Hello from Nebraska
 

I'm a new member. I just received my canon xl1s and am still learning about it. I think we'll be pretty good friends in time. I'm still putting together my shooting gear and soon will order a workstation. I've decided on Avid DVX since I will be working with Nebraska Educational Television. They do all color correction and audio tweaking. I produced a 6 minute story for a show about people in Nebraska and plan to continue to do so. I've been producing commercials for a number of years for the local cable company and decided that soon I will venture out on my own. This will be a big step, giving up health insurance and my 401 K (not that it's doing so great) but am anxious to do more than produce 30 second ads. Any newbies to the freelance business out there? Any suggestions from production veterans that will smooth my way?

Welcome aboard and congratulations on your new venture. Post away, I think you'll find plenty of help and usefull suggestions from all the members.

Chris,

Becky, might be onto something for a new heading, Business Practices and Questions. There have been a few postings about sales tax, business cards, rates etc. Maybe it would prove helpfull to the members.

Jeff

Thanks for the welcome.
 

Thanks Jeff! It's a bit lonely out here on the plains of Western Nebraska. Not a lot of producers or resources in the vicinity. Maybe that's not all bad...

Becky

Welcome aboard Becky! We have a number of professionals on
here, which I hope, will tune in on your questions.... Good luck!

Becky,

Welcome aboard, I would be very interested to learn about how you have actually got into making money from your system, and how you have done it in the past. What sort of 30 sec ads were you putting together, how were they aired, etc etc. I am in California so would not be any competition !!!

Best Regards

Steve G

PS I totally endorse the idea of a forum for XL1S entrpreneurs !!

Chris,

Becky, might be onto something for a new heading, Business Practices and Questions. There have been a few postings about sales tax, business cards, rates etc. Maybe it would prove helpfull to the members.

Jeff -->>>


I'll second that motion. It's a great idea.

PS, Hi Becky! :)

Okay, when I come home after the L.A. DV Show next week, we can all work together on some new ideas for the message boards. Sounds good,

Back from the depths of, well you know...
 

Ok, I'm finally human again. I did a bout with the flu or something. Thanks for all of the greetings and support. Steve, in reply to your queries about producing commercials.

I work for a cable company in the creative media division. My company doesn't actually make any money with our commercial production. The revenue is generated by inserting commercials on local and statewide cable channels. In short, the salespeople are the driving force behind the revenue generated. I am ashamed to even tell you how cheap it is to produce a commercial in our area. The money comes from the run of that spot. That is not to say that we don't crank out some very high quality commercials, worlds beyond what you see from small tv stations around. I write, shoot and edit the commercials that I produce. It's been great experience, tho mostly learned on my own. I was a graphic artist to begin with and have since learned the craft of writing and shooting effective ads. My plan is to go freelance at some point in the not too distant future.

I've gathered some clients who know the quality of my work and I'm sure that I will retain a few of those when I leave. I don't however expect ad production to be the mainstay of my business. I've produced ads for a variety of different types of businesses and have a growing list of awards for those. I'm currently producing short pieces for Nebraska Educational Television. Those don't pay great either, but they're fun and give me super local press. I will be the first professional production house (small, but professional) in my area. It could be rough for a while. I'm hoping to pick up an industrial video here and there and would love to break into production for the hundreds of cable channels that are out there.

What kind of stuff do you produce? Thanks for your interest. It's nice to talk to other producers, you just never know what kind of ideas might spark a possible opportunity.

Becky

Moving to Nebraska
 

Yeah.... From Rhode Island. I found a indie film group online that meets in Lincoln, so i'm looking forward to having that experience. But I surf.... and I've always lived within 15 minutes of the Ocean..... I'm a little afraid of what being landlocked might do to me.

I grew up in North Platte, NE, and am now living in Boston.

My suggestion for your surf addiction? Buy a used ski boat and learn to wake board or water ski. The hidden bonus of the Midwest is that there are more lakes and fewer people, so water sports are more easily pursued. I grew up on a slalom ski and missed it profoundly when I moved to New England. Fewer lakes, more people = pricey waterfront.

Slalom skiing or wakeboarding has that 'study it forever to learn the nuances' element that is addicting in surfing. If you can, figure out how to go early in the morning or at dusk when few others are out; the water is calm and the experience exquisite-- a prime opportunity for good video. The other option is to go on Saturdays when the Nebraska football team is playing; you will be alone on the lake. Chilly in November, however.

Good luck, and learn to love pickup trucks.

Eliot

Hahaha yeah I heard about the "sea of red" on game days. Yeah i was expecting that i would probably pick up some other type of water sports, I've done almost all of em. Do you know if their is enough wind for kite surfing?

The biggest bonus about surfing was the only costs were the initial equipment, and then gas to drive to surf spots... so it was cheap. Boats = $$$$$$$... Which is the whole reason I'm moving out there cause i can't find work here. So whatever i do it's going to have to be cheap.... Or only an intial investment. Most of my money finds its way into FILM :) go figure.


Thanks for the info.

I used to windsurf in the area. There is more than enough wind (you're in tornado country), but the issue is that it gusts and can change direction rapidly. It will probably add to the thrill, however.

A windsurfer is a pretty inexpensive way to start out. Just don't give up after your first week. The balance is pretty tricky to sort out, but once you get used to it you can really move. Lessons and long boards are highly recommended to learn, but you'll graduate to a shorter and more steerable board pretty quickly. I've never tried kite surfing, but it would probably work well depending on the size of the lake.

Good luck,

Eliot

hey, im in Lincoln also, good to see another person from here. :)

Hello from Nebraska
 

I'm from Nebraska (Omaha). Anyone know people in the area? I looked for posts but I didn't find any.