Artful Camera

It seems like everyone today wants to be the next Casey Neistat. What makes his YouTube channel and videos so compelling? Neistat's YouTube channel currently has over 5 million subscribers, and has amassed over 1 billion views. He must be doing something right that draws such an insanely huge audience.

A few months ago Casey Neistat released a video he called Casey Neistat's Guide to Filmmaking. In this episode of the Digital Convergence Podcast, Chris Fenwick and I take an indepth look at Neistat's video. Chris casts his keen video editor eyes upon each scene in this video and talks about why Casey's story telling works so well.

We also talk about the new DJI Mavic Pro, and I try to goad Chris into making an epic experiential documentary of Route 66.

Please support our show sponsors:

VideoBlocks - an affordable, subscription-based stock media site that gives you unlimited access to premium stock footage. Get your yearly subscription today for only $99 here: http://videoblocks.com/digital

CrumplePop's BetterStabilizer

Mentioned in the episode:

Outside the Lens

DJI Mavic Pro (affiliate link)

Carl Olson's new YouTube channel

DCP 82: Chris Fenwick's Excellent Adventure

DCP 179: Craig Cerhit Got Hit By A Truck, Nearly Crashed A Helicopter With His Shoes, Got Lost In a Cave and Made a Documentary Film About Experiential Education

This is the 200th episode of the Digital Convergence Podcast.

My special guest for this episode is none other than Chris Fenwick. Chris has a long, storied history with this show so it's only fitting that he joins me in a fun conversation about the past, the present, and the future of being a digital media creative.

This podcast began to be published in January 2010 at the beginning of the "convergence" revolution brought about accidentally by Canon with the epic Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. This show has tracked the progress of the technology of the tools used by digital media creatives for nearly six and a half years.

Mentioned in the episode:

CrumplePop's website: http://crumplepop.com

CrumplePop AudioDenoise: http://www.crumplepop.com/fcpx-premiere-plugin-audio-denoise/

CrumplePop EchoRemover:

http://www.crumplepop.com/fcpx-premiere-audio-plugin-echoremover/

Make a donation to support the Digital Convergence Podcast: http://creativemethod.tv/donate

Send email or leave voice mail feedback: http://creativemethod.tv/contact/

Carl Olson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheCarlOlson

CreativeMethod.TV YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/c/CreativeMethodTV

CreativeMethod.TV on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativemethod.tv/

CreativeMethod on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativemethodtv/

CreativeMethod website: http://creativemethod.tv

 

My brother, Joseph Olson, talks about crushing it on YouTube. Originally trained as physicist, he now produces YouTube videos - by the thousands! His two YouTube channels - BrickTsar (all about Legos) and TrainTsarFun (all about toy trains) - have garnered over 50 million views and over 50,000 subscribers combined. So far he's published almost 3,000 videos (and none of them with a Canon EOS 5D Whatever).

In this episode, Joseph talks with me about his success on YouTube, his process for producing videos, and tips for optimizing YouTube videos.

Many DCP listeners produce videos for clients and many of the guests on this show have shared tips about doing client work. So, it's time to change things up a bit and talk expanding your revenue streams by creating your own content and monetizing it. Joseph's 3,000 videos belong only to him and no one else. He reaps the profit from owning his own content.

Hopefully Joseph's success on YouTube will inspire you to create your own content and profit from it, without having to depend totally on booking one-shot gigs - client work - and all the headaches that come from trying to please the client and get paid.

In this episode, Joseph provides a ton of inspiration, and many practical tips on using YouTube.

I always enjoy talking with my brother, and I'm glad to be able to share one of our conversations with you in this episode.

Mentioned in the episode:

Joseph Olson's youTube Channels: BrickTsar: https://www.youtube.com/user/BrickTsar

TrainTsarFun: https://www.youtube.com/user/TrainTsarFun

CrumplePop's website: http://crumplepop.com

CrumplePop AudioDenoise: http://www.crumplepop.com/fcpx-premiere-plugin-audio-denoise/

CrumplePop EchoRemover: http://www.crumplepop.com/fcpx-premiere-audio-plugin-echoremover/

Cinematika by SampleScience: http://www.samplescience.ca/2016/08/cinematika-audio-demos-by-samplescience.html

Make a donation to support the Digital Convergence Podcast: http://creativemethod.tv/donate

Send email or leave voice mail feedback: http://creativemethod.tv/contact/

Carl Olson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheCarlOlson

CreativeMethod.TV YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIo1YmQXnMm21b-Slkr69Tg

CreativeMethod.TV on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativemethod.tv/

CreativeMethod on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativemethodtv/

CreativeMethod website: http://creativemethod.tv

On August 25th, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV - was officially announced amidst a cacophony of both praise and disappointment - depending on whether you are primarily a stills photographer or videographer. Ben Bruton-Cox of the Our Week In Video podcast helps me work through my own angst over Canon. Is the Mark IV right for me?   "Expectation postponed makes the heart sick, but a desire realized is a tree of life" –ancient proverb.   After 8 years of unrequited love and anticipation, Canon has slammed the door closed on the convergence market that they gave birth to. When the 5D Mark II was released, it had the most basic of video features. But, O!, it was the loveliest HD video ever seen (only 30fps in the beginning, moire, poor dynamic range, and rolling shutter notwithstanding) from a camera costing less than $3,500. With that camera, Canon accidentally created the "convergence" market, and with it, hope and expectation that  Canon would continually improve the video features of the EOS 5D line.   Sadly, I feel that if Canon could go back in time, they would never approved video capability in any of their DSLRs. However, the genie is out of the bottle. The convergence market's expectation was that their desires for pro video features would be built into 5D Mark IV. They thought "surely after 8 years we will have the ultimate convergence camera!"   Alas, that expectation - at least by those who consider themselves convergence photographers and filmmakers - was unrealized. They are the ones most disappointed in the EOS 5D Mark IV because Canon has the capability to deliver and meet the needs and wants of convergence creators, but have deliberately hobbled these features. What makes this sting even more is the marketing language Canon used to announce the 5D Mark IV gushes with phrases such as:   "see legendary"   "builds on the powerful legacy of the 5D series"   "amazing refinements"   "creative videographers will appreciate the brilliance and power that the EOS 5D Mark IV delivers"   You certainly have to have a creative imagination to believe that.   Frankly, the EOS 5D Mark IV feels like an intentional hobbling of features that – I believed if were reversed – would see Canon crush it over and beyond what they are doing now with the sale of mid range DSLRs.   The EOS 5D Mark IV is no doubt a superb still camera with competent - though mostly outdated - HD video baked in.  It's a camera I want to like. I personally haven't bought into other convergence cameras by Sony and Panasonic yet.   I love Canon. I love Canon gear. I love the Canon image. I love the Canon ergonomics. I love Canon lenses.   I get it that my love for Canon is unrequited and they probably don't want me – a convergence creative – as a customer. It hurts a bit in part because I and so many other convergence bloggers, podcasters, and YouTubers have resulted in the sales of tens of thousands of Canon DSLRs to convergence creatives - all to Canon's benefit - and all without any compensation to us whatsoever.   Some folks make the claim that we should all just trust Canon's marketing department, that they are smart, and know what they are doing. This is a dubious claim. Many large companies have marketing departments that have been clueless about their customers - resulting in massive failure for those companies. The same can happen to Canon.   It's a serious mistake for Canon to jilt the very market they created – albeit accidentally.    Mentioned in the episode:   CrumplePop's website http://crumplepop.com   CrumplePop AudioDenoise http://www.crumplepop.com/fcpx-premiere-plugin-audio-denoise/   CrumplePop EchoRemover http://www.crumplepop.com/fcpx-premiere-audio-plugin-echoremover/   Soundstripe.com http://soundstripe.com   Ben Bruton-Cox and Our Week In Video podcast https://www.facebook.com/ourweekinvideo/   Canon EOS 5D Mark IV https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/products/details/cameras/dslr/eos-5d-mark-iv   Official Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Introduction https://youtu.be/8Z9089048wk   Introducing the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV https://youtu.be/BtD-xEvG21E   Jared Polin "Fro Knows Photos" Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Preview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0ou39qKoWM   Planet 5D article by Mitch Anger - RANT: "The Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Doesn't Have…" http://blog.planet5d.com/2016/08/rant-the-canon-eos-5d-mark-iv-doesnt-have/

In this episode I cover:

1) The return of Rocko's Modern Life and how I met the B-52's while working as a camera operator intern at a local Atlanta TV station.

2) Canon EOS 5D Mark IV rumors are heating up. I talk about the latest information from CanonRumors.com. It looks like the 5D Mark IV will support 4K video, but it does not come with a CFAST card slot. In a few days - perhaps as early as August 25, 2016 - we likely all will have the facts, but will it make a difference?

3) There's a free sound library available that may be of interest to digital media creatives. It's a royalty free library from Red Sky Lullaby.

4) If you are a Final Cut Pro X user, I tell you how you can win a free pass for the 2016 FCPX Creative Summit. And I also tell you about an awesome FCP X resource: fcp.co.

5) Kris Simmons - The Video Business Success Coach - returns to motivate you to put your biz into high gear. Ron Dawson of Radio Film School left us a voice mail with a great question about a topic we did not address in our series "Am I getting paid enough?" Stay tune to hear Ron's question and Kris Simmons answer to it.

Mentioned in the podcast:

CrumplePop's website: http://crumplepop.com

CrumplePop AudioDenoise: http://www.crumplepop.com/fcpx-premiere-plugin-audio-denoise/

CrumplePop EchoRemover: http://www.crumplepop.com/fcpx-premiere-audio-plugin-echoremover/

The return of Rocko's Modern Life: http://www.theverge.com/2016/8/11/12445758/rockos-modern-life-nickelodeon-one-hour-special-announcement

New Canon EOS 5D Mark IV spec rumors: http://www.canonrumors.com/canon-eos-5d-mark-iv-specifications-and-image/

Verify on-demand-insurance for drone pilots: http://verifly.com

Radiophonic Atmospheres FREE Sample Pack from Red Sky Lullaby: http://99sounds.org/radiophonic-atmospheres/

Make a donation to support the Digital Convergence Podcast: http://creativemethod.tv/donate

Send email or leave voice mail feedback: http://creativemethod.tv/contact/

Carl Olson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheCarlOlson

CreativeMethod.TV on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativemethod.tv/

CreativeMethod on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativemethodtv/

CreativeMethod website: http://creativemethod.tv

This episode features:

1) Soundstripe co-founders Travis Terrell & Micah Sannon announce an exciting development in their music licensing service that's going to make licensing songs even easier and more affordable.

2) ShareGrid co-founder and Creative Director Brent Barbano returns to the DCP to talk about recent developments and trends in the camera rental market. Brent announces that ShareGrid is opening up a new market in Atlanta.

3) Kris Simmons of 6 Strong Media returns with our 3rd and final installment in the series "Am I getting paid enough?" This popular topic has stimulated a good bit of discussion among DCP listeners. In this episode we hear again from Pat Miller - whose $800 video for a bicycle accessory company - started this whole conversation. We also hear from listeners - Patrick Healy, Matt Gray, and James Talkington - with their comments and questions.

Soundstripe: http://soundstripe.com

ShareGrid: http://www.sharegrid.com

Make a donation to support the Digital Convergence Podcast: http://creativemethod.tv/donate

Send email or leave voice mail feedback: http://creativemethod.tv/contact/

Carl Olson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheCarlOlson

CreativeMethod.TV on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativemethod.tv/

CreativeMethod on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativemethodtv/

CreativeMethod website: http://creativemethod.tv

 

In the last episode of the Digital Convergence Podcast, Kris Simmons (of 6 Strong Media and KRE8 University) and I discussed a question submitted by listener Pat Miller. He gave us a link to a video he produced for a cycling component company he recently produced. After sharing how much time he had invested in the project, he asked us "Am I getting paid enough?" - without telling us how much he got paid to produce the video!

In that episode Kris and I shared our thoughts of what the rate should be for a video like the one Pat produced. Our guess was in the thousands - $5,000 to $10,000.

After episode 194 aired, Pat Miller emailed us with what he charged and provided additional production details. In this episode we share that with you.

Wow!

Just, Wow!

Links from this episode:

Pat Miller's video discussed by Kris Simmons and Carl Olson: https://youtu.be/UHexdNeMQSA

The video that inspired Pat's video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8YhrAAvh7w

Pat Miller's website: http://patmillervideo.com

Make a donation to support the Digital Convergence Podcast: http://creativemethod.tv/donate

Send email or leave voice mail feedback: http://creativemethod.tv/contact/

Carl Olson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheCarlOlson

CreativeMethod.TV on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativemethod.tv/

CreativeMethod on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativemethodtv/

CreativeMethod website: http://creativemethod.tv

 

Digital Convergence Podcast listener Pat Miller emailed me some time back with the question "Am I Getting Paid Enough?"

The question came with a twist - Pat didn't tell us how much he charged his client for the video in question. I invited Kris Simmons to view Pat's video before making a response.

This episode is our response to Pat's cool question!

What do you think? What would you have charged to do a video like the one Pat Miller did?

Links from this episode:

Show notes for DCP episode 194: http://creativemethod.tv/dcp194

Pat Miller's video discussed by Kris Simmons and Carl Olson: https://youtu.be/UHexdNeMQSA

Pat Miller's website: http://patmillervideo.com

Make a donation to support the Digital Convergence Podcast: http://creativemethod.tv/donate

Send email or leave voice mail feedback: http://creativemethod.tv/contact/

Carl Olson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheCarlOlson

CreativeMethod.TV on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativemethod.tv/

CreativeMethod on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativemethodtv/

CreativeMethod website: http://creativemethod.tv

To what lengths will you go as a photographer or filmmaker to do a job?

Photographer and filmmaker Mathew Farrell has probably gone farther and higher than most of us will in a lifetime. Mat was hired to document a team of scientists doing valuable glaciology fieldwork in the Karakoram, Yukshin Gardan Sar, area in northern Pakistan.

For the past several years, climate change has caused much human suffering and loss of life and property from glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF). GLOFs occur when lakes of water hidden within the ice walls of glaciers burst through those icy walls. The entire lake floods the inhabited areas below the glaciers. Hence the need for this survey.

How did Mat get involved? About a year ago I received this email from him:

"On a more exciting note, this winter (your summer) I've been invited to join a three month long science, community development and climbing expedition to Karakoram mountains in Pakistan. The expedition is called the Karakoram Anomaly Project (karakoram.co). In brief, the expedition will be investigating why glaciers in the Karakoram are growing instead of receding; run local community workshops about the flood risk associated with these growing glaciers; will climb a new route on a 7000m (21000ft) peak. I'm heading along to shoot a documentary about the expedition, as well as helping with scientific photography work."

Wow! That's a story I wanted to know more about! In this episode, Mat talks about his experience documenting this important survey with a Sony a7s kit and a Cinestar drone. It's a story of endurance, frustrating setbacks, survival and ultimately - success.

Links from this episode:

Mathew Farrell's website: http://www.photography.flowstate.com.au

Mathew Farrell on Twitter @flowstatephoto: https://twitter.com/hashtag/flowstatephoto

Karakoram Anomaly Project Website: http://karakoram.co

Make a donation to support the Digital Convergence Podcast: http://creativemethod.tv/donate

Send email or leave voice mail feedback: http://creativemethod.tv/contact/

Carl Olson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheCarlOlson

CreativeMethod.TV on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativemethod.tv/

CreativeMethod on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativemethodtv/

CreativeMethod website: http://creativemethod.tv

Jason Been, owner of Imagecraft Productions, has been working in television production for over 20 years and has an extensive knowledge of the production world. He began his career in the early 1990s as a freelance audio guy and then found his way behind a camera to work as a camera operator. His career then evolved into business ownership. After working for Imagecraft Productions for a few years, he purchased the company and transformed it from a simple owner/operator business into one of Los Angeles's leading boutique rental houses. Imagecraft has provided equipment and technical services to a number of popular shows including World Poker Tour, Pawn Stars, and many other shows. Jason's experience ranges from large scale live events to small single camera ENG shoots.

In our conversation in this episode of the Digital Convergence Podcast, Jason talks about how he transitioned from being an employee of Imagecraft Productions to being the owner and operator of Imagecraft. He shares his thoughts on the future of video production technology - Canon, Sony, and RED cameras, 4K, 8K, HDR, drones, the future of broadcast companies vs new content providers like Netflix.

It's a fascinating look–from someone intimately involved in video production–at the present and future of video production in a world where technology is rapidly changing the way we work.

Links from this episode:

Imagecraft Productions website

Imagecraft Productions Facebook page

Imagecraft Productions on Twitter (@ImagecraftTV)

Imagecraft Productions on Instagram (@ImagecraftProds)

Make a donation to support the Digital Convergence Podcast

Send email or leave voice mail feedback

Carl Olson on Twitter (@TheCarlOlson)

CreativeMethod.TV on Instagram (@CreativeMethod.TV)

CreativeMethod on Facebook

CreativeMethod website