New and need help for son with Autism

[Michael L. Johnson]

Originally Posted by Steven Digges

Michael,

Here is another suggestion about how this board works. You mentioned shotgun mics. You have common misconceptions about how they work. But I will get to that, first the board.

DVINFO.net is an amazing place. It may not have the huge number of participants other forums have but that is part of its magic. The level of talent, dedication, and cooperativeness here is incredible.

This single thread is not going to get you all of the help you need. This is what I would suggest:

Double posting the same info in more than one section is highly frowned upon. The audio forum however can be a fantastic resource for you. There are true audio specialists that hang out there that are always willing to help the sincere poster. A couple of them are a little crusty but don’t get discouraged ;-)

You can introduce yourself and your situation there and then post a link to this thread and say this is where you gave detailed information about your situation. Then ask your audio questions in that new thread you started. The response may blow you away. Don’t be afraid to reach out to different sections. Some guys just monitor their own specialty section.

I am NOT a wrangler. I think what I said follows protocol. If not someone please correct me.

Quick shotgun answer: Shotgun mics do not reach out and collect far away sound. That is the common misconception. Distance vs pick up ability is a function of sensitivity, regardless of pick up pattern. With all directional mics the area of rejection is a soft wall, not a hard one. That means even with a shotgun mic if you are speaking over Mackenzie's shoulder it is probably going to pick up your voice.

Kind Regards,

Steve

Steve,

Thank you for the advice about audio. I will follow your lead and introduce myself to that section of the forum.

Thanks,

Michael

[Michael L. Johnson]

Hi Everyone:

With some of the discussion that has taken place here, I have been continuing my research, and have pretty much decided that, if I am going to do this, then a single lens camera is where I should be looking. I know it is not much, and only eliminates 2 cameras from my list, but it is a start. I am most curious what the new Panasonic UX 180 and UX 90 will be like when they come out this fall.

Thanks,

Michael

[Gary Huff]

Michael, if you knew for a fact that any gear purchases you made would bring in zero dollars of revenue over the next five years, how much would you still be willing to spend on gear?

[Michael L. Johnson]

Gary,

Thanks for the question. It is a hypothetical that in a similar form I have asked myself. My answer is the same as before your asked this important question. In my opening post, I stated that I was looking for a life and a career for my son. I still stand by that, even though the learning and training process will take a while (no one, not even me knows how long), and only after that can thoughts be turned to some type of production. I am prepared, in answer to your question, for it to take five years if it has to. My son is only 24, far too young to sing " turn out the lights, the party's over". I have a model and plan that I think will work. I am pretty confident in my teaching abilities, and in my ability to learn what I have to learn to do that teaching. If I am able to find a mentor, that will shorten the learning curve. We will never be as skilled as someone who has gone to film school, or received similar training, but do not sell us short. We may end up not being all that bad. Time will tell.


Michael

[Michael L. Johnson]

Originally Posted by Gary Huff

Michael, if you knew for a fact that any gear purchases you made would bring in zero dollars of revenue over the next five years, how much would you still be willing to spend on gear?

Gary,

I did not really answer your question did I? If I can, I want technology if it is possible to be an aid in this endeavor. That means that if I have to spend $3000-$5000, or more on a camera I will do so if it is the best fit I can find for my son. The same philosophy goes for any and all other equipment that we/he might need.

I know that mindset is hard to understand so I will say this, Mackenzie went to a special school for children with Autism. For a good portion of those years (the early ones) I paid the tuition myself with no guarantees that it would make any difference ( slowly and surely it did), with only hope and hard work being the constants. Tuition per year was more than any college or university that I am aware of, more than Harvard, Stanford, Northwestern, etc..

I am not gloating, It is a tragedy that that type of effort has to be expended for a parent to help their child. In the end he made great gains, so how can I put a price on that. This business venture is the same (hopefully).

Michael

[Mike Watson]

Can I reiterate, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, how little you should be concerned with learning videography, teaching it, your son learning it, what camera you buy, or how you compare to someone who's gone to film school...

But be quite concerned with your business model, what you will produce, how you will sell it, and whether anyone will pay for it.

I have 100% confidence that you and your son can learn to shoot. From a technical standpoint, there is a "full auto" setting on whatever camera you buy that will get you about 80% of where you need to go, and the rest of it (use a tripod, compose a shot) is not that hard to learn.

[Michael L. Johnson]

Hi Mike:

Tonight is one of those nights, of which there are many where sleep eludes me. Mike, thank you for your post. It is not yet set in concrete, but i do have a model, I have thought about potential customers, and distribution, advertising, in other words if Mackenzie can do this, then we are good to go. If he can not learn the camera, then it will go no where. I have done a market analysis, studied google analytics , there is/are customer bases. Whatever else I need to study, learn or cover, I am planning to do during Mackenzie's learning time with the camera. There will be no shoddy film, it will be the best we can make, or we will not do it.

I'm sort of glad that you seem to think the camera part may be a given. I hope you are right.

Thanks,
Michael

[Tim Lewis]

Hi Michael

I have been following this thread with interest. I think the necessarily general vagueness of your enquiries has been well addressed by good advice from caring members. I am not anywhere near as expert as any of them, but would like to add a couple of general comments that may help.

I shoot on a couple of Canon cameras that are very like the one Ed Roo mentioned. They have a microphone and headphone socket so I can capture better audio and monitor it. I have entered several of the DVC and UWOL contests with footage from these cameras. None of the feedback I received from those entries was to tell me the cameras technical abilities were substandard. These cameras are now seven years old and will do me until they break.

The point I am trying to make is that the construction and design of cameras these days uses fewer mechanical systems and moving parts, so there is so much less to wear out. A careful choice and caring use may well land you in excess of five years service life. Even HD footage will still look good in five years time, so my suggestion is choose the one that Mackenzie relates to most.

HTH

Tim

[Gary Huff]

Originally Posted by Michael L. Johnson

In my opening post, I stated that I was looking for a life and a career for my son. I still stand by that, even though the learning and training process will take a while (no one, not even me knows how long), and only after that can thoughts be turned to some type of production.

I understand that Michael, and that's my concern. By a "career", I assume you are looking at something he can do with video that will provide him an income that he can use to support himself? At least, that's what I assume when people use the word "career".

I am prepared, in answer to your question, for it to take five years if it has to. My son is only 24, far too young to sing " turn out the lights, the party's over". I have a model and plan that I think will work.

To be frank, you're not the first person to have this mysterious "model" of a way to make money via video that they are reluctant to share. And 100% of those I have come across have made no money from their "mysterious model" (two are still trying while having a main job on the side, the rest have finally given up and gone into a completely different career).

The problem is two fallacies. One, that your idea is so precious that merely speaking it aloud would unleash the hounds and strip it away from you as other people steal your idea and run with it. The truth is, no one cares. Until you start making money with it, then they will rip you off anyway (just take a look at every tech startup).

The second fallacy is that you know it can work. But you don't know. You are brand new to this area and so you don't know what you don't know. There may be glaring issues with your model that you are blind two, simply from lack of experience. I deal with this all the time, people with no idea what it takes to accomplish some goal, and they feel that sheer will power will win the day. That's a Hollywood trope. The most likely scenario is that your model is is something that barely deviates from the myriad of attempts people have tried to make money with already, and that haven't worked. And being specific about can help those who have experience to point out what, to them, is obvious problems with your idea.

Originally Posted by Michael L. Johnson

I have thought about potential customers, and distribution, advertising... I have done a market analysis, studied google analytics , there is/are customer bases.

And this does nothing to dissuade me that your model is any better than anyone else. They have the same response, and yet ideas and products fail all the time, with even better information than you probably have access to.

We will never be as skilled as someone who has gone to film school, or received similar training, but do not sell us short. We may end up not being all that bad. Time will tell.

Well, I have dealt with some very unskilled film school graduates, and I have no issue with you taking the self-learning approach. I am a big fan, and feel that there's far too much emphasis on spending money for training when the best training is to go out and make something, fail, and learn from your mistakes. However, just because you are skilled does not mean you can make a career out of this. The skilled part really has no bearing if you are unable to utilize those skills in a way that strangers will want to give you money for.

Originally Posted by Michael L. Johnson

I did not really answer your question did I? If I can, I want technology if it is possible to be an aid in this endeavor. That means that if I have to spend $3000-$5000, or more on a camera I will do so if it is the best fit I can find for my son. The same philosophy goes for any and all other equipment that we/he might need.

And that is the million dollar question. You were willing to spend untold amounts of money for the special school, and say you saw an improvement. But a career is different. You will have numbers that glare at you if they aren't adding up. A career allows you to be financially sufficient, and if not, then you'll really have to spin the results in order to make it a positive if a career is the ultimate end goal. You could spend $8000-$10000 (or more) over a period of ten years and be no closer to a career for your son than you currently are.

Take hope out of the equation. If you knew for a fact that would be the end result, would you still do what you are planning to do?

Ultimately, if you elect to maintain the secrecy of your building model, and if you're adverse to putting X amount of dollars into something that would have zero gains in a decade, then I would say to pick the cheapest gear you can so that you can avoid the sunk cost fallacy for as long as possible.

[Reed Gidez]

This thread proves just what an amazing community we have here.

I think I've read through most of the previous posts here and I realize this is mainly about what gear is appropriate (I find myself struggling with this at times). Lots of great resources in NYC with he big retailers but have you checked into your local public access tv station? You and your son might get some decent hands-on experience/instruction and there will likely be a volunteer or two (or more) willing to mentor your son. You may also have access to try some equipment before buying.

Here's a link to the Waterbury station About | Skye Cable XIII

-Reed

[Karl Walter Keirstead]

Gary Huff's caveats are worth taking note of.

My day job is management consulting and I meet people every day who are evolving business models across different industry areas.

The thing is there are many dimensions to most businesses. Perceived value of a product/service is what counts.

Each model has what Donald Rumsfeld plus a few others categorized into "known knowns, known unknowns, unknown knowns and unknown unknowns". Sounds silly, but it isn't.

Each initiative has risk and uncertainty and any model anyone makes needs close watching as things can change during implementation.

I have written 250+ blog articles on business management over the past few years - take a look at https://kwkeirstead.wordpress.com/

If you suffer from insomnia, my blog provides an instant remedy.

[Michael L. Johnson]

Originally Posted by Tim Lewis

Hi Michael

I have been following this thread with interest. I think the necessarily general vagueness of your enquiries has been well addressed by good advice from caring members. I am not anywhere near as expert as any of them, but would like to add a couple of general comments that may help.

I shoot on a couple of Canon cameras that are very like the one Ed Roo mentioned. They have a microphone and headphone socket so I can capture better audio and monitor it. I have entered several of the DVC and UWOL contests with footage from these cameras. None of the feedback I received from those entries was to tell me the cameras technical abilities were substandard. These cameras are now seven years old and will do me until they break.

The point I am trying to make is that the construction and design of cameras these days uses fewer mechanical systems and moving parts, so there is so much less to wear out. A careful choice and caring use may well land you in excess of five years service life. Even HD footage will still look good in five years time, so my suggestion is choose the one that Mackenzie relates to most.

HTH

Tim

Tim,

Thank you for the reply.

Michael

[Steven Digges]

This thread is now on page five and it is a great thread. The DVINFO community is coming together to assist someone who has asked for assistance. This forum at its best!

I am encouraging everyone to post. This thread has an unusual caviotte to it. I'll bet there are even many lurkers out there with knowledge of Autism reading this thread. If you do this would be a great time to jump in the water and join us. We don't bite (much).

This is not really my place to say it, but I will anyway, When posting please read what has already been said :-)

Kind Regards,

Steve

Also: Anytime is a great time to join DVINFO.net Everyone is always welcome here on the greatest forum on the internet!

[Michael L. Johnson]

Originally Posted by Gary Huff

I understand that Michael, and that's my concern. By a "career", I assume you are looking at something he can do with video that will provide him an income that he can use to support himself? At least, that's what I assume when people use the word "career".



To be frank, you're not the first person to have this mysterious "model" of a way to make money via video that they are reluctant to share. And 100% of those I have come across have made no money from their "mysterious model" (two are still trying while having a main job on the side, the rest have finally given up and gone into a completely different career).

The problem is two fallacies. One, that your idea is so precious that merely speaking it aloud would unleash the hounds and strip it away from you as other people steal your idea and run with it. The truth is, no one cares. Until you start making money with it, then they will rip you off anyway (just take a look at every tech startup).

The second fallacy is that you know it can work. But you don't know. You are brand new to this area and so you don't know what you don't know. There may be glaring issues with your model that you are blind two, simply from lack of experience. I deal with this all the time, people with no idea what it takes to accomplish some goal, and they feel that sheer will power will win the day. That's a Hollywood trope. The most likely scenario is that your model is is something that barely deviates from the myriad of attempts people have tried to make money with already, and that haven't worked. And being specific about can help those who have experience to point out what, to them, is obvious problems with your idea.



And this does nothing to dissuade me that your model is any better than anyone else. They have the same response, and yet ideas and products fail all the time, with even better information than you probably have access to.



Well, I have dealt with some very unskilled film school graduates, and I have no issue with you taking the self-learning approach. I am a big fan, and feel that there's far too much emphasis on spending money for training when the best training is to go out and make something, fail, and learn from your mistakes. However, just because you are skilled does not mean you can make a career out of this. The skilled part really has no bearing if you are unable to utilize those skills in a way that strangers will want to give you money for.



And that is the million dollar question. You were willing to spend untold amounts of money for the special school, and say you saw an improvement. But a career is different. You will have numbers that glare at you if they aren't adding up. A career allows you to be financially sufficient, and if not, then you'll really have to spin the results in order to make it a positive if a career is the ultimate end goal. You could spend $8000-$10000 (or more) over a period of ten years and be no closer to a career for your son than you currently are.

Take hope out of the equation. If you knew for a fact that would be the end result, would you still do what you are planning to do?

Ultimately, if you elect to maintain the secrecy of your building model, and if you're adverse to putting X amount of dollars into something that would have zero gains in a decade, then I would say to pick the cheapest gear you can so that you can avoid the sunk cost fallacy for as long as possible.

Gary,

Thanks for the reply, and the words of "encouragement" Wow. I have never said that I had a "mysterious model" for my business. In fact, I stated plainly in my first post that the the intention was for my son to film and ultimately sell his production. I have said that our filming will start with big rig trucks, but I had other thoughts as well.

I have done the research, which you seem to discount, that there is a viable market for this type of production. I have not reinvented the wheel here. I said I know it can work, simply because it already is..My intention is to get a little slice of the pie of the market that already exists,.

I admit that I do not know everything about starting and running a business, but I know enough and I guess you will just have to take my word on that, unless, as I said to someone else, you are implying a person needs an MBA from Harvard to successfully start and run a business.

With the exception of a couple of questions about taxes, I have never asked about anything but what this forum is about. I came here to seek guidance in helping my son to learn and use (to start with) a camera, I have explained many times why I have to go the route I am with the camera.

Bottom line is this, If Mackenzie can not do the filming, then the rest of it does not matter. If you wish to" critique" my (to you) lack of business knowledge further, I suggest you PM me, so this discussion on this thread can revert to topic. If you do that, I may be able to allay your concerns.

Michael

[Gary Huff]

Originally Posted by Michael L. Johnson

I have said that our filming will start with big rig trucks, but I had other thoughts as well.

What are your other thoughts? What kind of filming are you planning to do with "big rig trucks"? You have said it's not stock footage, is this a show? "Video emails"? What explicitly will this production be?