Episode 22: Licensing Music for Film

Griffin and Nick discuss music licensing, and answer your questions about variable ND filters, shooting in 6K, and how to price your freelance work.

Our video, “Memorize the F-Stop Scale, Easily” landed on NoFilmSchool!

MY RELEASE FORMS FOR MUSIC & TALENT
I’m no lawyer, and can’t guarantee the efficacy of my licensing and release documents, but to share my experience, these are the forms I used for Sriracha:

Music release form used for Sriracha

• For music—Combined Synchronization and Master Use License Agreement
• For videos, photos—Creative Work Release Form
• For people appearing on camera—Video Talent Release Form

Photo by Matt Edwards. In 2010, I uploaded photos from the LPGA State Farm Classic golf tournament.

To create practical, handwritten sauce graphics for Sriracha, I used a blue screen, seen in these two videos.

ND FILTERS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Polaroid 58mm Variable ND filter
B+W 58mm MRC Solid ND 0.9 filter
B+W 58mm MRC Solid ND 3.0 filter

Should creative people charge an hourly rate? Chris Do doesn’t think so.

SHOOTING REAL ESTATE VIDEOS
Video: Griffin’s tips for Filming Real Estate
Nick and I have traditionally used a Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 or 14–140mm for real estate, but I bet my current 12–35mm would be perfect.

Upcoming Events
June 16–18 Go Viral Festival in Almaty, Kazakhstan

In Sydney, I'm speaking at Georges Cameras July 15, Digital Camera Warehouse July 16, the SMPTE 2017 trade show July 18–20. In Perth, I'll speak at Photo Live Expo 2017 July 23.

More info at griffinhammond.com/events

Episode 21: Los Angeles Premiere of Hand-Cut

From the Dances With Films festival, inside the famous TCL Chinese Theatres, Griffin presents the Hollywood premiere of his film Hand-cut. Nick shares Apple’s updated computer lineup. Plus, your questions about using Creative Commons music, deep focus vs. infinity focus, and raising funds for your film.

I used three Pedco Ultra Clamps for this podcast setup. One for the light, clamped to a chair. Clamped my shotgun mic TO the Zoom H5 recorder, which itself is clamped to the tripod.

Photo by Elizabeth Mitchell

Photo by Dances With Films

Nick watched my video, How to set up your new Panasonic GH5

Finding the Right Music
I frequently use these subscription libraries—Audio Network and Jingle Punks

But for free music, look for Creative Commons. Avoid “noncommercial” licenses for paid and monetized videos—I often use Creative Commons “attribution” licenses. Super prolific composer Kevin MacLeod is a popular choice among YouTubers.

And I really like Chris Zabriskie. I also search Free Music Archive.

Ryan, photographer at Dances With Films is a fan of my DIY video light.

Upcoming Events
Almaty, Kazakhstan, June 16–18—Go Viral Festival
Australia, July 16–23—I'm speaking at SMPTE 2017 in Sydney July 18–20, and Photo Live Expo 2017 in Perth July 23.
More info at griffinhammond.com/events

Episode 20: Lumix GH5 Launch in Singapore

Which camera should Nick buy? The Lumix GH5 or G85? Griffin is in Singapore—his fourth stop on a filmmaking workshop tour through Southeast Asia. Plus, your questions about shooting with the full sensor, keeping focus while moving, and if film school is really worth it.

Nick is selling
his current camera on eBay—an Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II.
Also a mini PC—an Intel NUC i3.

Nick is either buying a
Panasonic Lumix G85 (including 12-60mm kit lens), which is $1,000. *That’s not the new Leica 12-60mm lens.
or the Panasonic GH5 (body-only), which is $2,000.

Upcoming Events
June 1 Manila, Philippines
June 2, Bangkok, Thailand
June 5, Dances With Films in Los Angeles
June 16–18 Go Viral Festival in Almaty, Kazakhstan
More info at griffinhammond.com/events

Thx for coming to Indonesia and sharing about documentary video @griffinhammond .. hope you like my gift.. #takenwithlumix #lumix #gh4 #libertytodiscover #documentary #ishoot4k

89 Likes, 22 Comments - made aditya (@madeaditya) on Instagram: "Thx for coming to Indonesia and sharing about documentary video @griffinhammond .. hope you like my..."

In session: Shooting Documentaries with @griffinhammond #cathayinfocus #cathayphoto #panasonic #gh5 #filmmaking #documentary #handson #sharing #howto

55 Likes, 2 Comments - Cathay Photo Store (Pte) Ltd (@cathayphoto) on Instagram: "In session: Shooting Documentaries with @griffinhammond #cathayinfocus #cathayphoto #panasonic #gh5..."

Recording episode 20 of "Hey Indie Filmmakers" from Singapore.

237 Likes, 9 Comments - Griffin Hammond (@griffinhammond) on Instagram: "Recording episode 20 of "Hey Indie Filmmakers" from Singapore."

With the staff at Alan Photo before my Singapore filmmaking workshop.

152 Likes, 4 Comments - Griffin Hammond (@griffinhammond) on Instagram: "With the staff at Alan Photo before my Singapore filmmaking workshop."

For those who dunno, this guy right here inspire so many people in the world including me. Half of my filmmaking knowledge I know now is from him. Anyway welcome to Singapore @griffinhammond

197 Likes, 1 Comments - Jason Hau (@jasonkokotan) on Instagram: "For those who dunno, this guy right here inspire so many people in the world including me. Half of..."

Looking across Marina Bay in Singapore.

78 Likes, 1 Comments - Griffin Hammond (@griffinhammond) on Instagram: "Looking across Marina Bay in Singapore."

Episode 19: Broadcasting from Taiwan

Menggunakan #LUMIXCamera #GH5, @Griffin Hammond merekam penampilan tari yang sedang berlangsung. #LibertyToDiscover #ExploreNewFrontiers pic.twitter.com/BiSwpaoM9b

— Lumix Indonesia (@lumixindonesia) May 24, 2017

Griffin calls Nick from Taiwan, in the middle of his filmmaking workshop tour around the world. Plus, your questions about shooting in auto vs. manual, getting the most out of autofocus, and autofocus, and podcast workflow.

Upcoming Events
May 26 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
May 28, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
May 29 & 30 Singapore
June 1 Manila, Philippines
June 2, Bangkok, Thailand
June 5, Dances With Films in Los Angeles 8pm
June 16–18 Go Viral Festival in Almaty, Kazakhstan
More info at griffinhammond.com/events

Mentioned in this episode, Patrick Gavin’s film Nerd Prom

Episode 18: Science of Storytelling

Nick and Griffin discuss the science of storytelling—using Dan Harmon’s story circle to craft a compelling narrative for your film. Plus, your questions about collaborative editing, color temperature, and how to tell if your camera is good enough.

Dan Harmon's whiteboards for Community were covered in story circles—for each character, and even circles within circles.

Dan Harmon’s Story Circle
In addition to creating shows like Community and Rick and Morty, Dan Harmon co-founded the pre-YouTube internet video website Channel 101—where he wrote at length about his story structure technique.

Upcoming Events:

• Saturday, May 20—Los Angeles: Filmmaking workshop at Samy’s Camera
• Sunday, May 21—Riverside, CA: Workshop at Image One Camera & Video
   
• May 24—Jakarta, Indonesia
• May 26—Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• May 28—Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
• May 29 & 30—Singapore
• June 1—Manila, Philippines
• June 2—Bangkok, Thailand
   
• June 5—Los Angeles: Dances With Films festival
• June 16–18—Almaty, Kazakhstan: Go Viral Festival

Gear mentioned in this episode:

• ThinkTank Perception Pro backpack (Griffin)
• Lowepro Photo Hatchback 16L backpack (Griffin)
• Peak Design Everyday Backpack 20L (Nick)
• “Bastard Amber” lighting gel (Nick)
• Ice Light (Griffin)

Nick mentioned Final Cut Pro X 10.3 supports shared storage.

Episode 17: I Failed out of Film School

Griffin gave a speech at Illinois State University called, I’m naive and lack ambition. How I crafted a career anyway. Nick calls out his BS. Plus, your questions about the ethics of color grading, what bitrate to export video, and slicing part of a lens off.

UPCOMING FILMMAKING WORKSHOP
On Sunday, May 21, Griffin will be in Riverside, CA for a documentary filmmaking workshop at Image One Camera & Video. Get tickets here or view the Facebook event. I got to meet the stylish store owner Shadi Sayes at NAB—check out the cool vehicle wrap he made for the GH5 launch!

To mount a 77mm ND filter on his Panasonic 7–14mm lens, Griffin chopped off the lens hood, and uses a D Focus Systems Filter Thread adapter.

Episode 16: I’m speaking on-stage at NABShow!

Griffin—speaking at the Panasonic stage at NABShow—joins Nick in Las Vegas. Featuring a cameo from Dr. Brent Simonds. Plus, your questions about shooting slow motion, storing video files, and choosing the right filmmaking job.

Livestream of Griffin’s NABShow talk:
Monday | Wednesday—will be live at 2:30pm PT

Photo by Sean Robinson

Photo by Sean Robinson

Upcoming Events
May 20, Los Angeles—Griffin’s filmmaking workshop with Samy’s Camera
June 16–18, Almaty, Kazakhstan—Go Viral Festival

New GH5 videos
How to set up your new Panasonic GH5 for Filmmaking
Plug XLR mics into the Panasonic GH5

NAS (network-attached storage)
Nick owns a Synology DS413j. The newest version is the DS416j.
Wirecutter recommends the QNAP Turbo NAS TS-251.

Episode 15: Be a Financially Smart Freelancer

From WZND studios at Illinois State University, Griffin and guest host Adam Rahn discuss their freelance video businesses—including LLCs and tax deductions. Plus, your questions about compressing video files for the internet, focusing effectively, and pitching your documentary.

Check out Adam Rahn’s freelance video business, Droi Media.

Griffin and Adam each use Quickbooks Self-Employed to track income, expenses and quarterly taxes due.

Did you know? Someone created a Griffin Hammond article on Wikipedia?

Los Angeles—I have a filmmaking workshop May 20 with Samy’s PhotoSchool and Panasonic!

Episode 14: Someone’s Stealing My Movie!

Nick learns how Griffin made money from copyright infringers. Plus, your questions about bittorrent, insuring cameras, and whether UV filters are necessary.

Example: a YouTube video removed via DMCA takedown, because it infringed my Sriracha copyright

Several YouTube search results—many now removed—purporting to be my film. They're actually using an NPR image as the thumbnail.

Hey Indie Filmmakers is brought to you by The Commodore Story, a full-length documentary by WavemStudios, currently on Kickstarter.

Though most infringement bothers me, here's a torrent of Sriracha that I’m actually cool with.

To make my Panasonic 7–14mm lens work with my ND filter, I bought this adapter ring, but also had to cut down the built-in flower-petal lens hood.

Episode 13: DIY Recording Studio

Nick upgrades his camera gear, and Griffin compares his home office recording studio. Plus your questions about shot stabilization, how to read video scopes, and why we don’t use Adobe Premiere.

Gear setup for this recording:
Cameras: Panasonic GH3 / Panasonic GH5
Lenses: Panasonic Summilux 15mm f/1.7 / Panasonic Summilux 12mm f/1.4
Audio Recorders: Zoom H4n / Zoom H5
Lighting: Westcott Flex Bi-Color LEDs

Video: Griffin on the B&H livestream about the GH5

Photos of me in a tuxedo, plus high school photos, because Nick asked:

This is what I look like in a tuxedo. With a small camera, I'm allowed to walk onto the red carpet at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

In high school, Nick and I were "techies," the stage crew for theater productions.

Hey Indie Filmmakers is brought to you by The Commodore Story, a full-length documentary by WavemStudios, currently on Kickstarter.

Episode 12: How much do film festivals cost?

Griffin shares his film festival experiences with Nick—from submission costs, attending, and winning awards. Plus your questions about how many hours it takes to edit a video, whether to use a wireless lavalier mic, and if it makes sense to make cold calls to drum up freelance video business.

Link
Griffin’s film festival spreadsheet from 2013–2014

Upcoming Film Festival
“Hand-cut”—Griffin’s short documentary—is an official selection of the 2017 Sacramento Food Film Festival! Playing on the final evening, an event called “Bourbon & Bites” on April 8. Tickets here.

Hey Indie Filmmakers is brought to you by The Commodore Story, a full-length documentary by WavemStudios, currently on Kickstarter.

Interview
Listen to Aaron Mull’s interview with Griffin Hammond on Aaron’s podcast Something From Nothing.

Today’s Events

• Wednesday, March 29, Griffin will participate in a 1pm livestream about the GH5 from the B&H superstore in NYC.
• This evening (5:30pm), Sriracha screens at Stony Brook University in Long Island.

Episode 11: Editing in Final Cut Pro X

Griffin and Nick compare their different editing workflows—getting from start to finish in a project using Final Cut Pro X. Plus your questions about lens hoods vs. matte boxes, whether to use auto white balance, and winning video contests.

How Nick backs up footage:
Synology NAS (network-attached storage), plus two cloud backup services—Crash Plan and Amazon Drive.

Favorite FCPX plug-ins:
Griffin—Alex4D Smooth Move, Alex4D Mask+, TKY Camera Shake, ReelSmart Motion Blur Pro
Nick—Plural Eyes, ProIntro: Wedding by Pixel Film Studios

Hey Indie Filmmakers is brought to you by The Commodore Story, a full-length documentary by WavemStudios, currently on Kickstarter.

Video contest:
Adobe’s ”Make the Cut” You edit an Imagine Dragons music video, and Adobe awards $25,000, plus several $1,000 prizes and Adobe Creative Cloud subscriptions. The footage includes 167 HD video files (2.3 GB—8mbps H.264)

Interview:
Listen to editing tutorial master Larry Jordan interview Griffin about self-distribution on his podcast Digital Production BuZZ.

Upcoming Events:

• Next Wednesday, March 29, Griffin will participate in a 1pm livestream about the GH5 from the B&H superstore in NYC.
• That evening (5:30pm), Sriracha screens at Stony Brook University in Long Island.
• “Hand-cut”—Griffin’s short documentary—is an official selection of the 2017 Sacramento Food Film Festival! Playing on the final evening, an event called “Bourbon & Bites” on April 8. Tickets here.

Episode 10: Teaching Film in Israel

Griffin returns from teaching filmmaking workshops in Israel, and shares some of the adventure with Nick. Plus your questions about flickering lights, whether our videos make any money, and how to overcome your fear to produce a passion project.

Time lapse: Tel Aviv sunset
Time lapse: Western Wall in Jerusalem
Also, I used the Pedco Ultra Clamp as a bottle opener!

Sunset in Jaffa Port. The first clip is simply sped up video-notice no motion blur on the waves. The second clip is time lapse photography-1-second exposures create that smooth wave blur.

133 Likes, 1 Comments - Griffin Hammond (@griffinhammond) on Instagram: "Sunset in Jaffa Port. The first clip is simply sped up video-notice no motion blur on the waves...."

Jerusalem

135 Likes, 14 Comments - Griffin Hammond (@griffinhammond) on Instagram: "Jerusalem"

Turns out the amazing Pedco Ultra Clamp also opens bottles! #imstillnotsponsoredbypedco

164 Likes, 8 Comments - Griffin Hammond (@griffinhammond) on Instagram: "Turns out the amazing Pedco Ultra Clamp also opens bottles! #imstillnotsponsoredbypedco"

360-degree photo of the Western Wall, shot on the Ricoh Theta S.

Griffin’s documentary Hand-cut was lit with a Westcott Ice Light.
View the complete list of Griffin’s film equipment.

Episode 9: Film Diplomacy in the Middle East

Nick learns why Griffin’s in the Kingdom of Bahrain, teaching filmmaking workshops for the U.S. Embassy in Manama. Plus your questions about traveling with gear, shutter speeds, finding and pricing corporate work, and Youtube vs. Vimeo.

Watch Griffin’s adventure in Bahrain

Gear mentioned in this episode:
Nick’s vocab word—“Rectilinear lens”
Griffin shot most of the Bahrain video on the Panasonic GH5 and 7–14mm lens
Nick packs a Timbuk2 messenger bag and a Peak Design backpack
Griffin packs a ThinkTank Perception Pro and Lowepro Photo Hatchback 16L, and recently added these to his international travel arsenal: Westcott Flex Light & MeFoto Carbon Fiber tripod
For more gear,

Listen to Griffin talk filmmaking philosophy on Remy’s podcast, Fearlessly Create.

View fullsize

Griffin's podcast setup in his Tel Aviv hotel

Episode 8: Selling My Indie Film

Three years after its premiere, Griffin’s documentary Sriracha is still making money. Nick helps dissect the actual revenue numbers and lessons learned. Plus your questions about shooting big commercials, avoiding background noise and green spill during green screen shoots.

See the revenue numbers here—5 Lessons Learned From My Profitable Indie Documentary (2017 Update)

Gear mentioned in the episode
This week’s episode was recorded at the YouTube Space NY, using two Sennheiser MD 421 II Studio Mics (not Audio Technica, as Griffin mistakenly said). Usually our episodes are recorded with Blue Baby Bottle studio mics or Griffin’s best shotgun mic—the Rode NTG-3.

Hey Indie Filmmakers is brought to you by Tongal—a creative network connecting filmmakers with brands. Visit Tongal.com/Projects

Help us make a better podcast by taking the quick Hey Indie Filmmakers audience survey.

Episode 7: How to Produce Wedding Films

Happy Valentine’s Day! Nick and Griffin share their wedding film production techniques—from dealing with low light in dark receptions to copyrighted music. Plus your questions about DSLR recording limits, asking good interview questions, and what format to shoot commercials in.

Watch Griffin & Amy’s 5-minute wedding video, edited from only one good camera angle after Griffin screwed up Nick’s great close-up angle.

A sampling of wedding films produced by Nick Bodmer
A sampling of wedding films produced by Griffin Hammond

Nick mentioned finding collaborators on the /r/videography subreddit and /r/weddingvideography
Nick uses this “Precomposed Zip Kit” After Effects template for DVD menus.

Hey Indie Filmmakers is brought to you by Tongal—a creative network connecting filmmakers with brands. Visit Tongal.com/Projects

Vote for Griffin/Bloomberg Politics in the Shorty Awards!

Next Wednesday, we’re updating this blog post: 5 Lessons Learned from my Profitable Indie Documentary

Episode 6: Frugal Filmmaking Purchases under $20

Starting with their 2010 gear list, Griffin and Nick share their cheapest filmmaking purchases—many under $20. From great value to total crap. Plus, your questions about audio drift, neutral density filters, and which camera features actually matter.

The original budgeting spreadsheet that Nick and Griffin used to purchase their first high-definition video equipment in March 2010.

My current gear list is at http://griffinhammond.com/gear

Our most frugal purchases:

• $20 Kopul XLR to ⅛” adapter—good for using my battery-powered shotgun mic directly into the camera

• $19 Auray pop filter—the filter is fine, but the arm and clamp “are just garbage.”

• $17 Pedco Ultra Clamp—by far my favorite camera accessory. I have three, and even made a whole video about it.

• $30 Giottos M621 quick release—I bought a bunch of these to standardize camera mounts across my gear.

• $27 Cowboy Studio shoulder mount—”total garbage,” according to Nick, but can you find a cheaper shoulder rig?

• $129 Manfrotto leveling column—NOT FRUGAL, but wow has it saved me hours of leveling my camera! Worth it.

• (found on eBay for $160) Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 lens—Lenses hold onto value well, so consider buying used, and selling later. You may get all your money back!

• $400 education discount on Final Cut Pro X—students/teachers/staff (with school e-mail address) get FCPX, Compressor, Motion and Logic Pro for only $199. I paid $299 for FCPX in 2011—with all the free revision upgrades, it’s only cost me $4.50/month.

• $149 Azden wireless lav mics—Even expensive wireless mics can run into interference issues, but I wouldn’t recommend wireless mics this cheap.

• $6 Sensei step-up rings—Instead of buying neutral density filters for every lens size I own, I have several step-up ring adapters to use one ND filter across multiple lenses.

Hey Indie Filmmakers is brought to you by Tongal—a creative network connecting filmmakers with brands. Visit Tongal.com/Projects

Special thank you to Sam for sending me his Azden shock mount! Check out his YouTube channel, Sun Pixel Video, where he shares filmmaking techniques he’s learned.

Follow Hey Indie Filmmakers on Twitter—@heyfilmpodcast

Episode 5: Ten Worst Video Mistakes I’ve Made

From breaking gear to offending William Shatner, Griffin shares 10 of his dumbest video mistakes with Nick—and how he recovered. Plus, your questions about about microphones, technical tips for documentary filmmaking, and if children need release forms to be on camera.

Today’s episode was inspired by Gretchen Rubin and her podcast Happier.

The videos that contained egregious errors:

• William Shatner’s turkey fryer saga

• Failing to record at the Vimeo HQ

• Sriracha, where I didn’t ask a crucial follow-up question

• DIY Studio effect with Mandy Moore

Gear mentioned:

• Zoom H4n and Zoom H5 audio recorders

• Shotgun microphones: Rode VideoMic Go, Rode NTG-2 and NTG-3

• Today we’re recording with these mics: Blue Baby Bottle and Rode NTG-3, but I also like the Behringer B-2 Pro, which I used on Sriracha.

Gear I lost at Trump’s victory party on election night:

• Rode NTG-2 shotgun mic

• The shock mount from the Azden SGM-1X microphone

• Tokina 11–16mm lens

• Metabones Speed Booster

Hey Indie Filmmakers is sponsored by Tongal
Tongal is awarding $500 to six idea creators! All you have to do it write a 250-character concept for a 60-second “Big Game” commercial, by February 13. Visit Tongal.com/Projects

Check out the Resident Tourist podcast, hosted by my friend Emily and my wife Amy—about two Midwestern women conquering New York City.

Episode 4: I lost my job!

Nick helps Griffin figure out his next career move, plus your questions about SD cards, shallow depth of field, and ethical boundaries between art and truth in documentary filmmaking.

Griffin— When I interviewed at Bloomberg Television in 2014, I shared three videos to give them a sense of my ability:

• The trailer for Sriracha

• A summary of my career, as presented at the Atlanta Film Festival

• A video of my friends at a concert, shot entirely on a GoPro.

But it turned out my future boss Mark Halperin was impressed by a video I would’ve been too embarrassed to share: me rapping as Mitt Romney, just before the 2012 election.

Hey Indie Filmmakers is sponsored by Tongal.
Tongal is awarding $500 to six idea creators! All you have to do it write a 250-character concept for a 60-second “Big Game” commercial, by February 13. Visit Tongal.com/Projects

If you speak Farsi, you may be interested in Saman Shariati, and educational site Lenzak Photography.

Just before we recorded last week’s podcast, Max Yuryev interviewed Griffin about how he got started on YouTube.

Episode 3: Video Editing Tricks

Griffin and Nick share their video editing secrets, like luma keyer and warp stabilizer, and answer your questions on 24fps judder, why 60p looks bad, and low light lenses for those on a tight budget.

Watch Griffin’s 5-minute documentary Hand-cut (2017), and his 33-minute documentary Sriracha (2013).

Griffin mentioned Andy’s Elastic Aspect, an editing plug-in for stretching 4x3 video to widescreen.

Hey Indie Filmmakers is brought to you by Tongal—a creative network connecting filmmakers with brands. Visit Tongal.com/Projects

Nick mentioned this f/0.7 lens NASA developed, which Stanley Kubrick used.