’ll never see them.  Because you don’t have a relationship with them.  To me, this is a bad communication model, dependent on paid advertising which is exactly the opposite of what people engage on Facebook to see.  Facebook is a good tool for events.  This is because you're reaching out to your friends and distant friends and really not a friend but somehow you got connected friends.  My theatre production company has a page and we use it for every production, posting rehearsal notes, images, and events.  Hurricane Images Inc. has a page and I completely ignore it. 

Instagram is the next most popular medium, trailing at roughly 30% of Americans.  I like Instagram for its quick engagement and because it is a visual medium.  It’s one of the tools I use, though I don’t dedicate much time to it.  That’s because you can’t really control who you’re talking to, and you can’t provide a whole lot of information about yourself or your service.  You can generate a feel about your company, but you can’t direct it to you customers or be specific about who you are.  If you use it, have fun, and curate your posts/images ruthlessly to make sure they are your finest.  As with many things, there are a rare number of individuals who have managed to parlay Instagram activity into business success, but unless you love using Instagram it's a poor investment.

 

Twitter.  Twitter's numbers are surprisingly low given its status as a social media tool.  Roughly 20% of Americans use it, with the highest engagement being among 18-29 year olds.  Which may or may not be your client.  Twitter should be a better tool than it is (and perhaps I'll figure out how to use it more effectively).  It allows you to post images, link to video, and deliver a pithy message.  The problem is that you can't control your geographic target, and most production companies end up tweeting about things that only interest other production companies... not their clients.  Twitter distills one of the essential problems of social media as a marketing tool:  you end up posting about your activities and your interests.  Your reader is "you."

 

LinkedIn is not one of the social media platforms people talk about when discussing social media marketing, but you absolutely should be engaged here.  Twenty-five percent of adults use LinkedIn, making it a rival of Instagram in terms of reach, and they use it specifically for businesses.  The challenge is figuring out how to be social on LinkedIn.  It takes more work.  You should participate in groups, be sparing (as in monthly) with your updates, praise and highlight your clients, and write carefully crafted articles and responses.  No one wants to hear about you every day, which is its own type of blessing.

 

My bottom line is this:  Blog and use LinkedIn.  Look for ways to link the two.  Use one other type of social media largely for fun.  Don't try to engage on all of the platforms, it's too time-consuming.  Pick 2-3 and do it well.

Going Pro: Client Journeys - Promotional Video

As a part of this series I’m describing a few of my early client journeys in time-condensed form. Clients arrive at your doorstep in different ways—and when you’re just starting out, that’s give you time to develop your approach, and hone your skills.

Going Pro: Meeting the Paparazzi

It’s sounds idiotic when you say it out loud, but so much of pregnancy, having a child, is nothing like you imagined from books and movies.  The first sonogram, for instance, isn’t done on a Vaseline-smeared belly eagerly looking for fingers and toes.  That comes later.  It comes now, as a matter of fact.  And it isn’t a quick snapshot.  It’s a paparazzi affair that takes 25 minutes, photographing from every conceivable angle, measuring everything that can be discerned.  The technician is part photog, part judo master—manipulating the belly (and the little one inside) for the best shots.  And they say the photographer should never touch the model.  

It’s as exciting from Mom and Dad as it appears in the movies, but in a different way.  That little heartbeat has been with us for months, so the sense of life-- the reality of the change to come has been ever present.  But the blurry, mysterious images on the screen convey a glimpse of the future, a first contact via a strange language of abstract shapes and barely recognizable features.  We're worlds apart, and we've been signaling our presence to each other through rubs, kicks, and soft voices.  But until now we've been speaking across a galaxy.  And this brings us closer.

Another unexpected reality:  having a child is work:  from the medications to the constant doctor’s visits to the classes… and reading up on the side.  It seems impossible to get anything else done, which I guess is a good prelude to parenthood itself.  How will I get anything done once he/she is here?

Going Pro: Client Journeys

Clients arrive at your doorstep in unexpected ways—when you’re just starting out, the variance is even greater.  The professionalism of your clients, the types of products, and the trajectory of the process varies wildly.  As a new company, that’s a good thing.  You need to develop your approach to working with clients, as well as define your strengths and weaknesses.  But the arrival-- and sometimes departure-- of clients can be mystifying and stressful.  We expect the process to unfold a certain way, and it often doesn't.

 

So as a part of this series I’ll present a few of my early client journeys in time-condensed form, from initial contact to conclusion. 

If you’ve been following these posts, you’ll notice that I’ve already included a couple client journeys: my first “client” was imaginary… a promotional video for Schools for Africa that still features prominently in my portfolio.  My second client was a pro bono piece for a non-profit.

Going Pro: Unapologetic Construction

Some time ago I read  that you should never apologize for inactivity on your blog.  You don't owe your readers a post; there's no invisible contract.  And I agree, though it's awfully hard to do sometimes.  Like not returning a phone call from a friend, you feel guilty.

So what's up with the last three weeks?  In a word: crazytown.  I've been creating a sound design for a theatre festival, shooting and editing a commercial for one client and a Kickstarter video for another, wrapping up that other pesky job, and building a small production studio in our yard.  The last was a job that was supposed to take 3-4 days but took two weeks.  Two weeks in which I couldn't efficiently set up my equipment; two weeks where everything outside my home was covered in dust.

The interior floors and paint still need to be don; plus whatever small photo/video studio elements need to be built it.

It's been 90 hour weeks.  With the studio unavailable to me I missed my Kickstarter video deadline by two days and the still images for the video commercial by five days.  It's the first time I've ever missed a deadline.  So when do you apologize for inactivity?  I sure apologized to them for missing the deadlines.  I provided an encouraging update on what had been accomplished thus far, explained my situation clearly without annoying details, set a new deadline for the final delivery.

Hopefully I'm back on track now.

Going Pro: Ceci N'est Pas Mon Blog

This is not my blog.  Not Hurricane Images’s blog.  The blog belongs to Hurricane Images, but it is not our blog, which you can find here in its nascent form.

Why isn’t this my blog?  Because you are not my client.  My number one rule for posting on Hurricane Images’s blog is that the content is for my clients and potential clients.  So many photographers and videographers post info for their peers—which is great, and often more enjoyable for the writer… and it can even help with raising your website’s SEO.  But it’s not an effective marketing approach.  If you want your blog to be a marketing tool, write for your clients.

Blogs aren’t simply a marketing tool, though.  They are the product that needs to be marketed.  There are tens of thousands of photographer-bloggers.  Maybe thirty of the top writers are easily discovered via search engines and the like.  The bottom thirty-thousand writers feel like they’re toiling in obscure darkness, read only by trolling bots.  If you’re going to go to the trouble of writing, promote your work.  Cross market your blog.  Announce it on your website, Facebook page, Twitter, or whatever other social media platforms you use.  Visit forums and (when appropriate) let people know you’ve talked about that issue on your blog.  List your blog on your email signature. 

Keep track of which posts get the most visits (almost all blogging platforms offer this).  Let the most popular items guide your blog, but not dictate its direction.  Gear review is often the most read posts on this blog, but I use them sparingly because that's not what I want to be known for.  From time to time, re-publish your top posts.

A few tips to keep in mind.

• Content is king; make good content
• Reference and link to your web pages often
• Link to other folks good works, too.  You can summarize if you credit and link.  
• Don't have your image right at the top of your page.  It looks great but search engines can't read them.  
• When you link, use the title of the page as the link (rather than writing “here”); it’s better SEO optimization
• Optimize your images; they should have titles and company name
• Post frequently – twice weekly or more in the beginning
• If you post infrequently (less than weekly) disable the auto date function. 
• Never apologize for not posting frequently; you don’t owe your reader anything beyond good content
• If someone engages/comments, engage back.  Immediately.

Going Pro: My Two Rules of Marketing

Levi Strauss Volunteer Day

Personal contact is immeasurably better than any form of virtual contact.  Personal is face-to-face, not over the phone—which is still enormously better than email, mailer, or social media.  Personal contact is hard, that’s why it’s effective.  Fewer people are doing it, which is one of the reasons its more productive.  More importantly, big ticket items like video—which start as intangibles—require a lot of trust.  You may be able to build that through your website, but only if they get there.  By email it’s virtually impossible.  

So how do you make personal contacts?  Visit your local chamber of commerce.  Participate in Meet-ups.  Go to conferences if your niche has them.  Cold visit rather than cold-call businesses.  If it sounds terrifying it’s because it is.  No pain no gain.  Keep track of who you contact and the outcome; spreadsheets are great for this.

My second rule of marketing applies to the virtual contacts: Do less well.  Don’t engage in all of the platforms unless you you've got a marketing team (in case, why are you reading this blog?).  Pick three.  This goes for blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Vine, Flickr… but also newsletters, forums, and your website.  Choose a medium that you actually enjoy and commit.  I’ll get in depth on what it means to “do well” in next couple of posts.

But by now it should go without saying that whatever platform you choose you should engage in it from your audience’s perspective.  In other words, don’t join a forum for cinematographers; join a forum for wedding planners, or new entrepreneurs, or colleges.

Going Pro: Two Cash Flow Tools to Rule Them All

I’ve managed to track my finances with just two simple budget planning forms: a Budget Sheet, and a Cash Flow sheet.  Both can be easily done in Excel.

The Budget Sheet is designed to show income, both real and potential.

Date is obvious.

Paid is money that has actually come in, now in the bank.

Promised is money that I have a contract for, so it’s real.  They’ve put 30% down.

Expenses is a summary of my monthly expenses. I transfer lump sums twice a month as if it was a paycheck.

Actual is what my bank account should show.

#Mos is how many months of working capital is in the bank

Notes is to explain the change. I also use “Comments” in each field as necessary

Possibilities are project under discussion but without a contract.  

The Cashflow is a more detailed, expressive way to track the #Mos column above.   

The first column has the starting balance for each month, HI (Hurricane Images) Confirmed Income, Potential Income, Expenses Payroll, Expenses Business, Total Expenses.  Your expenses should be the same each month, letting you predict the future.

 

The trick here is to update the chart monthly to show exactly how much would be in the bank if no new funds came in.  This makes it easier to predict when you’ll be in financial trouble, and when to breathe easy.  As you can see, this snapshot in time tells me I'll be broke in January if no new funds/projects are completed.

Going Pro: How Much to Charge?

Moroccan Olive Seller

There are a lot of “cost of doing business” calculators (here, for example) and even more advice on the subject.  In my experience, they tend to be over-complicated and cost-heavy by design, almost as if they want to discourage you from starting your business.  They ask for the total cost of items (like your phone, internet, car, and “home office”) that you might also use in your personal life, driving up the budget, and put unrealistic estimates into the purchase of new equipment, etc.  When you’re starting out, don’t buy new equipment.  If you don’t own it, rent it.  These calculations are guesswork until you have several months of real costs for comparison, making the term “calculator” a bit nonsensical. 

Turkish Market

If You Don't Own It, Rent It

 

But there’s also a faulty premise behind the calculator.  The idea is that you’ll divide these costs by the number of working days or projects.  So if you’re a wedding photographer who expects to shoot 24 weddings in a year, you’ll divide your costs ($40K) by the number of weddings: 24 weddings at $1650 each. The implication is that if you fall behind on the number of weddings, you increase the cost of each one.  So if you’ve only shot six weddings in six months, you’ll need to up your rate to $5,000.  Which is ridiculous.  Not because it's a lot of money, but because your cost of doing business has very little to do with the market rate or what you’re worth. 

Shark skin in Hong Kong Market

My approach has been simpler.  You simply need to know your average monthly expenditure.  If that’s $4k, than you need to earn a grand a week, or $250 a day.  On average.  Which means that you need to bill for the days, weeks—but hopefully not months—that you’re not working.  This is essentially a mark-up on your time.  A cup of coffee costs around 20 cents, but they’ll charge $1.50 to cover rent, employees, insurance, etc.  You’re doing the same. For the time being, my ideal mark-up is 250%.  So if the project takes a ($1k) week, I’ll need to charge $2500.  That’s my short-term goal.  But it’s not what I charged in the beginning.  When I first opened shop, if the job took a week, I charged roughly a grand.  This meant two things: First, that I was less expensive than my competition; and second, that I would eventually go broke because I wasn’t continuously employed.  That’s where my extra working capital comes in.  I intentionally planned to underachieve for the first six months.  During that time I would prioritize building a client base, portfolio, and skill set—and slowly… slowly build up towards my ideal rate.

Going Pro: Working Capital-- How Much?

Jorg Gray Luxury Watch

When you’re thinking about starting a production company, odds, are your most pressing question is “how much working capital do I need to start my company?”  The obvious answer is that there is no magic number.  But there is a framework for thinking about working capital that can help you find the right number for you. 

Let me define my terms: “working capital” is my total monthly expenditures—both in life and for the company.  This includes the life bits like rent, food, internet, and gas; and the business bits like insurance, advertising, and depreciation.  I don’t include equipment costs in this figure, or set-up costs for company (things like website design, etc.).  I started with my kit pretty much intact, and I wasn't planning on buying anything in the near future.  If this was a watch shop, I had all of my necessary inventory, right down to the “Open” sign on the front door.

But video production isn’t like selling watches.  You need to factor in the turn-around time, from contract signing to final product.  If you shoot weddings, you may sign the contract a year in advance of the big day.  You need to make sure you’re in still in business when the wedding cake is cut.  (A more technical term for turn-around is cash flow.)  Turn-around time is project variable—some of my video projects wrap in under a month, others can go six before the final payment is made.  Personally, I decided my average turn-around time was 3 months. This means I need to have at least 3 months of working capital above my safety level.  Or panic point.

Media production also differs from a sporting goods store because the cost a wrist band is fixed; if you paid a fifty dollars for it, you can’t sell it for $49.99.  In media production you can (and probably should) charge less than a living wage on your first projects in order to build your resume and make connections.  A good rule of thumb to remember is that there are no "1-time discounts."  If you charge a client $500 for a video, that client will always expect his videos to cost $500.  You can charge the next client a thousand, but this one is pretty much set.  And that’s the path I took: my fee was above my physical costs for a project but below a living wage. Then I over-delivered on each product, and increased my rate for the next client.  I made exceptions to the “charge more” rule when the project was something I really wanted because of what it would do for my resume.

There's no such thing as a one-time discount

Since I began my production company as a part-time endeavor, I had the advantage of not starting at “day one” in terms of getting the word out and making connections.  I still had plenty to do, though, so I considered myself to be one month old as a company. Starting part-time, also gave me a better sense of my turn-around time, and how much I might immediately charge/earn for projects.  I could predict how much my monthly income would be in the beginning, how long it would take to finish a project (and thus charge more for the next one), and better predict how quickly my income my increase.  Remember, if your turn-around time is three months, your first month of income arrives in the fourth month of your company.

Find Your Panic Point

Which brings me back to my panic point.  If it takes three months to successfully make your first dollar, then it takes about three months before you know you’re not going to make that dollar.  If you have three months of working capital and the first project pays out in three months and one week, your business failed before it got started.  If, say, you have six months of working capital in the bank, then you'll have three months left when the first project pays out.  That three month mark I call the panic point.  But only having three months would mean I would always be living at my panic point.  That might be technically possible to maintain, but it really sucks to be on the edge of the abyss all the time.  And there's no wiggle room in case of emergency.  What you need is extra working capital to take the pressure off and allow for some degree of “failure.”  I set my goal at nine months of working capital in the bank.  I successfully overshot my mark: I opened shop with eleven months.

Let’s compare these estimates with national statistics:  Half of new businesses close in the first 2 years; 90% close within ten.  Those frightening figures are somewhat leavened by the fact that not all businesses close due to failure. Some are bought out; others just move on or retire. Six months of working capital is the most common recommendation for new businesses, and 12 months tends to be the longer, or outside recommendations.  Most businesses start with 3-6 months of working capital… and of course the majority of these are likely to be  the ones that close within 2 years.  “Service” types of companies, those that work from home, and those without employees tend to have less working capital to start, but don’t have a better survival rates.  70% of businesses start with less than $25,000 in working capital. Try to be in the 30% that has more. After researching the statistics, I decided I would have at least 9 months of working capital (which for me was more than $25K).

Save don't borrow

Best practices for starting a new company:

1.       Create working capital through saving not borrowing

2.       Start small and build up

3.    If the work you do in your studio can't pay for at least the studio, work from home.

3.       Track your finances studiously

4.       Establish yourself as an LLC or corporation to protect your personal finances

5.       Be a woman. Seriously, studies show women spend less on their businesses and are more likely to succeed in turning a small biz into a larger one

Strange tidbit of the day:  having too much working capital is also listing as a contributor to business failure.

Going Pro: Pro Bono - The Response

Day 45

The Watershed Project responded to my email. They’re excited to work with me. Their 20^th anniversary is coming up, so the timing of my pitch was excellent. It’s a bit of good luck-- but one’s odds improve just by playing the game. Ain’t no luck sitting on the bench.

Day 53

I had coffee with the Executive Director of the Watershed Project. We’ve known each other for years (she was hired on staff when I was on the board of directors), but were never close. We talked concept for the video. For the 20^th anniversary they wanted to emphasize how the organization touched people across the lifespan. We wanted to focus on people’s stories, so the video would consist of quick interviews. And instead of having people introduce themselves by name, we’d have them say how old they were. The questions would be designed to elicit how the Watershed Project had opened their eyes to their community.

Day 61

My first day of shooting. At an elementary school. Whoa, Nelly, that was a handful. I captured some good background footage of the classroom and instructors, but the conditions were a disaster for interviews. I got 12 kids at once. In an outdoor hallway. They were nine. (In the end, only one clip made the final cut.)

After the elementary school I filmed student interviews in a classroom, interviews in the field, three school field trips, five staff on site. As you can imagine, the hours for this pro bono project racked up quickly. What quickly became apparent is that I didn’t have quite the right gear—especially in the audio department—for this type of on the fly, one-man shooting. I needed wireless mics (I ended up purchasing the budget Saramonic), and a faster system for set-up.

What I didn't know was that the creation of this video would take 10 months due to a variety of reasons, some of which included my own distraction.  That taught me a couple of lessons as well:  First, these types of shoots can (and often should) take several months; don't try to rush it in a weekend because it's a freebie.  Second, commit to your pro bono projects with the same integrity that you would for a well-paid gig.  

 And I learned on my feet about the craft of story-telling, the quirks of my camera, how to get better footage on the fly, etc., etc., etc. 

 

Going Pro: Pro Bono in Your Portfolio?

Day 48:

I reached out to The Watershed Project today to pitch a pro-bono project.  There’s a never-ending debate among the photography/videography community about whether one should ever do pro bono.  In my view, those that are unequivocally against either have no business sense or are desperate about their bottom line.  They argue that your product is worth more, and/or that freebies steal business from legitimate professionals.  Both statements are overly broad.  At the beginning of your career, your expertise/product is worth exactly $50 (in my case it was $25 and a pair of ugly sandals—my first “paid” photography gig.)  And customers who are willing to bet hours of their time on someone with no experience are definitely not in a financial place where they could pay a small-yet-reasonable fee for a more sure thing.  Many clients who want pro bono can’t pay much more than zero, and those who can have such poor sense that you don’t want to hire on as their Creative.  So should you ever do pro bono work?  When you’re starting out—hell yes.  When you’re established—from time to time for a worthy project.

Theyyam Ceremony - Kerela - Hurricane Images Inc.

Here’s the question: if you were going to spend $6,000 on a video for your company, how many sample videos would you want to see before you felt comfortable trusting that company?  Two?  Six?  Twelve?  Six is probably how many I’d watch, but I get bored easily.  How many samples would you want to see if they were exactly the type of video you wanted for your company? That number is more like two or three.  But even three videos is a lot of pro bono work if you don’t have other videos that are close to that “perfect example.” If you're just starting out, you may need to invest in more than one pro bono offer.  I started with one, with the expectation that my first paid jobs may not be exactly in my niche.

#1 Takeaway: Make the damn pitch

A couple of years back I had a long-standing relationship with The Watershed Project (I was on their Board, actually), which gave me both some credibility and a familiarity.  The Executive Director left the company in the intervening years, but the new head had been on staff when I was on the Board, so I wasn’t starting from scratch.  Since my goal was to work with non-profits, they were an excellent choice for pro bono; the work we created would be almost exactly what my “real” clients would want.  Creating a video for them would help establish my niche expertise.  And if you remember from my earlier confession-- I was not a polished filmmaker.  This video would be a learning project as well as a resume builder.

Theyyam Ceremony - Kerela - Hurricane Images Inc.

So what was my pro bono pitch?  Here’s my email.

Hi --,

Hello from your former Board Member.   And congrats on the directorship-- I seem to be a little behind the times.  When did you take over the helm?  That's exciting and wonderful.

I've been working on a new project that I thought might be helpful for TWP's fundraising activities.  I still work part time as a health educator and community engagement coordinator, but two years ago I started working professionally as a photographer with the rest of my time.  Then about 9 months ago I started getting a number of requests to produce video for companies.  As I thought more about how I wanted to develop that side of the business, I realized that I really wanted to work with clients from the non-profit world.  Video is going to be increasingly important for organizations-- for fundraising, education, and awareness.  But the clients that are hiring me aren't exactly the type I'd like to focus on.

So I wanted to offer my video services to TWP free of charge for a project.  It's an organization I'm personally invested in, you do great work, and it's an opportunity for me create a product that's a perfect example of the work I'd like to focus on.  I thought that creating a fundraising-focused video for Bubbles and Bivalves might be one opportunity; I'm certainly open to anything that might be useful to TWP (such as a more general "this is TWP" video).

Is this something that might be of interest?

You can examples of my work at www.hurricaneimagesinc.com.

All the best,
 

So what works about this email, and what doesn’t?  Obviously, it’s specific to the organization and our previous relationship. That’s a strength.  I intentionally made the video as unpretentious as possible.  I didn’t sing my own praises or say what a great video they would get.  In fact, I highlighted both my relative inexperience, and my inability to get exactly the type of clients I wanted.  Why?  Why would I want to present myself as less than brilliant?

Let’s be real.  Most companies are struggling to some extent, trying to reach a higher level.  Non-profits are almost all struggling.  So I knew she’d be able to identify with the difficulty in reaching the right clients, right donors to sustain one’s work.  Even though I was a former board member, I figured she would have some suspicions about my motives.  Is this really pro bono?  What was a getting out of it?  I made it clear-- I wanted to work with a different type of client.  I also reckoned that it was better to lower expectations before she saw my samples, rather than raise them.  Maybe I’m being unnecessarily humble, but I think that’s generally a wise idea.  

The number one take away:  just write that damn email.  Make your pitch.

The number two take away:  be as human as possible.  That means not being perfect.  Set aside your ambitions, your agenda, and consider the situation from their angle.

Just found us?  You can find the beginning of our series here.