zerocool22

Hi guys, So I finally quit my job and decided to start my own video agency. After 10+ years of experience in video (allthough the last 6 years or so after having children the pacing was lower then before but I’m taking the leap and going all in. There’s just one small problem: I currently have 0 clients. I’ve got the experience, the gear, a maybe dated portfolio and I know how to produce videos from start to finish. But now I need to turn that into an actual business, and preferably make it work pretty quickly. So I’m curious: What actually works in 2026 to get your first clients? Cold outreach? Networking? LinkedIn? Instagram? Agencies? Referrals? Something completely different? I’d especially love to hear from people who recently started a creative business or agency and managed to get clients without already having a massive network. Thanks a lot!

Whatsup with arri clog on the s1ii though? It still seems way off from actual arri footage?

Thanks, yeah I can fix it in post with optical flow in davinci resolve, but I often just deliver my footage to production houses, so I sometimes even feel emberassed as I can see it. And I am afraid it may hurt my business. When walking forward I almost never see the issue. Only when doing a kind of slider shot. Moving left to right without even taking a step.

Updated post

Hi, I am thinking if I need Ibis or not in my camera's. I think it introduces some kind of jitter when panning the camera or when on a gimbal doing slider movements.(even when ibis is turned off, the sensor might correct/wiggle). Anyhow it is driving me crazy. I see it on a lot of online videos as well, and they all say it is perfectly stable while it def is not. Or might be stable but there is some kind of jerking going around. I don't have an non ibis camera around that I can mount to a gimbal to compare directly (c500ii is too big). Can someone confirm this is the case? And this is the reason why there is no ibis on most cinema cameras, as the sensor will always be floaty? Thanks!

Hi, I still rock an dji ronin s, so I am thinking about upgrading to a new one. For the panasonic S5II, or nikon zr, or Sony a7v a low weight hybrid. The dji ronin s isnt smooth enough for really slider like movements. I am not sure there huge improvements in gimbals besides ai tracking and speeding up set up time. Which is the most smooth stable gimbal in 2026? Thanks!

Ah just installed dr21, looks like rw2 is not supported yet. Bummer but it will prolly be fixed in the next update.

How so? The colours look fantastuc!

All these stills look great though.

Ah seems like the datarates of prores lt are still A lot more then h265, so then its not a great solution. Maybe the zr2 will fix it.

How are the datarates of prores lt? Is it similar as h265?

I will wait until nikon fixes the h265 codec on the zr. Then I will buy it, I just can't shoot RAW video all the time. the ibis I can work around, the AF seems pretty good, the image is gorgeous, not the fastest for photo's but for travel it looks like a dream camera (if they fix the h265 codec).

Doesnt look good. Hope thzy wont go under, I have hosted most of my videos up there.

Well for me it is taking me out of the film right away. I feel there is something off in each shot. ( color, dof, detail, dynamic range, bad lighting,...) So for each their own I guess, but this is not for me. As I am constantly wondering why each shot looks off and that is keeping me off the story.. (not sure if people with no film experience can spot it, I think they can). But just my 2 cents. The only film I ever saw that kinda worked that way was "the blair witch project" but they tell you in the first minute. This is the footage of some students that went missing in the woods" so I could give it an place.

Do you honestly think it looks good?

I have not seen the film. I just watched the trailer because you shared the name. But I wonder why they chose the iphone 13 as the main camera. I wonder if its not just to tell people "hey we shot this on an iphone". I get you can win time with just shooting on an iphone, but the image just isnt there. Based on the trailer alone, its not a movie I would want to see, as I have not seen a single frame that looks great. It all looks like something a soccer mom or kid on youtube makes these days. Not into that vloggy style of filmmaking myself.

Oh shit, I have too many cameras.

Yeah the file sizes are def an issue. Colour science is debatable.

Nikon zr should be at 1 IQ wise.

for pHotography def not. Use flash, so MUCH MORE power in a smaller body. For video its ok, but I would go for something more with an bowens s mount (so you can easy use softboxes, fresnells, spotlights,...)

End of 2026? Djeez, even released today it would be underwelming.

A lot of this criticism assumes that value only comes from personally inventing things or never having bad ideas. That’s not how execution works. Ideas are cheap. Execution is what matters. Plenty of people had ideas about reusable rockets, EVs, satellite internet, or brain–computer interfaces long before Musk. What almost no one managed to do was turn those ideas into working, scaled systems in industries where startups usually fail. SpaceX didn’t win because Musk designs fuel tanks. It won because it executed faster and cheaper than legacy aerospace giants with decades of experience. Tesla didn’t invent EVs, but it forced the entire auto industry to electrify years earlier than planned. Starlink is the largest satellite constellation ever deployed, providing connectivity where no real alternative existed. Yes, he has bad ideas. Every aggressive executor does. The difference is that his companies survive them and still outperform competitors. You don’t have to like Musk — but dismissing his role because he isn’t the inventor misses what execution actually means.

Yet it would not exist without him.

Thanks for the very open-minded and respectful exchange.

This reply feels unnecessarily hostile. We can disagree about Musk or his companies without resorting to personal attacks. I was simply sharing a perspective.