When it comes to filmmakers, we're all in different parts of the world, different points in our personal lives, and at different roads in our filmmaking journey. We understand the struggle with our craft. Expensive equipment, endless equipment we'll never stop discovering, burning out, learning new skills, or even just trying to find our place in this industry. So, what can really make you stand out as filmmaker? Is it truly the equipment or is it actually skills?
Back To The Basics
Let's go back to the basics to reflect on what filmmaking exactly requires:
Camera
Continuous Light(s)
Microphone(s)
Storyboard
Having the skills and knowing how to use each of the above can significantly take up your production value, but at some point, you will come across potential clients seeking to contract you for a much higher price and expecting high end equipment. Does this make you better if you own high end equipment? Not necessarily. Owning a notable camera brand itself is enough to make you a legend, but this is often the mindset of many people. Although there are pros and cons to owning high end equipment, that expensive gear requires a great deal of knowledge on how to use it. Filmmakers often look at buying high end equipment thinking they can charge as much as they like with no competition, but most don't realize they can already do that with a decent camera.
Why Is This?
Finding a decent camera today is so much easier than it was 10 years ago. Have you noticed the huge saturated market of photographers & filmmakers on IG Reels, TikTok, Facebook, etc? The newest technology and game-changing specs of cameras made in this decade make it easier than ever to take quality photos and have perfect stabilization when filming, so it's gotten harder to stand out. So how can you make more money and find more gigs with the equipment you already have?
Think about this. If you have been a videographer for a few years, understand more than the basics and own a basic set of lights, a Mirrorless/Full Frame camera, a microphone, then you can book a music video and charge anything you'd like.We'll say $1000. Factoring in the cost of all your equipment, the hours you put into storyboarding, possibly hiring other people, on set filming, and editing the video, you can charge $1K. To some people, $1K is a lot, while to others it's not much. But if you deliver a high quality music video and make that $1K, you can put a chunk of that away to RENT a high end camera for your next gig and charge $2,500 with that extra $1.5K for the sake of using that cinema camera for that production.
So many filmmakers undercharge because of the fear of not making money or losing out on a gig when what they're doing is undervaluing their worth. The skills learned, the time and money put into learning how to get quality results is a lot and frankly, invaluable. If you lose out on a gig because of high prices, don't always assume it's because your work is not on a professional level. Consider the fact that your client may not be used to finding professional work. The filmmaker has just as much of a say in the business aspect as the creative process because this is what you do for a living. There are numerous ways to making income with filmmaking, but it all comes down to one thing: Knowledge
Knowledge
Ever hear the phrase, "It's not what you know, it's who you know"? That's because who you know already KNOWS that you KNOW your stuff. When you get a first time client and they expect high end equipment, you show them your high end work and guarantee them a stunning video. Sure cinema cameras, lenses, lighting systems, and audio equipment costs much more than what you may own or can afford, but you still spent a great deal of money on that equipment and you know how to use it best.
You Reap What You Sow
If you finish a project and deliver a quality video, your clients won't care what equipment you use because they trust that you know your stuff. They will keep coming back because it wasn't the equipment that persuaded them to hire you- it was your work or the way you conducted business. So learn everything about the equipment you own and practice, practice, practice. Mastering your art by learning the importance of lighting, direction, composition, audio, etc. will always make you a far better filmmaker than someone with high end equipment and little experience because there are a lot of people who think otherwise.
Equipment is only a stepping stone to help accelerate everyone involved, and when you know the equipment you already have and understand the skills of filmmaking, then making the money to rent or even save up for high end equipment is not as hard as you think. Keep practicing and don't give up. You will get recognized if you do, and if it means that much- you'll be able to afford new equipment too!
Christian Newlands
Christian Newlands is a director, filmmaker, screenwriter and family man from Oceanside, California, now based out of Clarksville, TN. He works as the owner of the OSV brand, website and he is a Content Writer here at Oceanside Visuals.
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