Here’s a practical note that might be of value to some folks out there.  It’s not unusual that a client or prospective client will have a short event that they want captured, and they ask us about the feasibility of filming for a couple of hours.  Our answer is always that it’s feasible, but if they want our help for that short time, they aren’t taking full advantage of our services. Not...

I talked a little before about the difference between hiring a single videographer for video production rather than a crew. I must admit that I can’t speak with total knowledge about the benefits of hiring a single videographer because we typically send a crew of three people on our shoots – a producer, a cameraman, and a sound person.  And on some occasions it’s a bit larger with a make-up...

In an earlier post, we mentioned a conversation we had with a fundraising consultant about the wide discrepancy in video production costs she gets from production companies.  We recently were one of three companies speaking to an organization about producing a series of marketing videos, requiring ten days of filming. When we spoke to the marketing director, she explained to us that she had received...

Almost every time a client comes into our studio to collaborate with us during the editing process, they have two comments.  First: “Gosh, this is fun!”  Second: “Man, this takes a lot of work!” Both are true. Many people might guess that the actual production, or filming, of a video is where most time and money is spent.  Depending on the type of video, this certainly could be true. More...

Scriptwriting is something that many people ask about.  Often, folks believe that they need scriptwriting so that people who are speaking on camera will know what to say and deliver information smoothly. But usually, after a bit of conversation, clients realize that a script doesn’t make sense for them.  Perhaps the strongest argument against writing a script is this: most of the time your on-camera...

I’ve talked a bit about the importance of b-roll.  And in an ideal world, there is the time and the opportunity to film b-roll so that your video producer has choices when he/she is trying to edit your video together. But you know what?  If getting b-roll is not possible, no need to fret.  I’m biased, of course, because I always feel that good video b-roll makes a video worth watching.  However,...

I was talking to a fundraising consultant the other day who asked, “Why do my nonprofit clients get quotes for video that range from very low to extremely high?  Why the discrepancy in prices?” That’s a very fair question, though she kind of answered herself when she mentioned later in the conversation that some of her larger non-profit clients feel like they need a ‘high-end’ production...

The first thoughts clients have when they are conceptualizing a video for themselves is:  “Who are the people we should interview for the video and what should they talk about?” This makes total sense.  Afterall, unless you want your video to be in the vein of a Frederick Wiseman documentary, you have to have people describing what you’re all about.  So let’s say that you’ve decided on your...

Here’s a lively subject of conversation that we often have with clients: how many people get to be on camera? Okay.  I get it.  It’s important to give everyone his or her “air time.”  I’m sympathetic to that – you want everyone to feel important and no one slighted.  So there is definitely some diplomacy that sometimes has to be undertaken if certain people get invited to participate...