Audio Equalisation: How to use it and why you should

I’m a filmmaker at heart, though my line of work has required that I delve into other facets of production. My background stems from audio pre & post-production. While I’ve made attempts to shake off this label, audio experience has enabled me to utilise these skill sets and apply them to the world of video & filmmaking.

Through general observation, I’ve noticed that indie filmmakers usually have limited consideration for audio. How many times have you heard the line, “Oh yeah, we’ll just get a soundie to take care of that”. In a time now where camera consumerism has gone rampant, everyone is picking up filmmaking equipment and creating content in some way, shape or form. Despite criticism from cynics, I think these opportunities present some exciting times ahead.

Perhaps one of the least talked about aspects of post-production in audio is the need to understand further fundamentals; especially the final quality when one delivers a product “worthy” of commercial value.

When one shoots footage, be it narrative, documentary, corporate, commercial, wedding, or any other work, we always adhere to and utilise elements such as correct and appropriate frame rates, shutter speed rules, composition, framing, colour temperatures, colour grading, and so on.

Particularly when it comes to colour temperatures and grading, there is always more work required in post should you wish to give your film or video a stylised look or treatment.

With the abundance of “prosumer” audio recorders now readily available on the market, DSLR filmmakers are purchasing audio “companion kits” to supplement their sound needs. In most cases, it’s afterthought. No pun intended.

There seems to be a culture around now that perpetuates the use of these devices where audio is captured and then conveniently synced to your footage in post, all marketed around user-friendliness and convenience.

A prime example would be to capture your audio into an audio recorder whilst shooting, then simply transferring your sound bytes once finished, from card to computer into your NLE. Then simply sync and you’re done. Unfortunately, that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

So therefore, let me pose this question; Why is it that while we always observe colour temperatures while shooting, apply colour correction and grading in post, that we do not prioritise the same necessities when it comes to audio?

The more experienced editors will generally send their files to a sound editing program for further tweaking, then round trip back into their NLEs for the final cut.

While some of you will have your “weapon” of choice, whether using the audio functions, filters and parameters in Final Cut, Adobe, Avid etc, allow me to kindly reiterate that these NLEs are not necessarily designed for serious audio manipulation or management.

Now I’m not saying you have to go out buy standalone sound editing programs. Just try paying more attention to the audio features within your NLEs, and perhaps give them just as much attention as you would when reaching for your three way colour wheels. Audio, just like “colour” requires consideration and “correction” even when you think you’ve nailed it.

Understanding the audio frequency spectrum is equally important to studying your Kelvins in colour temperature. Like light, it also has tonality, shape and texture. The general standard of audible frequencies audible to the average human is between 20Hz to 20,000Hz (low to high). Some of you may refer to this as bass & treble.

The Equalisation (EQ) Process:

This process involves attenuation & filtering. EQ reshapes timbre, alters harmonic structure and will boost or cut the gain (volume) of any given particular sound. EQ is useful for giving sounds presence, body, and clarity and also handy for getting rid of unwanted sounds. From a technical perspective, EQ is utilised to improve the broadcast/medium standard. It works “surgically” to reduce hiss, hum & rumble.

Equalization (EQ) in application:

Like colour temperatures and their light sources, audio has “characteristics”. Through word associations, we can draw references to sound that reside within an audio frequency spectrum. I’ve taken the liberty of providing some examples below that details these characteristics within the various ranges of frequencies. I recommend you refer to the following information the next time you want to tweak or equalise your audio, and experiment with your audio EQ plug-ins to achieve desired results.

20Hz – 200Hz: Low Frequency Range

• Strong/Tactile/Warm – These frequencies usually can add “power” or sound “woody/tubby”. They also contain characteristics that may add rumble. Frequencies also between 60-120Hz are generally attenuated to reduce low-end rumble in dialogue, in order to create more clarity. Various mics and recorders have a parameter called a High-Pass Filter that will perform this function. It’s a good idea to use these when capturing dialogue in an environment plagued by extraneous noise such as traffic and air conditioning,.

200Hz – 500Hz: Low-Mid Frequency Range

• These frequencies can sound full, muddy, fat, robust, boomy, and thumpy. Rolling off frequencies from below 500Hz can make your audio sound thin, clean or tinny.

500Hz – 7,000Hz: Mid Range Frequency Range

• This area of frequencies can add presence, punch, clarity and definition, though be careful when adding too much EQ within this register as it can start sounding horn-like (honky), tinny, nasal, piercing, twangy or metallic (unless those are the sound characteristics you desire). Mid frequency cut in this range can also make your audio sound hollow, mellow or muffled.

7,000Hz – 20,000Hz: High Frequency Range

• This area of frequencies can either enhance or detract from a sound by making them bright, crisp, glassy, tinny, sizzly, edgy, airy or sibilant. It can also render a sound too detailed and close, however rolling off or attenuating these frequencies will mellow, smooth, distance, dull and muffle.

Think about layers. How many sounds or voices can, or should, occupy a frequency band? Contextually, how does one sound relate to another?

Also think about aesthetics. For example, creating something textural. Exploit the psychoacoustic or subtle element, evident when you watch a movie and hear a detailed sound or texture in the background.

Equalisation can also be additive or subtractive. Subtlety different to colour correction in certain instances, subtractive equalisation in audio can improve a sound tremendously. Try this first before adding, as this will usually create clarity, space and separation.

In closing, here are few more tips to consider when applying EQ.

Few people can discern or hear volume or tonal changes of less than 3dB. Search the right frequency before you decide what nuance you should apply to a sound. Sometimes, harsh or brittle sounds may work within context.

Like colour correction or grading, boosting frequencies in audio can also mean additional noise. Boosting EQ in the higher frequency registers can create distortion, more sibilance and clip transients, so use it judiciously.

As for dialogue, always keep track of what you’ve done with reference to voice matching. Voices recorded on set or ADR can sound coherent with intelligent use of EQ.

Remember, this is not a definitive guide. However I’d love to hear from fellow filmmakers on how they process their audio in post. Any feedback or questions are most welcomed. I hope this article has demystified the use of EQ to some degree. Now go do some more research, study &.. remember, practice!

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This is one of the hardest working projects I have ever seen. Please help support Hybrid Vigor. A feature film shot in Lativa with so much soul that I have been inspired by their hard work on Twitter. These guys are doing it $1 at a time with over 700 backers!

Follow them on Twitter @HybridVigorFilm
They recently won Indiewire’s project of the week.

Here is a rip from the Hybrid Vigor kickstarter page.

Click here to help them out.

By: Chris Collins

Here at Wide Open Camera we like to take measures into our own hands.  That’s part of the reason I have been such a strong supporter of going out and shooting spec commercials as a means for mastering your craft.  Director Ilya Polyakov and I began shooting spec spots together about two years ago for a contest website called Poptent. These are the kind of run and gun shoots that we produced for $50 and a few Subway sandwiches.  After a while we began winning some of the many contests we entered.  Not only were we compensated for our endless hard work, but often times we were asked to do reshoots (with small but fair budgets) for the winning spots.

Winning is one thing.  However, there are other ways to land legitimate work through specs in today’s age of social media and youtube.  Ilya came to me with a job that he had just picked up this way. The budget was certainly lower than we would have liked, but I kept my crew and equipment lists small and was still able to make a proper rate. How did we get the job? I’ll let Ilya take it from here…

It’s strange to think how much of my paying work started with a contest. The Smokefree assignment was no different. It started in July 2011, when I decided to do a spot for Blue Electronic Cigarettes (see below) as part of a contest they were running. First place won $10,000. What resulted was a commercial entitled “Sex With a Robot,” which, despite garnering 450,000 views to date, lost the contest to some chick playing a ukulele (still bitter…me?), and fell to the wayside as just another spec spot. That is until 6 months later, when it was discovered by an SEO in India, who contacted me to rebrand the spot for a client of theirs, Smokefree Electronic Cigarettes. I proposed doing an original spot instead, and they agreed, as long as we used the Robot around which the original spot centered. We finalized a script after some email back and forth, and my team and I were left to execute the spot with surprisingly little brand input. The above video is the result.  The client was happy, and has consequently greenlit a 20-second TV spot, which we will be shooting in the coming weeks, with promise of six more to follow in the future.

Here is the orginal spec spot (shot by Justin Anderson)…

Moral of the story… keep shooting. Get your hit counts up to where people start paying attention, and next thing you know you’ll have a proper budget job in the works.

Karol Escobar will be joining the Wide Open Camera team for NAB 2012. Please welcome her to the WOC family! We have great expectations for her and are excited to get Karol out in the field!  I asked her to write a quick post to break down a simple commercial shoot. Here it is. Please comment on this post! Thanks

The Life of a Commercial Shoot

By: Karol Escobar

You’ve jumped every hoop! Put out every fire! Packed your survival gear! With your blind fold on, you are now standing at the edge of the cliff, ready to jump. It’s Show Time. But how did you get here?

Pre-production stages are crucial to every shoot. Good Pre-Production will save you tons of time and money, no matter how big or small your shoot is.

This is where you establish : The who, what & where?

Who is your Audience/Client? What are you selling?

What/Who needs to be show cased on the spot? What type of camera & special gear do you need?

and my favorite part, where will you be shooting it? Controlled studio environment? Exotic Island?

Now that you’ve figured all of this out, it is also important to note where your spot will be airing, what market and what times. This will have a huge effect when it comes time to letting the creative juices flow, as some networks have different requirements. Unless of course, you are doing a web based only campaign.

If on-camera talent is needed for your shoot, find a reputable casting agency, this will allow you to tap into a pool of talent with your specific needs and will at times have someone on staff, that you can hire as a Talent Coordinator. Trust me! You really want to have one on set, specially if dealing with a big cast and extras.

WARNING If using explosives, you may want to have insurance and have them on speed dial.Three general must haves in a commercial

SCREEN GRABS FROM VS MICHAEL BAY COMMERCIAL

1. Since today’s audience have the attention span of a fruit fly and you are competing against the cat, the dog, boobies, twitter, facebook, etc to catch their attention, the first 5-8 seconds of your commercial needs to blow their mind (insert bigger boobies/car explosions/shootings/more boobies here) This is your time to say Hey!! Look at Me!! Whatever it is I’m selling is awesome!

2. Now that you hopefully have their eyeballs glue to the screen, you have 15-20 seconds to show case your product! (This bra will give you even bigger boobies because…) you get my point.

3. If your audience is still watching you have the last 6-3 seconds to tell them where they can get this incredible bra! or the model that comes with it! (kidding-sor of)

Are We There Yet!?

PHOTO BY KAROL ESCOBAR (DEATH VALLEY, NV)

It’s time to make your bid, this is where you create a list of costs and budget for your shoot :

- Above the line : The Creative Types such as the director, producer & DOP – Below the line : The Working Bees & Everything else : ADs, CamOps, Gaffers, PAs,

Grips, ACs… Crafty, gear you’ve rented & so on.

for a more in depth look at the National Bidding Guidelines check out: http:// www.aicp.com/images/uploads/AICPNATIONALGUIDELINES_final.pdf (which by the way hasn’t been updated since 2007 – however, it still contains relevant information and useful guidelines. Time to freshen up AICP! Just sayin’)

We Are Here! Production Time

PHOTO BY KAROL ESCOBAR -SEARS/COMMERCIAL SHOOT

By now you should have all t’s crossed and dotted every i’s!

- Crew Call & convoy directions have been sent out. – Your Army is set and ready for battle. – Locations & talent have been booked/confirmed & they know where they need to be. – Product is ready to go: 2 of each x 10 – Equipment Has been shipped or picked up.

Most shoots start before sunrise, some are shot in a day, others in a week and if shooting multiple spots can take up to a month. Your Army of PA’s, AC’s Set Designers, VTR, make up, wardrobe, Grip truck, production designer, prop master, catering, have been busy preparing each department for the day’s shoot, from building the PO, walkie station, crafty, parking talent trailers, setting up PottyQueens, unloading equipment, building Sets (if needed) & more.

Hereʼs an example of a day breakdown:

• 5:30A Hotel PRODUCTION CALL TIME -
• 7:30A CALL TIME: Crew A,B,C, Tech, Audio, Lighting Mini Vans x4
• 8:30A VS Location 1 CALL TIME
• 8:30A-12:00P VS Location 1/Fantasy 1
• 12:00P-12:30P VS Location 1/Fantasy 1 ESU
• 12:15P VS Location CALL TIME: Talent, Mic’d by Audio Audio Mic’s Cast : Talent Releases Signed
• 12:15P-1:15P VS Location 2/Fantasy 2 VTR: B-Roll, Pickup Shots A Fire Eaters
• 12:15P-1:15P VS Location Fantasy 3 VTR: Special Equipment Loaded In C
• 12:30P-1:30P EXT VS Secret location 2 VTR: OTF’S B Acrobats/runway
• All Product/Angels for Prep on Display
• 1:15P-1:30P VS Experts, Model 1
• 2-3 1:30P-3:45P VS Angels VTR: Fantasy 1-2
• Shows Off New product, walks in from distance/showcase cape blk026
• 2:15P-4:00P VS Location Car/CU VTR: Fantasy 3 / Heli fly by
• 4:00P-5:30P VS Location Pool Hall/Bar VTR: Angel on table/Angels on bar
• 4:00P-5:30P EXT VS Location 1VTR: Perfume & Angel Beauty Shots A
• 5:30P-6:00P PRODUCTION LUNCH: Crew & Talent
• 6:15P-7:15P VS location 3 VTR: Jon preps Angels for explosion
• 7:30P-9:00P VS VTR: Final Pick Ups
• 9:15P-10:30P VS Angels Wraps
• 9:15P-11:30P Crew Wraps Gear
• 11:30P-12:00A TRAVEL Crew Travels to Hotel
• 12:00A Hotel WRAP: CREW

This is obviously a cliffs notes version in the day of the life of a shoot, I could write a book of all the do’s and don’ts and no matter how prepare you are, surprises always pop up. As a wise friend once said, Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

Most importantly, treat your crew/talent with respect, have fun & keep everyone fed.

Now what are you waiting for!? Go showcase some boobs and blow something up! Who knows, you might be the next Michael Bay in the making.

Happy Hunting!

Karol Escobar Freelance Producer

I started out working at a camera rental house called CSC in New York many years ago. I am a huge believer in renting equipment. I also recommend starting a relationship with your local shop. This could very well save your ass one day. A rental house is also a place to demo new equipment. Most shops are willing to let you demo new gear in house on a slow day. This is a great way to test new cameras and lenses before investing.

There are some major differences between motion picture rental houses and still photography rental shops. For example, Birns and Sawyer typically charges a three day week and one day weekend. (Insider tip: most rental houses will discount up to 30% off of the rental list price. Hence the “Call for price” listing on most websites.) Still rental houses have varying rental periods. Here is a rip from the Calumet catalog.

Internet based rental shops will typically charge less but require a considerable about of planning. Unless you happen to live nearby they will most likely be shipping you the gear and there will be lead time. Check you local shops to see their rate scheme. Borrow Lenses and Lens Rentals are two popular internet only rental shops. Borrow Lenses has three pick up locations in California.
With the advent of so many owner operators the rental house has taken on the role of support system. This is critical when you are supplying the main camera package. I will typically rent sticks or some other support gear to have the rental house on my team during the shoot. If something goes wrong, they are set up to help. If your camera fails, they will have a back up. They will also rent you the little accessories that would otherwise cost you a bundle and may only be specific to that job. Rental houses are also key in setting the rates for which you will charge for your gear. I recommend using a local shops rates as they vary by state. Here are some sample rates from Calumet Los Angeles and Calumet New York.

Calumet Los Angeles Rental Rates

Calumet New York Rental Rates.

A rental house can be a great ally in the world of film production, I highly recommend finding one that works for your specific needs. You can bet they will answer the call at 5am when no one else will.

 
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It’s almost impossible to sum up years of experience, months of research and countless hours in the field into a simple day rate. Yet we are asked to do it all the time. A typical gig for me will start with an availability check. Then it’s followed with how wonderful and easy the project will be. Then we finally get to the dreaded question of how much do you charge? If this is a brand new client then I will typically respond with a “Make me an offer” reply. This works most of the time. It’s a pretty safe way of saying that you are open to all offers. I will also consider lower paying gigs if the budget is low and the project has merit or will benefit my demo reel.

Local 600 provides a “Rate Card” with a pay scale for specific types of positions and productions. This can be used as a baseline for most of the camera work that we do. Top DOP’s get around $2500 per day, not including camera or L & G rental. A fair price for a brand spanking new camera operator can be anywhere from $250-$500 per day base pay rate. If you add a camera package to this I would suggest a ball park $1K day rate. I would also suggest looking at rental house rates to help determine kit rentals for your gear. It’s important to remember that most rental houses will discount up to 30% from the list price and will typically charge a three day rate for the entire week. It’s important to stay competitive with your areas rates. I would also stress that this type of work is lucrative but never about the money for me. It easily creates problems and I for one would rather work for less with a positive crew than make a ton with a bunch of bitter assholes.

Here are some suggested non union day rates per position. Most day rates in the US are based on a ten hour day. Overtime at 1.5X the hourly rate after ten hours unless otherwise negoiated. This does not include kit rental.

Director Of Photography                     $1000-$2500 per day

Camera Operator                                $550-$1000 per day

First AC/ Focus Puller                          $350-$550 per day

Second AC/ Clapper                             $250-$500 per day

Loader/ DIT                                          $250-$500 per day

Camera PA                                            $175-$250 per day

Camera Intern                                       $125-$175 per day

***These are only suggested rates and are soley based on speculation.***

Here is part one of a three part series on production basics for camera operators and new DOP’s. With the rise of the DSLR many camera operators and DOP’s are now owner/operators. This presents some new challenges and the first line of defense is getting good equipment insurance. Some of the bigger home or renter’s insurance companies may protect your equipment. However I have some of the best insurance on the planet (USAA) and they will not cover my gear in the field. This is why I have additional equipment insurance. I can recommend Insure My Equipment as a great and fairly inexpensive resource for additional equipment insurance. They also provide production insurance via Insure My Rentals. I would recommend this if you feel your gear may be at risk. Most production companies should provide you with an insurance certificate with you or your company as the named recipient. If not, it is completely feasible to ask about it prior to the gig. I may have mentioned these two companies in previous posts but it’s worth reiterating. Protecting your gear should be part of the overall investment budget. There is nothing worse than loosing a client over some broken gear. Tomorrow: Non Union Day Rates.

Click here to go to Insure My Equipment.

Click here to go to Insure My Rentals.

By: Michelle Brown AKA @MoshBrown on Twitter

As a filmmaker, cinematographer, or editor, there are three important steps you should know about billing. Step one: book a gig. Step two: track your time and expenses. Step three: invoice correctly. If you follow these simple steps, there might even be a fourth one: profit!

I am an accountant who works with a large number of contractors and consultants. I’ve seen everything, and I know what works and what doesn’t. You want to spend your time working and furthering your craft, not chasing down payments. Take a look at what goes into correct invoicing and you’ll be rolling in the green in no time.

A Little Background

There are a lot of ways to produce an invoice. Selecting the one that works best for you will ensure you are paid timely and are hired again. There are a lot of templates out there if you want to track things yourself. I have suggested a handful of Office templates straight from Microsoft. These will open with MS Office as well as with Libre or Open Office. You will still need to keep track of who and what you’re billing, so here’s where the next step comes in. If you’d like a program to do the work for you, Freshbooks is amazing. I have quoted a few folks right now I’m paying from these invoices, and they offer online payment as well! If you really want to dig in and be in charge of your finances, Quickbooks is the leader for small and growing businesses. Check out their online version for free. Quickbooks has online, Windows, and Mac versions, although their Mac version struggles. For those who are starting out, the online version will do what you need until you need to turn over your books to an accountant at the end of the year.

Before you get to that invoice, you need to look at your contract. Each job you get should begin with a contract of some kind. Verbal is friendly, but if money is changing hands you want to protect yourself. Make sure you read the language and understand it as much as you can. Pay attention to the payment terms. Standard terms for most companies are Net 30, which means the invoice is due 30 days after the date posted on the bill. At my company, contractors and consultants are paid Net 15, but all of our other vendors are paid Net 60 or more. Make sure you know how long you’ll be waiting to get paid, so you know when to check in. The next important item is a W9 form. Even if you are incorporated, no one will pay you without it. This form should be filled out to reflect your name, business name if you operate under one, and the federal tax ID number that you pay taxes with. Higher-level accounting systems won’t even let you enter a bill without this number, so it’s very important. The #1 delay I have with paying people is their failure to submit a W9 with their invoice.

Tracking Your Time

Each gig might be different. Depending on the contract you’re under, you may be billing hourly, daily, or for a project. No matter which way you go, it’s a good idea to track your time. This also includes your expenses. Track mileage, gas, food, and supplies as you go, and you’ll always know what each shoot is costing you. If your contract doesn’t allow you to bill for these expenses, at least you know what you’re in for the next time you take a job two hours away in the middle of a heat wave.

Track your hours worked each day, and if possible note what was done. If you spent three hours shooting, followed by an hour of data management, note it! The more you know about your own time the better, because if someone comes asking for details later you won’t want to scramble to make it up. Don’t worry about getting down to the minute; try to shoot for each quarter of an hour. The time you take scribbling down some notes could save your behind when a department trying to save money suddenly wants to know what REALLY took you two days to shoot.

Invoicing Correctly

Now for that all-important invoice. Make sure you have a bill to and a pay to address. The bill to should be the address of the folks you’re working for. Try to enter their business name and full address, and don’t be afraid to ask. Some companies won’t accept an invoice that isn’t correctly filled out, and a revision will cause another payment delay. Sending invoices via email is faster for everyone, so try to get an email of the accounting group if you can. The pay to should be your address where you would like to receive payment. If you’re able to receive payments via PayPal, ACH, or wire, include that information too. If you use a business name on your invoices but you file your taxes personally, make sure you have “Pay to the order of xxxxx” clearly noted. It would be a bummer to receive a check issued to “My Awesome Company” when you can’t cash it.

If you’re sending the invoice to someone other than who hired you, reference their name somewhere on the invoice. The less time the accountant has to chase down approval, the faster you’ll be paid. Always use an invoice number. You can decide what kind of numbering convention to use, but this is more important than it seems. If you need to inquire about payment, it’s better to ask for the invoice number rather than try to explain what invoice it is. I used to work for a magazine, and every creative invoice we received noted the issue it was to be included in. Editorial staff will often do this when they pass the invoice on, but if you know and you’ve already noted it, you’re a step ahead.

When you enter the charges on the invoice, all you really need is time worked times agreed to rate. If you’ve worked multiple days, it’s wise to spread this out for each day. If you did track your time and want to include it, this is the best place. Itemize your charges if they include additional expenses. Billable time is different from billable expenses. Some clients will want you to include copies of your receipts, if you’ve expensed certain items. This depends on each deal, and will most likely be spelled out in the contract. Always include total number of hours worked and total due at the bottom of your invoice. It sounds like a pain, but the easier you make entering the invoice, the more likely you’ll be paid faster. If your invoice looks like an eight year old can understand it, it’s ready to be sent.

Collecting the Dough

In a perfect world, you’ll send off your invoice with a W9, it’ll be entered, and a check will arrive in your mailbox. When that doesn’t happen, don’t panic. Remember what the terms of your agreement were, and even then give some headway. When you feel it’s been a bit too long, reach out to the accounting department first. 90% of the time, the hold up is there. Maybe there was a delay in processing, or maybe they had to chase down an approval. Sometimes it’s just a matter of timing. An invoice might come in between pay periods, which will cause a delay. At my company, I only have two pay periods a month. If someone misses one of those, it’s very difficult for me to issue a one-off payment. If you don’t have any contact in the accounting office, go ahead and reach out to whoever hired you. But do it nicely. You want to keep a good relationship with that contact, and they probably don’t want to be tied up with accounting issues either. Sometimes all you need to do is ask for a contact in accounting, to find out when you can expect payment.

If you’ve waited, and waited, and no payment has come, you still have options. When your invoice is about a month late (remember the terms!), reach out to accounting requesting payment. If a month later you’re still waiting, send another email that is more strongly worded. If at 90 days past the original terms you have no payment and no promise of when it will come, you can send a final demand letter. In this letter you can give a deadline of when you expect to receive payment, and the steps you intend to take if you do not. For many, this is small claims court. Small claims is a valid place to edge out issues, but it takes a lot of time. Sometimes if a final demand letter won’t budge a company to pay up, nothing will. At that point you need to make the decision about which is more important: collecting a debt or moving on to other work. Black lists exist for a reason, and unfortunately this is one of them.

If you take my advice above, I don’t think you’ll have to write many final demand letters in your day. Payments take time, even if they’re small, but if you do your homework you’ll come out on top. Keep in mind that large companies sometimes take a very long time to pay, so just do your own due diligence, keep in touch, and make sure they haven’t forgotten about you. If you appear professional from the beginning, you’ll be contacted again in the future.

Accounting doesn’t have to be the big scary burden people think it is. It also doesn’t need to be a box of receipts you don’t look at until January. Spend the time during the year to keep everything organized and you’ll win in the end. As your business grows and you find yourself making more money, the most important thing to go is find a reputable accountant. Creative types are brilliant, but finance isn’t always something that comes easy. An accounting professional who knows the rules is your ace in the hand. They can answer questions, offer advice, and ultimately help grow your business. New year, new you, new skills to help you keep shooting!

About the author.

Michelle Brown is a Bay Area native who always felt life was more interesting with a musical score. Working as an Accountant in San Francisco, she is learning and loving the DSLR world. Michelle enjoys shooting, editing, and finding the perfect song to make a night with friends seem like a theatrical masterpiece. Follow her journey @moshbrown

If you work as a freelance or independant contractor you may want to look into the benefits of incorporating as a small business. I have done this for many years with great results. I can only offer a camera perspective but I suspect that it applies to all trades in the film industry. As a freelance cameraman I work sporadically and my pay rate varies from gig to gig. This can put me in a very high tax bracket one month and another bracket the next month. I first noticed this while working on a television show. They were taking out enourmous chunks of my paycheck every week. This is because the IRS thinks that you make that rate every week for the entire year and they put you in that tax bracket even if the gig is only one or two weeks.  At the time I was under the spell of big tax returns. A welcome bonus every Spring. After the third of fourth raping of my pay checks, I decided to look into incorporating.

The first hurdle in incorporating is getting your accountant’s blessing. Many accountants will tell you “it’s not worth it” or “You don’t make enough to justify incorporating” That is just fooey! They either don’t have the program to deal with corporations or they don’t want to get it. Luckily mine was totally on board and suggested establishing an S-Corp. S-Corps are fairly easy to maintain with only one yearly filing and an update of the list of officers. I decided to go with Nevada because of the killer tax laws there. It will be up to you to decide where to incorporate. The best part of all of this is that you keep ALL of your paycheck. Nothing is taken out. Then at year’s end corporations do not have the same limit restrictions of what can be written off. I have been very lucky and my write offs have almost always canceled out the amount owed to taxes. Get the picture?

I used My Corporation to set everything up. They are fairly inexpensive and will do everything for you. There are a few ways to save a few pennies by sending in some of the forms yourself but the entire process only cost me around five hundred smackers. This has easily saved me thousands over the years. If you work on a freelance basis then you owe it to yourself to look into incorporating. Unless you like giving more than necessary to the IRS.

Click here for more info at mycorporation.com

Click here for some Pro’s and Cons of a Nevada S-Corp.

(If you can put the quality up to 720, makes a difference…)
If you read Nofilmschool.com which I highly suggest you do, you’ll probably have seen the almighty shit-stirring fest provoked by one Sarah Balchik (smart money on this being the infamous Salah Baker more from Salah here) UPDATE: Maybe the money isn’t so smart after all, seems like it really is someone else with the same initials who launched an all out attack on lots of things but in particular Philip Bloom. It was vicious and you can make your own mind up whether it was right or not. Personally, I don’t. I posted one comment and got nailed by Sarah with this little nicety:

Real Original. I think I’ve read that about a million times from other guys wasting their time posting instead of creating. Why aren’t you out there creating now. who said the camera is the only thing that matters. Stop being a cop and go create.

Boom. Ouch. This made me laugh actually, and if you dug around really carefully in all the vitriol there was a similar line being spoken to the one I’ve been trying to promote recently: namely just being prepared to be a little more realistic and critical of the bland. One of Sarah’s sticks used to beat our plucky Brit with was the argument that he stays in his comfort zone. That’s a pretty duff argument. I know plenty of directors who you could accuse of being one trick ponies, their work being broadly homogenous. There’s a music video director called Sam Brown who does beautiful, beautiful work but you can always tell that it’s his. Edouard Salier, another music video director, happily admits this himself. These guys are successful, do great work, and are constantly in demand. So what if you know what you’re going to get? It’s a duff argument. Personally, I like to try something different every time, but that really is just me. There are so many different styles, genres and techniques there’s plenty going on to just refine and develop one style.

Now, back to Sarah (Salah?) and her comment. The fact is, I am out there creating. All the time. Which brings me neatly to this post and the reason for writing it. In my post on critiquing I took a bit of flak and that’s fine, I expected that. The danger when critiquing is that, inevitably, the focus falls on the one critiquing and this is why so many choose to hide their identity when commenting. Having a leg to stand on is, apparently, quite important. So, here’s a recent piece of work, a music video. I’m going to explain how it came about, the ambition for it, and then I’m going to critique and any and all of you can lay into it, attack it, shred it, tear it to pieces as much as you like. Go nuts. Feel free to express exactly what you think. Sound good?

Take it off is a collaboration between new dance/pop act and Super Massive Raver who I’ve been working with for a while now. Their original treatment for the video was fairly conventional with the usual ‘beautiful people in a club’ vibe. I’m quite heavily invested in SMR and wanted to do a video that reflected the off-kilter, bizarre way he views the world. This was a low budget video (around 2k), not micro budget, but close, but these days music video budgets tend to be a little bit meaningless. Suffice it to say it was ambitious. The idea was to recreate the ‘Dawn of Man’ sequence from 2001 but in a tacky TV over-the-top seventies sci-fi way. The monolith would be a gigantic speaker and the monkeys would evolve into early clubbers. I originally wanted a desert landscape, like the original but that was impossible. I wanted masks with articulating mouths so you could actually see the singer’s mouth moving in the early verses. That was impossible. I wanted someone else to shoot. But that was impossible. I wanted latex skin that would be a real shock to see splitting open. That was also impossible. Music videos are always like this, you just compromise and compromise and keep going, hoping that the overall idea doesn’t get lost somewhere in all of it. The problem with most low budget music videos is that they run out of ideas about 2 minutes in and just limp to the end. It’s really important to keep the ideas evolving right to the end so that a trigger happy audience watches all the way to the end. So, with the help of a great little team, some daft set dressing, some funky costumes and cheap masks we arrived at the overall production design look and feel for the video.

So. The critique. Firstly it’s important to be aware of what I look for in music videos. Production design, inventiveness of the idea, execution, performance, and above all, whether the video improves the song.

Firstly, the opening is nice, it’s unusual, it roots you quite quickly in a world where the monkeys’ appearance is correct, despite being completely daft. It echoes the original and has that pseudo grand feeling of seventies sci-fi. However, the video as a whole is not particularly brilliantly shot. [I shot it myself and, as I've always said, I'm not a DoP. Directing and DoP'ing a video yourself is a big ask, and not something I enjoy.] Some of the shots are too hot and you can tell. It’s at its most successful when its handheld, some of the lock off shots are just a little flat. The masks are a blessing and a curse. They give you something very interesting in closeup, but for the performers they take away that vital connection between the performer and what they’re singing. This is particularly bad in the second verse where the video feels like it’s just padding, getting us to the rap verse where we get to see a different phase of the idea. It would have been nice to see more of a change in the monkeys, articulated better when they begin to feel the effects of the music. The Super Massive Raver monkey character is strong but he masks the fact that some of the dancing, particularly in verse 2 is a bit ropey. The woozy, slow mo breakdown is a welcome break from the lock off setup of the speaker and is probably the strongest part of the video, leading nicely through the ripping of the clothes to the ‘sexy’ group section. More could have been made of the ripping and skin shedding, taking the idea to a more extreme dimension, making it more visceral. When we can finally see people’s faces it’s a relief, and the sharper routines, coupled with the different looking colour palette, help mask the fact that we are still in the same location, doing exactly the same thing. The faceoff is a nice idea but the big ‘boner’ reveal is handled badly. It feels crammed into a section of the song that can’t handle that much story. The final routine is slick but we seem to have lost one of the strongest elements of the video, SMR himself. He’s there in the clichéd low angle fisheye crowd setup, but he needed closure to his story. One more location, or a variation on the setting would have been welcome. As always, the achievement of getting something with this many cast members, and its own distinct production design, for the money, is a good achievement, but it’s still lacking many elements that would have elevated it beyond that. It doesn’t quite push hard enough into the difficult, weird places the closeups of the monkey masks seem to be asking for. For that reason I give it 3 out of 5. A good effort, but that’s it.

That’s my review. Now go nuts. And if you take that as an opportunity to attack me, that’s okay too.