Black Chip Collective | Production Blog

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Production Blog

Jul 26 2017

The Only Reasons You Should Ever Work For Free

Being a creative professional pretty much guarantees that at some point you'll be asked to work for free. You'll likely also get the 'do it for the expooooosuuuuureee' manipulative spiel (side note: I've been a creative professional for over a decade and have never gotten a job from exposure of another project, despite some of those projects being seen by millions of people) or some vague promise of back end compensation from a total hack who has never actually been able to turn a profit from a creative project. But on...

Jun 28 2017

The Danger of the Jack of All Trades Crew Member

I was once talking with an animator about the film 'The Life of Pi'. We were discussing the extraordinarily high quality of the CG."It's all specialty," he said, "Putting together a team with specialists who each know how to do one thing extremely well."I agreed, but lamented the direction the industry was going."15 years ago I would never have been asked to do sound design or motion graphics or even color," I said, "But if I tried to be strictly a picture editor today I'd never survive. Everyone wants someone...

Jun 22 2017

Why It’s Such an Ordeal to Find Quality Video Crew and What We’re Doing About It

When you find crew that you like, you tend to try to work with them as much as possible. Partly because you learn to trust your crew to operate autonomously, partly because it is useful to have people that understand your creative intentions, and partly because it can be an absolute nightmare to find someone else you want to work with. The difficulty of finding new crew that fits well into the ensemble isn't something we have to live with, though. We dissect the problems with creative recruitment and how...

Jun 14 2017

4 Incentives other than Money to get High Quality Creatives on Your Project

If you've ever uttered the word 'exposure' or 'it will be good for your portfolio' to an experienced creative pro, you've probably been thoroughly choked. And with good reason. Those are the things people say when they want you to do something for free, which is pretty much never OK for experienced creatives. But, if you've got a budget and are looking for a way to boost the allure of a project and entice the best talent to take part, there are a few incentives you can offer: 1) Working with Other...

Jun 07 2017

To Buy Gear or Not to Buy Gear?

Film students are perpetually asking what the best production gear is to get at any given price point. Yet almost none of them stop to question whether or not they should be buying gear at all. Gear isn't automatically a good investment for anyone at any stage of their career; like computers, production gear typically depreciates in value rather quickly, frequently giving you between 2-5 years to make a return. Often renting makes much more sense but is significantly underutilized. We've listed out the pros and cons of buying gear for...

May 31 2017

Why Reality TV Stinks and How to Fix It

I usually call it documentary-style TV because 'reality tv' can leave such a bad taste in peoples mouths. And it shouldn't. There isn't anything wrong with reality as a format. Sure, there is a good deal of trashy TV in reality, but that's not the fault of the format; there is some level of trash in every format that exists. And hell, science and nature shows fall into doc-style TV- the only difference between those and other reality programming is that they're about concepts and wildlife rather than people. But that's not to say...

May 17 2017

Pretty Much Every Totally Free Piece of Stock Footage and Motion Asset You Could Ever Want

Stock footage gives editors the opportunity to say "Hey cinematographers, we don't need you! Take your expensive toys and your sunlight and get lost!" But more likely you just need to fill in a few holes or to get some extra assets for effects. And stock footage can easily put a big ol' hurtin on the wallet. We've collected 43 sources for totally free stock footage to give you options when the budget's gone dry. Before we begin, let's talk about licenses. Public Domain and Creative Commons 0 licenses mean that the images...

May 10 2017

Pretty Much Every Totally Free Stock Photo You Could Ever Want

In videos, in motion graphics, and on our websites, video professionals use stock images every bit as much as stock video. It is, however, a cost that adds up quickly. We've collected 50 sources for totally free stock images to give you options when the budget's gone dry. Before we begin, let's talk about licenses. Public Domain and Creative Commons 0 licenses mean that the images can be used, without attribution, however you so please. Creative Commons 3.o licenses vary by the creator's wishes. They almost all require attribution, some have additional restrictions such...

May 03 2017

14 Sources for Completely Free Music for Video and Film

It's hard to overstate the importance of music in post production. Particularly in short form projects, music sets the tone and can inspire the style. While custom music is wonderful and I have never once regretted hiring a composer, there are always situations where the budget does not allow for such expenditures. Although free licensed music is fairly common, it's surprisingly hard to find consistent sources- even the Creative Commons site links to defunct and paid sources- so we compiled a list of the best sites to find music if...

Apr 21 2017

Optimize Yourself: Health in the Film Industry

You probably know Zack Arnold from his work as an editor (Burn Notice, Empire, briefly on Glee) or as a producer (Go Far) or even from his advice when he talked to us about success in post production. But another thing Zack is passionate about is health- especially for people in demanding, sedentary careers, like in post production. We talked to him about his program, Optimize Yourself (currently transitioning from 'Fitness in Post'). Q: What is the problem that you're trying to solve with Optimize Yourself, and how are you solving it? A: Basically with the Optimize...