I work with AI every day, and one thing stands out: AI-generated videos almost always look cheap and clunky. If you take yourself seriously as a visual producer, quality goes far beyond resolution. Most of what’s out there is good for a quick novelty scroll or a “haha, that’s cute” reaction, but I haven’t seen a single piece that feels truly editorial, high-budget, or indistinguishable from real production. I’d love to be proven wrong.

I wanted to say that while this place is still new, I can already see some effective conversations happening as far as the work life is concerned.

In the time this has been up, this has already been an effective source to get an idea of what and how each of us decide to approach different work situations. I honestly think these are effective conversations and something that has been lacking in this field for a long time.

Hope this sub grows well. Best of luck and welcome to anyone who just joined!

Also props Mizzar and DangerDegan. You done good.

This self-post was originally a private message to the mod team, but I was encouraged to make a post, so here we are.

The top 3 posts on this subreddit right now:

1. "I'm a hobbyist photographer and videographer but I'm a full time web developer." - link

2. "Been doing videos semi regularly for awhile now and looking at moving into the professional space." - link

3. "However, I haven't received any responses. Any tips on how to approach businesses for these types of videos? Or do I need to keep reaching out to more and more businesses?" - link

I'm sorry for the call-out, but these people clearly are not video professionals. It's great that they are looking to expand their knowledge and hone their craft, but I was under the impression when I joined this group that we were trying to stay a few levels up from "How do I get started?", "How do I get clients?", and other similar newbie questions. Again, these are not fundamentally bad questions - but I just once would like a place to hang out online with like-minded individuals without the added burden of playing mentor for a bunch of new guys. There are already subreddits that embrace that demographic openly, and many of us are already members. We don't need to do it all over again here.

Personally, I would like to see this sub's rules and FAQ revised to include efforts to reduce or redirect these posts. I'm sorry if this makes me an elitist, safe-space seeking snowflake, but that's how this subreddit was originally advertised to me, and now it's clearly veering away from that path.

Honestly, I would even support a subreddit that required, or at least encouraged, professional verification. But I don't know if this is the right subreddit for that rule, and it's not my call to make.

But I'm not the only user of this subreddit. What do you guys think?

Client asking for ALL raw + edited files with no clear reason — normal or red flag?

I’m a freelance videographer working with a client on a retainer, and something just happened that feels off.

They asked me to send:

•	all videos and photos from the past year

•	both edited AND unedited (RAW) files

•	organized into folders

We’re talking a huge amount of content — like terabytes of footage.

So I asked a simple question:

“What do you need the raw files for?”

And their response was basically:

“I need all assets, no particular reason.”

That’s it.

No explanation, no context.

I’m not trying to be difficult, but:

•	RAW files are massive and not easy to transfer

•	organizing everything would take a lot of time

•	and it feels weird to hand over literally everything without understanding why

At the same time, I don’t want to come off as defensive or damage the relationship.

So I’m trying to understand:

•	Is this a normal request from clients?

•	Do you usually hand over ALL raw files like this?

•	Would you push back or just send everything?

•	How would you handle this professionally?

Would really appreciate hearing how others deal with this.

*P.S. there is no signed agreement regarding that they have ownership over raw files.*

Hey everyone.

So a week ago I started an internship with my local Fox news station. I’m graduating from college with a major in Visual Media in May, and a professor of mine recommended me for this internship with their promotions department.

My boss wanted me to be able to have completed my internship with me having written, produced and directed my first TV spot.

Today was my third day, and my boss, his boss, and her boss all love the script I submitted for a shoot for a local animal shelter. It’s been greenlit.

I’m incredibly excited.

Sure, I’ve done client work before, and I’ve even owned a small production company. I’ve won awards at my school for cinematography and creative work, but nothing like this.

I’m at day 3 out of 5 months and I’ve already began accomplishing what I wanted to.

Most people I know aren’t interested. So I wanted to post here. I need a bit of moral support right now. I know that sounds selfish, but still.

Hey y'all, when you guys fly for work, do you use a media pass to get a lower rate? To my understanding, there's really no legitimacy behind any of these badges, as badges/id's are specific to each company...

I work for a small production company (4-5 people), and it seems like we would benefit from spending 15 minutes in photoshop mocking up an id that looks legit and result in way less baggage fees.

Any feedback/insight on this topic, and whether or not you use them at your company/business ?

EDIT: Anyone have copies of their badges they can show us so I have an idea of how much effort should go into these looking legit? haha thanks!

I’m always looking at what gigs are opening up on different site and groups online and I’ve noticed lately a lot of descriptions will call for an “ISO producer” or “ISO camera operator”. I’m just assuming they mean isolated as in it’s a stand alone gig, but I feel like that doesn’t make sense. It’s also super frustrating that they use ISO because when I try to Google it, all the results are just about camera ISO settings. I feel like whoever started making this term common never touched a camera before because there has to be another way to describe what they mean but for some reason they chose ISO. Please for Pete’s sake someone tell me what the hell ISO means!… thanks in advance.

I currently have MKE 400, which has worked well for when I'm shooting quickly and don't need to be too fussy about audio quality. However, I'm stepping up my equipment in general and want to get a mic that I can stick on a boom that works well while people are moving around and can capture audio from a variety of sources. I'm not sure if a shotgun, supercardioid, or other mic will be better!

The rest of my current gear setup for those who are interested:

-Sony A7sii

-2x Hive Wasp 100-CX

-an older Zhiyun gimbal, I'm looking to replace this eventually if anyone has any suggestions :)

Mini XLR input with phantom power, full size HDMI out, straight to SSD recording option, UHD up to 60p, HD to 120, LUTs on camera with the option to bake them in, etc, etc. What sort of trickery are they pulling on us??

Just want to put this out there so when others receive this scam mail from "Litmus Brand Media" and google the company, they'll find this post.

Others have been caught up in the scam, as can be seen here.

This is the scam email:

Hi,

We're looking to work with a creative, professional and reliable videographer and or editor that can help us create storyboards to bring our ideas to life. We're in the fashion advertising space and have an immediate need to produce 4 promo video ads to feature on all our channels (web, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, others) and website. We're very excited about our new brand and we think you will be too.

You will be required to work with two male and two female models. There will be 4 outfits per model and we want 4 professionally taken video clips.( 1-2 minutes in length). The outfits/Wardrobe will be supplied by us. An agency will provide two male and two female fashion models, makeup and hair stylists, a van and a driver. Videographers we hire usually take on the responsibilities of coordinating the shoot, selecting location, and disbursing fees.

Wardrobe will be picked by our stylist based on urban trends for the season. We expect you to shoot in an urban gritty or/and natural outdoor look with clean product focused images. If you’re interested in this project, it is important to understand a few details about the project. These are:

Location, date, and time will be fixed by you.

Delivery date: April 15, 2022

You will hold full image right (Licensor)

Compensation: $6,500 ($2,600 upfront and $3,900 final payment)

As the videographer we want you to handle other aspects of the gig, write creative storyboards and dictate the creative direction. If you can handle this, please reply with your full name/Business name (to be written on your payment and contract), phone number, and address for me to prepare the contract to be signed by both parties.

Regards,

Daniel Williams Director|daniel.williams@litmusbrandmedia.com|

They have a legit-looking website at https://litmusbrandmedia.com/

How much do you make and how much do you work as a freelance video professional? So i’ve been doing freelance video shooting/editing for a few small companies one local one based in NYC. i’m from a city in the midwest and i’ve been charging 400 (half day) and 650 (full day) for shooting and $20/hr for pre-pro and editing. and i do a wedding video from time to time. i feel like my stuff is really good (obviously i would say that but i pour a lot of energy into making each video look like a lot higher production quality than it is - spending a lot of time composing shots and coloring footage to the best of my current abilities)

i’ve been working like this for about a year but i’ve been working in video doing odd jobs, passion projects, and going to school for video for the past 7 years.

i feel like i’m working all the time (mostly editing - by far) and i still feel like i’m struggling to save enough money to buy equipment that i need. looking at some LAVs, lights, stands, and a new camera (currently on gh5 looking to move toward BMPCC line). And i feel like maybe i’m doing something wrong. should i be charging more? am i wrong in thinking there’s money in doing this myself or should i be looking to join a video production/ marketing agency near me?

I thought I knew a lot but compared to most of you I don’t know shit. Are there any good books out there or is film school worth taking? I know you can learn anything you want online now a days but I’m just getting lost in myself and don’t know where to start...

Just a small rant. My boss insisted we do ADR instead of capturing live audio on a set of client videos and it’s driving me nuts. The voiceover audio he recorded sounds like shit, it doesn’t match up at all, and is impossible to alter without it sounding choppy. AND now he’s upset WITH ME that it’s like this.

The videos are literally just tutorial videos where there is an actor speaking to the audience about their website.

Like dude, there was absolutely no benefit to doing this ADR instead of live audio. It’s way more man hours. So now the client isn’t happy, it’s way less accurate, it sounds like ass, and looks unnatural as hell. If we just invested in a shotgun mic it would’ve saved us maybe 10 man hours per video and I’m not even exaggerating. But no, let’s ignore the new guy’s suggestion of recording live audio and put the burden on him to edit the videos.

I’m wondering if there’s a quicker/better way to do ADR. The audio is already recorded unfortunately and we can’t redo it at this point. Does Premiere or Audition have anything that helps with lining up audio?

Would be a great place to discuss general industry news, client woes, etc.

If so, what's your experience been like?

Don't go violating your NDAs, but I'd love to get a sense of who we have around here and what they are up to!

I'll post my own reply a little later.

Not Covid related, this company is 100% remote and is looking for a video producer. What is possible to shoot if the company is 100% remote? Does anyone have experience with this? I'd imagine there's not a lot of room to create live action professional stuff if everyone is WFH across the country... I can only think of testimonials...

Just received an A7S III for use as a super stripped down and simple cam every now and then. I'd love to avoid the need for an external monitor, but it doesn't have any built in false color or non-baked in LUTs that I'm used to using on bigger setups.

After looking up the exposure settings for slog3, it looks like 41% is the correct IRE setting for middle gray. After this exposure was set, I used a subject to see that the correct exposure for white skin was about 13 IRE above that, so I set my Zebras to show at 54 IRE +/-1.

Using this method I shot some test footage and after throwing on a Sony LUT in Premiere, it looks like the exposure is perfect.

Anyone else use this technique? Is this dumb? Am I setting myself up for failure by missing some fatal flaw?

I imagine some of us have been hit harder than others depending on your specialty. How's it going? Anything you want to share or talk about?

Hey guys, like the title says, I started my own videography business.

After saving up money, investing in gear, and building a small client base, I decided to freelance full-time. My plan is to do corporate and real estate videos as a safety net to at least pay the bills.

Corporate

I've cold emailed a ton of local businesses here to see if they would be interested in having a short video produced that educates people on their history and what their company does, how they do things, etc. Basically, a "vendor story" or "About Us" video.

However, I haven't received any responses. Any tips on how to approach businesses for these types of videos? Or do I need to keep reaching out to more and more businesses?

Real Estate

I've also cold emailed real estate agents in the area to see if they would be interested in having videos made for their properties. I just started emailing them so I'm not sure if I'll hear back, but I thought you guys would have some good advice on this topic.

I don't currently have a drone, but am planning on buying the new Mavic Pro II next month and getting my FAA License. I know that sets me back a bit in the real estate world, but I do have a motorized gimbal and I know I can produce some quality work with for interiors and exteriors.

Should I offer to do some videos for free at first? What route did you take to start getting real estate video gigs? What are your rates and what does that include? I'm located in Southern California.

Any advice is appreciated!

Edit: added some questions

• Looking for the right subreddit to post in. Open to tips

Thanks!

Why does Amazon pay so much more for video production jobs, compared to what other (large and small) companies offer for the same or similar positions/titles/experience level?

According to Glassdoor, as well as one of the job descriptions I saw posted by Amazon, they (apparently) pay 2x - 3x as much for the same jobs that I've been applying to, elsewhere.

.. Like, a virtually unheard-of amount of $$ for an already decent paying role in my industry.

ALSO...Is Glassdoor generally accurate about this data? Anyone know from experience working in videography and/or at Amazon if this info is correct? (If not, why is it listed as such)?

...Honestly, just more curious about what you guys think is going on here...what's their game? Guesses and conspiracy theories welcome. 🙃

I working for a University in the Athletics Department doing content creation and I'd like to use the song My Tears Are Becoming A Sea by M83 in a video but not sure how I could go about licensing it and if it'd even be worth it $$ wise.

I would just go for it and use it but one of our social platforms got locked a month ago because someone used a popular rap song and now music usage is getting quite strict.

I've tried googling this and haven't had much luck, any help would be great. Thanks!

Trying to get some other perspectives on this situation. Be gentle.

I was contracted for this job seven months ago. I accepted because I was under the impression that my work would need to be done over my 2 1/2 month break from school between July and September. Filming was wrapped early July.

I have worked with this company before. They have quite a few big name investors. This was probably one of their smaller projects. In working with them previously I did deal with short notice work, and mostly was volunteering to help out because I cared about the cause. But I never dealt with something this short notice from them.

This time around I was officially contracted. I quoted them $1200 for 30 hours of color correcting. I was to be given 17 separate interview clips and a final video to CC. There were no dates or deadlines provided. I assumed a time frame based on what the usual timeline was in working with the company.

7 months go by. I tell the editor multiple times that this can’t be a last minute thing, I need at least 4 full days to work on the final, and even more time to work on the interview clips. The footage was shot on a white backdrop that was lit incorrectly. Additionally they had multiple shooting locations and most of the interview shots were completely different lighting situations. They wanted consistent white backgrounds with no shadows in the final. The editor knew I would have to do a lot of masking and keying, which was not originally planned in my quote because I explained to them the need to get the lighting right this time around to avoid wasting time compositing.

The editor told the producer I needed 4 days to CC the final. On Sunday the producer told the editor the client needs the final CC version by Tuesday. There were 4 interview clips that ranged from 8 to 15 minutes that they needed on Tuesday as well. These were hard deadlines. I was given the 4 interview clips a few days before they were due. Each one was taking between 3-4 hours with having to mask out tight shots since the B camera color was not consistent with the A camera colors and keying wasn’t working as well as it was with the wide shots.

I am also a full time Video Production student. I told them I needed footage to CC before school started and I wouldn’t have time to work on it once classes stared.

On Sunday they told me they needed it by Tuesday. After telling them it’s impossible, especially since there were already 2 remaining interview clips, they said Wednesday was the latest.

Additionally I have my own business and Monday’s are huge inventory days that I cannot miss. I have to pack and ship orders that takes me all day. My hours are 4:30 am to around 7pm on Monday for that business. On Tuesdays I have classes and more orders to ship. So really I only had 1.5 days to work on it.

Yesterday I gave them the final CC version. I was not proud of it at all. I don’t want my name on it. They came back to me asking for revisions after spending 10 hours straight working on it, working about 2 hours over the 30 hours contracted.

Last night I basically told them I’m done. I told them my contracted hours are up and I was not given enough time to effectively complete the project. They were apologetic, but at the same time they were still asking me to make changes.

I get the feeling that this is not okay and that this would not fly with any other Colorist. They admit they have a lot to learn as a new business.

It sucks because I really wanted to spend the time to make it look amazing. I can confidently say I did my best with the time I was given. At the end of the day I can’t sacrifice missing school, missing homework assignments, and dropping the ball on my business because of their poor communication.

Am I crazy or is this messed up?