FAQ

WorkCabin Creative lives and breathes the outdoors. That's called being authentically connected.

Common questions and answers.

Here's a bunch of common questions I've been asked over the years:

If you still have questions, please ask. It's free.

VIDEO

How far ahead do we need to book you?

Because of the nature of my video work in, well, nature, the heaviest months for bookings are spring through autumn. Lots of organizations want videos filmed when the leaves are out, the sounds of birds fill the air, and more creatures are scurrying about. I highly encourage you to book early and not leave it to the last minute. The sooner you book, the sooner I can get you slotted on the spring, summer or autumn filming schedule for your preferred dates. Late bookings are always subject to remaining availability.

Do you travel to shoot video?

Yes, I will travel to tell a great story! I love to travel, and shooting in new locations is always exhilarating. For filming work that involves travel to much of Ontario, I do charge a small mileage fee, which is the recommended mileage rate for small businesses as set by the Canadian Revenue Agency. So, hey,I didn’t set the rate. The CRA did 😉

How much does a video cost?

Every project is unique. That’s not a deliberately vague answer. It’s the truth. Once we know the scope of what you need, we can determine how much time is necessary to film all the required scenes, whether multiple filming days are necessary, travel, how much editing and post-production will be required, determine if advance scouting is required (this can frequently be necessary if drone work will be needed), determine equipment needs, etc. Typically, a One-minute to 90 second video that requires a single site location and about three hours of filming time, plus post-production time, can range from $500 to $1000. Generally, post-production time is usually 2x to 3x the number of filming hours. This is only a general range and does not represent the cost of every video project. Of course, things like travel, multiple hours of hiking and/or canoeing to access locations for work can factor into costs as well. We’re not going to lie…. hiking through deep snow, mosquito-infested wetlands, or tick-filled grasslands is tough work.

What professional video equipment do you use?

Gregg films with all professional filmmaking equipment, including:

GH4 and GH5 cameras
Blackmagic Cinema Camera 4K
Cinema lenses
Other assorted lenses including Tokina 11-16 f2.8 with Speedbooster, Rokinon Cine lenses, Olympus Pro 12-40mm f2.8, Laowa 7.5mm f2, Tokina 28-70mm f2.8. And assorted other speciality lenses
Zhiyun V2 electronic gimbal, FlyCam HD3000 stabilizer
DJI Mavic Pro professional drone
Sennheiser, RODE Pro and DEITY Pro microphones
Manfrotto, Vanguard, iFootage, and Benro tripods
iFootage Cobra video monopod
iFootage Wildcat Stabilizer

What editing software do you use?

We personally use Davinci Resolve, one of the top production and editing softwares in the professional filmmaking industry (yep, in Hollywood too!) for both video and audio. We are constantly learning through workshops and tutorials to keep our skills current. Note: We do not outsource editing and production of our work.

Why should we hire you? We know a wedding videographer who can film it for us

We’re not wedding videographers. We do what we know. And that’s creating great videos for outdoors tourism and environmental conservation brands. It’s not just what happens when we’re holding a camera during our work. It’s also what happens when we’re not. In the field, we speak the same language as our customers. We intimately know and understand their audiences. And we know the subject matter. When folks talk about the value of being authentically connected to what you do, we like to think we’ve nailed it.

How will my video be delivered?

We use professional web-based client review process for your entire project. You’ll be able to follow every version of your project, make revision requests, and approve and download your final video all from our user-friendly portal.

How do we review a draft of the video?

We use our own custom password-protected private client review portal. Once we upload a draft, you will receive a password-protected link where you can login and watch your video. Our professional client portal includes the ability for you to easily provide feedback based on exact timestamps, approve a project, and even download your video after you approve it.

How long do you keep a backup of my video?

We will keep backups of your edited films for at least one year. Because of the large amount of storage space required to store high quality video and audio footage, we cannot guarantee that your edited video(s) will be backed up beyond one year. Nor can we can absolutely guarantee that all of of backup and surge protection systems will never fail due to something beyond our control (like a humongous direct lightning strike). We highly recommend that once you receive your edited video(s), you take the necessary steps to back up your video as well.

We only have $50. Can you shoot a video for us?

Just like your organization or business, we have bills to pay, overhead, and lots and lots of money invested in operations and equipment. So please understand that we have needs too. Most importantly, to make a living just like you. Generally, you can expect to pay $500-$1000 for a 90 second video. Professional video editing and producing requires a lot of sweat and is a very labour intensive end-to-end process.

After filming day, how long does it take until a final video is delivered?

The length of time varies for each project depending on the complexity and video length. It also depends on how many other video projects we have on the go at the time. Editing and producing a video is the most intensive part of the video process. Typically, it can take about 14 to 30 days to finish editing and producing a 90-second video.

Do you shoot real estate videos?

Sorry, we do not film and produce real estate videos.

Do you personally edit and produce our work? Or do you outsource editing and production?

WorkCabin Creative takes pride in being an end-to-end service. That means we personally shoot your video and edit and produce your video. It also means we are 100% invested in your project from beginning to end. We love that personal closeness with our customers. Our clients do too.

Do you pick the music for our video?

Yes, we do. Of course, we’ll also chat with you to get a sense of the vibe you desire. This helps us select a track that best fits your brand. We have a commercial subscription to a vast database of licensed music tracks. This gives you peace of mind that you have legal music in your videos.

Do you film weddings?

No, we do not. Our niche is working in zip-off pants, wearing hiking boots, and a backpack on our back while filming environmental conservation, tourism, and videos for the outdoors.

Can we send you video footage we shot and have you produce it into a video?

Yes, we can work with provided raw smartphone or DSLR footage, as long as the quality is acceptable. The quality of supplied footage is paramount for us in deciding whether we can work with that footage. If we think the clips contain bad audio and poorly exposed video clips and are beyond the point of being repairable, we’ll let you know. We can’t salvage something that is dreadful to start with. Bad audio is often bad audio for a reason: It was not captured properly to begin with. Naturally, any work we do is a reflection on us. So starting with good supplied footage and being able to produce an end product that meets acceptable standards is always important in any work we do. In some cases, we figure it would have been less expensive to film and produce a video rather than try to spend countless hours trying to fix some supplied footage. If in doubt ask us. Don’t worry, we’ll be brutally honest.

PHOTO

What camera equipment do you use?

For photography, we shoot mostly with this equipment:

Nikon D7000 and GH5 camera bodies
Olympus Pro 12-40mm f2.8, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 with Speedbooster, Nikkor 12-24 f4 professional lens, Laowa 7.5mm f2, Tamron 150-600 f5.6, Nikkor 70-300 f5.6, Tokina 28-70mm f2.8
Manfrotto, Benro, and iFootage tripods

What photo editing software do you use?

We personally use Adobe Photoshop and Luminar, two of the leading photo editing softwares used in the professional photography industry. We are constantly learning through workshops and tutorials to keep our skills current. Note: We do not outsource editing and production of our work.

How will my photos be delivered?

Finished photos are zipped and delivered via WeTransfer, the professional grade file transfer service that we use. If we have a file size that is unusually large, the video may be delivered to you on a USB flash drive.

How long do you keep a backup of my photos?

We will keep backups of your edited photos for at least one year. Because of the large amount of storage space required to store high quality photos, we cannot guarantee that your edited photos will be backed up beyond one year. We highly recommend that once you receive your edited photos, you take the necessary steps to back up your photos as well.

We love that photo you posted on Instagram! Can we have a copy for free?

Awesome! Thanks! Um, wait, you want to have our professional creative work for free so you can generate income and sales for you? Sorry, we need to make sales too. Please ask us for a quote.

Do you do real estate photography?

Sorry, we do not do photography for real estate. We specialize in filmmaking and photography for the outdoors, tourism, and environmental conservation sectors.

How much does does it cost to hire you for photo work?

Every outdoors photography project is unique. That’s not a deliberately vague answer. It’s the truth. There are so many variables. We’ve paddled and/or hiked hours for some photo assignments. For other assignments, we’ve walked less than 50 metres. Some customers want lower resolution images because they only plan to use them on Instagram. Other customers want higher resolution because they intend to use the images in marketing materials. Once we know the scope of what you need, we can determine how much time is necessary to photograph all the required scenes, and how much editing time will be required. Some customers request light editing. Others request more extensive editing. Typically, for a package of a 12 to 20 images with light editing, that only requires a single site location and about three hours of photography time, you can expect to pay between $500 to $1000. This is only a general range and does not represent the cost of every photography project. Of course, things like travel, multiple hours of hiking and/or canoeing to access locations for work can factor into costs as well. We’re not going to lie…. hiking through deep snow, mosquito-infested wetlands, or tick-filled grasslands is tough work.

AERIAL

Are you licensed and insured for commercial drone work?

Yes, we are licensed, fully insured, trained at an aerial flight school, and operate in compliance with Transport Canada drone regulations. Under Canadian law, that means we: 1). Must have VLOS (Visual Line Of Sight) with our drone at all times while flying it. 2). Fly below 122 metres (400 feet). 3). Fly at minimum horizontal distance of 30 metres away from bystanders. 4). Not fly within 5.6 kilometres (three nautical miles) of airports. 5). Not fly over events (ie. Concerts, festivals, etc). Please do not ask us to undertake aerial flights that are against the law in Canada. We want to ensure that your investment in a video will include legally obtained drone footage so that you, your organization or business is compliant with Canadian laws.

For our drone shoot, how much time do you spend in the air?

Typically, for most projects, we aim to to complete aerial work in one or two flights depending on how much footage is needed. One battery provides about 20 minutes of aerial time and for most projects at a single location, this is more than enough time to get footage for projects that require some aerial scenes. For our customers, we find this to be the most efficient use of time and budget.

What type of drone do you use?

We fly with a DJI Mavic Pro professional drone. This is not a mini hobbyist drone. This is a full professional drone.

Can we stand with you as you fly and tell you what we want filmed?

Sorry, under Canadian drone law, you are legally considered to be a bystander and cannot be standing next to the drone pilot at the time of the flight. We will designate a place for you to stand and watch from, as we fly. As for what scenes to film, all of that is preplanned before takeoff. A drone battery only lasts about 20-30 minutes per flight so that means being efficient is a must for getting scenes as quickly and safely as possible, and returning and landing safely.

What kind of weather is best for flights?

Everyone has their preferences, but we typically prefer overcast days as it helps to reduce the harshness of the sun on landscapes. Most importantly, for drone flights, wind is of our biggest concern. When planning shoot days, we always keep watch of wind forecasts and aim for days where the wind speed is low. This gives us the best opportunity for smooth footage, and a safer flight.

Do you do drone videos for real estate?

Sorry, we do not film videos or drone footage for real estate. We specialize in filmmaking for the outdoors, tourism, and environmental conservation.

How much do you charge for drone work?

Under ideal situations, we can be in and out of most landscapes in one to two hours. We try to complete our flight assignments in a single flight, or about 30 minutes of aerial time. We find this is efficient and keeps us focused on completing a pre-planned shot list. Typically, you can expect to pay between $200-300 for about two minutes of total aerial footage that is lightly edited. This would be for standalone aerial footage, meaning it is not produced with music and titles, etc. Typically, we do aerial work to be incorporated into a larger video production. There are many variables affecting the cost of aerial work. There are also strict Canadian laws governing what drone pilots can and can’t do. We are licensed, insured, and trained (Psst! This means there’s a lot of sweat and investment behind being qualified to do what we do). We comply with Canadian laws. Before we even come to your location, we do virtual scouting of the location via Internet mapping tools. We may also do an in-person visit to better understand the landscape and any potential hazards or challenges. We also prepare days in advance by scouting weather and wind patterns. And getting to your location can pose challenges and add time to the work required. Yes, we’ve hiked tick-filled grasslands, mosquito-infested forests, and paddled for hours all in the name of completing video and photo work for customers.

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FAQ