Hey there guys, I wanted to come again and write about Freelancing as a Videographer, my recent experience, what gear I have been using, how I’ve been doing it and if it is viable or feasible.
Based on that, you can decide if it is something that you can do. If you’re already doing it, good for you and keep it up!
GEAR
I’m currenly using a Sony A7RIII camera, my go-to lens is that 24-70, f/2.8 GM. The camera and the lens are expesive and I did not think twice in getting these products used and via Amazon. I received these products in great condition and have had no trouble with them since. This set up can be around $4,000. So if getting these in payments is probably smart or if you have the money, go for it. I believe the Sony A7III is even more affordable and if you like Canon or BlackMagic, those seem to be similar fantastic options. If you can only afford an Iphone, that works too but I won’t talk about that as I have not done freelance videography with only a phone.
The Rode Video Mic Pro is great and requires you to buy a battery. You have to turn on and off the mic when you’re recording which is fine but after I used the Rode Video Mic Pro Plus, I thought it was better as it turns on and off when you turn the camera on and off as opposed to a switch. It sounds stupid but some people forget to turn the mic on or off and you will lose the audio in those instances.
Headphones are something I have been using while filming to hear what I’m recording and to do quality checks after I finished filming something so I can make sure the sound quality is good.
Ronin SC2 — this gimbal stabilizer is amazing. It holds the Sony camera and lens and it makes professional looking videos and shots. I highly recommend it.
GIGS
Videography gigs are actually pretty great and remunerative. The sequence I followed was to contact people I knew in marketing and start from scratch, literally helping on video shoots a few times, learn the ropes, get familiar with gear, angles of videshoots and elements that go together. Learn by observing other videographers in the field, see how they connect their camera to the microphone, how far they are from the subject speaking or the area being recorded. Take note of the brands and equipmenta and ask a lot of questions like how they got their gear, where, are they renting it, etc. Get contact info from those videographers and network with them to get more gigs where you can go out, shoot and learn.
Once you go out a few times, you will see what is going on in this field, start getting confident to shoot on your own and start shooting, no panic. Just shoot and deliver. Chances are you will get more gigs.
Link up, network with marketing companies and do the same, start with something, shoot, deliver the videos, get some pay (or none at the beginning), invest time to help, learn and get your feet weet and your hands dirty.
Work really hard, make a name for yourself, show excellent work-ethic and this will pull in more traffic. Become a go-to person for shoots. Then make sure you know how to price your work and you can do this by talking to the videographers in your area to get an idea on what product they are deliverying and what prices they are charging. Realizing what level of expertise these videographers are at and never devalue yourself, think of your work the same or higher but be real, make sure you are deliverying a product that is better than what you’re getting paid for, this way you get more work, more gigs, your name goes out further.
I said yes to helping and shooting multiple times before I got my first paid gig as a videographer. But after a few gigs, charging $350-400 for a few hours of work starts becoming completely real and correct. Throw a couple of these events over the weekend and you’re at around $700-800 which is more than some people make in an entire week working other jobs. The key, like I mentioned in my other blog post, is to repeat the same process multiple times, take 3 marketing companies (or tons more), get them to use you as a videographer, videoshoot, deliver the files, get paid, next one.
You can easily charge more if you learn editing and deliver edited videos like recap of events.
I have started now filming music videos and other content which just adds up to the mix.
COURSES
A completely amazing course I have been working with is the 14 Day Filmmaker course by www.contentcreator.com/14-day/filmmaker
The course is literally under $50 (this blog post is not sponsored by the way) and it’s teaching you how to build your videography career and filmmaking career from scratch in a very organized fashion.
Thanks to this content, by the time I was thrown into my 2nd or 3rd videography gig, I already had gotten through day 3 of the course and had in mind all the times of angles I could shoot an event with high profile people which made it so I could easily edit the event into a recap and pull off a good product.
Using the same principles I learned how to shoot a music video which I didn’t edit, but the content and videography of it was pretty good and resulted in this video going live and hitting over a million views.
TAKEAWAY
It’s definitely worth the time, learning investment and results if you’re into the visual arts, content creation, love cameras and if you’re willing to learn by observing and applying your craft.
Gigs will pile up, contacts will add up, trust will build, gigs will accumulate, month after month and the business can only grow. After you grow at this craft, the beauty of it is that your value also increases, you can add editing to the videography (the above course teaches you how to start using Davinci Resolve which is a free editing program) and you can even start your own company.
I’m only giving you my recent experience doing this. As you know, I’m also a freelance photographer and that adds up a lot. I still get paid more as a freelance photographer randomly enough but I see them both complimenting each other and adding to the skill set.
I hope this blog post was useful and added some value to you, if you liked it, you can follow me on Instagram where I post regular photography content. Go ahead and click the Instagram icon at the top right corner of this website.
Thanks so much for reading and your support!
MAG Visuals 