A Videographer Phishing for Info?

CVM wrote on 11/23/2005, 3:06 PM
Hi everyone... while cleaning out my e-mails, I came across this one. I remember thinking at the time that this was an e-mail from a videographer who was phishing for some information. It just didn't feel right. Of course, I suggested he call me directly to speak about the project, but he didn't.

What you you all think? Was this a legit request? Or was my gut right? Just curious.

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--- "D. L." <rufus_t_firefly@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I found your video production service listed in the
> yellow pages and also on the WWW. I have a specific
> project that I'd appreciate getting a quote or
> estimate for. I'm not sure what the minimum sized
> project you take on is; perhaps short subjects
> aren't worth your while, but just in case...
>
> The elements (raw material) provided would consist
> of approx 50 digital photos (on CD-R) of varying
> quality (some might need cropping or adjustment,
> i.e. in Photoshop). These would be used to compose a
> "slideshow" presentation video, accompanied by a
> four-minute piece of supplied music (pop song). The
> subject of the photos is a wedding "vow renewal"
> ceremony that took place at a chapel in DisneyWorld,
> Florida.
>
> The final product ideally would be rendered to
> DVD-std MPEG-2 format, but need not be recorded onto
> a DVD-R disc. A CD-R would suffice. (I would only
> need the file itself.) The only work involved on
> your part would be the assembly editing and image
> transitions, coordinated in an artistic sequence set
> to the music. The outer packaging with cover artwork
> etc. is not necessary.
>
> Is this the kind of project your company handles? If
> so, how much would your fee be? A quote range within
> <=>$10 would be fine.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Regards,
>
> Peter L.
>

Comments

richard-courtney wrote on 11/23/2005, 3:15 PM
how much would your fee be? A quote range within
> <=>$10 would be fine.

A would not consider this a serious request.
Doesn't your WWW have some price range?

Yellow page ads are always outdated by the time the book is printed.

It is always a good idea to invite them to your place of business in case
you have some type of showroom. Seeing a product that shows
your professionalism will offset the fee you charge.
GaryKleiner wrote on 11/23/2005, 3:15 PM
Seems like either a legitmate inquiry, or another videographer trying to get a feel for what to charge his/her clients.

Now, if it started "I represent the King of Somalia who needs a photo montage done for no less than 3.2 million American Dollars....." that's another story.

Gary
t-keats wrote on 11/23/2005, 3:27 PM
Maybe another videographer - maybe not.

So what would you charge for such a project?
As another video maker, I would be interested to know if you wouldn't mind sharing.
BarbOrdell wrote on 11/23/2005, 5:48 PM
$100 plus $10 for each image that requres manipulation. Extra if royaly fee required for commerial music, no charge for music out of my royalty free stock.

This is the sort of job I let my kids do. In fact my son just did a similar video for the school soccer team. He used Vegas and I bought VASST Still Motion for him. He beat mapped two full songs with markers and Still Motion dropped in over 350 images with pan/scan and fades. First draft took all of 5 minutes and was of a quality that would blow away 90% of the stuff some local hack would have done.

Then he proceeded to spend every night for the next two weeks tweaking it and adding some great effects. He opened with a "borrowed" clip from GoogleEarth where he zooms in from space down to the boys soccer field and his opening title shot. He also did some simple morphs from the kids elementary soccer photos to their senior soccer photo.

Then he agreed to set up projector/screen and sound for the awards banquet for the official release. I wouldn't miss it for the world so I helped and we both got a nice meal for free. Nothing worse then having to hand over a completed project and not get to see the customer's reaction. Parents were crying... it was great to see his face when his very first pro video got such a wonderful response.

The quoted rate was $100 and he got a $50 bonus plus many many leads on future work.

50 photos? That's nothing. The hard part would be to make 50 photos fill any more than one 4 minute song.
t-keats wrote on 11/23/2005, 7:18 PM
50 images in 4 minutes averages out to less than 5 seconds per image - which is barely enough to really see and appreciate what's going on. A wedding vow renewal is not an MTV video. It is something that the couple wants to look at and savor - especially the older they get and the longer they're married.

My minimum on your project would be $250.
BarbOrdell wrote on 11/23/2005, 7:35 PM
5 seconds is a long time to linger on one photo IMHO. If you've got something special to show (like a text balloon) or want to pan across many faces I agree you could spend more than 5 seconds and I often do. But on average that's what I end up with even on a slow song. I think 80% of my projects are pan & scan of high rez photos to music. On a fast song I'll often break out a photo on every beat to change things up. Not appropriate for a wedding montage but fun for a sports real. One very recent project contained over 300 shots in one song. I think a couple parents swallowed their tounges on that one, but the kids loved it. That's why I wish Vegas would do more than 99 numbered markers. I beat map the entire song with markers like I'm playing the drumbs and let Still Motion drop in the stills!
filmy wrote on 11/23/2005, 10:04 PM
To me it sounds legit as far as the quote. They have details and they have an idea. I thibnk if it were just someone looking for valid emails it owuld not have been so direct in the request. I am reading the price as they are ok with a quote that is +/- $10.00...as is if the quote is 100 and it were really 110 or if it were 500 and it were $490.00. On the other hand maybe they meant 15 would be...as in "Around the 10 dollar range". Remember there are places around that will "transfer your photos" to DVD for under 20 bucks. I posted something like that a while back because I had a conversation with someone and they said one of their children had had old 8mm film tranfered to DVD and the asked if i could do somehting like that. The punch line was they had it done for 20 bucks and for me if someone asked if I could give a quote I could but it would not be anywhere in that range. But it would not make it not a legit question either.
BarbOrdell wrote on 11/23/2005, 10:36 PM
Filmy, I think the request sounded legit to me and I think they want a rough quote rounded off to the even $10... though I can't imagine any professional that quotes jobs to the penny either.

"yes sir, that will be $134.57 unless you want page curl transitions, then it will be $134.63. Red eye removal is an extra $0.49 each eye." :)