Cheap gear disrupts commercial video industry

Crain's Chicago Business reports:

Several industry experts estimate the cost of producing professional video has dropped by 50 to 60 percent over the past five years. Having a producer, camera operator and sound expert on a set still can cost $4,000 to $5,000 for a small commercial project, but fewer jobs require groups of assistants and other amenities in the budget.

“If I don't do it for X dollars, the guy two doors down is going to (do it) just to get their foot in the door,” says Peter Hawley, who runs his own video production business and is academic dean at Chicago digital media school Tribeca Flashpoint. ”It is a buyer's market if you're a client, where it used to be a seller's market.”

“People are recognizing they don't need to use a place with huge infrastructure and costs,” says Tad Hathaway, co-founder of 312 Media, whose clients include the Chicago White Sox.

Disruption.