# Videographer As Crew



## lavidanueva (Apr 16, 2013)

we do top rate videos and mini documentaries. Will trade cruising time for part pay for one of our productions. Why not memorialize one of the best times in your life? We have full range of equipment, professional cameras, editing equipment, and the end product is perfect for motivating others to come join the fun next time! Send me a message if this kind of trade makes sense. Open to all kinds of cruising, but expecially interested in deliveries, anything with a story about it.


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## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

Do you have liability insur for all areas you will sail while producing these videos?

If a sailboat captain takes this on and is compensated for their troubles, that captain needs a captains licence.


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## lavidanueva (Apr 16, 2013)

We can acquire liability insurance if the end user seeks it. As it is, we are careful to obtain signed releases for all people who appear in our work. The liability insurance only insures against fraud, appropriating a name without permission, that kind of thing. It does nothing for the boat and it's crew. Since our proposition is to do a video for the ownership of the yacht which he can use to show his family and friends or to motivate others, we don't believe the captain needs a special license. He is already charging people for a good time by saying, "you pay expenses", now he would be saying, "and the expenses are $200 more over the trip per person to pay for the cost of the videographer."


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Technically, xort has it right. You are offering a commercial venture and the fact that it is for barter instead of for cash makes no difference. The owner is getting "paid" with your video, if they say to other strangers "you pay expenses" that is still a vessel for hire and a captain's license still needed.

Yes, many people ignore that, but when there's a formal agreement for compensation as opposed to a voluntary action between pre-existing friends? That's commercial.

Easy enough to ignore, unless something goes wrong someone gets sued, and then the technicalities rear their ugly heads. If you are injured on their boat, their insurer can also walk away. A little more risk, both ways.


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## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

Liability policies for damage and injury are definitely available for video production. Most knowledgeable people involved in video production will require it.
And liability insurance for video producers and videographers is at a premium over most other businesses because insurance company actuaries know there is a higher level of risk in video production. The boat owner who signs on a video crew should realize the risks inherent in that endeavor. Hiring on a producer who cuts corners on liability does so at their own risk.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

Film people pay for locations used.... All except people after a free ride on a boat.... Go figure.


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## barefootnavigator (Mar 12, 2012)

You guys are on to something, my kingdom for a first mate with filming experience. I ended up going with plan B filing everything myself and its a real PIA. Good luck to you.

PS an easy way around all this is simply work as free sailing crew film as you may and if the captain likes what you have done give him or her a copy. No captains license needed or insurance.


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## Zanshin (Aug 27, 2006)

C'mon folks - cut the poster a break. Instead of pointing out the many ways that it won't work, perhaps someone is interested in a professional filming job in exchange for -something-; I just tried filming and realized that it is a whole dimension more difficult and time-consuming than mere still photography.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Funny, I hadn't thought about that since "still" meant film, and filming was already often video on tape. I felt is was just the other way, that a still photographer (events, not studio) gas to be running a movie in their head and catching the snippets of it on still, where a vdeio cameraman can just keep shooting and always edits later.

Of course with digital film now, so much has changed.


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## Classic30 (Aug 29, 2007)

In my experience it is actually really difficult to get good video out on the water, at least compared with still photography where you can control lighting and surroundings to some extent - even if only for a fraction of a second.

A really good on-water videographer is a rare beastie indeed, needing to tackle continously-changing lighting conditions and surroundings essentially outside of their control. Certainly it can be done - it just takes lots of skill and very expensive equipment to avoid hours of useless footage - and makes still photography look easy.


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## lavidanueva (Apr 16, 2013)

Geez Louise, what negative bunch of blowhards. Does a yacht owner have to have a captains license when he takes his sail maker for a trial run? Does a boat owner have to have a captains license when he and his mechanic go for a spin to check out the engine? Do you have to have a captains license while the instrument guy calibrates your new nav equipment? 

If someone wants to hire me as a contractor to do a first rate production of their adventure, I don't see why they need a captains license any more than any other contractor. I am not trading anything for a boat ride, you have to pay me as a contractor for each day we are out, it is more time for me, I have all the boating i want on my own boat, though always happy to learn from others. Presumably the piece will be used for private enjoyment, nothing commercial about this from the captains point of view.

I could be wrong about this, but some of you are green with envy that some guys have the dough to pay for a nice production while you sit at the dock so you jump my back. It didn't used to be this way, we never grow by spiting others.


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## lavidanueva (Apr 16, 2013)

Great point, lighting, sound, backdrop, all very difficult in changing conditions, like sailing. Amateur video is fine, but you never get the finished look. Each to his own and each to his own budget.


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## lavidanueva (Apr 16, 2013)

A lot of you won't like the politics behind it, that is not the point. What counts is the professional presentation, the message. This took 24 hours to shoot, and about 60 hours to edit. The value is about $5K, note quality is reduced for fast streaming.


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## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

If someone hires you for a production, indeed they do not need a captains licence. Sorry, that got us off track. 
But anyone receiving compensation should carry liability ins. All marinas require a certificate of insur of any contractor setting foot in their yard.

You made mention of liability insur for covering errors, content, etc. Any knowledgeable production person would know that is covered by Errors & Ommisions insur and that liability insur is for covering damages and injury. If a contractor does not have liability insur, claims can be made against the person who hired the contractor, even by the contractor themselves. Zanshin, you want to put your 54'er on the line for someone who scrimps on insur? I can buy 1 million in liability for less than $500/yr . I have had discussions with film industry insur people regarding the relatively high level of incidences of damage & injury in this field. Pull out a video camera and people start doing 'things'. 
But what do I know from 20+ years of shooting for Fortune 500 companies, Academy Award winning documentaries and countless projects for Discovery, History, BBC, A & E, Showtime, ESPN, Sail Magazine, etc.
You pays yer money and you takes yer chances .
Have fun!


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