FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT CLIFF DAVIS EDITORIAL Given that nobody has time to navigate through pages of self-promotional drivel, I prepared a quick "Frequently Asked Questions" area so you can find out everything you need to know about working with Cliff Davis Editorial. 1/ Why should I choose Cliff Davis Editorial versus a larger post-house? Simple - two reasons: CREATIVE QUALITY AND COST. a/ CREATIVE QUALITY: When you work with Cliff Davis Editorial, you work directly with the owner of the company, a video professional with 25 years experience, whose focus is to make your project everything it could and should be. My reputation is built on every project I do, every client that refers me, and every client that returns time after time. (read client testimonials here). It is the same for the independent creative talent that I hire for projects when needed, we are all creative business owners. Our independent philosophy obviously differs from anyone who is on-staff at a post-house, being told what to do each day according to his or her schedule, and being pressured to get the project finished quickly so they can move on to the next. When you work with the actual owners, it makes sense that you will only be working with people who have true passion for each project. b/ COST: The cost any company is going to charge depends on market price and the profit margin that the owner needs to make to cover overhead. I generally offer better creative execution, higher value to clients, and savings of around 30% over current market prices charged by larger post-houses. I can do this because I, and the independent creative talent I bring to projects, don't have large overhead. We don't have to charge as much – it's that simple. Instead of worrying about paying the bills, we can focus on offering outstanding creativity, value and customer service. Back to top. 2/ Do I get more financial security working with an established larger post-house? Absolutely not. Throughout my career I have had plenty of experience managing successful projects up to $300,000 and bring that same management experience to projects at my own company. There are many advantages of being a smaller company: I can be flexible, I never need to use money from one project to pay for another, I do everything I say I am going to do, I am always accountable, and I pay all my vendors on time. I may have a small company, but I bring 25 years of large company experience to every project I take on – you can rest assured that you will be in good hands. Back to top. 3/ Why did you decide to call your company Cliff Davis Editorial, when you offer so many other services to your clients than just editing? Editing is my craft, its what I do, what I love to do, and what I have always done. That's why I emphasize "editorial" in my company name. Back to top. 4/ Some Shooters say they can edit, and some Editors say they can do the graphics, isn't that a better and cheaper way to handle my project? When you have a heart problem, where do you go? You go to a cardiologist not a family doctor. So why take your video project to a guy who says he can personally do the edit, the graphics, audio, everything? You know he can't be the best choice for all those crafts. For example, I can guarantee you that the graphics in your project will be considerably better when designed by a qualified Designer, hand picked for your specific style of project, someone who lives and breathes graphic design every single day. The Jack-of-all-trades approach is no cheaper either, as its safe to assume that "Jack" going to charge for the design time, you might as well have a specialized designer focus on your piece. Not to mention it's faster and safer too, both Editor and Designer can be working at the same time, which in these days of tight deadlines can be a lot less stress for the client. Back to top. 5/ How does Cliff Davis Editorial handle projects that need graphic design, 3D animation, or sound work? I offer complete turnkey solutions and provide many other services besides editing, such as graphic design, audio design, shooting, and production, but I do not do these things myself. Instead, I put together a team of creative talent that is just right for your project. I manage and direct everybody, so from a client perspective you are still working with one company, but getting the benefit of having the best diversified creative talent available working on your project. I maintain complete responsibility for the project, so you don't have to worry about flakey freelancers, missed deadlines, or creative treatments that somehow fall short of expectations. It's the perfect business model and everybody wins. Now having said all that, many clients manage their own projects and just come to me for awesome editing, which is great too, I'll do whatever you need. Back to top. 6/ What technology do you use in your edit suite? My edit suite has the latest technology and comforts including: Final Cut Studio 3 (latest version), an arsenal of plug-ins, Apple Color for grading, Photoshop, Compressor, DVD Studio Pro. Intel Mac Dual Quad Core 2.66Mhz Processor (8 cores total) 6 Gigabytes of RAID Storage (that's 80 hours of 1080p HD footage) AJA LHi HD/SD video output Real-time High Definition and Standard Definition video monitoring Real-time video streaming to any Mac or PC direct from Final Cut as I edit In-suite high quality microphone In-house music library on hard drive, plus several on-line accounts Spot distribution either direct FTP to stations or via DG FastChannel Super fast Internet downloading capability, with WiFi Large comfortable client friendly edit suite in a professional environment Ability to author and duplicate 14 DVD's at a time Small insert stage, and production equipment available for immediate shooting Conference room available for meetings Private kitchen and bathroom Client phone Back to top. Video Editing |
