Quality Counts

[Birdy]

Not trying to restart the format wars, but...

I was talking with a PM today regarding the production format for a new show on a cable network. He's got over 25 years in the business, so he should have some idea of what he's talking about. He said that his company will ONLY hire high-end DV and Beta SP crews. His reasoning went something like this...

When you hire these types of crews, you know that you are getting PROFESSIONALS. This is how they make their living, and they care about the QUALITY. They will invest in the proper equipment. They use qualified, experienced people to help them. They take the time for a proper set-up. There is no problem with "trash" in the video. They know how to solve a problem, should one arise. Generally, they make the show look good and that is extremely important. Sure it costs more. But, it's economical because our viewers demand quality.

The problem with lower-end and mini-dv crews is that they usually tend to be inexperienced kids or part-time wedding shooters wanting to earn some extra money by doing "real tv." For them, these jobs are icing on the cake. Their livelihood doesn't depend on it. Some may WANT to do a quality job, but most don't have the knowledge, skills, or equipment to do so. They have an in and out mentality, and will not take the time for proper lighting, and set-up. Forget using a sound tech! Then, there are the problems with pixelation. The show ends up looking like cable access or grandma's home video. In the end, the product turns off viewers, and viewer's turn off the product.

Ok guys and gals, let's hear the comments:

[dinosaur]

He said that his company will ONLY hire high-end DV and Beta SP crews. His reasoning went something like this...

When you hire these types of crews, you know that you are getting PROFESSIONALS. This is how they make their living, and they care about the QUALITY.

That's what many of us have been saying here for a long time.
Its not just the camera alone... its the depth of experience and talent of the crew that can make a production a true success. Just because we occasionally use a DV/HDV camera on a shoot doesn't mean that we are going to shoot something with any less effort and professional style than if we were using the most expensive HD camera. Just because one uses a DV camera doesn't make him a local VJ or a wedding shooter and a good PM knows this. Our lighting and sound support packages have a lot to do with the quality we bring to the table too.

[freedom]

High end DV??? I thought the two were incompatible.

[Nino]

Birdy, please tell this to that producer. We fully agree with him, however, the only reason that inexperienced shooters with cheap equipment thrive in this industry is because client and producers hire them, and the reason that they hire them is because clients allocate such small budgets for productions that only inexperienced people will take the jobs. They created the problems and now they are complaining? You always get what you pay for. But not only that, every experienced veteran that I know owns a small digital camera. We didn’t buy it because we wanted to, we did it because clients and producers asked for, and because it was only 5K we bought it instead of renting it. The camera doesn’t make us a bad crew, my work remains the same regardless if I use my Z1, my Betacam or a rented F900.

A producer with 25 years in the business doesn’t just pick up the yellow pages and find a crew. They use their network of colleagues to get referrals on good crews, and the reason that they do this is because there are also many bad crews with good equipment.

[SimonW]

High end DV??? I thought the two were incompatible.

Nope. There's DSR 500's and 570's, PDW-510's, DSR-450's.

If you are referring to DV in the generic, that pretty much includes everything from a DSR500 all the way up tp an HDW-F900. So yeah, high end and DV do go together :)

[Hiding Under Here]

I gotta say that I think quality counts but relationships -- good relationships, long term reltionships -- and trust may count for more. People like to work with people they like. Most prefer to work with someone whom they feel comfortable over someone else who might be more "talented" but have a negative or surly attitude.