Looking for a true, free-lance camera person specializing in field production? Experience is key here…book someone who shoots on a regular basis and hires ancillary crew people regularly. One way is to google “video crew” and use one of the national crewing services that shows up…one stop shopping! Another route is to get a referral. If that isn’t an option, the internet is a great resource. Google “video crew + the city and state you are looking to shoot in”. If you are looking to book a video crew in North Carolina or anywhere in the world, the best type of crew is one arranged by a free-lance camera person. That may seem obvious to some, but some people, including seasoned video producers, seek out production companies and that may not find you the right personnel.The reason is that you aren’t looking to “build a house”. You are looking for someone to “craft and install some beautiful counter tops”. A crew that regularly goes into the field and shoots in a variety of situations is what you are after. You want a crew that can walk into an environment and feel at home in almost any location, probably even, “been there, done that.” Whether it be a hospital operating room or a board room videotaping a C.E.O. of a major corporation.Production companies may be able to fit the bill, but if you are going into an unfamiliar city your best bet is to use a DP (Director of Photography / camera person) who specializes in field production. A specialist will always have more experience than a company or group that claims expertise in multiple fields like web design, editing, shooting and whatever else they claim to be that month. Years of experience is not something you can use to gauge the quality of a company. Years of experience is an individual thing specific to a person. Make sure you hire the right person and not the oldest company.The bottom line is the person behind the camera does it all the time and does it for a living…he or she has a vested interest in making you happy so he can continue to grow his business with satisfied customers. Also, the sound person and any other crew members will be people the DP chooses to work with and not some staffer that didn’t have an edit that day - the whole crew will be professionals who do this type of very specialized work for a living.All that being said, the first choice of a crew service usually yields good results but isn’t for the producer who wants to have a more hands on approach. Crewing services are a terrific and easy way to get a crew anywhere fast but with a little leg work you can find an excellent crew yourself.

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