Hey Indie Filmmakers

This episode has it all: Jeff Goldblum, lighting via hotel room mirror, Batman-esque music, star wipes, and the equipment behind Griffin’s new Twitch channel.

A surprising story from one of our listeners: Griffin’s documentary footage solves the months-long mystery of missing timing data at IRONMAN Wisconsin.

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Filming a multi-hour celebrity interview in Los Angeles, Griffin finally finds a reason to try a Manfrotto monopod. Specifically—the Manfrotto XPRO aluminum video monopod—which retails for $269, and cost $25/day to rent from Samy’s Camera in LA.

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Griffin travels to New York, with his new MacBook Pro M1 Max. Improved battery life, integrated SD card slot and HDMI port—much-needed features, but how did Nick convince Griffin to upgrade to the more expensive “Max” configuration rather than “Pro”?

Nick noticed this tip from Jonathan Morrison—for video editors to take advantage of the new HDR-capable MacBook Pro screen:

cool final cut + M1 pro/max MacBook trick when you’re using a 2nd display 

Set your bigger display as the main in Mac OS and send the viewer to the MacBook. Press cmd shift f for full screen & you have a full screen HDR viewing where you can still edit + make tweaks in timeline”

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With a drone, a gimbal, and a hat-mounted light, Griffin and Nick explain how they filmed a 13-hour IRONMAN triathlon in Madison, Wisconsin—for their friend Matt.

Watch the first IRONMAN film Griffin produced for Matt.

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For self-employed freelancers – who don’t have access to an employer-sponsored 401(k) – is a SEP IRA the best option to save for retirement? Nick and Griffin share their savings strategies, and explain why a SEP IRA (Simplified Employee Pension) might not be necessary for many freelancers.

Let’s first acknowledge the economic obstacles that block many U.S. workers from saving.
I break down these numbers in a 3-minute film for The Recount.

• One in four non-retired adults have nothing saved for retirement (U.S. Federal Reserve)

• In 1979, 97% of private-sector workers had employer-provided health insurance. Today, only 48%. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

• Median net worth for Amercians under 35 is $13,900. Median income for that age group is $48,600. (Survey of Consumer Finances)

• That doesn’t leave room for saving the 15% financial experts recommend.

If you ARE fortunate to earn enough to save for retirement, these are commonly recommended benchmarks:

• By age 30, have 1x your annual pay saved.

  • (e.g. if your annual salary is $60,000, have saved $60,000 by age 30.)

• Age 40, 3x your annual pay.

• Age 50, 6x your annual pay.

• Age 60, 8x your annual pay.

• Age 67, 10x your annual pay.

SEP. Self-employed plan? Self-employed profit? No—”simplified employee pension”
A SEP IRA is a great retirement savings option if you’re a freelancer—it’s what Griffin has used over the years—but if you or your spouse have access to a 401(k), you may find it’s an unnecessary hassle. (That you could achieve your annual savings goal through 401(k) and IRA instead.) Let me explain—

Griffin’s priority list for retirement savings:

1. First priority—Get the free money:
   If you or your spouse is eligible for company match on 401(k) contributions, consider maxing out those contributions in every calendar year. The 2021 maximum is $19,500. Hit that first, then worry about other retirement accounts.

2. Second priority—emergency savings:
   Assuming you don't have any high-interest outstanding credit card debt to pay off first—set aside an appropriate amount of emergency savings. Many advisors say 6 months of income, or 6 months of expenses. 

3. Third priority—$6,000 IRAs:
   Fund an IRA (individual retirement account) up to $6,000 annually, two accounts if you’re married. These can be tax-deferred (Traditional) or tax-free growth (Roth). Because of the tax benefit—like a 401(k)—these retirement accounts are the priority before making straight-up taxable investments.

4. Fourth priority—SEP:
   SEP IRA has the same tax benefit as a 401(k) or IRA, but because it’s complicated to calculate how much you’re allowed to contribute, it should be lowest-priority. Meaning you’d have to max out $25,500 in annual savings (401k + IRA) before even worrying about funding a SEP IRA (which can be roughly 25% of your self-employed profit).

5. Fifth priority—Taxable investments:
   Only if you have an incredible savings year or have an unexpected windfall—after you’ve maxed out 401(k), IRA and a SEP IRA in a given year—then you could open a regular, taxable investment account, and save any extra there. These are post-tax dollars invested, and when you withdraw them, you pay tax on the growth profit. Good thing about this account: you can withdraw before retirement age without penalty.

Here are some of the financial products Nick and Griffin rely on:

• Free net-worth-tracking tool—Personal Capital
  A useful tool for tracking your retirement savings progress, that also offers some paid robo-investing and wealth management products. Griffin and Nick each recommend the free tool to monitor the health of your savings and investments over time, if you’re willing to receive the occasional sales calls from the company.
  *Sign up through Griffin’s referral link to receive a $20 Amazon gift card.

• Low-fee digital investing—Betterment or Wealthfront
  Griffin uses Betterment. Nick uses Wealthfront. Each allows the ability to open various investment and retirement savings accounts, IRAs, SEP IRAs, taxable accounts, etc. Just deposit your savings, and their robo-investing diversifies your money globally, so you benefit from stock market growth while reducing volatility/risk.
  *To waive the 0.25% fee on your first $5,000 invested, sign up through Griffin’s Betterment referral link or Nick’s Wealthfront referral link.

• Track freelance expenses and income—Quickbooks Self-Employed
  It’s how Griffin tracks his freelance expenses and income throughout the tax year.
  *50% off through Griffin’s referral link.

• Nick recommends the financial lessons in “I Will Teach You to Be Rich” by Ramit Sethi, and the online budgeting tool YNAB / You Need A Budget [34-day free trial].
  
  

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After months of recording the podcast from his bedroom, Griffin’s home office renovation is finally complete, though it still needs some audio treatment to eliminate reverb. Plus, a side-by-side comparison of the anti-reflective coating on the new Lumix GH5M2 camera versus the original GH5.

Equipment mentioned in this episode:

• For smart home lighting, Griffin installed Philips Hue RGB bulbs inside these flush-mount lighting fixtures. Plus—Hue recessed ceiling lights. All connected to a Philips Hue Smart Hub, controlled by wireless RunLessWire Click switches. 

• Epson 5040UB projector (retails $2,798—purchased open-box for $1,700)

• 128” Silver Ticket projector screen ($340)

• Film lighting: Aputure 120d 3-light kit, Aputure Light Dome II + CTO gels

• To connect cameras as HDMI webcams, Griffin uses a discontinued Blackmagic Intensity Extreme. Nick uses the Elgato Cam Link 4K.

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After Griffin released his short film Texture, shot on the new Lumix GH5M2 camera, you had lots of questions. We’ll answer those—plus, select moments from my interview with Lumix expert Sean Robinson.

My Lumix GH5M2 landing page has my film, behind-the-scenes, more—griffinhammond.com/GH5M2

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The Aputure Accent B7c lights are colorful, battery-powered, flicker-free smart bulbs for filmmakers. Not compatible with smart home automation—these 570-lumen bulbs aren’t intended for everyday use. They’re designed for portability, to take on-location, for Bluetooth control over practical lighting. Aputure sent Griffin an 8-light kit to test out.

This week, Panasonic announced the new Lumix GH5M2 camera, shipping at the end of June. Go behind-the-scenes on my latest film to learn about the new upgrades—griffinhammond.com/GH5M2

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A behind-the-scenes look at Griffin's latest film, and the upgraded features in Panasonic’s new Lumix GH5M2 camera.

• Watch my short film, “Texture” (available in HDR on YouTube)

• My affiliate link—Pre-order the GH5M2 at B&H ($1,700—ships end of June 2021)

• For more GH5M2 tech specs, I recommend PhotoJoseph’s excellent video.