F.R. "Fritz" Nordengren

The Platypus in the Middle of the World.

Mitad Del Mundo is Spanish for the middle of the world. Just north of Quito, Ecuador, this monument was erected to celebrate the French scientists who determined the exact equatorial line in 1735.

It’s here, and about 200 km south of here, that I have just finished two weeks of platypus style storytelling: documenting the work of two non-profit medical organizations. My experience greatly enhanced my ability to think, compose and create on my feet.

The art of factual storytelling with video and still cameras are two different processes. Yes, there is a similarity of some of the basics: light, composition, exposure.

But video has its rules: Shoot wide, shoot medium, shoot tight, shoot and move. And think sequence, sequence, sequence.

Still imagery requires that you capture the definitive moment. In still photography, sequences are a luxury.

But within these two groups of rules, I’ve found it is possible and practical to capture events and document stories using two media as a solo operator. In the role of the platypus, you need to accept that at times you’ll wish you were using still instead of video and vice versa. But rather than be limited by this, use it as an opportunity strengthen your storytelling.

So if you’re shooting with two cameras, how do you get all your gear to where you’re going and make it usable and work? In my most recent trip, I was shooting video as a “one man band” I also shot still — both for print and for web use.

My video set up is Panasonic’s AJD-200 – a DVCPRO format, shoulder mounted camera. For stills, I used a Canon A2 and, because of weight and space, I carried only the 28 – 85 f/3.5 lens.

Getting to where you’re going:

Panasonic likes to package it’s cameras with accessories. The 200 camera XL package includes a soft case, an ATA case and Anton Bauer digital batteries. The price of the package is a good value, but the cases have limited use. The soft case, which is great for around town in the car, but it too big for airline carry on is not protective enough to be checked baggage. The ATA shipping case is rock solid for shipping, but won’t be fun to lug around all day. And most videographers seem to prefer having their camera with them and not risking it being lost in transit.

After talking with several shooters, the Porta Brace Carry On II case led the consensus as to the best way to get the camera and some gear from point a to point b. After this two weeks, it’s proven itself.

I packed my mics, wireless transmitter / receiver, my battery charger and one of my AB batteries in the Carry On. I used a small day pack for my film and still camera.

Daily Shooting:

With a full size shoulder cam, it looks a little geeky and is awkward to sling a still camera over the opposite shoulder. However, if you’re in a situation where you have to switch between media quickly, then consider adding a strap to the VIDEO camera (Porta Brace makes some for example). You can then sling the video camera without worrying about it walking off as you shoot still. This isn’t all that comfortable, but it is workable.

Most days, I could slip the still camera inside the big outside pocket of the Carry On case in place of the battery charger and have both cameras and accessories that I would use for the day within easy reach.

Needed accessories

While everyone has their list of “must haves” I’ve found that working solo creates some challenges and the trade off is deciding what you need versus what you are willing to to carry.

A reflector: this is easier and more natural than a light kit or a camera mounted light. I use a Photoflex 32″ soft gold / white and can generally enlist the help of a bystander to bounce light as needed. Yes, this limits your ability to shoot, but it also challenges you to find compelling images in natural light.

Mic holder: The Panasonic camera ships from the factory with a “button” mic, but I strongly recommend you order their front mic holder ($150 ). This lets you add a better shotgun mic up front (Senn MK66 for example).

Also, consider a quick release mount in the mic mount as well as a short curly cord from the mic to the mount. Makes dealing with the cables easy and the QR mount lets you get the mic to the sound easily.

Audio monitoring: The Panasonic camera has a small speaker on the left side ear where your ear rests during shooting, this lets you know approximately how the sound is coming across. For interview segments or times when audio is crutial, bring along headphones, or a small earphone to monitor the sound.

Tripods: you need one. . . Unless you are really into the shaky cam look of “NYPD Blue”, the shoulder can only offer so much support.

Important modifications:

The AJ-D200, like many pro cameras, includes a zebra stripe in the viewfinder to tell you about exposure values. The default from the factory is set at about 85% (more or less) which makes is similar to the correct exposure for Caucasian skin.

I’ve had mine tweaked to activate the zebra stripes at 100% — this lets me know what areas are at 100% white — essential in a digital format because unlike analog, anything above 100% is clipped.

I run my audio from the shotgun to channel 1 and my wireless feed to channel 2. I mic my wireless with a Tram TR 50.

User observations.

Lugging a shoulder cam all day can get tiring, especially if you are in an environment where you can’t afford to set the camera down out of your site (busy market, public transportation).

This means you need to be prepared for the fatigue difference. Be sure to drink plenty of “bottled” water to avoid temporary dehydration.

Also, keep in mind the climate and altitude of your destination. Quito is at 2850 meters (almost 10000 feet). If you suddenly need to take the stairs for 5 or 6 flights (like I did at a local hospital), plan on resting at the top as you catch your breath. Otherwise your audio sounds like an obscene phone call as you struggle to breath in the thin air.

In Part One of the Platypus Producer, we discussed how roles are changing and the marketplace is beginning to see value in the use of a Platypus. But if you’re the Platypus who’s just spent a minor fortune on all this new gear, what’s more important is how you are going pay for it and make money in this venture.

So where are the clients for this Platypus work? While many publications are making an advance into web based publishing and distribution, I think the more immediate market is corporate journalism.

Any major corporation who is currently publishing print newsletters, reports, or marking pieces is a candidate for Platypus creativity. Consider the very competitive health care market of HMOs,  PPOs, hospitals, clinics, and specialists. While they spend big money for print pieces, the reality of web marketing is just beginning to be understood and the usefulness of the Platypus producer is astounding.

Take, for example, a hospital offering a residency program in a practice specialty. They have some straightforward communication goals:

-Publicize the program to the public
-Provide information about the program to prospective medical residents
-Relay information about the community

A Platypus producer can hire a freelance writer or using the hospital’s PR department as the writing resource, and develop a web-based newsletter, which includes:

-The core information about the program (text)
-Updated features about current residents (video/audio/still)
-Features about patient care (video/audio/still)

÷ and all of this can be delivered via the web for a fraction of the distribution costs of a booklet or video.

As producer, we’ve added value.  And our role as Platypus producer is a gaping hole in the current technology explosion.  That’s why, with a little understanding and learning, we can fill a need and significantly profit from our learning and skills.

We have three kinds of people trying to fill this niche:

1) The “tennis shoe and pony tail” set.  These are the true computer geeks who’ve hand built computers and run operating systems most of us have never heard of (Linux). Because they originally discovered the usefulness of the Internet and web, they have controlled things like server access, bandwidth decisions, TCP/IP subnets and a whole lot of other geek speak.

2) The “suits” — PR /Communication specialists. These are the folks who do everything from spin doctoring to ordering embroidered golf visors for the CEO’s annual summer outing.

3) Content providers and technicians. These are photographers and layout artists, working in one medium that they understand and do best.

What’s missing? The Platypus producer. The person who understands the issues and needs of each of the above players, and can integrate the limits and opportunities to tell a story.

When I meet with prospective clients and talk about new web technologies, I get one of a few standard responses:

Some people, whose firms are not technological savvy, just don’t get it.  I can recognize these when we ask to play a CD-ROM demo of our capabilities and the company exec calls in the computer “guy” and asks him to turn on the computer.  More often than not, the computer is a PC compatible 286 with 5 þ inch drives.  This is not going to be a good prospect for services.

Other clients have seen ads for “free” web pages or “$29.95 web sites” and think that’s the cost and value of a site.  Again, not a good prospect.

But after eliminating those folks, you find the corporate clients who recognize the need for web-based  communication and marketing, and understand that sites can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 to develop.  The advantage of these clients is that also have each of the above mentioned players trying to tell them how to run the website and develop it. And, more often that not, it’s these clients who turn to us, as Platypus producers, and ask that we make sense of it all and make it work.

Whoa!  $5,000 – $50, 000 a job.  How do I make that kind of money?

Setting a price can be a difficult task.  Often, new producers get involved in thinking about the fee for services as a price for “me”, instead of a larger, and less personal, “the project”. It’s easy to fall into a trap and think, “I’m not worth $2000 a day!”– and that can make it hard to close big projects.  But if you shift your attitude to thinking in terms of what the project is worth, the project IS worth $2,000 a day.  Or more÷

As a producer, you have additional responsibilities for the project. Remembering that you, alone, are responsible for your story, realize that you are entitled to earn more for shouldering these tasks.

As a photographer working on an assignment, someone else has made the choice of medium to tell the story. As a Platypus producer, you are now going to take responsibility for making medium choices.  As you analyze the story components, you’ll make decisions about what can be captured as a decisive moment in a still image.  As you record video talking heads, you make realize that as video, this is boring stuff, but as audio, it has power, especially combined with 2 or three stills. Finally, you may see a process or sequence that lends itself to a short video segment.

Think about what alternative the client has for achieving his goal. LetÌs imagine that you are working on a corporate journalism project for a health care organization. In addition to shooting photos for their newsletter and newspaper supplement, suppose they now approach you to develop content for their website.

Aha!  A Platypus is being called!

What are the traditional options?

Acquisition:
- Beta Cam SP: Typical camera and shooter will run $1000 – $1500 a day
- Camera rental alone: $650 a day for the high end and $350 a day for the middle of the road
- DV and DVCAM DVCPRO cameras rent around $200 – $250 a day with higher end cameras in the $650 range.

Tape: An hour of tape in Beta SP could run nearly $100. The DV formats will be half of that or less.

Editing : Offline edit suites often cost $100 per hour.  Broadcast quality on-line suites can run $250 – $280 per hour.  A day in one of these suites can be $1000 to $2800.

Compression for the web

We could spend a whole article on the decisions and processes necessary to develop video for the web, but plan on significant additional time to compress the video to a size and data rate reasonable for the web or CD-ROM distribution. The compression process is not symmetric.  By that, while video de-compresses in real time it takes a second to show a second, the compressing process can take as much as 60 x real time, one hour for each minute of video (your mileage may vary).

All of this needs to be entered into your formula for establishing a fee.

Consider the value of your equipment and how fast you want to recover your financial investment.  While a still camera may last 3, 5 or 20 years, the technology curve of the new Platypus gear is going to be much shorter.

My personal choice is to be very conservative with gear and lifecycles. When I budget for new equipment, I need it to pay for itself in 1 year. My assumption being that it is out of date that fast, but if I get any usefulness out of it beyond a year, it’s an added bonus.

So let’s play some financial games:

Suppose you buy a DV camera in the $3000 range. You also purchase a reasonably fast computer (PC or Mac) for $5000. Let’s add a medium end video capture card $5000.

You have $13,000 in hardware invested.

Let’s also assume that you can work 75 days as a Platypus producer.  This leaves 175 “unpaid” days for marketing, lost jobs, and other administrative tasks. In order for your equipment to pay for itself in the first year, you need to make $13,000 over 75 days, or approximately $180 a day.

Your overhead, insurance, phones, paper, supplies may add an equal amount ($180).

Finally, if on a gross level, you want to equal the ‘average’ producer salary based on surveys in AV Video Multimedia Producer magazine ($50,000), you’ll need to make $50,000 over 15 days, or about $670 a day.

This gives us a grand total of $1,030 a day.

This begins to make up your base rate. Looking at the alternatives in the marketplace and other costs to you to perform the job will help you move towards a final figure.

These numbers are representative. There are many resources for helping identify your true costs and what to charge for your work.

There is a real void that needs to be filled by Platypus producers who understand how to integrate the geeks, the suits, and the content providers.

The value of the project determines your fee more than the value of “you”.

This is a great time to be a storyteller.