“What do you do?” Here’s an answer from a London videographer
8 July 2019|POST-PRODUCTION, VIDEO EDITING, WHAT’S NEW?
By Ramsey Pietro Nasser in London, United Kingdom
As a freelancer I often get the quizzical look on friends’ faces
“What do you do all day?” They ask me, over a beverage
I reassure them that I’m busy at work
“But what is it exactly that you do?”
“There’s plenty to get on with,” I explain
So, for the first time, here’s what I do in a nutshell:
When I’m not doing what I’m best at, I try to solve problems without hiring people
A lot of my problems are to do with my desire to expand and grow as a business, and a lot of that is to do with removing friction
Let’s start with one of my core skills: video editing. I’m a better video editor now than I was five years ago. I’m more methodological, my keyboard shortcuts come more naturally, and I know how to troubleshoot faster than before. I also follow and speak to a network of 19,155 editors from around the world. We work as a group to document and solve each other’s technical issues, and we also suggest improvements to the software developer
So, apart from improving my core skills, what else do I do? Well, working alone puts me in the problem-solving hot seat. Being a freelancer, there’s nobody I can speak to to discuss ways to proceed
In an office environment, people are specialised problem-solvers. Workspace is populated by the so-called “i,” shaped professionals: — ones who know all about their area of expertise. Working alone, though, means I have to solve issues by myself
Over time, this has helped me to grow spheres of knowledge which inform and help me every day
So, a lot of the time I spend is all about pushing at brick walls, or my own limitations. What I mean by that is: I try to solve problems that are beyond my specialities
For the people who want the nuts and bolts, here’s an honest list of what I accomplished this week:
1. In between replying to emails and taking calls from potential leads from my online advertisement, I planned a shoot and liaised by telephone and email with other production professionals who I work with
Trust is a difficult credit to gain and an easy badge to lose. So, I work at building and maintaining relationships with colleagues. As feral mammals, our relationships can become distant if not refreshed: so, I go for a drink or a coffee with the sound recordist I regularly work with, or the photographer with whom I have a good relationship with. I find it’s all about mutual respect. Occasionally, a gripe is easier to express after a pint, but I also use these occasions to give kudos to production members when merited
I vet others when they’re newcomers by interviewing them and giving them smaller jobs, if my preferred colleagues aren’t available. The ones that let me down, I don’t work with again because professional reputation is like gold dust. Easy to lose, difficult to find
2. This week, I encountered a technical issue with my operating system. My screen capture software crashed my computer. When a computer crashes, restart is fast thanks to my solid-state drive. Data is often protected as well, since my editing software saves and backs-up projects every 10 minutes on the storage drive
It’s done it so many times recently, though, that I had to do something about it. Resetting my PC stopped becoming an option because one of the crashes corrupted a .dll file. So, I could no longer use this easy-fix procedure. Instead, I used a well-known work around: I created a start-up USB flash drive and rebooted successfully
With every problem I encounter, I learn something new, or it helps me reinforce what I already knew. This, in turn, creates better habits and develops new procedures. To make sure it doesn’t happen again, I stopped using this software and instead now use OBS Project — it seems more stable and it’s used by countless broadcasters. I have a new policy now of fixing an issue on-the-fly as soon as I see the: “Blue Screen of Death.” There’s no excuse not to do that anymore
3. I created a new website; I archived 10 years’ worth of emails, and I read about SEO. SEO for me is a “brick wall,” but Neil Patel I find very helpful in explaining how website ranking works. If you don’t follow him on social, he’s worth hitting up
4. I backed-up and moved a lot of data to newly archived files. I need to do this from time to time because my camera creates a lot of data and exported files gobble up even more space. This takes time, so I left my workstation to get on with it overnight. In the future, the plan is to upgrade to M.2 to speed up transfers, and maybe also to upgrade my cards to faster read speeds. I also plan to have two workstations connected to a solid-state drive via ethernet. One workstation will be to do the video editing with, and another will do the exporting, moving and uploading with. The other advantage to having a second workstation is that high spec webcasts will run even smoother. Recently, solid-state drives have come down in price, making this option much more viable. Not so long ago, they were £1000s
5. After I sent a completed video, I asked a client to delay its launch. There was a technical issue with sound import settings that made the audio clip. I resolved it by linking instead of importing, and then exporting again. I was out when it needed to be done, so I used an app on my phone to remotely connect with my PC and to replace the faulty audio for a clean export. Thankfully, the client was very grateful. He loved the video, calling it: “fantastic”
6. As a video editor, I have to have a technical side to support my creativity. Avid last month re-released its much anticipated and revamped video editing software, changing its user interface almost beyond recognition. So, I spent a fair amount of time reading trade press and also editors’ reactions to the new software. Sadly, I couldn’t make it to Las Vegas to meet its creator at the relaunch, the legendary Bill Warner, but I think he’s a second-degree contact
Bill, “thank you”
Why is it important to read about software releases? And why can’t I use the same software from 2012? These are valid questions. The answer is that cameras and platforms are changing fast — for the better. When cameras change, the codes to process this change need to be created and updated. Similarly, if OS are updated, so does the software. When Windows 10 Pro was released, editors had to wait for months for the update before they could use Avid on the new platform
Each digital camera company has an in-house code that needs to be understood and processed by the software. Sony has code, and so does Canon. Keeping up-to-date with industrial trends is important not only because I want to keep my output fresh, but also because if I don’t, I’ll get the BSOD more often
For example, had I not invested in a software to update at a certain time, I would not be able to edit in 4K without paying more money
So, I spend a good bit of time scratching my head in order to work out if a new product is actually worth buying
Do I really need data from the latest Carl Zeiss CP3 lenses, with the extra ~£2,000 cost per lens?
7. I spent time this week looking at market options for audio interfaces, since a warm lead recently asked me about the possibility of working on a project which involved voice-over work
I do have some good VO gear, but it’d be useful to do audio punch-in, and you need an interface both with XLR and USB to do that
I learnt that Focusrite has three generations of the same product, with the latest released only days ago. I also learnt that Focusrite have a reputation for not updating their drivers for PCs as often as their competitor company Steinberg does, and so their hardware is said to more likely to cause crashes. On the other hand, Steinberg has a marginally higher noise floor
As an outsider, I would not have known that had I not gone into deep research
I would like a good clean pre-amp to improve my voiceover output via USB. What I have is good, but I don’t want to swap over SD cards every time I make a recording
Given the results of my research, I now have to decide which company to go with
8. I spoke to a small company that builds computers with view of replacing my fans with quieter ones. Near-silent fans are a must for quality recordings. My system has 7, and they make a constant hum
9. I compared LiveU Solo with Teradek VidiU and concluded after reading reviews I would rather invest in LiveU as, in my judgement, it has better features
10. I made a note to follow up on a spare part with Sam Wain of Production Gear Ltd fame. They’re a company that look after camera operators, directors and producers from all over the United Kingdom. They have a stellar reputation for: “knowing their stuff”. Their job is to be the experts’ expert. I suspect they achieved this status by spending a lot of time doing their homework on the latest releases. Last year, I gave Sam a well-deserved bottle of champagne for the help he offered me. This time I just need to pay for a spare part
11. Some of the above points bring me to an area of critical importance. Strategic decision-making. I don’t take important decisions hastily. I think about them for days, weeks and sometimes months. At some point, though, I have to take a decision. Let me give an example of a good strategic decision I’ve taken and a bad one
- Good: Choosing which video editing software I went with was a strategic decision. It’s the most professional and established software there is for my craft, so my credibility amongst fellow users and clients is better than otherwise. It was a good but costly strategic decision, made in 2012 when the software was £2100 to buy
- Good: choosing a PC over a Mac has given me access to a lot more processing power, despite the occasional hick-up. Nothing majorly bad has happened in the last two years
- Bad: I went with Blogger in 2011 and not WordPress. Blogger locks its code, so I couldn’t make any desired modifications, such as a Contact Me page. This has caused me much grief, and I think that held me back somewhat. HTML is a skill that I lack
All strategic decisions have good and bad sides to them. Once a decision is made, I’m stuck with the results. So, I have to make these decisions very carefully
12. I spent some time reviewing and improving my online presence. This is also part of my strategy. It became more salient this week as I decided to rebrand from thesearchformagik — my media production house, to my own name
13. I improved my working environment. Work environment is key to productivity.
When I first started, it was just me: a camera, a zoom lens, a laptop, a telephone and an advert. The only interface I had between myself and an edit was my Toshiba touch pad — and I often edited in bed. This meant I had to stop often to change my posture and rest my fingers
Now, it’s a completely different story. My comfort levels are high, and I have a luxurious PC with a 6GB graphics card. I have a good screen (but one which can be improved), and I’m sitting on a refurbished office chair, the world-famous: “Herman Miller Mirra 2”. To my left-hand side is a garden with wonderful trees and flowers, and I often see robins land closely outside my sliding glass doors. I can also see a miniscule bug crawl on my bright screen because it’s a sunny day, and the doors are wide open
There are seven apple trees, one pear and a small cherry tree in the garden, a real bonus to the harvest season in October
Environments can always be improved, and I do this by noting down what I call my: “friction gripes”. A couple of years ago I noticed I was developing the beginnings of a repetitive strain injury, so I took action by buying wrist cushions and an ergonomic mouse. It seems to have resolved my issue
This week, though, I finally decided to take a plunge and do something about a bottleneck. Given the amount of tea and coffee I drink, the time it takes to boil a kettle was a gripe. So, this week I bought an instant hot water dispenser. This now provides me with continuous hot water on tap
14. I worked to look after my body and mind. If I’m not booked to shoot or edit video, during the day I like to go to the gym or for a walk to gather my thoughts. I find having a good relationship with the staff at the gym helps my motivation, and increases my likelihood of sticking to my regime
I usually take a means to record my thoughts as so-called “aha,” moments have a tendency to dissipate back into the ether. So, I record my thoughts using an app on my phone, to review later
15. I wrote a few messages to key people in previous projects I’ve worked. This was in order to see how their marketing strategy is panning out. A cross-pollination of ideas is always a good plan, and I want my clients to feel like they’re cared for
16. I’ve written to selected contacts I have on social with suggestions on how to improve their media output. If I can help in a small way by making a suggestion, I go ahead and share my thoughts
17. I constantly think about things that I could to improve. For instance, I need to improve my use of Google Ads; I’d like to get a second VO microphone in order to create engaging promotional content
So, in conclusion, my answer is: I’m slowly building and growing a business. This is multifaceted and complicated, and it almost always involves skills that are beyond my immediate grasp. There’s a lot to work on, and I’m continually adding to my to-do list
