Frequently Asked Questions: 1. Why Should we work with you? "We're talking to Acme Video, a really big company with a lot of equipment and their own building. Why would we want to go with you -you're smaller?" The best answer for me to give you is that when you work with me....you actually WORK WITH ME. I am the driving force behind your project every step of the way. From now until the very end. If you need something, you can call me anytime. .even if it's after hours or on the weekend. I don't have a calling service or a recording that explains what my business hours are and when I will be back in the office. When you work with ACME Video, your project manager will be someone that has a few years experience in the video business. Inevitably, you'll end up paying twice the price for half the expertise. Again, when you work with me, you get over 10 X years of experience working directly for you. I do have assistants but they are just that...assistants. My assistants do not MANAGE any part of your project. That's my job. I do my best to keep my overhead low so when you hire me, much more of your money is actually going towards your project whereas when you hire Acme Video, a large portion of your money goes to cover the cost of their equipment and building. Seriously though, I think Acme Video is a great company. I just believe that I'll be able to better meet your creative and budgetary needs. I tell you what, give me a try and I'll guarantee your satisfaction. If you aren't happy with me or my work, you don't have to pay me. That way you won't have any risk by using the smaller company. Should we go ahead and do what it takes to move this project forward? 2. What format should we use? That depends upon your long tern goals. Do you anticipate using this video project for a short period of time or is it intended to be "evergreen" whereby, you will use this video for an extended period of time, say years? Don;t feel the need to jump on the HDTV bandwagon. If you have a short term need, you can use a Standard Definition format such as DVCam or Beta SP. These are 2 of the powerhouse formats in the industry and still widely used by many major networks and production companies. If you are looking for a project that will be used long term, say more than 3 years, consider using HD. Though your project will be shot in HD, it can still be viewed on TV sets that are not high definition, so your project is always viewable by your intended audience. However, if your project is to be broadcast on a network station, the FCC has set February 17, 2009 as date in which all delivered content is to be HD. 3. Can we shoot the video ourselves and have you edit it? Can we just tape the stuff with our camera and bring it to you for editing? Yes you can. However, it will be important that we work together in the planning stages to make sure you are getting the footage we'll need for the final edit. Not having the correct footage can prolong the edit process which will increase the cost quite a bit. What type of camera will you be using? Do you have professional audio equipment? Who on your staff has experience capturing footage for this type of video? I'd be happy to spend a few consulting hours helping them get to know the gear as well as give them a quick primer on proper composition and audio recording. 4. What do you do? "I help businesses of all sizes make significant profits. I do this by producing sales and marketing tools that are designed to help educate their clients, motivate their employees, and encourage their target prospects to choose them as the preferred source of their specific product and services." 5. How much will it cost? Video production pricing is a lot like buying a car. A whole lot depends on the model and accessories you want. My video work has recently ranged from $400 to almost $2,000 per minute. We can give you a really high quality video for something in the $800 per minute range, which translates to somewhere between, say the $5,000 and $7,500 total price range. Of course, this is just a ballpark figure. I'll be happy to learn more and prepare a formal proposal with a refined price. 6. I had a number in mind about half of the price you stated. Can you sharpen your pencil a bit? "I know that may seem expensive at first, but after you consider all of the behind the scenes work that goes into your production [after shooting], you'll see that it is a very reasonable rate. You might compare my services to any other professional services; look at tax preparation, electrician, or a doctor removing stitches. What you are paying for is their reliability, expertise, and ability to do the job right the first time, which is exactly what I have to offer. Here is a a sampling of what is included in a typical project : Consulting with the Client to develop a video script from the Client's written audio script. Videotaping using professional cameras. No consumer cameras here! All necessary audio and lighting equipment. Editing, titles, graphics, and special effects. Royalty-free stock video footage from our library. Royalty-free stock audio tracks from our library. Professional voice narration if required. Master production tapes in DVCam format. Final production to be delivered on auto-start DVD suitable for set top DVD player and computer playback in NTSC 4:3 standard definition or 16:9 1080P Blu-ray. The Studio can provide the production in other formats, including VHS tape, and as part of interactive CD and DVD, web streaming, etc. at nominal additional cost. The Studio can mass-produce copies of the production for nominal additional cost. 7. How long does it take to produce my video? That really depends upon the type of project you are producing. A typical TV commercial takes about a week to produce, but, a long format corporate training video can take up to a month. In some extreme cases, a 30 second TV commercial can be produced in 1 day, but there are additional costs associated with it. The key is to plan ahead. Anticipate the need if possible, that way your project can be produced at the lowest possible cost. 8. Do you finance? No, but we do accept all major credit cards. We do expect payment at time of delivery of the final project. For many long format programs we ask for a deposit of 1/3 of the quoted price. 9. Why should I spend that much on a video? Here is a role play to find out... Prospect: Why should I spend $x dollars on a marketing video? Me: Well, how many products/services would you have to sell to pay for say, an $x dollar investment? Prospect: Two $200,000 mortgage loans would pay for it. Me: How do you normally make these sales? Prospect: People typically hear about us from their friends, find us in the phone book or get referred to us by their realtor. Me: When they contact you, what is your next step in the sales process? Prospect: We have to educate them on all the ways we can help them obtain and close their loan. Then, we have to convince them why they should go with us over the competition. Me: Sounds easy enough.....are you satisfied with the number of leads you are getting through your other marketing programs? Prospect: We get a decent amount of leads from our current marketing efforts, so even though I'd like more, I'm reasonably satisfied. Me: Could you close more sales if you were able to make more presentations in the same amount of time to interested prospects? Prospect: Without a doubt. Our problem isn't convincing them to go with us, it's finding the time to get in front of each interested prospect when they are still hot. Me: What if you had a marketing video that could educate your prospects on all the benefits of choosing you over the competition? You would send this video to prospects who are interested in your services but that you are unable to schedule face-to-face time with due to scheduling or geographic limitations. Also, you could send this video along with a letter to every real-estate agent in the city asking that they recommend you to their clients. How long would it take you to personally speak with several thousand agents? Prospect: It would be impossible. Me: Not if you had a video. Prospect: $x dollars, still seems like a lot of money. Me: Do you think having a marketing video would allow you to share your message with more prospects interested in doing business with your company? Prospect: Actually, it would probably be a lot more than just two. Me: So, you think it would be fairly easy to get your investment back right? Prospect: Yes I do. Me: Great. Do you have any other questions about the process of making a video. Prospect: No, you've been very helpful Me: Are you interested in moving forward? Prospect. Yeah, let's do it. Me: Great. I'll email you a proposal/production agreement later today that outlines the details. All I'll need to get started is a signed copy of the production agreement and a deposit check for 1/3 of the total amount. Expect an email from me before the end of the day. 10. When should we produce our marketing video? The answer is simple-early! Much like a catalog or magazine, you need to work months ahead in order to have your video ready for the season, trade show or event you wish to target. If you are looking for Christmas sales, produce your video late summer. If your target is summer fun, produce your project in late winter/early spring. The key is to work ahead that way you do not feel rushed by deadlines. 11. Can my team work together on this project? Absolutely! However, the final decision on any part of the project needs to be made by 1 person. We've all heard about "decision by committee" rarely is there a consensus or unanimous opinion about a project, so it is best that 1 person be assigned as the designated "producer" with the final authority on the project. 12. Can I have one of my sale people be the "star"? Sure. Sometimes that is the best way to reach your audience, car dealers do it all the time. But if you would like a professional actor to be your spokesperson we can arrange that too. 13. What happens if my video needs to be changed? Generally, we keep the project in our editing system for 2 weeks after final delivery. After that we delete the digital files and keep a copy of the project on tape in our library. All you need to do is schedule a revision appointment, then we can make the needed changes by shooting new video or re-editing the project. We bill hourly for any revisions after final delivery. If you would like, we can keep all of your files and project digital on a dedicated hard drive,for an additional fee. Latest News: 6/5/2007 - Website design completed and waiting for updated content. Our Clients: ABC News ABNB Federal Credit Union American Hospital Association A New Me Television Anixter International Assignment Desk Camera Originals, Inc. 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