Video podcasting is everywhere right now — and for good reason. It’s the most engaging, flexible, and shareable form of content you can create in 2025. Whether you’re an agency, business leader, creative, or startup founder, filming genuine conversations in your own space gives audiences something they can connect with. It’s authentic, versatile, and — when done well — one of the most powerful ways to build visibility, trust, and interest.

As a freelance cameraman working internationally for nearly 20 years, I’ve travelled all over Europe — and beyond — with flight-ready video equipment. From documentary shoots in Albania to branded content in Norway, I’ve carried high-end cameras, lights, and sound kit through airports, across borders, and onto location, often under tight schedules and high expectations.

But what many people don’t see is the amount of planning and paperwork that goes into flying with professional video gear. It’s not just about packing efficiently — it’s about making sure you’re legally cleared to carry, film, and return with your equipment.

• Introduction to AI within video production
• What is AI and why is it a concern to video production? 
• How can AI support video production today? 
• What AI tools are currently available for video production?
• AI based video tools 
• Text based AI tools
• Digital Avatar Creators
• Video tools with AI enhancement (Premiere Pro, Photoshop, After Effects)
• What the future holds? 
• How to insulate yourself against the threats of AI 

AI within video production

Over the past year, the looming influence of AI on film production has become increasingly apparent. The Hollywood writers strike, a notable event spurred by concerns over the growing integration of AI in script writing (among others…), continues to reverberate throughout the industry, with disruption in many areas of video and film production.

Concurrently, topics like Deepfakes and image likeness ownership a have seized attention in the realm of feature film production. Yet, amidst these discussions, there remains a pressing question for us at the other end of the industry: What implications does this AI-driven landscape hold for corporate and branded video production? Are our roles under threat, or is this concern overstated?

In this article I aim to lay out the facts, what are threats and to who and how we in production can embrace AI with the aim of supporting our roles within the industry. 

What is AI and why is it a concern to video production? 

AI, short for artificial intelligence, refers to the replication of human-like intelligence in machines. These machines are programmed to perform tasks such as problem-solving, learning, understanding natural language, recognizing patterns, and making decisions. In the realm of video production, AI's significance has grown substantially.

While AI holds the potential to disrupt several aspects of the corporate video production industry, it's improbable that it will completely eliminate the industry. Instead, AI is poised to reshape the industry by automating specific tasks and increasing efficiency.

Due to the nature of AI, it excels at replicating previous creations but falls short in creatively reimagining problems. Consequently, roles involving the meticulous analysis of extensive video data and the implementation of systematic edits may be at risk. However, positions that require innovative interpretation of client briefs to produce content that resonates across multiple platforms and captivates audiences are less likely to be fully automated. As a freelance filmmaker, a significant portion of the job involves creatively deciphering clients' intentions from often ambiguous briefs. This underscores the indispensable role of human interpretation in the process.

Currently, AI tends to replace human involvement in areas where clients utilize text-to-video services. These services convert text prompts into videos, which often exhibit a lack of fluidity and realism. While suitable for certain applications such as website help sections or product demonstrations, they are unlikely to completely supplant our industry. The bulk of corporate projects I engage with focus on showcasing individuals and their messages.

Anecdotally, I have heard stories of entire video production teams being fired and replaced by AI. Whilst this is very sad for those individuals, at a time where our industry is already struggling, it should be questioned whether that content that’s being produced is valued highly enough to deserve having humans dedicate their working life to. 

In my personal opinion, we should approach AI with a level of skepticism while recognizing its potential benefits. While some jobs may be displaced, we should acknowledge how AI can expedite processes for those proficient in its use.

How can AI support video production today? 

Whilst a lot of us have either seen (and quite probably been impressed) by sentences spat out of ChatGPT or images from Mid Journey, apart from novelty factor alone, how can these be utilised in a professional capacity today? 

The place in which AI seem to be making a difference today, is in those early stages of the production process. Funnily enough, the area which a lot of the Hollywood Strikes where based around… in script generation and storyboard development. These are rolls we typically don’t have budget to outsource, but using the tools of AI we can create a basic outline of a script which input into an AI tool can be improved on and professionalised. Likewise, using tools like Midjourney, we can take a script and build out a storyboard shot by shot, figuring out shot sizes and compositions, ensuring both client and video production team are on the same page before the shoot day. Previously, this would take hours of Google searches and clunky photoshop edits to create a very unrealistic storyboard. 

What AI tools are currently available for video production?

AI based generative image tools

Midjourney – Midjourney is a text input tool which outputs AI generated images.

Runway Gen-2 - Runway takes image and text inputs and generates video content from that. Currently it’s a bit hit and miss, although the potential is quite mind blowing if used correctly. 

Tools which act as replacement for a video editor

Peech AI  - Peech AI generate branded cut downs of longer form videos. It’s clunky but the potential to replace unnecessary human editing is there. 

Descript – Descript allows editing purely by text input. This has potential to replace a video editor for part of the process, however branding, titles and converting to different aspect ratios may leave a bit to be desired.

Veed.io – Veed.io is a general suite of tools which allows for the creation of AI supported video content. 

An example of a script produced entirely using Veed.io

Digital Avatar Creators

Synthesia – Synthesia takes text input and outputs a talking avatar. Not entirely life like but has potential to replace a studio shoot with an actor for those projects where clients are looking to slash budgets.

Text based AI tools

Chat GPT – One of the most well know text generation tools. Great for helping in text generation or for performing certain tasks (i.e. make this email sound more professional)

Video tools with AI enhancement (Premiere Pro, Photoshop, After Effects, Audition)

For most us who edit, we’ve already started to see AI being implemented within our NLE software. For example, in Premiere Pro… the text transcription tools are game changing, allowing the generation of scripts and subtitles massively speeding up a laborious process. 

Things like audio enhancement and noise removal are being introduced too, replacing the need for much more expensive plugins that do this. Photoshop’s Generative Fill tool is very powerful too, with implementation in After Effects.

With all these features, they speed up many processes for editors that would have required a lot of additional time previously. However, with all of them, they do require human intervention and monitoring. I’ve had mixed results with many of these features, but working with them and I can drastically speed up certain elements of the process. 

What the future holds? 

Looking forward, the future of AI in filmmaking is poised to witness a gradual displacement of manual and labor-intensive processes. We can anticipate continuous improvement in AI models, leading to enhanced quality of AI-generated content. As AI technology progresses, the distinction between AI-generated and filmed content is likely to diminish, with AI-generated content approaching parity with traditional filmed content.

While this evolution may result in job losses, a trend observed across various industries impacted by technological advancements, it's important to note that AI is expected to primarily serve as a supporting mechanism in video production. Those who embrace AI are likely to thrive amidst these changes, leveraging its capabilities to enhance their creative output and efficiency.

How to insulate yourself against the threats of AI 

The best way to insulate yourself  against the threats of AI within video production, is to focus on producing bespoke content that is designed specifically to engage a certain audience or provoke a certain emotional response. For example, wedding videographers will never be replaced entirely my AI. In the same way, CEOs are going to need to address colleagues in company wide broadcasts. Ensuring that you use AI to speed up and automate process where you can, focusing on content where that human interaction make the difference and letting go of mundane and repetitive projects, where AI can do as equally good a job in a clients’ eyes will ensure that you don’t get caught up in AI. 

Now to do this, I’ve set a small pop-up green screen with some basic lighting… key light, back light and fill light for the screen - enough to run this test although I’d usually finesse a little more! I’ve then altered the intensity of the lights to compensate for the exposure change in camera.

In terms of base-line settings, I’m shooting at 4096 x 2160 and XAVC-I (10 bit). I’ve then shot everything at 1/50th shutter speed and 1/100th at a frame rate of 25p. Depending on the action, I sometimes find I get a cleaner key from 1/100th and I can then add back in a bit of motion blur using a plugin (ReelSmart Motion Blur) after I’ve keyed the footage. I’ve shot at both, to get a basic comparison on this. 

I’ve then pulled the clips into Premiere Pro, laid on the timeline, for the S-Log 3 clips – I’ve added the official Sony S-Log 3 to Rec 709 LUT, added the Ultra Key effect and selected a colour point close to the hair. I’ve deliberately not altered anything else to enable a better comparison, however, if you were using these settings in real life, you’d spend a little longer finessing them. 

So here are the results…

ITU 709 (Rec 709) 1/50th Shutter with Base-Lo ISO

A nice clean key out of the box. Tiny bit of noise in the hair, but could be ironed out with some tweaking.

ITU 709 (Rec 709) 1/100th Shutter with Base-Lo ISO

Again, very clean key straight out of the box. Tiny bit more detail in the hair. Again a tiny bit of noise in the shadows of the hair, but could be ironed out very simply. 

ITU 709 (Rec 709) 1/50th Shutter with Base-High ISO

A reasonably clean key. Slight noise in the green of the screen and hair. Could be removed without too much difficulty. 

ITU 709 (Rec 709) 1/100th Shutter with Base-High ISO

Again, a reasonably clean. Similar amount of noise in the green and hair, but ever so slightly more definition in the hair. Could be cleaned up easily. 

S-Cinetone 1/50th Shutter with Base-Lo ISO

So first up, this looks ever so slightly underexposed… but there’s slightly more noise in this than the previous tests. With some tweaking, perfectly usable, but wouldn’t be my first choice. 

S-Cinetone 1/100th Shutter with Base-Lo ISO

Again, slight noise in this. Cleaner hair line. Could be cleaned up easily enough.

S-Cinetone 1/50th Shutter with Base-High ISO

Quite a bit more noise in this. Could be removed but would require a bit of work to get it looking nice. 

S-Cinetone 1/100th Shutter with Base-High ISO

Not much difference to the previous example. Quite noisy. Needs some work to make it looking good. 

S-Log3 Cine 1/50th Shutter with Base-Lo ISO

Slightly more noisy. Requires a bit more work to remove and clean-up. 

S-Log3 Cine 1/100th Shutter with Base-Lo ISO

Again noisy in the shadows and green. Ever so slightly more detail in the hair than the previous example. 

S-Log3 Cine 1/50th Shutter with Base-High ISO

Tons more noise in this. Impossible to clean-up without a noise reduction plugin. 

S-Log3 Cine 1/100th Shutter with Base-High ISO

Almost unusable. Would be difficult to save this… 

What are the best settings for green screen FX6?

So as a top line, I’d tend to suggest sticking with the ITU 709 gamma curve, unless you’re looking to composite the green screen subject into something shot at S-Log3. My suggestion would be to aways have enough light to keep the camera in Base-Low ISO. 1/100th of a shutter does seem to give an ever so slightly more detail in the hairline, but if you’re compositing this with footage shot at 1/50th, I’d try and match that. For me though, I find most green screen footage gets composited in with animation rather than real life footage. 

Now with both the S-Cinetone and the S-Log 3 gamma curves, we could add some noise reduction in on camera, which would help reduce that noise a bit. Fundamentally though, we’d never quite get as cleaner key as we could from the ITU 709 curve.

Now for a detailed understanding of the technical aspects of what’s going on here, Alister Chapman has written an interesting article which can be found on his website, but the top line is… Standard Rec 709 have 7/8 stops of dynamic range, which means that all the colour information is spread across those 7/8 stops where as S-Log 3 has 14/15 stops of dynamic range so the colour information is being spread more sparingly. 

• What is 3D printing?
• 15 USEFUL Prints for cameramen
• D-Tap Voltmeter
• Sunhood
• Follow Focus Gears
• V-Lock battery plate for 30mm rod
• Screen protectors
• Universal Push On lens cover
• DJI Ronin SC2 Cable Clips
• Controller Protector
• PL Mount conversion adapters
• AA Battery Storage Box
• Hidden holder for Rode smartLav
• Board Marker Holder
• 15mm Rod Cable Clip
• Hollyland Mars 400s clip
• Motorized Mini Camera Jib
• In Conclusion

Recently I’ve been enjoying exploring the world of 3D printing. Obviously not a new phenomenon to many, for me I found it be to be an excellent combination between design, creativity and problem solving. And also another sink to put money into! Whilst there are many pointless things out there that are often publicised that can be 3D printed, I wanted to publish an article on useful things for cameramen (and women) to print. 

What is 3D printing?

Firstly, let’s just recap what 3D printing is. Fundamentally 3D printing is taking plastic filament and melting it via an extruder on to a heated plate and up across a 3D plane. As the filament is pushed through a nozzle, motors move the nozzle around the build plate whilst a thin strand comes out. Layer by layer an object is created. 

There are many hoops you have to jump through however… including setting the printer up (it’s a lot harder than you’d imagine!), creating any supports for over hanging layers that don’t touch the build plate, selecting the correct temperature for your prints, choosing the correct materials for the job and choosing the infill for the object you’re creating. The material you choose will depend on what properties you’re after (hard wearing, flexible, rigid, quick to print…). The material you use will affect the temperature you print at. The infill will basically affect the rigidity of your object but will take longer to print and use more material.

In terms of materials I use, I mainly print using PETG (strong, takes a while to print, oil based), PLA (no so strong, fairly quick to print, plant based) and Flexi (soft, flexible, slow and very difficult to print).

The process of printing something goes as follows… acquire/create your design. This could be either by creating it yourself (Autodesk Fusion 360 and TinkerCAD are two programs that you can use for free to get started) or by downloading an existing design (websites like https://www.thingiverse.com or https://www.printables.com/ a good starting place). You then need to slice those designs up into a code of instructions which you feed your 3D printer (Cura is one of the most common pieces of software to do this). Using the software you specify things like material, nozzle size, printer model, whether to generate supports, etc… You then export a Gcode from the software which you either send or load on to your printer. You can then execute those instructions and print said item… 

This is a really top line concept of what 3D printing is (and probably half incorrect!), but I’d suggest having a quick look at the videos below if this is something you wish to know more about… 

What is 3D Printing...

The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to 3D Printing

OK, so on to some useful 3D printing camera things… 

15 USEFUL 3D prints for cameramen

D-Tap Voltmeter 

This is a voltmeter which attaches to the side of your camera and is powered off the DTAP connector to tell you what voltage your battery is currently running at. This is really useful for cameramen using the Sony FX6 or Sony FX9 as the cameras as default, have no way of telling you how much voltage you have left in the batteries, if you’re running of V-lock batteries. Something myself and many other users find absolutely infuriating!

Sunhood & SSD holder for ATOMOS Ninja V(& Shinobi)-5" monitor 

Sun hoods are really handy on external monitors when shooting outside in bright sunlight. They shade the screen to allow you to see the brightness clearly. This design for the Atomos Ninja/Shinobi is a great add on, reasonable easy/quick to print and something that’s not otherwise available. 

Follow Focus Gears 

These follow focus gears are really handy if you’re shooting with smaller DSLR style lenses and like to work with a follow focus. The problem that I’ve found in the past with the universal follow focus rings, is that as they’re adjustable and have a joining part which often means you have to stop racking when you get to that part. This infinitive design means that you can rack a full 360 degrees without getting caught by the join. 

V-Lock battery plate for 30mm rod 

This V-Lock battery plate allows you to connect a v-lock battery directly to a 30mm bar. This is great to mount a battery on a Movi, light stand or other gimbal. It’s also something that is often over engineered and quite expensive if buying from a retailer. 

Screen protectors for ATOMOS Ninja/Shinobi 5" and 7"

Now these are one of my designs. I was looking for a protector for my monitors whilst in transit to protect the screens from scratching. These are fully flexible, allowing you to bend them and they’ll return to their original form. They are a pain in the neck to print but I felt worth it, due to the cost of repairing scratched screens! I had to modify my Creality Ender 3 printing by adding on the direct drive module. Fairly straightforward and didn’t cost a huge amount to do. However, the material is very temperamental and it’s certainly not just hitting print. It required experimenting with speed, retraction and heat to find the perfect combo. They took a while to print and the material is quite expensive. These models aren’t perfect, but they do the job required and I’m otherwise pleased with them. I’ve also expanded the concept out to protect other things that get knocked together, like electronic modules, etc… although nothing else quite as fully fledged as this yet!

Universal Push On lens cover 

This is quite a cool concept. I’ve designed something similar and printed it in flexi before, however mine didn’t seem to work quite as well as this. I have also tried printing my own fully functioning lens caps too, however the small moving parts in the locking mechanism and the general preciseness of a lens, require very fine printer resolution, which I was unable to achieve. Something slip on like this is much more likely to work! 

DJI Ronin SC2 Cable Clips

Another one of mine here… I was looking to tidy up the cables between my monitor and my camera on my DJI Ronin SC2. I designed some clips to attach the cables to.

DJI Mavic Controller Protector 

Now there’s a ton of designs for DJI drones. Things like screen holders, boxes, cases and GoPro mounts. For me, I was able to print a Quadlock adapter that allows me to use my existing Quadlock phone case to clip into a 3D printed plate which attaches to the remote control. Pretty basic but saves having to take my phone out of the case everytime I use it. That design can be seen here [https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2089347] but there are a ton of other ones too. However, I’ve gone for something a bit more universal. This seems like a very simple device, but this protector protects your remote control when in transit if you leave the joysticks attached when in your bag. Trust me, I know from experience how easier these controllers break if you leave the sticks on in transit, so this simple device will protect your controller! 

PL Mount conversion adapters (PL-E Mount, PL-MFT Mount, PL-EF Mount and front and rear caps) 

This is a really cool project. A collection of lens mounts. I’m not sure how well these would actually work in practise due to the strength of the materials, and the fact that lenses need very precise distances to work effectively, but I feel like these definitely have a use at certain times. 

AA Battery Storage Box 

This is a great unit that I use regularly to store my AA batteries in whilst in my kit bag. Saves them going everywhere. When dead batteries come out of a microphone, I put them back in the box upside down and remove them when I get back to base. One thing to watch with this one, the catch is quite brittle and not too strong. I ended up printing in PETG at a higher resolution and it’s stayed together very well. 

Hidden holder for Rode smartLav 

This is based on another well known brand, but is a simple device to hide a microphone under clothing without it rubbing and reducing clothing noise. I’ve tried to design similar things to this in the past, but nothing as well as this. This can be adapted to fit Sennheiser, Sony and Cos-11s.

Board Marker Holder for Cinema Slate 

A fairly simple design here, but also really handy if like me, you’re always losing the marker pen for your slate! Keep your pen attached to the back. The added hoop also allows you to hang it off a light stand in between takes. 

15mm Rod Cable Clip 

Pretty basic one here, but I wanted to be able to clip cables to the side of my camera and onto the 15mm rods. This need to be printed in quite high resolution using PETG to remain strong, but pretty much do the job. 

Hollyland Mars 400s clip 

Another one from me here… whilst building my directors monitor cage, I was struggling to find a way of securing the receiver for the wireless link to the cage. In the end a built a little clip which would seat the receiver in the cage to stop it constantly falling out. This could easily be adapted to fit other sized receivers. 

Motorized Mini Camera Jib 

Now for something a little more out there… a fully motorised mini jib. This is a really cool concept. Very well designed and executed… however I can’t imagine anyone actually building this and can’t imagine it standing up to the stresses and strains of actual work… however seeing something someone has quite clearly put a lot of time and effort into, it’s real inspiration for how 3D printing can help other filmmakers design and build ways of moving their cameras around. 

In Conclusion 

So there we have 15 useful items every cameraman should print. My journey with 3D printing has really just begun. It’s a really fun experience trying to solve problems in often completely over engineered ways. Fundamentally it’s a lot harder than I initially expected, despite already having experience in the 3D design field. It’s the materials really that are the tricky bit, as nothing really just works out of the box. 

There are ideas and designs floating around for products that would revolutionise 3D printing and allow it to be more of a plug and play experience, which would certainly open things up much more widely and you won’t necessarily need a doctorate in material sciences to print a tiny item. However, for now, I’m enjoying the challenge and would certainly encourage anyone else with a mind for engineering to give it go!

Have you got any great 3D printing designs or ideas not mentioned here? Hit me up on Twitter to let me know and I might do an updated blog at another time! 

ATA Carnet

Duplicate List

Travel

Goods Movement Reference (GMR)

Introduction

In this post-Brexit, post-Covid world, travelling around Europe with filming equipment is a challenge upon itself. Before our worlds changed due to political reasoning and pandemic ongoings, travelling into Europe for work was tricky, but also a regular and fairly straightforward process. I would regularly be booked for shoots in France or Germany and would pick them up without a second thought. Now in this post Brexit landscape, the additional challenge of ensuring your paperwork is in order, can seem overwhelming. 

In this brief blog post, I just want to point out my findings from regular travel into Europe for film shoots and try to demystify the post-Brexit travel process into Europe. For starters, I need to point out that I am no expert in the field of HMRC, traveling or post-Brexit negotiations. I'm merely a cameraman, with camera, who will travel...

ATA Carnet

So for starters... what is a carnet and why should I care? Well the ATA Carnet is basically a passport for goods. It's an international customs document which permits the temporary export and import of nonperishable goods, tax-free and duty free for up to one year. Essentially it's a binding document which states that the goods you are carrying, will not be sold in the countries you are visiting. Carnets have been around for years, and anyone filming or photographing professionally internationally outside of Europe will have come across one at some point. The difference is however, that anyone from the UK now wishing to travel with equipment into the EU, may now require one. If you don't have the correct paperwork in order when travelling with equipment, your equipment may be seized and tax levies placed on your equipment. 

The process of obtaining an ATA Carnet is relatively straightforward although will require an hour or two of your time. To do so, for each item of equipment you plan to travel with, you need:

• Make
• Model
• Serial number
• Country of manufacture
• Value
• Weight (estimated)

You will also need to know, what countries you will be traveling to, the names and passport details of the people who will be travelling with the carnet and the length of time you will require the carnet for. ATA Carnets can last for up to one year and it maybe better value for money to get one that will cover you and your equipment for 6-12months rather than the few days your shoot might last. 

You must then order an ATA Carnet through the relative channels. In the past, I've used Dynamic Dox  but I know London Chamber of Commerce come highly recommended with a discount for GTC members.

From previous experience, it's taken 3-4 days for the paperwork to be delivered, however these can be turned around quicker if required (I believe!). Costs for an ATA Carnet vary, but previously I've paid between £750-1000 depending on length and value. 

Duplicate List

An alternative method of traveling without an ATA Carnet is by using a Duplicate List. I've personally not travelled with one previously, I've always used am ATA Carnet, however I've met crews the regularly use them with no issues. This can be done at home and does not require purchasing an ATA Carnet. However, it's worth bearing in mind, that if you do have any issues when traveling, you do not have a third party for support and it is up to you to ensure everything is correct. 

To use a Duplicate List you will need:

• a description of the goods
• how many there are
• serial numbers, if the goods have them
• value of the goods

At customs, you’ll need to provide:

• 2 copies of the list
• a completed form C&E 1246 (form C&E 1246)

For more information on Duplicate Lists, visit https://www.gov.uk/taking-goods-out-uk-temporarily/duplicate-list

Travel

Now, with all your equipment packed up, tickets booked and documents in hand, you will need to ensure your paperwork is processed correctly as you travel. You will need to have your documents stamped at each port of exit/entry. If flying, you will need to do this before you check any equipment in. Usually you can find the Customs Office in the airport terminal. If the office is not open at that time, find the red phone (they are often well hidden...) and speak to a Customs Officer. They will either send someone to process your document or issue you with a reference number which will enable you to check your equipment in. A Customs Officer has the right to ask to see your equipment and the serial numbers and if they do so, you must follow instructions. 

When it comes to stamping your documentation, you must list out what items are traveling with you and whether any items listed are not traveling. This ensures that there is a paper trail as to the movement of your equipment and you've not sold an item of equipment in the location you're traveling to without paying the correct customs fees. An officer will then stamp the document as you leave the UK. You must then get the paperwork stamped in the country you're traveling to as you land (usually by taking the red corridor into customs as you exit baggage reclaim). On exit from your destination, you must again get the paperwork stamped and again as you land in the UK. 

If travelling by tunnel/ferry, you may well need to do some research before hand to find the nearest Customs Office to the terminal and have it stamped before you arrive. 

Goods Movement Reference

If travelling by ferry/channel tunnel, you will also require a GMR (Goods Movement Reference). This is a reference number which is only valid per way... so if traveling overseas and returning, you will need two GMRs. These can be purchased for £45 per GMR from Dynamic Dox. 

So in conclusion, that's an overview of how to get your equipment out and back into the country for filming in Europe. It's worth also bearing in mind that the correct visas may also need to applied for, however I think for up to 90 days, you should be ok... although it's worth checking the Gov Website  before travel. 

Introduction

6 years ago, after a fun and prosperous career working within various different agencies and production companies, I decided to take the leap. I chose to leave a reliable and steady world of 9 to 5 for the topsy turvy world of freelancing. And after many ups, a few lows, a bunch of awards, a pandemic and all the other curveballs life tends to throw at you, I thought I’d take a minute out to share my learnings from my first few years as a freelance videographer. 

What does it take to be a freelance videographer?

Being a freelance videographer isn’t all flat whites, tiny beanies and squinting whilst you make square shapes with your fingers… To be successful you have to be self-motivating, have great people skills and a knack for narrative. There are long days on set, long hours on motorways and long nights in the edit suite. I think key for me is to have knowledge and systems in place that come from experience. Understanding how long things will take and fully utilising diaries to keep organised and keep things blocked out, using WhatsApp groups to stay in contact with clients and colleagues and finding a place to work with a routine that means I’m reaching my maximum productivity. 

I think to be a great freelance videographer, you need to be creative, you need to have passion and understanding for stories and you need to be organised. Whereas a producer, cameraman or editor may just be responsible for organising, shooting or post-production, a videographer has to be responsible for everything all at once. Sometimes this can stressful and hard work but when it all comes together, and you can bask in your glory, it’s all worth it! 

A word of warning… 

So what can be a hindrance to being a freelance videographer? The world of freelancing isn’t for everyone. There can definitely be less busy patches. There can be unknowns thrown at you. There is a lack of security and structure. But whilst some of us thrive on this, this isn’t for everyone. For a lot of people, the knowledge that knowing where the next paycheck will come from, knowing that all your tax and financial affairs are managed for you and having the security that a full-time contract gives you, is far more important the freedom of being your own boss. For me, I wouldn’t trade this for the world… 

So after 6 years on the job, here are my:

15 Top-tips to becoming a freelance videographer

1. Focus on making great content

   Make your focus about making great content. Make content you’re proud of and you want to shout about. Sure, service your clients and ensure they are happy with the content you’ve produced, but don’t worry about what other people are doing or what other people think of the work you’re creating. Great content sells in itself. If you make videos and films you’re passionate about that work for your clients, they’ll recommend you for other projects and you’ll build your business through recommendations. This is far more important than any other new business strategy you could develop.  

2. Don’t worry about equipment

   It’s so easy, particularly in the early days of setting up as a freelancer to focus on the tools you own. Some of the best filmmakers out there, will go out and create fantastic films on their phones. This doesn’t mean you can go out and shoot commercial content with your iPhone, but it does mean you should think about what you have and how you use it. Renting kit is very cost effective. If you include this cost in your shoot day rate and avoid buying all the big expensive camera bodies, you can save yourself a fortune. Investing in the stuff that will last a lifetime is always a good strategy, a decent tripod, good sound kit, a few nice lights, filters and monitors. Then renting camera bodies and lenses when you need them. Spending huge amounts of money on a piece of kit that for 95% of its life, will sit on your kit shelf collecting dust before being sold off on eBay for a fraction of the cost you paid for it, is not the best business strategy. Just because Philip Bloom has banged on about the latest autofocusing 8K Sony camera, doesn’t mean you need to own it to be a successful freelance videographer… 

3. Know what you can do and don’t be afraid to use help

   In the early days it’s very easy to just say yes to everything. With so many doors opening up, turning away work seems very counter intuitive. The problem is though, if you say yes to everything and then you struggle to deliver a video to the standard you promised, you will burn that bridge with that client. It’s important not to over promise and get help when you need it. For me, I know I can’t be onset, direct, shoot, light, record sound and do everything else that’s required to capture a decent video performance on my own. As a minimum, I like to work with a camera assistant that I trust fully in the knowledge that they’ve got my back and are keeping an eye on what’s going on. This means that the project rate goes up, but it means the client gets the video they’re expecting and I’m less stressed as a result. If a client hasn’t the budget for an assistant, I have to make a judgement call on whether I can deliver the video the client is expecting for that budget or whether the expectations need to be lowered from a fast paced run and gun gig with multiple speakers and a three point lighting setup, to a single sat down interview with basic lighting. Not all jobs call for beauty lighting so understanding what the client actually wants and requires is very important in those situations. 

4. Development a business strategy

   Before you take the leap to becoming freelance videographer, figure out how you’re going to make it work. New business won’t come to you but you may have better links than you think. When I took the leap to becoming freelance, I drew up a list of the contacts I knew that I could reach out to, to let them know I’m now freelance and available if they have any projects, they need a hand with. I then divided these up into hot, warm and cold contacts and estimated how many days work I think per month they might offer me. I worked out how many days I needed to work a month to make freelancing work and it quickly became a apparent that it was much more feasible than I thought. Websites out there like Production Base, Talent Manager and Mandy often list jobs as well as Facebook groups however these are very competitive so don’t rely just on these to secure new business. 

5. Network with other great talent

   If you’re going to ask for help, you need to make sure you’ve got people on speed dial who can help you. Film meetups, Facebook groups and WhatsApp groups are vital to meeting other top talent out there. Having a network of other great freelancers is so important to ensure you have people around you who can help support you. This can be challenging, there are a lot of great camera operators out there but for me, finding decent editors who you know you can ring up and they can help you deliver your mammoth editing project can be a challenge. I think it’s very easy to look at other freelancers as competition, but I think the reality is that there’s plenty of work out there to go around and if you treat everyone with the same respect you would give to any other colleague, we will ensure our clients get the best videos they can. 

6. Get insured

   As any new business should, you need to make sure you’re correctly insured. In the UK all videographers are required as a minimum to have Public Liability Insurance. This covers you if someone is injured or killed because of something you’ve done whilst in a business capacity. Many unions, such as BECTU offer this as part of their membership. As well as this, you will need insurance to cover hired in kit when you hire from a kit company, as well as insurance to cover your own equipment. As you become more established, you may also need other insurance types such as employer and indemnity.

    

   

    

7. Outsource whatever you can, but never lose that personal touch

   Continuing the theme of working with other great talent, don’t be afraid of teaming up with other freelance videographers or editors to help you deliver a project. Just make sure your clients aren’t missing what drew them to work with you in the first place. If they love your relaxed attitude and witty banter, make sure they still get that and they don’t feel you’re palming them off to someone else. 

8. Get a good accountant (from day one)

   This is a very important point, and one any freelancer will stress. It’s incredibly important to be on top of your finances from the minute you start freelancing. Sole trader or Limited Company… VAT registered or not… How much to put aside for tax and national insurance… It’s important that someone who’s qualified and fully understands your financial situation advises you. At the end of year one, you will be required to pay all the tax from year one’s trading and you’ll need to ensure you have the correct amount of money set aside. In the first couple of years of trading, there are accountancy firms that specialise in simplistic accountancy models (Crunch for example) that can be helpful. If however, you’re truly passionate about building up your freelance videography business, look to get a proper accountant onboard who’ll give you personalised advice based on your situation. Basic accountancy models or umbrella companies aren’t always great setups to enable your business to grow quickly but can be more cost effective in the early days. 

9. Automate everything you can

   With so many different ongoing aspects to the business, for me I feel that automating what I can is really helpful to stay on top of things. I use the Xero financial platform which enables me to do quotes, send invoices and reconcile my bank accounts at the touch of a button. My accountant can also access this which speeds up end of year reports and VAT calculations. I use Dext (formerly Receipt Bank) to capture receipts (when they’re issued) which integrate with Xero so all my transactions can be quickly reconciled without too much additional input. Things like Dropbox, Adobe Creative Cloud and Google Docs are brilliant at syncing my documents across devices so wherever I am, I can access call sheets, treatment documents and assets. 

10. Put time aside for admin

    Setting time aside for admin is so important to ensure that you stay on top of your books. Half a day once a month to reconcile bank accounts, chase down invoices and do all the other bits of running a business is usually enough. It’s so easy when things get busy to forget to do this, but if you’re not careful, you can quite easily lose an entire evening to catching up on paperwork if a financial deadline is looming and you’ve forgotten to the accounts. 

11. Acknowledge your mistakes, apologise and move on

    From time to time, things will go wrong. Mistakes get made, briefs change, goal posts are moved… it’s very easy to blame someone else if not all goes to plan, but sometimes just holding your hands up and admitting you were wrong is the only thing you can do to salvage a client relationship, even if ultimately you don’t believe you were solely to blame. To a client, who may feel guilty themselves but won’t admit it, just hearing you say “I’m sorry, I could have handled this better…” will go a long way to mending a fractious relationship. 

12. Pay the bills but find projects you enjoy

    In the early days of setting up for yourself as a freelance videographer, you have all these notions about the fun and meaningful projects you’re going to do when you have time. But as the bills pile in and the to do lists get longer, working on projects that are meaningful easily fall by the wayside. However, I think it’s so important to make sure that every so often, you recalibrate your passion for video and work on something that’s meaningful to you. I know for a lot of filmmakers, that might be a short film, a drama piece or comedy sketch. For me it’s documentary and working on projects like Adventures Not Dams is enough to remind me why I do what I do. 

13. Figure out how you work best

    Within the agency and production company world, you’re encouraged to keep strict hours – 9 to 5, 10 to 6, etc… within the freelance world, within reason, you can do what you want, when you want. For me, I’m often quite productive in the evening, when the emails stop and you can crack on undisturbed. However, it’s important to remember that clients don’t necessarily work like that and delivering videos and being available when clients are, is just as important. Whilst I’ll often get a bulk of work done in the evening, I’ll try to ensure I’m available during normal office hours and if asked to deliver by EOP, I’ll aim for a clients end-of-play and not mine! 

14. Don’t be scared of taking time out

    Booking holiday in is always nerve wracking but making space for life outside of work is really important. Sure, it’s frustrating turning down big projects because you can’t make one shoot day due to family commitments, but work comes around and if you say yes to everything, you’ll never stop. For me holiday gets booked in the diary in the same way as a project would, and if I can’t do that job, then so be it… there will always be the next one. 

15. Be professional

    Always operate as professionally as you can. Keep a respect for the clients and colleagues you work with. Avoid burning bridges unnecessarily. Be available and approachable. Keep clients updated with delivery dates and details, if things change. 

In conclusion 

There’s no hard and fast way to becoming successful as a freelance videographer. For me I love the job and find it rewarding. It is hard work and not having the security of a permanent contract is daunting. However, I can’t imagine doing anything else now. For anyone else looking to take the leap, do your research, figure out if you can make it work, ask other professionals for their take, come up with a plan and do it! 

Getting the most out of your talent can be a tricky business. Hearing real stories, from people in their own words is still one of the most compelling narrative forms for onscreen content, whether it's a brand story, a charity case study or campaign film. However, it's not always as easy and simple as it sounds. With a camera thrust into your face, people scrutinising your appearance and potentially a preconceived notion of what you want to say, delivering your story in your own words in a comprehensible fashion can be intimidating and challenging.

In this article I thought I'd take a step back from my thirteen odd years in the business and share some of the techniques that as a freelance filmmaker, I use to help craft better onscreen interviews with my contributors.

Photo by Sam McGhee on Unsplash 

Understand the narrative

Before you even arrive on location, it's your job to do your due diligence to the story. You need to understand what the narrative is. You need to have an understanding of who your hero is. You need to know how this impacts on the key points you're trying to tell, whether that's a brand story, a case study or a documentary piece.

To help with this, a phone call with the contributor can really help. You get to find out about them and their story in their own words. You start building a relationship with them. You begin to break down boundaries and allay their fears with regards to being on camera. Also, this can be great to figure out logistics. What locations can we film in? Are there any family members that would be happy to get involved with some B-Roll shots? This is your opportunity to demonstrate that you're approachable and friendly, and you're going to support them to be captured in the best light you can.

From this, you can draw up a list of questions you want to ask on the day.

Construct your questions

To construct your questions, think about your narrative. What story are you trying to tell? Are you simply trying to capture someone’s organic experience or do you have a specific storyboard you need to adhere to? If I know the story I want to tell, then creating a (written) storyboard can be really handy to figure out what questions I need to ask.

Here are a few pointers to get started...

• Avoid questions that are likely to lead to one word answers. You want to ask open ended questions that will lead to full, detailed answers. For example, DON'T: Do you enjoy your work here? DO: Why do you enjoy your work here?
• If there is specific content you want to try and capture, make notes after the question to remind yourself for during the interview
• Write questions that include specific detail, if that's what you need. Don't assume your talent will include specific detail in their answers automatically. By including it in the question, it can prompt contributors to mention it. For example: Your work includes talking to customers and ensuring they're happy, for the camera, what does your job role entail?
• Don't be afraid of asking multiple questions at once, if you're looking for abbreviated and concise answers. For example: Tell me about this new initiative and how it's going to impact customers directly?
• For more human focused answers, ask questions that will get them talking about their feelings and not just the facts. Write questions that will generate an emotional response.
• If you want to prompt a particular answer, include it in your question. For example: How does it feel to be a part of this initiative? Pleased, proud, honoured?

Photo by Sam McGhee on Unsplash 

Arrive on location and get to know your talent

When you arrive on location, give yourself time to get to know your contributor. If you're working alone as a shooting PD or even as part of a small team, there's often lots of things that need to get done... loading kit in, setting the camera up, building lights, etc... before you can begin shooting. It's quite easy to get side-tracked by all of that. When I arrive on location, I'll often take five minutes out before I load any kit in to say hello to my contributor. Get to know them. Accept a cup of tea. Give them a chance to see you as unthreatening. Then look at locations and figure out what kit you need. Continue to make them feel at ease as you set things up. Try to keep them engaged in conversation and not focused on all these alien gadgets and gizmos that have just been loaded into their front room. Essentially, relaxed contributors will give you better content.

Be aware that if you are doing this as a shooting PD alone or with an assistant, you need to fully understand your kit. You need to be able to assemble it with your eyes closed. I've certainly fallen victim to this in the past. I've tried to talk with a contributor but I'm unable to multitask and fully listen to what they're telling me, as I'm busy trying to figure out where the XLR cables should be plugged into and what channel the radio mic should be set to. To help with this, I like to pre-rig as much kit as I can before I set off. I'll ensure my cards are formatted, my tech-specs are adhered to and my microphones have been line checked. This means when I get to location, I just need to focus on the simple things.

Let your talent see you set up

How often has someone walked into a room full of camera gear that's set up and said, "Oh, that's a lot of equipment!"? It's intimidating. One way around this is to allow your contributor to see you setting up. If they see you putting lights up one by one, setting the boom up, setting tripods out... it's much more gradual and doesn't seem as intimidating as walking straight into a room full of kit with lights blaring. This will hopefully help reduce their nerves and relax them.

Brief your contributor

Before you start shooting, tell your contributor what you're going to do. A few pointers I include in my brief:

• I like to ask them to include my question in the answer, for more concise soundbites (don't be afraid to remind them of this as you're asking questions - some people get it very naturally, other people need a bit of coaching).
• Explain that this is not live TV, it's a pre-record. If they'd like to stop and think or restart an answer, that's absolutely fine.
• Remind them of any key points you'd like them to include or mention.
• Ask if they have any questions and allay any fears they may have.

Sit in and setup

Get your talent to sit in and spend some time making sure you're happy with everything. Sometimes I'll do this early on as I'm chatting with the contributor. It gets them more comfortable with the setup. Ensure the lighting is how you want it - it's never great readjusting this halfway through a shoot.

I'll also tell the contributor if I think they need to adjust their appearance; bit of hair sticking up, tie at an angle, etc. I also carry a make-up kit too, with shine remover. You can build trust with the contributor if they can see you care about how they look on camera. A lot of the fear associated with being filmed lies in people feeling exposed or ridiculed. When people realise that you're there to work with them and show them in their best light rather than against them, they'll start to relax.

Then take stock of who's in the room and whether you need to ask anyone to leave. It can be hard for a contributor to fully commit to an interview if there's someone else they know in the room. I've had this many times when trying to interview someone about their job in an office full of colleagues.

Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash

Roll camera

I recommend rolling on the camera as soon as the interviewee sits in. In the past, I've captured some great natural footage as contributors prepare themselves for the interview. With good editing, these shots can be peppered throughout the edit to inject energy into the film.

Start the questioning

You've now laid the groundwork and hopefully you've built a rapport with your talent. Here are few guiding points I find help me with getting the most out of my interviews:

• I like to take the interview gradually. It tends to take people a while to warm-up before they give you a true representation of themselves. Questions like who are you and what do you do tend to work well to start with. Never start with difficult or convoluted questions or something that's integral to the story.
• Make notes as you're going along of questions you think you may need to revisit. Sometimes I find getting through my list of questions first and then revisiting the answers that need a bit of work, is better than trying to get the perfect answer the first time round.
• Be sure to offer guidance on the type of answer you're looking for if the contributor is unsure of how to answer something, but avoid putting words into their mouths. Other people’s words will be very hard for them to recite naturally. It's your job to use your questioning skills to get them to tell the story naturally in the way you want.
• If you don't get the answer you're after the first time around, try asking the question in a different way. People won't necessarily remember the previous question but may think about the subject from a different angle.
• If you're struggling to break the ice with the contributor, move on to a different part of the interview.I often find it can be helpful to talk about their passions, areas in which they are experts or shared interests to build more of a connection. This can be the turning point in an interview and they will begin to let their guard down and relax.
• Don't be afraid of staying silent if you want your contributor to divulge more. Humans have this innate inability to cope with awkward silence in conversation, and will often carry on talking to avoid that.
• Don't break the flow of your contributor. Don't stop them halfway to agree with them. Give them space and let them talk as much as they want. Use the time they're answering a question to glance down at your next question, to avoid breaking the flow of dialogue.
• If you want a concise, short answer, give them an opportunity to answer in full and get all their thoughts to the front of their brain. If you then say, "I'm going to repeat that question and would you mind giving me a concise version of that," you'll generally get a much shorter and concise version of the story.
• Re-assure but don't patronise.
• And finally, I always like to end an interview or even part of an interview, with, "And is there anything else you'd like to add?". Nine times out of ten, this answer will make the cut and often will be the best content of the whole interview. This gives the contributor an opportunity to talk openly, honestly and passionately.

A couple of other talking points worth mentioning... Be aware that certain people may not get the opportunity to talk candidly about their situation otherwise. You may generate an emotional response. Respect that and give people time to process their feelings. Accept that in talking to you, they may be coming to terms with the situation. Give them to space to cry if that's what they need. This can be somewhat uncomfortable, but once they've dealt with their emotions and gathered themselves together, they can continue with the story.

Be aware of the content you're capturing. Think of how it will work in the edit. Sometimes, I'll have a great chat on camera with a case-study, get to the edit and realise there's nothing to tie it all together. You need to be aware of this in the capture stage and if an answer won't work in the context it was given, ask the question again and say, "That was great, but would you mind including this?".

B-Roll and additional content

Thinking of this interview in the context of your edit, what else do you need to make the dialogue work? B-Roll, and as much of it as possible, is essential. It can be tough trying to come up with ideas on the spot but things I'll often go for include:

• jobs around the house - washing up, making tea, gardening, etc...
• going for a walk around a park
• family interaction
• hero shots - these always work well at 100fps on a fast lens
• macro shots - feet, hands, facial features...
• non-syncs (abstract shots of the interview that can be placed anywhere in the edit to cover up edits)

It's also worth keeping the interviewee mic'd up for this and asking a few questions as the go. Some of the best interviews I've seen have been when people are driving. Sometimes things that are just being shot for B-Roll shots, end up being great supporting dialogue.

Have fun, enjoy the conversation and be compassionate

I think the most important thing is to enjoy what you're doing, capture great content but also to be willing to be supportive when someone needs it. 

I love finishing an interview and hearing from my interviewees: "That wasn't that bad, was it!". I think it sums up well how writing good questions, listening to what's being said and giving a contributor space to answer, can turn dreaded on camera interviews into an enjoyable experience for both sides. 

So these are my 10 top-tips from over a decade's worth of experience as a freelance filmmaker, but what are yours? Let me know in the comments section below if you have anything to add. 

Looking for a freelance filmmaker for a future project? Checkout my portfolio here.

Three week ago I was approached by one of my biggest clients, Amazon. They wanted to take an inside look at what’s happening in their Fulfilment Centres during this exceptionally busy and difficult time. Now to do this safely, we had to look at what precautions we can put in place to capture this content without transmitting COVID-19. I thought I’d run through how we did it. 

Crew Size

The first issue was working out how we can reduce bodies on the ground to ensure that we’re limiting the transmission opportunities. Usually we work in relatively small teams of two or three anyhow, but this time we reduced that to just me as a solo shooter. 

Having spent a few years self-shooting, this wasn’t too challenging for me. I had a shot list figured out in my head of exactly what B-Roll I needed. I knew what the general story was. We had limited locations and limited kit, so technically, it wasn’t too challenging. 

Equipment

To allow me to work solo, I used a stripped down camera kit (an FS7, tripod and a couple of lights) so I could easily wrangle it on my own. For sound on my interview, I used a boom pole set on a stand. Due to the loud environmental noise in the Fulfilment Centre, I had to use a lavalier microphone as well. This had been unused for at least 3 days prior. I set the kit out and instructed Dom, my contributor on how to attach the mic to himself so I needn’t come with-in 2 metres of him. 

For the primary interview shot, I used a telephoto lens (70-200mm) locked off on Dom. This meant I could stay far enough way from him but still capture a relatively close mid-shot. This allowed us to have an intimate feel, even though the camera was a good two metres away.

PPE

At all times throughout the shoot I wore a face mask. With me, I also had gloves. On top of this, hand sanitising stations were provided. Whilst getting used to working with this is challenging, (and how healthcare workers can wear a mask for 11 hour shifts, I’m in even more awe of them!) I totally understand the sacrifices we have to make if we want to carry-on working in the foreseeable future.

Social Distancing 

By filming solo or in small teams out on location, this is definitely possible. Staying two metres apart will limit COVID-19 transmission. In larger teams and small studios, this is going to be more challenging. Working with single contributors at time also helps. And with clients being off-site during the shoot, this does ensure that there are less bodies on the ground. 

User Generated Content 

In the last 2 months we’ve seen a rise in UCG (User Generated Content) being used in mainstream advertising. Whilst this will never replace the work of a professional camera crew, it does give you access to locations and subjects that would otherwise be too tricky to capture professionally. 

Within our film, we wanted to convey the human element of this story and particularly with our contributors family. As we deemed this to be too risky for me to capture personally, I developed PDF guide which contributors can use to help them capture better footage with their phones at home. 

This User Generated Content Guide - Shooting better video content with a smart phone can be downloaded here for free. 

The guide simply talks through how to maximise the quality of video from your phone. How to use light to your advantage. How to keep the camera steady. How to approach multiple shot sequencing (wide, close-up, etc…) and then how to transfer the footage to the edit suite without losing too much quality. 

Conclusion

Of course this is just one instance of how we made the production work. Going forward, I think every shoot will have to be conducted for the foreseeable future on a case-by-case basis. Risk assessments will have to be conducted on how to limit contamination. 

Personally, I think this is a challenging time for us all. Working under these circumstances isn’t ideal. But if we want to continue in our profession as filmmakers, we have to adapt and change and find ways to make these changes work.

See Dom's film here: