by Chris Hunter | May 25, 2015 | Behind The Scenes Series, Blog
This is part two of my three part behind the scenes overview of a promotional real estate video project. This portion of the BTS will cover the actual days of shooting, what equipment was used, an overview of the locations that we shot at, and a breakdown of my lighting, camera and audio setups. For part one of the BTS, click here. Scheduling Production Days & Locations When working on a project with multiple individuals with busy schedules it’s critical that going into production you have all of your locations and dates firmly secured. During our pre-production, we scheduled two primary shooting dates, one at a model home in a high end, luxury development and the other was scheduled for a half day at various rooms at the corporate office of one of the clients. Day One With our two production days scheduled, we went into the first day of production at the model home with the real estate agents to shoot their interviews and B-Roll footage. The first interviews were scheduled for 10:00am, so it was a 7:30am equipment load-in, with the interview setup taking approx 45 minutes. By 8:30, we had our interview setup ready and performed a few quick tests, and then reviewed them on a laptop to ensure we had the look we wanted. The location had very tall ceilings, with many large, tall windows and a skylight. This meant there would be an abundance of light, and I would have to work towards creating a strong key light to create a modeling effect and not have the natural ambient light overpower the lighting design....
by Chris Hunter | Apr 17, 2015 | Behind The Scenes Series
Page OnePage TwoPage Three I recently secured a commercial video project, where I will be responsible for all aspects of production, and I felt this would be a great project to do a complete BTS blog series. The idea is for you to come along for the experience as the project progresses, allowing a look into what it takes to create a compelling, promotional business video. There will be insight provided into the client / sales process, closing the deal, beginning pre-production, creating a lighting design, helping the client sharpen the script and brand message, through the days of production, and finally into post-production as the raw files are turned into a finished product. For our Part I, we’ll take a look into acquiring leads, creating the proposal, setting our pre-production parameters and responsibilities, and reviewing the locations. Leads & Proposals In any kind of business, there is always a customer seeking a service or product, and someone providing that service or product. It’s important to identify your customers, what their needs are, and which demographic you are trying to attract and work with. This is where having a personal style will help to identify with certain groups of customers and clients. Typically these include things like the following: small business promos, music videos, TV commercials, live event coverage, real estate videos, etc. There are a lot of people who have a need for professional video production services, and are regularly hiring for this service. Identifying these groups in your area, and making logical decisions as to who to pursue as your client base is incredibly important to acquiring clients...
by Chris Hunter | Apr 17, 2015 | Behind The Scenes Series
Page OnePage TwoPage Three Pre-Production Once you have received a down payment, or at least a signed contract, you will officially move into the pre-production phase of the project. At this point, you are going to take your written proposal, and expand it into a full project map, where the timeline / milestone dates, client responsibilities, locations, script, necessary equipment rentals, and any crew help are solidified 100%. It’s very important that you set realistic expectations for the timeline, and to complete all the important aspects of pre-production. If you do not give yourself and the client enough time to adequately prepare, it can prove disastrous to your project and reputation. The client will be looking to you to provide leadership through the pre-production process, so open communication is very important here. I prefer daily or every other day emails, and phone calls weekly to ensure everyone is staying on the same page. It’s also important in the pre-production phase to identify who the shot callers are that you’re working for. If it’s corporate video, it could be multiple people that you will need to make happy. Try to identify any combative personalities, or potential pitfalls as soon as possible. Deal with any obstacles professionally, but firmly. Let the client know that you are in charge of the project, and that is why they have hired you. The more extensive your planning and documentation of the project, the more the client will feel comfortable with you leading them. I touched briefly on the most important aspects of pre-production above, and now I will go more deeply into each subject....
by Chris Hunter | Apr 17, 2015 | Behind The Scenes Series
Page OnePage TwoPage Three Location Review Notes Below are my location review notes. For both location reviews, I brought my Lumix LX100 to shoot some sample video and stills. I made sure to use the following settings: ISO400, 1/50th, f2.8 – as that is most commonly what I like to shoot at with my main camera, the FS100. “Primary photography for the interviews will take place in the west facing living room. Exterior ND gel will be used to balance exposure between interior and exterior. Interview subject will be framed with two cameras, one shooting UHD 3840×2160, the other FHD 1920×1080. This will allow for up to three different angles to be used for all interview shots. Both the kitchen and dining area offer additional upstairs setups, and can be used as areas to introduce the different realtors in unique locations. Introductions will consist of a dolly push-in and title lower third. Lighting will be traditional beauty with a large, soft diffused key light. Importance will be placed on achieving a bright and engaging look for the interviews, using shallow depth of field to isolate the subject from the background. Downstairs setup will require boosted ambient by 3 stops, and focused lighting on the display examples. Location was very quiet, and possessed good sound qualities. Did notice multiple construction vehicles nearby, could become an issue.” Below are some of the location photos which were taken in order to gain exposure readings and determine composition. it is very important that you shoot sample photos and video at your locations in order to determine accurate expectations on what lighting equipment you’ll...
