A nuclear power plant was having a serious technical difficulty. Despite their best efforts, the in-house engineering staff was unable to correct it. So they hired an outside expert to solve the problem. The expert analyzed and observed valves and guages all day. At the end of the day, he took the manager to a single gauge, and with a black magic marker, put an "X" on that gauge. "This one is your problem", he told the plant manager, and left him with an invoice. The manager later called and complained. "You were here one day, made an "X" on a single gauge, and billed us 10,000 dollars. We find that amount excessive." "I'll correct the amount and send you a new bill", replied the expert. A few days later, the new bill arrived. It stated: Marking an "X" on steam pressure gauge - 1 dollar. Knowing which gauge to mark, 9999 dollars. The manager paid the bill.
A number of years ago, I bought a sports car from a friend. It was the first car I owned with a manual transmission. I had never learned to shift manually, so my friend offered to teach me. "Push in the clutch, shift into first gear, give it a little gas and slowly let up on the clutch", he told me. I proceeded to stall the car. "More gas", he said. The rear wheels spun, I panicked and stalled the car. Eventually, I got it and was able to drive the car home. When I got to the first hill, I started to roll backwards. It took several tries to jerk the car up the hill without stalling. Today, I can eat a donut, work the radio and shift so smoothly you'd swear it was an automatic. Why? Because I took the time to practice and perfect the technique. Sure, my friend could teach me the mechanical fundamentals of how to shift. But he could not teach me his smooth technique. It wasn't until I put in the time actualy doing it myself, over and over, that I became good at it.
Modern technology is amazing. The market has made available to the average consumer a large selection of inexpensive video camcorders that can create crisp clear images in the low light of a typical room. There are dozens of editing programs under 100 dollars that can edit high definition video and produce a finished DVD that rivals the image quality coming out of Hollywood. So it's no wonder clients who typically paid a thousand dollars or more a few years ago to have someone shoot their wedding or family event are today buying their own camcorders and having friends shoot these events at no cost. Makes great economic sense, right? Spend 500 for a camcorder, get a volunteer to shoot the video, and not only do you save 500 dollars, you now own the video camera, too.
Here's the problem. Unless your cousin or friend is a professional video person, you'll end up with two hours of people eating and three hours of constant dancing. Of all that footage, four minutes may be in focus and steady enough to watch without getting sea sick. At this point, it's too late. You're stuck with it. You can't go back later for any amount and get better footage, or get the shots of the people who were important to you. Why? It's knowledge and experience that makes all the difference. You can't buy knowledge off the shelf at your local department store and you can't gain experience in a few days. You need to be taught the proper methods for shooting and editing. You need a good deal of practice to discover the common mistakes and learn to correct them before you can shoot enough good footage to create a product someone would buy. If it's your own once-in-a-life time event, and you make this classic mistake of trying to save a few bucks, you'll regret it the rest of your life.
Shooting good video is only half the battle. Knowing what to do with it is the other half. New camcorders don't create tapes any more. They generate digital files on a hard drive or memory card. Getting these files onto a computer can be a challenge for some, and fewer still will know how to edit these files. Editing is the difference between a smooth, enjoyable movie and a compilation of uncut, boring footage.
What's the lesson here? You will need to spend many years honing multiple video skills, or otherwise consider paying someone else who knows their craft to create your family documentary masterpiece for you. In the long run, you'll save a lot more than money.
Rick Bennette
http://www.fineartvideo.com
About this Author
Rick Bennette is a 25 year veteran family video documentarian. He has owned and operated a video production facility since 1985 in Connecticut and south Florida. Currently, Rick also provides video services for the independent film industry, actors auditions and demo reels as well as legal video services. In addition, Rick writes feature films and short stage scenes. His web sites include http://www.rickbennette.com.
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