July 2007 - Institute of Videography

ArticleKnow your Enemy!The competition-fear factorkeeps quite a few IOV membersaway from local IOV events –and indeed any event whereothers in the industry gather. Ipersonally think this is a shame –and not only because it stopsmembers from benefiting fullyfrom their membership. Acommon objection to going toIOV meetings is that they are fullof newcomers wanting to drainevery last drop of information outof those with more experience.To be honest, you can’t blamethem. As long as they start toshare that information withothers then the ‘big’ wheel keepsturning. After all – who did youlearn your skills from?If you feel this way and don’tmix because of it, please thinkagain as you are missing anopportunity. These ‘sponges’ aregoing to be soaking up theinformation from other sources,if not from you, so you might aswell position yourself in theirminds as some sort of industryguru. My experience is thatthese people are likely to passwork your way when they comeacross something they can’thandle. You will also find thatevery now and then you’ll have ajob that requires extra hands -and extra cheap hands that areeager to learn!Above all, the benefit ofinteracting with those with lessexperience is that you’ll get theopportunity to guide them downa path which ultimately willbenefit your business. Sharinginformation with them on whatyou charge is especiallybeneficial because at least theywill know what fees they shouldbe charging once adequatelyexperienced. They’ll only get thisinformation from other sourcesanyway – such as posing as apotential client and prising it outof you that way. Be upfront withit but also take the opportunityto explain why you charge whatyou do. The more videographersout there charging a realistic feethe better it is for all of us.At the very least, knowing alittle more about yourcompetitors’ businesses shouldenable you to improve your own.So you Think youKnow it All?Whilst I can sympathise with thevideographer who does notnetwork through fear of losingbusiness, what I have greatdifficulty in understanding is thevideographer who believes theyhave nothing to learn fromanyone else. The dreaded knowit-all!Probably even morefrustrating are the know-it-allswho do network and constantlyshare their opinion on just abouteverything – regardless ofwhether it’s wanted or not.These people have the capacityto make me lose the will to live!Believe me you don’t know allthere is to know about thisindustry and I doubt there isanyone who does. Everyproduction will present you withdifferent challenges – be ittechnical, creative or business –so at some point you willdefinitely need to lean onsomeone else. You have ears soplease use them sometimes!Online NetworkingAs there were fears that TVwould kill off Radio, there’s asimilar fear that the Internet willkill off the need to have face-tofacecommunication. I mean,why travel to an event just tomeet people when you can sit onyour backside and get the samething? Sorry guys – but youcan’t.I’m a great believer in theInternet and all that it does. Ithink support forums andwebsites are great for gettingand sharing a range of opinionson technology and the craft. TheIOV’s forums are themselves agreat example of how an industrycan interact and exchange ideasand experiences. The IOVforums prove time and timeagain that they also provide anexcellent means of sharing work.But are they the be all and endall of networking? I don’t thinkso. They are just one of thenetworking tools available to us.The strongest bonds betweenpeople in the industry are bornthrough social interchange. Youwork and share work with peoplewho you like, respect and trust –and whilst the Internet is great forbreaking the ice and making initialcontact, its drawback is that it’s afaceless medium. A clearerunderstanding can be gained byconsidering online datingagencies. Whilst these agenciesare rife and, so I’ve heard,successful in bringing peopletogether, eventually you are goingto have to face that online profileacross a breakfast table!Before you think thatwebcams will provide for thisshortfall, think again!Teleconferencing facilities havebeen around for donkey’s yearsand whilst they have their place,they have never caught on to theextent that they replace the needfor real-life exchanges. Skype isa great example. Lots of peoplehave Skype, and many of themhave a webcam attached – butmost only chose to engage theirwebcam with those who theyalready have a good socialrapport with.Getting back to purekeyboard or text networking overthe Internet or even mobilephone text, one of the commonproblems with it is that it’s soeasy to be misunderstood. Atleast half of your communicationwill be achieved by your bodylanguage and facial expression.This shortcoming has seen thegrowing use of Smilies andEmoticons. According Wikipedia,an Emoticon is “a small piece ofspecialized ASCII art (usually twoto five characters, always on asingle line) used in textmessages as informal markup toindicate emotions and attitudesthat would be conveyed by bodylanguage in face-to-facecommunications.”Call me old fashioned – butisn’t this just an admission thatthis type of communication doesnot always achieve the desiredresult? After all, goodcommunication is all about the‘Message Received’ and not the‘Message Sent’! ;o)Networking RoundupSo, what can you do to increaseyour networking activities? Theanswer to this is anything andeverything that extends yourcontacts within the industry.Get online and participate inforum discussions – but at thesame time understand theirlimitations. Go to local andnational trade events and mingle.If you discover that a newvideography business has sprungup in your home town orneighbourhood, make contactwith them. Find out if they areoffering something that you don’t– or vice versa – and suggest abit of cross-trading orcollaboration. If you are a guestat a wedding or an event andthere’s a videographer workingthere – say hello!I’m sure that most of you doall of this and more, but I alsosuspect that there are some inthe industry who are happilytucked away under their hoodiesoblivious to the opportunitiesthey are missing! Kevin Cook F.Inst.V.Next month: I’ll be looking atCustomer Care next month, andhow to exceed your client’sexpectations. I hope to revealhow a tug of the old forelock cando wonders for your bottom line!24 August 2007 Focus Magazine www.iov.com