Hey, thanks so much for going through your process of making the vlogs and coming up with what you're talking about. I think it's really helpful. I appreciate it. I think one of the unspoken benefits of doing a vlog looking back you have an archive of you and your son together traveling which you will only cherish more and more over the years
You definitely have the format spot on in my opinion. Once a week means I have something to watch over the weekend without getting saturated and it is clear you are not doing this just to promote yourself or get sponsorship and that is really appreciated...it feels genuine.
Always interesting to learn what other people’s busy months are. For the longest time I thought September and October were the busy months and November is dead- well, least year I set myself up for very little work in November and I turned down probably a dozen jobs. I even got a request for the Sunday before Thanksgiving last November. Consistently inconsistent.
I loved the “Everybody’s working but me” vlog! Not bc it’s negative but bc it tapped into an actual thought I was having. I think that authentic sharing is the reason it did so well. I follow a similar approach to the vlogs as well. Anything I can see or show while I’m recording, eliminates that time once I edit. My post production is done on my phone which helps when I have downtime in airports and can quickly set up a timeline or export and post.
Regular viewer, rare commentor. I wanted to say thank you for the perspective and experience you share. I have spent 12-15 years in Motion Design as a 3D artist and recently bought a Red Komodo. My wife and I are planning to do video work for clients here in southwestern Idaho. It's nice to see how others operate and it gives me some nice perspective on how to add video to a very remote 3D pipeline. It's quite a shift.
❤Hi I have been watching your videos on this channel for a year and I also watch other videographers and dp's but frankly in comparison to the competition I find your work, equipment and work habits the most professional videographer probably in the whole United States and probably in the whole world and I'm meaning it! And what I love the best in your operation is that you're home schooling your son and training him to learn the trade for the maximum and this way the company will survive for the future and able to continue providing high quality professional videography for the world biggest network television stations! Bravo and I love your videos, educational and interesting. Thank you Mr. Winters for sharing the behind the scenes from the world of news making.🤟💯❤️🇺🇸
It’s awesome that you’re pushing your son to learn and challenging him:) my mom and dad were the same way and I’m thankful they never made it easy. It definitely helped me learn to be resourceful and hard working👍🏼
I’ve recently started watching your channel and I have to say. You are the most helpful creator I’ve ever seen! No frills just honest reviews and bts info! Thank you for opening up the gates!
10:10 Some strong infomercial vibes here... just needs to be black & white :) Joking aside, that's a great tip! I'll be doing the same to my FX9, thanks! Also, really enjoyed the budget breakdown and business chat at the end. Always interesting to hear other owner-ops reflecting.
Vertical and horizontal on newer 4:3 sensors is pretty fine I’ve found. You shoot opengate 1.44 if you’re on a mini lf and frame line 1.77 and 0.56, but because it’s open gate, the 1.77 has more left and right than the vertical, and the vertical has more top and bottom. If you get the chance to do frame leaders, it’s nice to place the horizontal image about 20% higher on the sensor plane than normal, as then you can frame heads with a little less headroom on the 9:16. It’s really tough when you’re trying to frame for 9:16 within a 16:9 frame
I'm not a fan of variable NDs for the exact reasons you state David, color shift, weird pola effects and artifacts. One thing that I think eludes many shooters is how often you are actually using the "variable" part of the variable ND? Sure, if you're going from interior to exteriors or vice versa or if you are in weather where there are clouds and lots of major light changing. But often, especially on shooting outdoor shoots, the sun stays pretty much the same for long periods of time. I use the NISI True Color VND, it is the best one out there IMHO with the least amount of color shift but I still carry my B+W MRC NDs and use them whenever possible. They are smaller, lighter, cheaper and have none of the downsides of the VNDs, but the fixed are mostly when I will be following or shooting in constant brighter light like at an event, outdoor presser or following an athlete training or in an event. I can generally cover sunrise to 9:00 AM with an ND3 and then shift it to an ND6 by 9:30 or 10 and that will generally hold me for exposure until late afternoon, then switch back to the ND3 as the sun gets lower in the sky. Yes, it's nice to be able to stick to a constant aperture and ISO but often not really necessary in outdoor coverage for documentary style shooting. It just seems that many in our business tend to just do what everyone else is doing and everyone else automatically just mounts a VND. I only use my VND when I have to. If I don't have to, why not get a better result with a fixed ND? All of this applies to the FX3 obviously, the VND built in on my FX6 works great.
You can get ND filters that magnetically snap onto the sensor of the FX3. Might solve your annoyances with using other filtration or putting he lens cap back on. I need to use that when shooting with my 12-24mm because you can’t get a filter on that one.
Variable ND is basically two polarizers on top of each other.. once you rotate them the polarizing patterns align differently... this is how they vary the amount of light they let through. Perpendicular alignment causes maximum blockage... parallel alignment gives the least blockage. Technically they should not be called ND at all as they are not "Neutral Density" and therefor produce artifacts caused by cutting of the wavelengths of specific polarity.
Which 7" EVF extension rail did you get? My old eyes are having issues close focusing even with the EVF maxed out on the stock rail. I have the Bright Tangerine cage and have been pushing the top handle as far forward as the cable will allow without adding tension, but even then I need to tilt my head back ever so slightly at certain angles. As I'm writing this, I realize I'll need to get the Mid49 cable extension as well.
Currently in the position you talk about with a lot of money due in but not a lot of money at hand, think I need to improve at being consistent with taking 25/50% deposits upfront for the larger projects when they come up so that I have a balance to work with at all times. Seems to be a bit of a mixed bag with payout schedules as well depending on the size of the company, the smaller companies/small business owners usually empathise a little more and can have a bit more of an informal relationship with them so they tend to be happy to pay out a little quicker.
Thanks for sharing this, I need to cover this subject again with more detail. I'm in a cashflow squeeze right now, 5 weeks of airline travel, hotels, meals, out of pocket expenses. None of the checks have come in and now I'm slow for several weeks. The current slow patch will compound the cashflow issues. In a few weeks I'll be busy again racking up work related expenses without any receivables.
Regarding aspect ratios... we fought so hard and so long to make 16:9 the standard. Now the catch phrase is "open gate". I'm like... call it what you will, it's 4:3! You're driving us back to 4:3! Ugh... Don't even get me started on the frustrations of 9:16.
You should farm some of the RUclips work to your son to get him to post an additional 1-2 videos a week for you. Those can be 7+ minute videos of what you cut out from your linear timeline. Or the bts of the bts from his eyes.
Do you mind giving us a rough guide to how much you make from RUclips ads? I think it would be good to start something like this in my market but not sure if it’s going to cost me more in time. Thx
Hey, thanks so much for going through your process of making the vlogs and coming up with what you're talking about. I think it's really helpful. I appreciate it.
I think one of the unspoken benefits of doing a vlog looking back you have an archive of you and your son together traveling which you will only cherish more and more over the years
You definitely have the format spot on in my opinion. Once a week means I have something to watch over the weekend without getting saturated and it is clear you are not doing this just to promote yourself or get sponsorship and that is really appreciated...it feels genuine.
Thank you.
Always interesting to learn what other people’s busy months are. For the longest time I thought September and October were the busy months and November is dead- well, least year I set myself up for very little work in November and I turned down probably a dozen jobs. I even got a request for the Sunday before Thanksgiving last November. Consistently inconsistent.
I appreciate you, David!
Thanks
This breakdown is so great!! Thanks for making this response to my question!
I loved the “Everybody’s working but me” vlog! Not bc it’s negative but bc it tapped into an actual thought I was having. I think that authentic sharing is the reason it did so well.
I follow a similar approach to the vlogs as well. Anything I can see or show while I’m recording, eliminates that time once I edit. My post production is done on my phone which helps when I have downtime in airports and can quickly set up a timeline or export and post.
Thanks for sharing and taking the time to post! I enjoy watching the BTS of your production days.
Ahh the famous podium under a tent with a bright background. Here in Atlanta the mayors office loves this technique.
We managed to compromise and shoot the shade side of the building as a bg.
Regular viewer, rare commentor. I wanted to say thank you for the perspective and experience you share. I have spent 12-15 years in Motion Design as a 3D artist and recently bought a Red Komodo. My wife and I are planning to do video work for clients here in southwestern Idaho. It's nice to see how others operate and it gives me some nice perspective on how to add video to a very remote 3D pipeline. It's quite a shift.
Thank you and good luck as you scale the production side.
❤Hi I have been watching your videos on this channel for a year and I also watch other videographers and dp's but frankly in comparison to the competition I find your work, equipment and work habits the most professional videographer probably in the whole United States and probably in the whole world and I'm meaning it! And what I love the best in your operation is that you're home schooling your son and training him to learn the trade for the maximum and this way the company will survive for the future and able to continue providing high quality professional videography for the world biggest network television stations! Bravo and I love your videos, educational and interesting. Thank you Mr. Winters for sharing the behind the scenes from the world of news making.🤟💯❤️🇺🇸
Very kind words, thank you.
It’s awesome that you’re pushing your son to learn and challenging him:) my mom and dad were the same way and I’m thankful they never made it easy. It definitely helped me learn to be resourceful and hard working👍🏼
I’ve recently started watching your channel and I have to say. You are the most helpful creator I’ve ever seen! No frills just honest reviews and bts info! Thank you for opening up the gates!
Thank you, much appreciated.
These are brilliant David! Thanks so much for sharing.
Thank you.
What a super awesome break down!!! Thank you!!
Thanks!
10:10 Some strong infomercial vibes here... just needs to be black & white :)
Joking aside, that's a great tip! I'll be doing the same to my FX9, thanks! Also, really enjoyed the budget breakdown and business chat at the end. Always interesting to hear other owner-ops reflecting.
Haha, yes.
Vertical and horizontal on newer 4:3 sensors is pretty fine I’ve found. You shoot opengate 1.44 if you’re on a mini lf and frame line 1.77 and 0.56, but because it’s open gate, the 1.77 has more left and right than the vertical, and the vertical has more top and bottom.
If you get the chance to do frame leaders, it’s nice to place the horizontal image about 20% higher on the sensor plane than normal, as then you can frame heads with a little less headroom on the 9:16.
It’s really tough when you’re trying to frame for 9:16 within a 16:9 frame
Consistently inconsistent. Sums it up perfectly. Thanks for the VLOGs - both practical and also comforting to know it's not just me and Australia.
I'm not a fan of variable NDs for the exact reasons you state David, color shift, weird pola effects and artifacts. One thing that I think eludes many shooters is how often you are actually using the "variable" part of the variable ND? Sure, if you're going from interior to exteriors or vice versa or if you are in weather where there are clouds and lots of major light changing. But often, especially on shooting outdoor shoots, the sun stays pretty much the same for long periods of time. I use the NISI True Color VND, it is the best one out there IMHO with the least amount of color shift but I still carry my B+W MRC NDs and use them whenever possible. They are smaller, lighter, cheaper and have none of the downsides of the VNDs, but the fixed are mostly when I will be following or shooting in constant brighter light like at an event, outdoor presser or following an athlete training or in an event.
I can generally cover sunrise to 9:00 AM with an ND3 and then shift it to an ND6 by 9:30 or 10 and that will generally hold me for exposure until late afternoon, then switch back to the ND3 as the sun gets lower in the sky. Yes, it's nice to be able to stick to a constant aperture and ISO but often not really necessary in outdoor coverage for documentary style shooting. It just seems that many in our business tend to just do what everyone else is doing and everyone else automatically just mounts a VND. I only use my VND when I have to. If I don't have to, why not get a better result with a fixed ND? All of this applies to the FX3 obviously, the VND built in on my FX6 works great.
You can get ND filters that magnetically snap onto the sensor of the FX3. Might solve your annoyances with using other filtration or putting he lens cap back on. I need to use that when shooting with my 12-24mm because you can’t get a filter on that one.
Love the insights, thx
True professionals!!!💯
Variable ND is basically two polarizers on top of each other.. once you rotate them the polarizing patterns align differently... this is how they vary the amount of light they let through. Perpendicular alignment causes maximum blockage... parallel alignment gives the least blockage. Technically they should not be called ND at all as they are not "Neutral Density" and therefor produce artifacts caused by cutting of the wavelengths of specific polarity.
Good info here, thanks.
Cranky notes! 😂
Which 7" EVF extension rail did you get? My old eyes are having issues close focusing even with the EVF maxed out on the stock rail. I have the Bright Tangerine cage and have been pushing the top handle as far forward as the cable will allow without adding tension, but even then I need to tilt my head back ever so slightly at certain angles. As I'm writing this, I realize I'll need to get the Mid49 cable extension as well.
The Mid49 evf extension is a must have. I bought a cheap 7", if there was a 8" it would be better. Nitze NATO Rail with 15mm Rod Clamp
Currently in the position you talk about with a lot of money due in but not a lot of money at hand, think I need to improve at being consistent with taking 25/50% deposits upfront for the larger projects when they come up so that I have a balance to work with at all times. Seems to be a bit of a mixed bag with payout schedules as well depending on the size of the company, the smaller companies/small business owners usually empathise a little more and can have a bit more of an informal relationship with them so they tend to be happy to pay out a little quicker.
Thanks for sharing this, I need to cover this subject again with more detail. I'm in a cashflow squeeze right now, 5 weeks of airline travel, hotels, meals, out of pocket expenses. None of the checks have come in and now I'm slow for several weeks. The current slow patch will compound the cashflow issues. In a few weeks I'll be busy again racking up work related expenses without any receivables.
Regarding aspect ratios... we fought so hard and so long to make 16:9 the standard. Now the catch phrase is "open gate". I'm like... call it what you will, it's 4:3! You're driving us back to 4:3! Ugh... Don't even get me started on the frustrations of 9:16.
are you shooting 1080 and then doing that 16x9 crop? or a higher resolution
UHD.
You should farm some of the RUclips work to your son to get him to post an additional 1-2 videos a week for you. Those can be 7+ minute videos of what you cut out from your linear timeline. Or the bts of the bts from his eyes.
Do you mind giving us a rough guide to how much you make from RUclips ads? I think it would be good to start something like this in my market but not sure if it’s going to cost me more in time. Thx
$130 month.
@@CrankyCameraman thx David appreciate your disclosing this to see if I can afford to do!
That TIFFEN Variable ND is awful, especially being that expensive. I just returned mine a few days ago.
NISI for the win .
The vlogs make you a better videographer. Putting out an edited video every week, its alot of extra practice.