Brief History of Work Experience in Video Production

1996 - I purchased my first analog 8mm video camera along with a built from scratch IBM compatible 166Mhz Intel Pentium computer running Windows 95 and Ulead MediaStudio.  Over the course of several years I immersed myself in the intricacies and challenges of working with analog video on a digital platform.  An interesting fact… Although my computer was top of the line at the time and very powerful, I had to reformat the hard drive, reinstall the operating system, and applications before working on a new project. This had to be done because of the small hard drive capacity and because of the severe fragmentation that would occur on the hard drive when editing video.  At the end of an edit I would either print to tape (VHS) or burn a digital file to CD (DVD-R was not available at this time) and then delete the project and all my work in the reformatting process.  Working with video in a non-linear editor was a challenge to say the least in those days however, I learned a great amount about the media and working with technology.

1998 - I became fascinated and passionate with the idea of distributing video over the internet.  It was about this time that I had determined that I wanted to utilize the internet as a distribution platform for video even though at the time video on the internet was the size of a postage stamp and of such a poor quality to make the image practically unrecognizable.  A combination of limited internet bandwidth and underpowered computers restricted what could be accomplished.  It was this time that I began my quest in understanding compression schemes, codecs, delivery mechanisms, and wrappers or containers of video formats.

2000 -   I invested into a new powerful PC and a professional video editing package called Vegas Video (At the time, from Sonic Foundry).  I also invested in Sound Forge, Acid, and a few other items from Sonic Foundry. Side Note: The first professional HD video camera hit the market.

2003 - I purchased my first Apple computer and switched over to Final Cut Pro. I began acquiring small video jobs for pay, shooting a handful of weddings and high school sports events using a Canon GL1 video camera and offering finished products on DVD.  I learned to master professional DVD authoring software thinking there was a bright future in DVD distribution (oh how I was wrong). Side note: Really Simple Syndication (RSS) was invented this year.

2004 - Apple Inc. announces the new feature of “Podcasts” in the 2004 release and update of iTunes. This was a significant event in my quest to distribute video over the internet.  Once I understood the concept, my mind exploded with ideas.  There was finally a way to distribute high quality video via the internet.  My interest in video turned to commercial video production and marketing with video. However, podcasting being such a new and misunderstood technology I found difficulty selling the concept to potential clients. I continued to develop my craft and became a student of new cutting edge technologies as they developed.  I was actively learning from and contributing to online video production forums. In truth, technology was developing so fast, the only place a person could learn “real-time” was online with the online community.

2005 - I decided to attend Chapman University film school. Chapman was building a new facility for film with multiple studios with all the whistles and bells. I was one signature away from attending when I had received and offer to help run a whitewater rafting outfit with a good friend of mine. I decided against film school and I am deeply grateful for that decision. I would have been $120,000 in debt and would have graduated with an education appropriate for film production. The program still covered film with a small extension into video for television production. Nothing for internet distribution. I had no interest in Hollywood or television. I knew back in 1998 that the internet was the future of media distribution. Side Note: Youtube was invented this year.

2006 - I was hired as an independent video production contractor by Theater of Homes® (http://theaterofhomes.com). Theater of Homes® beautifully presents properties using state-of-the-art HD video production and web services.  As a one-man production company, it was my job to set up appointments with realtors to shoot, in high definition (using a JVC HD100U) a video tour of the agent’s listed property.  I would then edit the piece and have it uploaded to the Theater of Homes® streaming flash server by the next day in which we provided the client two separate edits. One edit that could be used in the MLS listing and another edit that could be used everywhere else. I solely saw the process from beginning to end from acquisition, audio, edit, transcoding, graphics, text, to delivery. I also acquired other work from medium to small organizations producing video for the purpose of marketing for television and web. I setup and administered the first podcast sponsored by a whitewater rafting outfitter producing public service announcements and river safety awareness videos. Side Note: Google acquires Youtube.  Streaming video dominates podcasting overnight.

2007 - Theater of Homes® produces a 30 minute television show, showcasing various properties throughout the Willamette valley area, on Eugene Oregon’s NBC affiliate KMTR channel 16. I was the chief editor of the show for a year and one of two video acquisition contributors. I won a 2007 MarCom Gold Award for my editing work on the Theater of Homes® television show.  I also headed research and integration of new technologies for Theater of Homes®.  We were quite cutting edge. With the acceptance of HD video on Youtube in 2007, I suggested we start publishing Theater of Homes® content on Youtube and other popular video distribution services. I continuously experimented with using SEO techniques on the Theater of Homes® videos. Optimizing the videos proved to be very effective. I also setup and administer the Theater of Homes® podcast. I continued to acquired other work from medium to small organizations producing video for television and web; building a small but, returning customer base. I also setup and administered a handful of podcast feeds for small businesses.

Interesting side note regarding the Theater of Homes® television show. The local TV station had not the capability to broadcast HD video. They had not upgraded their broadcast equipment to do so at that time. Although, we shot and edited in HD, we had to transcode and deliver our show in standard definition to the station first on video tape and then later on DVD.  Ironically, we were able to upload our show to Youtube in HD.

2008 - I leave Theater of Homes® due to housing market crash.

2009 - I acquire one of the very first Canon EOS 7D’s available on the market.  The 7D was designed to shoot video for television frame rates unlike the 5DmII.  My business grows.  I focus strictly on producing marketing content for small to medium size organizations for distribution on the web using platforms such as Youtube and Vimeo.  I embrace social media and build a vast network of video and film professionals.  I learned the in’s and out’s of social media (nearly all services).  Although not part of my business, I contributed, mentored, and consulted with many businesses and organizations on how to utilize social media.  I would be invited to sit on panels and present before city chamber and tourism groups.

2011 - I shot my first documentary film and then retired from video work for a season. I stepped away from video production for several reasons.

First: We had just lost our whitewater rafting business. My wife and I purchase a whitewater rafting outfit the summer of 2007, just two months before the housing market crash. We stayed open until Fall of 2010.  Our overhead was to great to survive the storm.
Second: My family and I relocated to Las Vegas for work opportunities the end of 2011. I found contract work with MG Studio (http://mgstudio.com) but, was not getting sufficient work. Toward the end of 2012 my wife receive a lucrative offer to work for a small accounting firm in Southern California, in which we relocated.

2012 - I lease stock footage to Apple Inc. for the MacBook Pro 13 inch Retina Display nationwide television ad campaign. The first two shots on the MacBook Pro are mine and last 11 seconds of the 30 second spot. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNsvcEJ5ko8)

2014 - My family and I relocate to McKinney Texas for work opportunities. My wife receives an ideal job opportunity. I start looking for opportunities to get back into video.  Although I had been away from video production for several years I stayed up to date of the developing technologies and trends.  I invested significant energy into understanding the Youtube culture, trends, and technologies.  Even in those years of not working I continued to build relationships with industry leaders. I had significant opportunity to meet, speak with, work, and friend many industry influencers. I begin building my video production business again from the ground up.

2015 - I gained traction and acquire tourism video work with the McKinney CVB.

2016 - I was hired to produce multiple event/tourism videos with McKinney Mainstreet that went into 2017. I with my family move back to Las Vegas late 2016.

To this date I continue to shoot with various organizations via word of mouth advertising in the tourism industry.

My Attributes:

I consider myself skilled at composition, balance, and contrast of image. These are skills I learned with photography. My love for photography started as a young boy. I began shooting with film at about the age of 10. I learned to process film and develop prints in a dark room environment by the age of 14. I was on my high school yearbook staff as a photographer. I often receive compliments on my frame composition.

I also consider myself a skilled video editor. I enjoy editing almost as much as I enjoy shooting. I do not neglect the details however, I make it a priority to meet budget and deadline constraints.

In addition I am skilled at audio editing. Prior to my interest in video, as a teenager, I thought I might grow-up to be a sound engineer in a sound studio. I have always been interested in audio and consider it just as important as video in every project. As George Lucas once said “Sound is 50% of the moviegoing experience”.

Most of all I feel my greatest attribute is experience and wisdom. I have been around long enough to see the beginning of the digital video age bloom to its present iteration. I have learned much by experience. The tools and trends of the digital cinema/video industry change so fast that the only way to keep up is to be immersed in it. I have that. I am not famous or a big shot in the digital cinema/video industry but, I have had some amazing experiences and some incredible opportunities; meeting truly amazing people. I feel very fortunate and truly blessed to have had the opportunities that I have been given. I look forward to what the future brings. I can not help feel that I am just getting started. That’s me in a nutshell.

4 Things I do on Every Shoot that my Clients Love

Sometimes the highest compliment an independent video contractor can get is; “You made that without a crew?”

Many years ago I had a coffee shop meeting with a highly experienced Producer from New York City to discuss plans for a documentary project. While going over my work and also going over work in which she wished for the documentary to emulate, the one question she kept repeating to me over and over during our interview was; “You can do this by yourself?” She made it no secret that she had doubts. She said that the smallest crew she had ever worked with on a project was twenty people. I assured her I could do the job and she hired me. Over the course of a few months the documentary was shot and it was all done with a crew of one.

I tell this story not to be pompous, but rather to share my simple methods of accomplishing what looks to be high production on a small budget. Producing video is a highly competitive industry. Not all of us can be a J.J. Abrams or Steven Spielberg. However, with video projecting to consume nearly 80% of the global Internet traffic by year 2020, there is a need for creative people to make all those videos! It might as well be you, if you have the will and creative means.  When I say creative means, I mean, being creative with what you have both in ideas and in tools. In this post I am going to share with you four things I do on every shoot that my clients love.

Here is a video I was hired to shoot, edit, and produce that demonstrates all the practices I discuss in this post. The event was the Bike the Bricks race located in historic downtown McKinney, Texas. 

Look for unique perspectives

Look for unique perspectives.  Move around. Look at your subject from every possible angle. Get up high. Get down low. Get creative in how you see your subject and change up the perspective often.

For instance, in the Bike the Bricks video, by asking the event coordinators who hired me, I was able to gain access to the rooftop of a three-story building located in the center of the historic square. This vantage gave me 360-degree birds eye views of the bike racecourse, which resulted in unique footage that provided grate production value to my final video.

In addition, at other times I got my camera low to the ground shooting up at the bike racers as they flew by at high speeds giving yet another unique perspective not familiar with spectators; also providing production value.

Use the camera you have

This video was shot with four different cameras. The main camera was a four-year-old Sony Alpha A7s. The second camera was a nine-year-old Canon EOS 7D. The third camera was an eight-year-old GoPro Hero 3. The final camera was my three-year-old iPhone 6s Plus. That’s right! I used an iPhone on a paid professional shoot. Don’t tell my clients.😅

I want to share with you a secret that I have come to discover. Paying clients do not care what camera you shoot with. They only care about results. You can shoot with whatever you want as long as the final video images look beautiful, professionally made, and convey the message being told. None of my cameras are new and shiny. It’s the person behind the camera that makes the magic happen, not the camera. Use the camera you already have and with it, master the other principles mentioned in this post.

When watching the Bike the Bricks video, see if you can distinguish what footage was shot with which camera. Can you pick out which shots were taken with the iPhone 6s Plus?

Timelapse & Highspeed

I’m not going to take the time to explain timelapse and highspeed footage in this post. Searching these two terms on YouTube will result in hundreds of wonderful and useful tutorial videos.  The message I want to convey is to use timelapse and highspeed in your project. Using timelapse footage in addition to highspeed footage adds tremendous value to your video and clients love it. Your client often feels as though you gave them a bonus by including timelapse and highspeed footage. The secret for success is to use it sparingly. Timelapse and highspeed shots change up the tempo of your video, creating yet another unique and interesting perspective. You do not need expensive camera equipment to create timelapse and highspeed footage. From the cameras I mentioned earlier, I used the GoPro Hero 3 to capture the timelapse footage and I used the iPhone 6s Plus to capture the highspeed footage in the Bike the Bricks video. Now you know which shots were captured with the iPhone.😉

Movement

Finally, move the camera. This one is a little bit more involved. I love camera movement and so do clients. When you move the camera you create great dynamic shots. Movement invokes emotion. Camera movement is a powerful technique to increase the production value of your project. The secret is to create smooth movement.

Creating smooth camera movement can be done in several ways. The most familiar ways that have been used by Hollywood filmmakers for over a hundred years are with dolly’s, jib’s, and similar big and expensive tools. More recently tools like the Steadicam, slider, and most recently, the 3 axis gimbal have made smooth camera movement far more accessible and affordable. The gimbal is the most affordable option and is what I use to get smooth motion shots. It is an additional investment, but there are 3 axis gimbals available to purchase for a smartphone for under $100. For the Bike the Bricks video, I used a more robust gimbal with my Sony Alpha A7s camera. Even so, the gimbal only cost me $400. With a little practice this small investment can add up to thousands of dollars in paid client work. 

Conclusion

I am not a famous Hollywood director or famous commercial DoP (director of photography) nor do I anticipate being such, but I have shot thousands of hours of footage and I have learned from my experiences what really matters most to clients. My work has won various awards and for that I am grateful, but winning awards has never been my motivation. However, these awards do tell me that I am on the right track. What matters most to me, is that my clients are happy. Implement these four practices into your next project and see how much more dynamic and alive your next video becomes.

I Make Webmmercials for Small Businesses. It's that simple.

Thanks for visiting my humble site. As you can see it is being built. I do apologize for the inconvenience.

Meanwhile, enjoy this sample of what I call a webmmercial. In other words a long or short form commercial created specifically for internet distribution highlighting a unique product or service of your business. Below is such an example of the webmmercial concept. This web commercial spotlights Heidi Tunnell Catering Company & Bakery (http://heiditunnellcatering.com) located in the quaint community of Creswell Oregon.

Of course there is more to come.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.