Hey everyone, recently we've been wanting to finally rent out a place to set up our shop. The problem is that I'm not sure if we'd be able to pay the bills year round, but having a physical location we could probably sign a lot more gigs being able to bring the brides in. I'm just wanting your insights on this and maybe what made the decision for you and how you determined that, any comments are appreciated, thanks.


Eric Hansen
E Hansen Productions
www.ehansenproductions.com

Well, first off I work out of my home so I can't tell you from direct experience what works better or not. But I know you're down in the Provo/Orem area. I'm up in Salt Lake and it seems like the video studios up here that have a physical studio seem to book many more weddings than those who work out of their homes. Then again, those who have a physical studio have also made it their full time job, while those working from home are generally (not always) the part-timers. In my opinion, I think it would help. From your earlier posts it seems like business has been going well for you. Having an accounting background, I'd probably do a financial analysis of the situation to see what will benefit you the most. Good luck; let us know what you decide.

I moved into a small office space about 8 months ago and it's been a godsend. Beats having to deal with home office issues, pets, etc...

http://www.adeverauxfilm.com/office/

I work out of a home-office and do great. Think of it this way. If you start renting a studio locaiton, then you have to book "X" number of additional weddings just to pay for the space. I'm not saying it's a bad idea, but I've seen some of your work, and I really believe that work speaks for itself.

My suggestion would be to fix up your home office to make it as nice as possible. My is next to my front door, so I don't have to lead people through my whole house just to get to my office. We also sometimes meet with clients in our living room (my wife is a photographer and we book weddings together sometimes). Our house is a nice middle-class house in a nice neighborhood. We actually moved about a year-and-a-half ago just to get into a nicer house and area for our businesses.

I don't know what your home, area or office are like, but if they're nice, then your brides won't really care. At least that's what I've found.

Also, I own/operate an advertising and marketing agency out of the same home office and haven't had any clients care about that either.

Hope that helps. d:-)

Eric,

Just had a look at your showreel, whether you have an office or not, it wouldn't matter, your work speaks for itself!

A credit to event videography. If you lived in the UK you could do my sons' weddings...if they EVER decide to get married!

Cheers

Tony

ive got 2 rooms in our house allocated to the business..

one is the master bedroom as it has a walk in wardrobe and ensuite.. so the wardrobe is now a storeroom and the ensuite is the client toilet...

Basically its very minimal, projector, sound system, 2 seater lounge and a stool behind the lounge.

the other room houses the main 2 workstations, office machine, printers and all video post production tools.
It also houses all the music gear, Racks, synths, keyboards mixing console etc etc.

Noone is allowed in the studio unless their reviewing their edit.

the layout works well for us.. basically they knock on the door and are directed up the stairs to the first door on their right. Thats all they see..thats all they need to see..

I had a studio (photo & video) for 12 and I have being working out of the house for 14.
A studio is nice for someone who needs a physical place to call work. If you have a problem getting up in the morning and getting dress for work on time, rent a place to remind you of your responsibilities. If you have a need for space like a place to do commercial work, green screen, or a place that your customers feel comfortable, rent a place.

With customers it is all the way you present yourself. If you dress professionally at home they will feel like you are a professional that can give them a better deal since you don't pay that overhead.

I personally like working from my house for the following reasons:

I don't have to stay at a location waiting for a customer that wants to drop in.
I don't have to have regular shop hours. I can make a 6:00 PM appointment and if the customer is late I could be enjoying family time.
Most importantly overhead. Here in Miami you can't get a nice 1000 sq ft office for less than $2,000 plus utilities and maintenance.

I will some day buy a warehouse to build a video/sound studio for commercial work ($500,000.00). (An editing room for my future editors. A nice reception room for my future receptionist. A waiting room for my customers. A meeting room to meet with customers and agencies. A make up room. An equipment room. A TV control room to do TV programs, Infomercials, etc.)

For now I'll be here at home. I have converted my living room into a reception area were I show demos and a 7.6' X 10' screen with skirts. Immediately to the right is my editing room were I seat with customers to edit the final version of their project. (TV Commercials, Weddings or what ever it may be). Up ahead is private half bathroom. A little farther ahead is large dining room table that serves as meeting room for the agencies and client of commercial work. I also keep a two car garage to keep some of my other production equipment and a business mini ban.

Thanks guys for your comments and imputs. I'm still a student right now in college, so that also causes some problems with having a studio. I'm also hoping to purchase a brand new condo that I could convert into a nice looking meeting place, so maybe I'll give that a shot for a while.
For those of you who know the Utah wedding market, it's extremely competitive because you have tons of weddings and a lot of videographers as well, so I know that impression is a huge factor in a brides decision in who she hires. I have also found that many brides are looking for a combined package with photography as well. We're working a deal with a local professional who is starting up his business as well, so hopefully that will increase our work as well. But thanks a lot everyone

Eric Hansen
www.ehansenproductions.com

I have an office studio, luckily I get a great deal on the rent ($600/Month). It has a downstairs entry/foyer plus meeting room and upstairs is the edit area, duplication room and a section for film transfers.

I prefer having the office/studio rather than having people coming to my home all the time. It looks professional and I get a lot more corporate/commercial work because of it.

No photo's to show here...DJ, mate...."it's just toooo clean" :-)

Cheers...Paul Hackett.

Hi Eric,
Choose the most cost effective for now and when yoiu are busy enough to allow for that expense it will be a no brainer. Your work is fabulous. I love the enthusiasm and rythym of your editing. What stabalizers are you using that allow you such fluid motion. Also are you using a crane system as well. The date videos are extremely well done. Kudos and keep up the good work.

DJ, mate...."it's just toooo clean" :-)Cheers...Paul Hackett.

Howdy Bud!

Yeah... I admit. The pix were from shortly after move in :-) You wouldn't want to see what it looks like today ;-)

Eric -

Your website is the best website I've yet seen for a wedding videographer, bar none. You are quite obviously a very talented young man. I haven't viewed your sample video yet, but look forward to it (and learning from it).

I'd like to ask if you have had any luck booking weddings to shoot and deliver in HD?

Very impressive website...nice video also

but how are you getting around the copyright with the music? Did you buy rights to the songs?

Thanks for the compliments guys. I actually have a guy who works with me that does all our internet stuff, he does as many websites as we do wedding videos almost.
Jason, we use glidecam 2000's and the magiqcam system to get the smooth shots, they have really made the difference in making our videos more dynamic and exciting, we just got the glidecam 4000 for our new Canon XL-H1 and we also have a home made crane system that works great.
Robert, we haven't had anyone sign up for HD specifically yet, we just got the camera about a month ago and I think our price is a little high for it, we've shot one in HD so far and we're just going to try to get a HD demo out there but we'll see what happens. The camera is awesome!

Eric Hansen

I think your pricing point on the "Ultimate HD" is a good one (you might consider including an HD capable DVD player in the package, so folks have something to play the video on, other than their computer). If anything, particularly considering your quality, your other pricing points look perhaps a little low to me. A man (or woman) should make a good living doing this at a truly professional level (otherwise, let's just flip burgers - less headaches and stess). Perhaps your area has even more competition undercutting prices than mine does though. May I ask how many weddings you book per month and how long it took you to get to your current level of bookings?

Hey Robert, I really like that idea to include the DVD player, I'll put that in there! and about the other prices, we've only been in the industry for a year now and if you look around at other Utah companies you'll see that the market is completely saturated and the prices are all generally low for the services. As for bookings we've only advertised through different bridal shows and we book about 2 a month but I hope that number will increase this summer as we're going to advertise a little more, but the pricing you have to offer to compete here in Utah is rediculous. What a lot of videographers are doing here is teaming up with photographers and offering an all-in-one package. Brides seem to like this as they can book it all in one spot. Also being a full-time student at the same time makes it a little difficult to put too much time into the marketing side of things, but if you have any advise please I'm completly open for ideas. Thanks for the ideas!

Eric Hansen

I just wrote more to you in a post on another thread, but thought I'd make a comment here about the studio question. IMHO, I think you would get more out of putting time and resources into driving traffic to your website to get more folks viewing your samples (and perhaps tweaking the site some - not saying that it is bad at all - it's a good site, one of the best out there). Heck, you might wind up booking a few deals without even meeting the couples first!

I got a sweet deal on an office suite. I got a part-time radio job (mornings on a country station) and they threw in a free office and conference room. At 9am I'm off the air and simply walk upstairs to my office.

I can't comment on how much difference it makes, since I haven't really started actively pursuing weddings. I will soon...

Man, you can't complain with that!

Admittedly, I'm in the same boat as you Eric in some regards. And while it would be preferable to open up that office space and go for it, financially it's not feasible for me at this juncture. So, mirroring the advice that Robert has already indicated - I'm focusing on the product more than the office space.

Yes, I realize this may turn away some business -- but until I can do this full-time, then I'm going to have to do it this way for awhile longer. Chris has the ideal situation that is simply unbeatable to pass up! Which has given me some ideas for down the road...

Good luck!
-Michael