My first take on a stylized wedding concept shoot. Let me know what you think!

And I don't mean side-cropped horizontal, but share that too if you feel so compelled. It's just not what I'm looking for.

I've only shot a few vertical video gigs, usually only when a social media manager specifically requests 9x16 raw clips. Otherwise I'd be side-cropping too. But I'm sure my vertical setup (pictured for interviews) isn't ideal compared to those of you who do it a lot more.

Hi everyone,

I am sure this has been posted thousands of times before but I'm looking for some advice from people who have gone freelance in videography or filmmaking, particularly when it comes to finding clients and actually making a living from it.

I currently work full time as a videographer / video editor in London, but I'd love to eventually go freelance and hopefully make the jump sometime next year. I've been doing video work for a few years now and have my own portfolio website, but finding paying clients is the bit I'm not too sure about.

One idea I've had is to start going into local independent businesses, cafes, restaurants, shops etc and handing out my business cards. Rather than just walking in and asking if they need any video work done, I'd try to have a genuine conversation, show an interest in what they do and see if there's an opportunity to help them with video content. Has anyone tried this? Did it actually lead to any work, or is there a better way to approach it?

I'd also love to eventually get into travel and documentary filmmaking, travelling to different places and telling stories, although I realise that's probably a difficult area to break into, especially when starting out. I'm happy to take on other types of video work to build up my experience, contacts and income in the meantime.

A few things I'd love to hear your thoughts on:

• How did you get your first few paying clients when you started freelancing?

• Is approaching local businesses in person worth doing, or would you focus more on emails, networking or social media?

• How did you work out what to charge, especially when you were starting out?

• For anyone working in travel or documentary filmmaking, how did you get into that side of the industry?

• Equipment wise, I currently own a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and am thinking about upgrading at some point. What cameras and other kit would you recommend for freelance work? Is upgrading actually worth it, or is it better to stick with what you have until the work starts coming in?

I'm trying to be sensible about it and build things up alongside my full time job rather than just quitting and hoping for the best.

Would really appreciate hearing about people's experiences, what worked for you, and anything you wish you'd known before going freelance.

Cheers!

Hi,

How can i stabilize this video please?
I've tried Capcut and Wink and it didn't do anything.

Is there a setting in my iPhone that I could change so it stabilizes the videos I'll take in the future?

Thanks

I live on the coast and it’s often very windy. I recorded a load of clips this weekend of strong wind and crashing waves and the audio is much better than without the mic but the windshield is also not good enough to stop distortion.

Should I buy a second windshield and double bag it?

I'm in need of an on-camera monitor that I can flick on to check framing on a mobile rig from time to time. Between checks I want to turn the monitor off (alternatively put the display to sleep with less than 1W draw). The loop-out of the monitor wanders off into a headless HDMI switcher and need to be carrying the source HDMI signal into the switcher when the monitor is on or off. I don't care if there's flickers between monitor power cycles. Bonus if the monitor boots fast. It doesn't need to be larger than 5" or do more than 1080p60.

I think I'm looking for a unicorn here as the most basic HDMI splitters (that I've found) rely on external power. Thoughts? Ideas? I have alternative solutions I can resort to but wanted to shop around on this idea first.

https://youtu.be/zTTMN3xTKzw

Excuse me if this is the wrong sub; r/fieldrecording doesn't approve links and I think showing the sample will be helpful. 

The Zoom, when recording with its own microphone, never makes this sound (however, I got it specifically to plug external microphones into). There are two DJI Mic 3 transmitters wirelessly connected with their receiver, which is plugged into the Zoom's 3.5 mm input. The internal recordings of the transmitters of the same session have no buzz; it's only on the Zoom.

I wear the microphones on my clothes and walk outside. I start in my room, go on a quiet street, then a busier street, but the sound is there in all scenarios. 

Auto-gain vs. manual, and battery vs. power supply; on all these modes the buzz is still there. The only thing is it seems to happen more at the beginning of a long take than throughout it (but it still happens in small amounts throughout), and it is usually panned more towards the left-ear (which is Transmitter #1's sound), although in rare occurrences it swishes towards the right ear.

I will be grateful for responses.

By the way, would you recommend any other gear instead of the Zoom H1n, for what I want to do? It is to have a backup in case my DJI Transmitter internal recordings don't work, but I found I really liked the sound of the Zoom too, and if this buzzing sound didn't happen I would want to use the Zoom's recording.

Im a teenager that like to set up movie concepts in his head and shoot them. I used to make video products and reels for local stores, then i stopped when i lost my camera then my iphone (camera backup).

Now i own a mid-range phone but i do wanna keep creating. I took it as a personal challenge.

Do you think its a waste of time or practical exercising ?

Prefer someone in US with affordable prices, my package pricing is not where I want it to be so I don’t have a huge budget but I’m super backlogged and finding a good editor is my next step towards growing my business. I’ve officially exceeded my capacity as a solo business operator and would Love a good editor I can send consistent work to. I also do other work besides weddings but that’s my immediate need. Any recommendations?

I run a small video agency in DC, and I calculated my total subscriptions a few months ago and was spending $400+ a month on softwares. I didn’t even know until my accountant sent my books over and asked if it was normal to spend $5,000/year on softwares in our line of work.

So…….. I reached out to my best friend who works in tech, and we used open source tools to build a workspace for myself to consolidate and remove all my subscriptions. I have some friends using the workspace now too which is cool.

As we’ve built it, we have a lot of blind spots and often miss things, so I’d love to get feedback from people in my industry.

What tools would genuinely make your life easier when it comes to delivering for your clients? How many tools do you currently use in your workflows?