2 Scarlets on set - upgrading to Epics & Dragon… Then client references iPhone 5s...

[Derek Devine]

I sometimes run into clients that expect to save tons of money by downgrading the camera, when in reality, the camera rental usually doesn't amount to nearly the amount they're hoping to save, which leads us to examine the entire scope of the projecct before just tossing the camera out as a cost savings measure. Introducing iphones and slrs (that haven't been tricked out) just adds risk and professional confinement for me which adds unnecessary stress and saps my patience and creativity. Do we ask graphic designers to use crayons as a cost savings measure?

Also, remember that many of the people calling the shots own no equipment and somehow they manage to make a living. They probably make more than most on set. If you get the call because of the camera you own, I'd rethink your marketing approach especially in this current environment.

 

[BRANDON JAMESON]

Things were a lot more fun when PROFESSIONAL gear cost a fortune, PROS rented what they needed and the skills of film makers had to match the rarefied space that was dictated by the cost of gear rentals and admission to FLAME suites, AVID bays or DAVINCI CC rooms.

This new paradigm of RESOLVE for free, AVID for cheap and 4K cameras for "next to nothing" have made the gap between professional and cam-phone capture & post outrageously small.

IMPO, there has never been a worse time to invest in gear, open a post house or try to recoup camera costs through owner/rentals.....makes absolutely NO sense at all.

At this juncture, it is clearly not the TECH but the TECHNIQUE.

 

[Brant Hadfield]

Whoever shot that, moreover, edited it, has some talent and ability. THAT is what people should be paying for. And usually, when they think they're paying for gear, they're really paying for talent, because if you have the ability, you're probably not shooting on an iPhone unless its a commercial for an iPhone.

 

[Christian Jadot]

It is frustrating, even with other cameras. When I worked for a commercial production team at a TV station, we had a couple sales people always tried to "save" money by shooting the footage themselve on their phones. Well, most of the time we had to go back and reshoot because the footage was crap. However a lot of times the client did not care and just wanted it done. Which is kinda sad.