Good practice for returning clean plates to the line?

So I had my first shift as a kitchen porter the other day. Hadn't done it in a few years so I was quite rusty. It was good overall but what slowed me down was stuff building up on the clean end. I do have a shelf for clean plates but it's only so big.

The difficulty I had was finding the best times to return the clean plates to the pass. The pass is narrow and I don't want to get in the way of the chefs when they're cooking. But it's busy all the time and I need to move the plates. Do I just shout I'm coming through and have them move for me?

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u/Shot-Caramel2088 — 2 days ago

It's really hard to find work

I'm a cinematography student and part-time videographer. My friend and I started a videography brand in October. For a while, we did lots of free work - DJs, sports, a clothing brand shoot, some corporate stuff. It was fun, but we weren't getting much out of it.

Eventually we landed a client testimonial gig that paid £500, though that was only a one-off. Since then, we have got a very small monthly retainer for a car dealership. However, this hasn't been enough to sustain us.

The free work hasn't generated any leads, and our current retainer has no referrals for us. My current strategy is to email local businesses, not just to offer a pretty video but actually to help their customer-facing profiles; i.e a yacht broker was AI-generating a lot of their content - I explained real footage would build trust with potential buyers. They never replied. Another solo broker was very active on social media; however, his content quality was very poor and lacked engagement. I explained how we could help, and I heard nothing.

I've tried lots of different approaches, and nothing has worked. Offering free work as a warm introduction didn't work. Pointing out something missing from their page that could benefit them didn't work. Going more salesy and referring to actual case studies, statistics, etc didn't work. Any warm connections I've built always go cold on their end for seemingly no reason.

I know this is a hard business, but it's become very frustrating. I don't think our portfolio is the issue - what we can produce is miles ahead of what they're already outputting. My friend and I have strong experience with ARRI systems, Premiere, sound design, drone operation - for example. And when we pitch, we focus on value. Brand films, testimonials, etc all have value, but no one seems interested.

I don't understand what I'm doing wrong.

u/Shot-Caramel2088 — 24 days ago

Is this a bad cold email template?

71% of yacht buyers begin their search online. In today's market, high-quality video is often the decider between a sale and a scroll.

Dear company,

We came across your Instagram and noticed you're clearly invested in social media as a lead generation tool -- consistent posting and strong calls to action show you understand its value. The missing piece is video. With a 0.2% engagement rate and a reliance on static imagery, there's a significant opportunity to stand out in a market where cinematic boat content is what stops serious buyers mid-scroll.

We are XYZ, a [location] based videography company producing cinematic content that converts. See our recent work here: Link

We're expanding into the maritime sector and are offering a small number of complimentary shoots to the right businesses. We visit, film for a day and deliver a month-long social media strategy designed to drive enquiries. If you're happy with the results, we can discuss an ongoing arrangement.

Name | Website

Phone number

Please be honest. Does it sound scammy? Experimenting with outreach templates currently and looking to improve. I've sent this to a few boat brokers in the area who use social media a lot but get very minimal engagement. Thanks

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u/Shot-Caramel2088 — 2 months ago

What to do after film school?

Context: Just finished second year as a cinematography student at a UK film school. Probably had one of the best looking final projects (I know this doesn't mean much) despite becoming DoP two weeks before the shoot. And I fail the year because I titled my academic submission wrong.

I'm considering dropping out. If it wasn't for my really great cinematography lecturer I'd have dropped out already, the rest of the staff are useless. We aren't prepared for the industry in the slightest, the only connections we're given are our peers (95% of which won't even be in film 5 years from now), we couldn't take out equipment for most of the year.

It's only now I'm realising real world experience and real world connections are what get you employed in this industry. I could drop out and just call every single post house, rental house, production company, Linkedin connections. Just try to get out there as much as possible.

I'm aware of the dire state of the industry right now so I'm also looking at industries I could pivot into that'd value the (little) skill I have right now. I do enjoy the work style of a film set, so industries with adjacent work I'd be interested in.

Just not really too sure. My family are of no help, they don't understand this industry one bit and just want me to get a good number on my degree. I confide in them and they do not care.

Any and all advice appreciated

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u/Shot-Caramel2088 — 2 months ago

Please critique my cold calling script

My friend and I have a videography side hustle in the UK. We've had a couple paid jobs and recently picked up a retainer with a car dealership. He's done all the cold calling so I psyched myself up and tried today. This is the script for calling car dealership.

​

​

​

Hi,

​

My name's XYZ, from [videography company] based in [location]. We've recently worked with [reputable dealership]. I'm calling to see if we could possibly work together.

​

Receptionist: Right .... Okay

​

We've filmed premium cars before and we're looking to expand our network. In exchange for portfolio material, we'd come in and film for you, whether that's a car showcase, client testimonial, or something in-between.

​

​

​

This has resulted in 1x passed onto marketing team, 2x phone numbers given, 1x marketing contact provided, 2x definite no's.

​

How can I improve?

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u/Shot-Caramel2088 — 2 months ago

Looking for feedback on my second year film school project!

Hello guys,

This is a film I made as part of my second-year film production course. I was gaffer on this film up until two weeks before production when the DoP dropped out, and I stepped up. Filmed across two days in two locations. Crew of about 20 total. Budget of £400, though location, camera and lighting were free!

Shot on Alexa Mini LF / Zeiss CP2 lenses

I think the film looks decent overall. A couple of big gripes. I don't like how the faces look. I think they're quite flat, and the falloff is very abrupt. Also, the windows are super blown out and very distracting!

Two 1200Ds set up outside for the apartment scene. One shining through an 8x8 diffusion and one naked. Floppies used in places to bring in contrast.

Confession booth scene backlit through the cross with a 2k tungsten. Shaped light from the front with a 1k. Texture on the front panel with an LED 60B.

Looking for any and all feedback. Thank you!

u/Shot-Caramel2088 — 3 months ago

A friend and I have recently done a free project with a range rover dealership. They seem really receptive and we want to bring them on as a paid client, ideally on retainer.

My friend has proposed to me these packages, but personally, I think they're all priced way too low, especially considering what they make per car.

FUNDAMENTALS PACKAGE: £650PCM -

8 PHOTO POSTS (2 PER WEEK)

4 VIDEO POSTS (1 PER WEEK)

STANDARD PACKAGE: £850PCM -

8 PHOTO POSTS (2 PER WEEK)

4 VIDEO POSTS (1 PER WEEK)

2 TESTIMONIAL VIDEO POSTS PER MONTH

2 TESTIMONIAL PHOTO POSTS PER MONTH

DELUXE PACKAGE £1250PCM -

10 PHOTO POSTS PER MONTH

5 VIDEO POSTS PER MONTH

4 TESTIMONIAL VIDEO POSTS PER MONTH

6 TESTIMONIAL PHOTO POSTS PER MONTH

South UK based. Lmk your thoughts!

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u/Shot-Caramel2088 — 4 months ago

Hello,

A friend and I have recently started a videography side hustle and we shot a free project for a range rover dealership to expand our portfolio. The footage looks great, the client seems really receptive.

Once we've delivered the video, we want to try and get them on a monthly retainer. I discussed with my friend and he suggested 4 short form videos plus 8 photos a month for £850. Everything would be shot on one day. Considering the deliverables and the client's market, I think this is quite low. We are based in south UK. For reference, we got £500 for a half day corporate shoot with two short deliverable videos.

What would you charge for something like this?

Thanks!

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u/Shot-Caramel2088 — 4 months ago