Crews

Not long ago, a freelance cameraman had to nearly break his back just to haul the camera, lighting, tripod, and other gear required to produce a quality commercial or corporate video. Add the tapes and post-production equipment to the mix and freelance film production was nearly impossible to get into. You were locked out of the biz unless you had a production company backing you up. And you certainly weren’t going to be able to keep the editing gear on a desk in your home office.

But now, with technology “in the hands of the people,” video producers can make TV-ready commercials with only the gear in their pocket. With phones smaller than a piece of toast, you can film in HD, record sound, and even edit while waiting at the doctor’s office or watching your kid’s ballgame.

Technology—it’s one of the biggest blessings of the business. You don’t need a truckload of gear or a video crew to make even a full-length documentary. You just need a DSLR, a laptop, and some gaffers tape.

It’s a dream.

And it’s a nightmare.

Because when barriers to entry come down, a LOT of folks get into the game. And while production value doesn’t always go up, the sheer volume of content does—at a rate of 100 hours per minute on YouTube alone. When people with amateur skills offer services at a lower cost, rising above the noise becomes harder—and more important.

You can do a lot with an iPhone and a steadicam, but don’t expect a global Fortune 500 company to hire you if that’s your only gear. It’s still critical to stay current. The challenge is deciding what technology to invest in (buy) and what to rent.

Karl Van Amburg of Sonoma Productions has the C300 and Sony EX3, and says, “It’s like having an ice cube in your hand as the usability of the cameras is melting away.” Technology is changing so fast that it’s hard to invest and have the gear remain viable.

In our next posts, we’ll be exploring what rental houses can teach you about camera equipment and five things to consider before buying it.

About Crew Connection

Crew Connection connects you with video production crews across the country and around the globe. With more than 25 years of experience and thousands of shoots with film crew pros to our credit, you can trust our expert coordinators to match you with the right freelance video crew and equipment—every time. Contact us today!

In 1989, Jeff Widener captured an image of a lone man, shopping bag in hand, facing off with a tank, and, by extension, the entire Chinese government. Since celluloid has been replaced with SD cards and “developing” film requires just a few mouse clicks, the language describing Widener’s equipment is about as bulky as the gear itself. He used a “Nikon 400mm F5.6 EDIF internal focus lens with a Nikon teleconverter with a focal length of around 800mm” and “Fuji 100 ISO film.”

Widener describes hiding film in his underwear as well as pulling it out of a damaged camera with pliers. In addition to the technical challenges of getting it to the right places, the massive gear brought Widener unwanted attention from a censor-happy government. A quarter century later, relatively simple, tiny cameras gave documentary filmmakers in another square (and under another oppressive regime), boots-on-the-ground access to Egyptian revolutionaries.

The Square was filmed with DSLRs like the Canon 5D, which made it through airport security because (as director Jehane Noujaim describes) they “looked like photography cameras.” The deceivingly-small DSLRs granted the filmmakers near anonymity with their subjects, making it feel like the audience is “experiencing [the revolution] live.” While Noujaim credits modern equipment, she also says, “Just because you can film something—I mean, just because you have a pen doesn’t make you a writer.”

While equipment (and hairstyles!) have changed in the 25 years that PayReel’s sister company, Crew Connection, has been in business, some things are timeless. The Square and Tank Man are different in more ways than they are alike, but they have one element in common—compelling storytelling.

Sources

• The Square interview
• Daily Beast article
• Resource Magazine’s interview with Jeff Widener, Tank Man photographer.

Video Production Crews

Crew Connection connects you with video production crews across the country and around the globe. With more than 25 years of experience and thousands of shoots to our credit with film crew pros, you can trust our expert coordinators to match you with the right freelance video crew and equipment every time.

So I just had a baby. As many of you can relate, this has meant sleepless nights peppered with hours of frustration and moments of boundless joy. And maybe it’s just my baby-addled brain, but this got me thinking about crewing. You’re saying “Crewing … babies … really?” I promise that I’m not suffering from post-partum “video-itis,” so hear me out.

When you first see your child, you’re filled with delight, anticipation, and happiness. You’re thinking about all the fun things you want to do and how you’re going to shape this new person into something special. This is exactly like the start of the production process. When you get a new project you are excited about the prospects and are eager to plan it all out. And then the reality sets in. All of a sudden the baby is crying and spitting up all over you … just like the logistics and details of a video shoot. Where will the crew come from? What gear should I use? Why do I smell like cheese?

This is where the crewing process should be a whole lot easier than being a new parent. Because there are resources out there to help make your video shoot go down for a nap. Trained professionals, like the booking coordinators at Crew Connection, are available to help you wade through the mire of video production logistics and not get bogged down with the dirty diaper details. As a new parent, you are very protective of this little extension of yourself. You need to trust who is going to handle your baby.

CrewConnection has been cleaning up drooling little messes since 1989. Now if they could help with all the laundry…

A special thank you to Brent Bowers, Crew Connection booking coordinator, for being our guest blogger this week. He and his wife welcomed their first child Zoe (pictured), earlier this year.