Ask Me Anything About Video Production

[Livid]

I have 2 questions:
1. What type of video editor for short films do you suggest?
2. Where can you find actors? I have posted a form on this website but I haven't got not even one reply so if you know somewhere I can post a form where I can look for actors/actresses that would be great.

If you or anyone who reads this reply's to my questions that would be great

 

[Styxie]

I did many things. Audio board, camera for sports. Editing, real editing linear head to head with 2 decks. I was a director of news for ABC and NBC affiliates and was also a consultant on Japanese tv shows too. Not all at the same time mind you aha

That's really cool! If you managed all that at the same time I would have been even more impressed haha [DOUBLEPOST=1481285369,1481284818][/DOUBLEPOST]

Got a few questions:

• This isn't video production related, but working in an MCN, at what point did channels tend to be offered anything worthwhile as opposed to the usual MCN offerings that most channels find themselves being able to obtain themselves. Additionally what kinds of benefits are these that you give to larger channels? Or how do you guys usually work with them?

• This may be a bit unspecific, but in terms of investing in gear and rigs, do you have any words that you wish you knew before you started buying your first sets of proper gear? May be a longshot of a question considering how many years ago you would have started.

• When you say you co-run a production company can I assume you were involved when it was being created? If so, what were the first steps? How large was the initial investment? What problems did you run into? Very interested.

Sure!

• There wasn't really a set number of views/subs, if you had high growth you may be offered a different contract/more features. What you were offered depends entirely on your size, the MCN, etc. It could be anything from a dedicated marketing manager/staff, video editors, extra sponsorship outreach, to anything you can think of really. It's all open to negotiation. I didn't really manage large channels so couldn't give you too much detail about how our partner managers managed them,
  
• Gear wise, we're really lucky that we get access to millions in studio space/camera gear/lenses for pretty much free. We're not big enough to own all of our gear outright, very few production companies actually own their camera bodies, lenses etc, it's usually all rented. For the second, initial investment was very very small as in a few hundred. As we had access to all the gear, space and talent, we didn't need to really put in any money other than for the business registration, website fees and misc. In all, it's not very expensive. Starting a production company is honestly easy if you are lucky enough to have access to what we did. If not, it's a real struggle.
• Our biggest problem was our location, sadly we're located in a rather poor area of England and finding paid work is simply very difficult. We do a lot of work for expenses only in the aim to grow our brand/portfolio.

If you have any more Qs do ask, hope I answered some![DOUBLEPOST=1481285473][/DOUBLEPOST]

I have 2 questions:
1. What type of video editor for short films do you suggest?
2. Where can you find actors? I have posted a form on this website but I haven't got not even one reply so if you know somewhere I can post a form where I can look for actors/actresses that would be great.

If you or anyone who reads this reply's to my questions that would be great

Well, Premiere Pro is becoming more and more industry standard, but it is a bit pricey. If you're looking for a good free NLE (video editor) then I suggest you check out either Da‎Vinci Resolve or HitFilm Express!
For actors, you have to put out casting calls and network with the local community. We're very active in our local acting scene and build relationships with actors. If they're paid roles, finding them becomes even easier.

 

[KatyAdelson]

I've been curious about making more story-like videos and such. It's good to know you can rent better equipment -- it sounds obvious now, but for some reason I never thought of it lol. xD

Does everyone actually storyboard everything before they film, and to what level of detail (is there some rule of thumb or something)?

Also, is there a proper way to ask for permission to use a location or building as a set?

I guess I'm curious about the initial planning of mini movies and such... ^_^

 

[Styxie]

I've been curious about making more story-like videos and such. It's good to know you can rent better equipment -- it sounds obvious now, but for some reason I never thought of it lol. xD

Does everyone actually storyboard everything before they film, and to what level of detail (is there some rule of thumb or something)?

Also, is there a proper way to ask for permission to use a location or building as a set?

I guess I'm curious about the initial planning of mini movies and such... ^_^

Film kit rental is a huge industry! Can be fairly expensive depending on what you're getting..from tens to hundreds a day.

Not everyone storyboards, but most do. If you don't at least have a basic storyboard, chances are your film is going to be more of a pain to shoot. Pretty much every pro film has a good storyboard.

Yes there is! If you want to do everything oficially you have to get the owner of the space to sign a release form/location agreement. Without one, you can have problems at festivals/in the future. Most youtube filmmakers don't bother though.