In a previous post, Rachel spoke about the role of the client in the messaging and storyboarding phase of the video production process. This is the second in our four-part series of videos. Once you have those elements locked down and are moving closer to your filming day, investing a little time in scheduling for your shoot helps ensure that you'll be capturing as much content as possible (and...

We are always trying to help our clients save a buck.  One way to do this is to employ a smaller crew during filming. So, on occasion, we will just send out our camera guy and sound person to film with the client, without me there as producer. (In the video world, the "producer" is equivalent to the "director" for a film.) The two of them have enjoyed that - "Guess you're unnecessary, eh Geoff?" This...

Rachel was talking a few days ago with a marketer who mentioned to her that he often finds himself having to explain his work process to clients to help them understand that, regardless of how straightforward a particular project might seem, there's usually a good deal of effort required to deliver an outstanding final product. This resonated with us because it's a situation we often find ourselves...

Okay.  Misleading title. Anyone who tells you that shouldn't be trusted, like the folks who promise that you can lose weight while sleeping. But we got to thinking a little about this because our friends over at Wistia invited us and others to submit a video to help debunk a perception that video production equals headaches and hassle. Over time, we have had a number of conversations with clients...

Last week, I attended an event, along with about 200 other video production folks, to see the latest Canon camera that will be released in the next few weeks.  A Canon rep was there to give a demo of the camera and discuss its many merits. In the audience were a fair number of tech-heads, and they loved the rep's rather lengthy discussion of pixels, chips, color coding, etc.  Much of the tech talk...

A couple posts back I mentioned how a client, The Family Equality Council, was thinking about using a green screen for an interview and then inserting a background afterwards. Because we thought a green screen might not give the look they wanted, we advised against this approach.  The Council eventually found a space with a window view that matched the background they were seeking.  See adjacent...

Last week we had a conversation with a new client who asked about filming their executive director in front of a green screen and then inserting a background afterwards. Our response: We can film her in front of a green screen, but we don't think it's going to communicate what you want. Green screens can definitely come in handy, but they need to be handled with care, so to speak.  In this case,...

An important conversation to have with your producer is to discuss the best approach to your production. Put another way, should it be slow-brewed or instant?  Here are two examples to illustrate what I mean. Example #1: The slow-brew. We are currently working with MIT on a couple of admissions videos. One of them is the inspiration of an imaginative fellow in their admissions office who had the idea...

We just finished 13 days of filming for a series of marketing videos for Explo, a summer program for kids ranging from 4th to 12th grades.  Much of the filming we did, both for activities and interviews, was done outdoors.  Fortunately, we had good weather, so we avoided getting wet.  But a sunny day presents its own challenges, which a cloudy, overcast day does not. Most notably, bright sunlight...

A gentleman came in to visit us today who is interested in getting some fundraising and marketing video for his organization.  One question he asked was:  "What am I getting when I hire a professional video production company that I might not get if I sought out a camera guy to shoot some footage for me?"  This is a very sensible question, and there’s no single answer, of course – cameramen...