J SCOTT FILMS PRICING...... First of all, I want to apologize for the length and detail of this post, but we feel our bands deserve the time and patience for this explanation. I would like to explain some of the reasons why our pricing goes the way it does.....When doing promos or long videos showcasing more than one song, with or without syncing video footage to studio cuts. J Scott Films has been getting considerable attention for the work we do for many reasons. When filming, we move the cams in such a manner that is catchy rather than just the same old run of the mill filming. Because of that, the editing is a lot more work than just point and shoot footage. Naturally, footage is always easier to edit when the cams arent on the move. Anyone can do that type of filming. When we move the cams in a more exciting and pro looking manner, the footage has holes in it. I refer to holes as moments when the cams arent getting anything good because the cam operator is getting ready to pull another cam move. This doesnt happen when cams are just mounted on tripods with no movement. Editing is all about carving away the imperfect cam moves and leaving only the best footage to be seen. Sometimes really cool moments happening are not caught with good cam control. We specialize in making sure most of these moments have great cam control. Again, great moments with good movement and up close cam control make for the best videos that stand out as opposed to the the run of the mill, boring and motionless cams sitting on tripods. Editing would be pretty easy if all an editor had to deal with was tripod footage. I believe that keeping action shots/moving cam shots, is really what makes a video get more attention. Because of our filming methods to obtain that quality, it takes about 25 to 30 hrs per song to get an edit to its best form. It basically goes without saying, that syncing has to be spot on. To get that quality in a promo type form or long video showcasing the whole set or event, we have to edit each song separately before putting together the long video or promo. Reason is, when a band asks for a promo consisting of 2 or more songs, sections of each song must be decided on. The first thing a band will say, is we want the best section of each song, in the promo, plain and simple. Well, for me to find the best section of each song when there are 4 cams files on each song, I have to edit the whole song all the way through. 25 to 30 hrs each song. And even when the band sees the whole 1 song edit and decides on a section of the song after the edit, they in most cases later decide to change their minds on what section of the song is best for their promo. Now as long as I edit the whole song to begin with, this isnt really a huge amount of more work for me to do. But if I dont edit all the songs for the promo all the way through before the sections are decided on, then when the band changes their mind on the sections, I have to re-edit the song sections from scratch every time. Heres what all is involved on our end... 1) We pay our cam guys for attending and making sure that they dont get bad cam footage. Lacy and I film for free so we can afford to have 3 moving cams. Lacy and I are charging nothing for our time filming. 2) When I start with the files, I have 5 sets of files to title and organize, 4 cams, 1 sound device. 3) The audio files must be trimmed to have good start and end points, then they have to be mixed down to sound as good as my equipment will allow, about 3 hrs work. 4) I Then title and sort hundreds of cam files, all the crazy kick ass un-boring cam moves. About 10 hrs work. 5) Once all the above has been done then the actual editing can begin. The editing can take up to another 30 hrs depending on many things such as cam control issues and the bands performance. A lot of time and caring about how the bands image is projected goes into getting a 1 song video done well enough for it to serve as a great marketing tool for our clients. After all is said and done, for a 1 song video I am only getting no more than 5 dollars an hour, some times less for 30 hrs work or more. I have been doing this for some time now, to get this video biz off the ground. I havent been able to make a living at these prices, but I am so passionate about what we do that Im willing to continue to keep our prices low in order to eventually make this business profitable. I do love what we do. As a lead guitarist myself, I have found that I enjoy helping others look their best more so than worrying about my own musical talents and where they could take me. However, there is probably going to be a time soon that I will no longer be able to continue doing this as I may have to get a job to just survive. When that happens I wont have much free time left in a week anymore to film and edit. At that point I will have to consider raising our prices from the $5/hour to edit videos. Until then, we hope to maintain our low prices - at least for awhile anyway. With regard to our raw footage, we reserve the right to do all the editing of our raw footage as we work for so little as it is. Therefore, we do not offer our raw footage for sale. We prefer to not allow our cam moves/raw footage files to fall into the hands other editors. Our filming techniques are what sets J Scott Films apart from other film companies. We really hope to see this company grow to the point where record labels and large companies can keep us busy at a rate we can survive on. Till then, I am happy to do what I can within reason for bands..I will always give my best to all the bands that make work orders with J Scott films. In promo or long video situations, we just cant afford to charge any less than 100.00 for each song in the promos because sections are always subject to change, revisions are free for 60 days after the 1st final cut is achieved. If you are are looking for more then just a vocal & drum hit synced here and there in your videos, if you are looking for cam control and timing, if you want major drum rolls and guitar leads captured and synced perfectly, believe this... It takes more than just a person holding a cam... J Scott Films has your back by making sure all cams are in the right place at the right time, and the syncing to the studio cut or live audio is always spot on tight. We will NOT put out a video that is not synced up properly. We maintain the highest standards possible when editing. We KNOW these videos are a critical tool in the marketing of bands and there is absolutely no reason to put out anything less than perfection when bands hire us for their videos. J Scott Films will not put our name on inferior work and that only serves as testimonial to our dedication to what we do and how much we care about our bands! You guys work way too hard to have less than the best put out there for you. Again, I apologize for this lengthy rhetoric, but I truly wanted you to understand where our company is at this point. We take a lot of pride in filming bands and truly look forward to being able to work with you in the future whenever possible. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and understand how J Scott Films serves clients at this time. Your Editor, James Scott.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 20:29:43 +0000
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