I've got a gig shooting a billboard ad spot and I have a few questions. Please help!!

[MSmith89]

So, I'm a freelance videographer (self-taught), and I've started doing some work for a company that has now requested me to take some photos for an ad-campaign that will be featured on some back-lit billboards at the Wells Fargo center in Philadelphia. I've really only been doing video professionally for a couple of years, so, needless to say, there is still a lot I need to learn regarding professional photo/video production. I've never shot photo's for something like this so I have some questions, hopefully you guys can help.

First, they've sent me a spec sheet for the various sizes of the boards the the stills will be placed on. The sheet reads as follows...

1. Main: 6x20 Backlits • Quantity: One (1) • Panel Area: 5’ 10.5”h by 19’ 11.75”w • Copy Area: 5’ 7.5”h by 19’ 8”w • Artwork: Please send sized, eps, hi-res artwork files
   
   
2. Main: 2x12 Backlits • Quantity: One (1) • Panel Area: 22.5”h by 11’10.5”w • Copy Area: 19.5”h by 11’7.5”w • Artwork: Please send sized, eps, hi-res artwork files
   
3. Main & Mezz: Backlits • Quantity: Six (6) • Panel Area: 7”h by 142.75”w • Copy Area: 4”h by 139.75”w • Artwork: Please send sized, eps, hi-res artwork files

My Questions...

• Will my Canon 5d or even my t3i be suitable for taking photos ending up in these formats?
  
• Is there an internal picture setting I should change in my camera to meet these needs?
  
• I'm pretty sure some of these signs will be viewed at a rather close viewing distance (3-5 feet), how will this affect my final image resolution?
  
• When they say, "Please send sized, eps, hi-res artwork files," what exactly are they looking for? Final format-wise.
  
• Is there any more information I should get from them?

Please be as specific and informative as you possibly can. I'm sure these questions seem novice to most of you, but I really don't want to mess this up as these gigs are kind of a big deal for me. I would really appreciate any help offered.


THANKS EVERYONE!!!

 

[tirediron]

I'm not a videographer, and I know nothing about it, nor am I a Canonite, so I can't help you on the technical side of things, but the advice I will offer is that you send the company a polite notice which says something to the effect of, "I am unable to accept this commission due to... <whatever reason you feel like>. I appreciate your consideration,and I hope to do business with you in the future. Thank-you"

This is obviously not a small undertaking, and while there's nothing wrong with being self-taught or new to the industry, it's critical to know when to say, "Sorry, I can't do this!" Turning this down may lose this company as a customer, but accepting it and doing a poor job will lose you many more; remember: When people are happy they tell other people. When they're not, they YELL to EVERYONE!

 

[runnah]

Outsource it to someone who can do it. Pay them 10% less than you are getting paid.

Otherwise you are WAY out of your league. Don't ruin your rep by doing substandard work, and yes it will be substandard.

 

[KmH]

.EPS is a vector graphics file type. Encapsulated PostScript - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Digital images are raster graphics.

Vector graphics are infinitely scale-able. Raster graphics aren't (pixelation)

Vector graphics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Raster graphics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Are you required to submit a bid, or are you already contracted to do the work?

The copy area in #3 is kind of odd. It's 4 inches high and 11.6 feet wide.
#2 is almost as bad at 19.5 inches high and 11 feet 7.5 inches wide.

 

[runnah]

.EPS is a vector graphics file type. Encapsulated PostScript - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Digital images are raster graphics.

Vector graphics are infinitely scale-able. Raster graphics aren't (pixelation)

Not always. you can have raster elements in an EPS file. It's really more of a universally printer friendly format.

 

[KmH]

I didn't say you couldn't have raster elements in an EPS file.

The EPS link I provided covers those kinds of details.