First professional project
 

Hi, I have been messing with my HD-100 and sony vegas for about 2 years now. I was in the Army, but got out recently and moved to Virginia where I am going to a small college.

I want to become a video professional, and have dedicated loads of time and money into this. For one thing, at what point do I get to call myself a professional videographer? I would rate myself as a semi pro at the moment, I am rather harsh on myself though.

So I was working on building myself a big aquarium, doing research, and found a great product. I went to do more research & fould it is so new, there is little material on the internet. I emailed them offering to create a video of my experience using their product in my new aquarium & they bit on the idea.

At this point it seems they are willing to basicly give me their stuff in exchange for a video of a long (2-3 month) maturation process. I am not sure exactly how I would format it, what shots to make yet, but I know I have the skills to do it. I may consider doing some time lapse, but that would be hard to do without tying up my camera for several months.

Anyway, how do I proceed from here with negociations? I will do some reading on the stickies, and find details on contracts etc. I know it is important to establish a contract to protect both parties & make sure we both get what we want.

Any thoughts?

When ya get paid to do it.
Start out by cold-calling the local production facilities. Take whatever is offered. Work your way into a videographer's position, if that's what you want to focus on. You'll know when it's time to go freelance. You'll need that experience (and those connections) made along to way to stay afloat as a self employed videographer. I'd not invest heavily into gear until then as it will change greatly by then.