In these challenging times we need to take a close look at ourselves as shooters and digital storytellers. Just like some countries are particularly adept at manufacturing certain things like automobiles, TVs and precision watches, so must you the resourceful multi-talented shooter consider your competitive advantage over other shooters vying for the same assignments. Maybe you are a Final Cut Pro maven or skilled After Effects artist. Maybe you are skilled at designing websites or you’re an accomplished linguist and able to speak multiple languages. For a shooter these are compelling ancillary attributes that can be exploited to the max in order to attract potential clients. I happen to be known as something of a fireman in the business; when things go wrong on a shoot somewhere in the world, I will often get a call to round up my commando-style team and fly off somewhere to shoot an overlooked background scene, establishing shot – or take over shooting an entire project. The trick here is to understand and embrace your clients’ fears: if they’re worried about shooting tapeless to flash memory, become adept at handling this new style workflow. Understand archiving protocols and backups, and how to apply best handling practices even in the heat of battle on a professional set. Exude confidence at all times and perform with absolute reliability and good cheer. You’ll get the work you’ll seeking – even through these tough economic times.

One should never base a camera purchase decision on imager native resolution alone. The resolution perceived by an audience is influenced by many factors beyond a camera’s imager size and native pixel count. High compression, choice of codec, quality of optics, dynamic range, even the use or non-use of a matte box, can seriously impact contrast, which in turn can negatively affect the perceived resolution of an image. A more relevant measure when considering a new camera is performance, that is, how well the camera behaves under the most difficult conditions you’re likely to encounter in the course of your shooting day. A  camera able to perform well in a wide range of conditions  is going to be far more useful to most users than a camera system with merely more pixels jammed into the face of an imager. In fact those cameras with very high resolution imagers should in general be avoided in order to preserve the best low light sensibility and dynamic range.

A lot has been said of the freelancer’s business today. More than ever given these tough economic times the freelancer must be creative in marketing himself and his skills. Problem is there seems to be a plethora of low or non-paying jobs out there. There’s no shortage of work if you want to work for free,  And sometimes I do exactly that.

Working for free is completely different from working for low-pay. Working at less or much less than your customary rate cheapens your services and diminishes your stature in the eyes of your client. It opens yourself to a wide range of abuses, long hours and lack of respect. But working for free — ah, that’s a horse of a different color. Now YOU hold all the marbles – not your employer. Folks, this is psychological warfare – and you’d be very wise to engage in it! You’re doing your client a colossal favor, you’ve demonstrated your willingness to be flexible during the recession, and you’ve (hopefully) proven yourself indispensable to your client.

There you go. Think of it as “career development” or “targeted promotion” on your part. If you choose your employer carefully, the days you work for free can be the most lucrative days of your career.

After months of work the second edition of Video Shooter is now a reality. With photos from recent projects in India and Africa and updated references to the latest cameras and tapeless workflows, Video Shooter 2 will provide if nothing else hours of entertaining reading. I tried to make my lessons and insights fun, as video storytelling and life in general should be. It’s not a technical book although it can be technical at times. It’s really a book about framing the world and communicating with a camera. Ultimately it’s about  telling compelling stories – which is all your audience cares about anyway.

In a way you could say I’m an anti-nerd nerd. I despise technical discussions in general, although I understand and can fully appreciate the video artist with technical proficiency and mastery of his tools. That’s one of the major lessons in Video Shooter: from a technical perspective the video storyteller only needs to know what he needs to know. Anything beyond what the audience requires to experience a good story is pure geekiness.

Welcome to BarryBraverman.com! Your port of entry to fun and knowledge – and plenty of attitude. If you’ve typed in videocycles.com, you’ve been re-directed here. Don’t worry. Videocycles.com is coming soon! In the meantime leave me a comment or two.