1. You get on the phone with a potential production company / videographer / studio to talk over the details.
We find that the best way to iron our the details and to truly get on the same page is by hopping on a quick call to make sure YOU as the Client have the possibility to ask all the questions and we as the Service Provider can steer you in the right direction. You can always call us at 310 620 3934 here at C137 Productions.
The phone calls also gives us a chance to make suggestions, set realistic expectations and there is nothing like a person to person talk.
2. You don’t try to cram too many locations / shoots into one day
Please understand that filming something properly takes a certain approach and rushing things usually backfires. In the end you are paying for professional footage, spending your hard earned dollars.
Production process usually involves 3 stages:
Pre-production or planning ... paperwork etc
Production of shooting / filming
Post - production / editing
Here's an example: A client wants to film in 4 remote locations across Greater Los Angeles area all within one day. How many locations can we possibly visit in one day? Probably 2 maximum as that involves:
traveling to the location
unloading all the gear
scouting out the location
prepping the location
staging / setting everything up
then filming A-roll (think - interview)
then B-roll (all the extra footage)
then possibly doing multiple takes to get things right
then tearing everything down
then loading everything back up and
moving on to the next location.
This is by no means a complete list, it's just off the top of my head, Art Freeman's, as depending on what you are shooting, where... there are unique things that must be taken into consideration as well...
3. You DON'T try to find the cheapest studio / videographer / production company for the job
This should be self-explanatory, however this happens much more often than not. Everyone has a limited budget, however there is a certain way that the industry works and does things.
Expect the following day rates when working with professional crew:
Rates start at:
Director of Photography - $650+/day + Camera Kit ($500+)
Camera Operator - $550+/day
Sound Mixer - $600+/day + Kit Fee ($350+)
Gaffer - $500+/day + Gear fee
Hair / Makeup Artist - $500+/day + Kit Fee ($300+)
and so on
Sometimes positions get combined especially on a one-man-band type of shoots and you see positions like Director of Photography who is also Producing and Directing...
This is just food for thought but it's better if you have more information going in, that way you kind of know what to expect.
4. You don’t expect one person to do the job of 2,3, or more people
Building on the previous statement, sometimes the client asks one person to do multiple jobs which makes it very difficult. This happens more often on low budget productions.
You can clearly see that when one person is asked to do the job of a few, even if he/she may agree to do so, certain mistakes, errors may occur and the production quality suffers. A good rule of thumb is if you are a marketing agency and you have a high profile client, please estimate the proper cost of the job as a lot of the times it's the team effort that gets the job done right and makes you look GREAT in front of your client.
5. You don’t ask the production company to cut corners, as that may backfire
And last but not least keep in mind that filming in different locations that are public requires permits and if you are looking for aerial shots, the area needs to be cleared for drone flying.
Here at C137 we are FAA Licensed Drone Pilots and use apps such as B4UFly and KITTYHAWK to make sure we are allowed to fly in your area and if not we see if we can secure a flight authorization. Trust us, last thing you want is to get in trouble with the authorities.
So let us know how we can help, hit us up at Art@C137Prod.com or Call/Text @ 310 620 3934 and we'll try to do our best for you.