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Posted by FCP User on 10/21/06 23:39
In article <453a24da$0$54861$bb4e3ad8@newscene.com>,
"Toby" <kymarto123@ybb.ne.jpp> wrote:
> "DK1000" <bwana1SPAMMENOTREMOVE@lycos.com> wrote in message
> news:EdadnQVOEIiRlKTYnZ2dnUVZ_uudnZ2d@adelphia.com...
> > Hi,
> >
> > I'm starting a freelance venture where I will be involved in shooting
> > short videos in people's homes, maybe 5 minutes each, using existing room
> > light and any daylight coming in. Some houses may not have any electricity
> > or available room lighting, they will be houses for sale or houses being
> > rehabbed. Right now all I could afford was a consumer digital camcorder,
> > got a Panasonic PV-GS59 for $315, so you can see the limited budget I'm
> > working with.
> >
> > I can't afford pro lighting at this point, what can I get that's portable,
> > that will illuminate a whole wall of a room, or the whole field of view at
> > no zoom, to maybe 20 to 30 feet away if I need it for larger rooms? I
> > suppose this will be some kind of floodlight? Something hopefully that
> > will work on rechargeable batteries, or one of those portable DC
> > "backpacks" that can be to jump start cars, but also provides 12 V DC. I
> > thought of those lamps that campers wear on their heads, but I have the
> > hunch they won't quite cover the area bright enough. I assume
> > miner's/firemen's lamps are spot, not flood. My camcorder comes with a
> > built-in light, but only good about 5 feet, and no accessory shoe.
> >
> > I will not be normally shooting people with this set-up, just rooms. I
> > plan on putting the video on a website. I'm looking into the .flv format.
> > I realize I won't have the web bandwidth to put up the uncompressed .avi
> > file the camcorder makes, but at least I want it lit up enough not to show
> > too much excess grain that consumer level camcorders show at normal room
> > lighting levels.
> >
> > What are my alternatives/options. Thanks much.
>
> What you really want are HMI lights, but those are obviously not going to be
> within your budget. Personally I think you will be much better off with a
> little gas generator and 120V AC lights. The batteries you are talking about
> are going to be heavier than the generator and will have to be recharged
> regularly. A small 1KW generator and a long extension cord would be much
> more manageable and reliable. Just put the thing in the yard and run a cable
> through the front door or a window somewhere. Then get a few normal floods,
> bounce one or two off the ceiling (if it is light colored), and if the room
> is really large point one or two at a far wall. Cheap and easy, if not very
> elegant...
>
> Toby
Didn't see this until recently. Sorry.
I know a little bit about this kind of thing since I spent a pretty good
stretch of the 1980s doing as the writer and voiceover talent for a
local program called "The Home Hunter" that did precisely what you're
talking about.
We videotaped new and resale homes and assembled a show (1 hour at
first, later 1/2 hour) to help the owners sell them.
I think the show is STILL on the air today, some 20 years later but it
has long since morphed from selling homes, into an "interview" style
show where businesses selling home related products (everything from
mortgage services to water softeneers) pitch their wares.
I wrote and VO'd about 500 home descriptions during my time with the
program.
Here are some thoughts.
A - it's really difficult to make undecorated rooms look appealing.
Without decor, any room just becomes a white blob on screen and without
something to determine the scale of the room, an 8 X 10 bedroom looks
precisely the same as a 20X15 master bedroom - a white box with a
doorway. Lighting doesn't really help if there's nothing in the room to
light.
B - The show will succeed or fail NOT on the video stuff, but on the
business stuff. If you can find sponsors or clients who will pay their
bills, you're fine. If not, you sink. You need ironclad written
agreements specifying what you are owed and how it must be paid - AND a
collection mechanism that works. Because once a seller has the check
from the escrow company - they can find a million excuses not to cut you
your portion. Don't be a banker for anyone. Get BIG deposits and develop
a reputation as someone who will be completely businesslike and
unbending about collections.
C - Real estate is a very cyclical business. You can do fine during the
"buyers" markets when sellers need help. Then when the pendulum swings -
and there are more buyers then sellers - nobody needs or wants you.
Bottom line. It CAN be a viable business - but it's really, really tough.
Good luck.
--
Bill Davis
StartEditingNow.com
DVD editing instruction with Multi-Track Movies
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