Where to find great video people

This issue is about how to find great video people in your local area and how to pick the one that’s right for you.

But first…

Thanks!

Subscriptions to the letter have been growing by leaps and bounds.

At this point, it must be because you’re sharing it with friends and colleagues. Thanks. I appreciate it.

Second, the topic of video advertising on the Internet has created a torrent of e-mail, bigger than anything I’ve seen in a long time.

If I don’t get back to you personally right away, it’s because the volume of mail has been sky high.

I do read everything you send and appreciate all the tips and pointers.

— More about “do it yourself”

I received quite a few e-mails from people who appreciated my “make or buy” advice.

Several people said they’d gone ahead and tried to do their own video production by buying a ton of gear only to discover afterwards they didn’t really have the time or inclination to do it themselves.

If you wonder why I know so much about this topic, it’s because I’ve learned it the hard way over the years myself. 🙂

I also had the priceless experience of working inside the film and video production business for a year with a seasoned pro, so I got to see first hand and up close what it takes to do it right.

— How to find video vendors and partners

No matter where you live, there’s  probably a lot more video people around than you realize.

Here are two good sources of “good enough” video production services:

1. Wedding videographers
2. Community colleges

Also, you can run an ad at craigslist.org More about this later.

Wedding videographers are busy in May and June. The rest of the year, they’re sitting on their hands. They’d love to hear from you.

Community colleges can sometimes be a gold mine of talent.

Over twenty years ago, I took a TV production course at a community college in Central New Jersey.

The school had a full blown, professional three camera studio with all the bells and whistles. The instructor was a guy with massive experience as a television producer.

The faculty are often available for moonlighting and if not can often point you to sharp students and local freelancers.

— How to select the right video guy (or gal)

Ted Nicholas once told me that if only one out of ten people you do business with actually performs, you’re lucky. This is especially true for vendors.

The secret is to identify and weed out the dogs as fast as possible. The good guys don’t need to be trained or taught manners. You just need to find them.

— Nine steps to a great video production partner

1. Cast as wide a net as possible

Once when I needed a perl programmer, I actually evaluated over 300 people. The process took an entire week.

The pay off? He was fast, he was gifted and he was a total pleasure to work with. Five years later, he is still a treasured resource. The time and energy it took to find him was time well spent.

2. Don’t educate them at first

All you really need to say in the beginning is that you are looking for someone to make short and simple promotional videos for you and that if it works out, there’ll be a stream of work down the line.

That’s music to the ears of videographers who often live a “feast and famine” lifestyle.

3. Ask for their reel

“Reel” is the industry term for a sample tape. It’s the equivalent of a videographers business card.

If they don’t have one or can’t get one to you easily, they’re most probably not serious. Cross them off your list.

4. Don’t believe what you see

Now you have a pile of reels. Look through them and throw out the obvious dogs.

What’s a dog? Bad sound, shaky camera, bad lighting. If their reel is weak, their actual work is going to be horrendous.

Don’t assume that what’s on the reel is stuff they actually made. Yes, I know it’s shocking, but some people lie. They put other people’s work on their reel and present it as their own.

Don’t believe what they say on their web site either.

I once hired a guy who called himself an experienced director. On his web site he had a picture of himself next to a state-of-the-art 32-mm camera, the ones they use in Hollywood and on very high end commercials.

When he and his ‘crew’ arrived for the live shoot, they could barely get their camcorders to work!

Yes, there was a picture of a 35-mm motion picture camera on his web site and yes he was standing next to it. And later I learned that that was the full extent of his experience in film making: standing next to a 35-mm camera.

Here’s two ways to avoid being on the receiving end of an experience like this.

5. Get and speak to multiple references

Speaks for itself.

6. Never give someone you’ve never worked with a big, serious project right off the bat no matter who recommends them

Always start out with a small project and one that doesn’t really matter.

Make one up if you have to.

This way if they screw up – and remember Ted Nicholas’ observation that 9 out of ten so called business people are flakes – you’ll only lose a little time and money, not your sanity.

7. Treat your vendors right

When you find a capable, reliable video guy that you can work with – and you will – treat him right.

Remember: “A business lives and dies on the quality of its vendors.” If you’ve been in business for any length of time you know that’s true.

Be a great client which means:

1) being easy and reliable to work with
2) being appreciative – and patient when things go wrong (but not TOO patient)
3) paying a fair rate

Don’t be one of those business ‘geniuses’ who spends their lives beating down vendors on price.

The biggest winners I know in business – guys who’ve built nine figure a year companies (yes, 100,000,000+ a year) – all make it a practice to treat their vendors like family.

Once you find a great vendor – and it may take some trial and error to find one – your goal should be to become his favorite client. This does not mean showering money on them or becoming their best buddy. What it does mean is paying fair and being fair.

8. You’re the boss – know what you want

There are many very talented film and video production people who have never and will never come up with a worthwhile content or marketing idea on their own.

So don’t look to them for content, marketing or business advice. That’s not their function. Generally, video folks know less than nothing about marketing, advertising, and selling – even if they’ve worked on TV commercials.

Their sole job is to put your vision in video form.

You’re the one who has to provide the vision which in video means the script.

Think of video folks the same way you think of web designers or programmers. Talented people, but only useful to you when they are following your clearly thought out directions.

(In the video world, before-the-shoot planning is called preproduction, the actual shoot is called production, and the editing and finish work is called postproduction.)

By all means, seek out and listen to their advice about sound, lighting, sets, wardrobe, camera angles, etc. but it’s up to you to get straight what you want from them *before* you call them in to shoot a project.

By the way, most camera people are editors too or work closely with one, so you can reasonably expect to get the whole job from shoot to finished project done by one set of hands. A good thing.

9. Craigs list is a good source of talent

Besides wedding videographers and your local community college, check out Craigs List.

I remember Craigs List when it was just a small little thing being run by a group of ex-hippies in San Francisco. If that’s your recollection too, it’s time for a major update

Craigs List has evolved into a massive free classified ad service and talent bank that has local outlets in over 100 cities worldwide from Albany, NY to Zurich Switzerland.

Just reading the tv/film/video ads section will be an education in itself.

To use this resource…

Go to Craigs list, find your city, and then go to the “jobs” section and click on tv/film/video

Link: http://www.craigslist.org

Summary:

You WILL find a great video person to work with, but probably he or she won’t fall out of a tree at your feet.

Cast your net as wide as possible, ask for reels, be quietly skeptical, check references, try them out on a small project first, know what you want – and when you find a good one, treat ’em right.

Best,

– Ken McCarthy

P.S. For over 25 years I’ve been sharing the simple but powerful things that matter in business with my clients.

If you’d like direction for your business that will work today, tomorrow and twenty years from now, visit us at the System Club.

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