In the last few years ther has been a tremendous explosion in video production.  Much of this due to ease of acquiring a simple video camera that has great resolution.

The amount of videos being created for use on the web is off the chart.  However there is a big problem with all this video due to the fact that many people are creating videos for marketing and business purposes and yet have little to no knowledge of how to create images that work.

I recently watched a video on the web with a woman pitching something and behind her was a cork board with countless photos of her family.  Any viewer would be drawn to this busy board looking at the photos and not really paying any attention to what she was selling.

Another video had three young girls sitting on a bench against a white wall. One of them was pitching something about how to be an entrepreneur All three looked quite shy and not comfortable on camera.  It seems to me that whatever they were selling wouldn’t get through to make anyone  buy the product.

There are some very simple rules to follow when creating any video to sell a product.  One of the big rules is to keep it short.

I recently did a talk to a chamber of commerce about creating videos for Social Media Marketing on the web.  In my talk, I showed them a successful seven minute video that I produced for a client.  I’m sure they all benefitted from seeing how much information you can pack in to seven minutes. I had to add however that these days the average video length on  the Web is down to three and a half minutes.

There are some really good video tutorials on this site that you can use when creating your next video. Check them out on the front page.

Cheers, Barry

Some questions to ask

1. Does the producer have demo reel to show you his work?

Most reputable production houses will be able to show you examples of previous videos they have done along with any awards they have received. Ask to view the finished product and not just video sample clips. You want to know how it all came out and that it has professional quality.

2. Has the producer done videos for companies similar to yours?

Some producers may have expertise on one area but be unfamiliar with other areas. As an example you could wind up with a producer who can show you great snowboarding video samples but has never worked with actors and you want dramatized scenes in your video demonstrating your companies product. A solid producer will often have a variety of different projects to show you.

3. Does the production company have up-to-date equipment?

Video production equipment is changing all the time. This does not mean that some older equipment cannot deliver what you want. You have to know in advance if your video is only going to be used at trade fairs as well as presentations in a clients office. The kind of quality needed for these presentations is different than that needed for broadcast television. I recommend that the production camera should deliver at least 700 lines of horizontal resolution(this simply means clear, sharp images) and that micophones are industry standard.

4. Does the writer have corporate video writing skills.

Whether it’s theatrical feature films, made for TV movies or promotional videos, the script is everything. Make sure it works on paper before going ahead with any production work. Remember you are selling your product in your video and you want to motivate your clients to buy. A client telling you that he likes your video means nothing unless he is reaching for a pen to write you an order.

The script should emotionally move your audience because it is only through emotion that we buy anything. Often a good promotional video script will restate the important points a second time near the end of the video. Remember to have yourself and the producer initial the finished script. This will prevent any misundertandings later about what was being covered during shooting.

5. Does the producer and or writer ask questions about your business?

A good producer will not simply ask what do you want in the video. They will want to get to know your operation. They will spend time at their expense getting a feel for things. They will make suggestions that will show off and enhance your product in the video.

They should want you to be a long term client earning your confidence and delivering what they promise. This is a partnership arrangement where both you and the producer need to have a good working relationship. I have a stack of testimonial letters from previous clients that can instill confidence in any new clients working with me for the first time.

6. Thinking ahead for updates to your video!

It’s a good idea to plan ahead for possible changes to your video. For example your original script could have a modular approach featuring various aspects of your business. Later, as you add new equipment you could simply subtract the section with the old equipment in your video and add the newer machinery in its place. This means you don’t have to create a whole new video.

Make sure that your producer has mixed the music and effects in your
video onto a separate track, separate from any narration track. This way you only need to bring in the narrator to change the wording for the new section and then re-mix the new commentary into the music and effects of this section. This is a lot cheaper than having to re-mix a whole new video.

7. Will the production disrupt your business?

As a business owner you cannot simply shut down your operation while the video is being done. You need to know that the producer can work around your business day to day needs. Your staff may like the idea of being in a video until they are interupted at their jobs and can’t complete there daily tasks the same way as usual.

You producer needs to employ a lot of empathy for the staff. He needs to get his shots while demonstrating a caring attitude to your employees during the shoot. I can tell you from experience this is very important to the successful outcome.

8. How much should the video cost me?

This all depends on what is involved. For example a production with a lot of locations to shoot, that is of dramatic content involving actors will cost more than one with fewer locations and no actors involved. I have produced shows from $800 per finished minute to $2,500 per finished minute. Many locations can drive up the costs due to down time while moving equipment and crew. You simply loose a lot of production hours through this and therefore it takes more days to shoot and a larger budget needed for the crew.

9. Do I pay at the end, the beginning, or both?

Most producers will ask for a deposit up front. This could be anywhere from 10% to 30% certainly not more than 30%. The producer has preparation, meetings and writer costs to deal with before any shooting begins. I like to get a payment up front, a second payment upon completion of shooting (principal photography) and a third payment upon delivery.

10. How long does production usually take from start to finish?

It varies but I can tell you I have produced from start to finish in two weeks and also in two months. The two month show was a better production.

I hope this is helpful to you.

Cheers, Barry

I have previously done a lot of film/video workshops and speaking seminars around British Columbia. These have included workshops for a number of film commissions, high schools, colleges and teacher’s Pro d days.

In addition I have had the pleasure of providing seminars to chambers of commerce and business groups on these topics:

How to Attract the Film Industry to Your Community.
How to Get in and Succeed int he Film Business.
How to Make and Market Your Own Promotional Video.
Professional Shooting Secrets for Camcorder Owners.

If your group might be interested in any of the above workshops or seminars, then contact me and let’s see if there is an economical way to have a workshop or seminar for your group.

Cheers, Barry

The built in meter in your camera is known as a reflective light metering system,
This means that the meter evaluates the elements that you are pointing the camera
at and tries to give you the correct exposure or iris setting when you shoot.

Now basically all reflective meters are trying to find middle gray. The principal
being that if we get middle gray or middle of the exposure scale right, then the
highlights and the shadows will fall where they should.

Let’s just imagine that the light meter in your camera could talk and you pointed
your camera (while The meter is on automatic mode) toward a subject that was
overall very bright with Lots of white highlights.

The meter would say…”Ooops! this subject is far too bright for middle gray so I had better close down the iris of the lens to let less light in.”, which means you under expose the subject.

If you did the same thing and pointed the camera at something with a lot of dark
tones in it then the meter would say… “Ooops! This subject is to dark, we had
better open up the iris”. In both cases you would wind up with the wrong exposure.

Now if the whole world was middle gray, you wouldn’t have any problems with this.

The entire above situation is why professional cinematographers and still photographers for that matter often use an incident light meter. This is the one with the little ping pong type ball on it that you often see being held in front of the actor’s face.

The principle here is that an incident meter measure the light falling on the subject without regard to whether It is black or white and there-bye can give a more accurate and consistent exposure reading from the master shot to the medium shot and to the close up shot when using a single camera.

I often demonstrate this principle in my cinematography class and turn the students on to getting far better exposure while using a video camera.

I do workshops on this kind of information. Call me if you would like me to put one on in your area.

Cheers, Barry

After many years in this business, it came to me that each of us is directing
the greatest epic of all time….”Our life”. And when you think about life
In this way it begs the questions… Will we win an academy award nomination
for our efforts or will our epic dreams go straight to video??

Think about this for a moment.

Are you in control of (your film? your life?)

How are things going on the set each day? In the film biz. we have to handle
numerous changes throughout the day due to actors who are sick, camera
problems, script problems, location problems, time problems, budget problems.
(sounds kinda like life doesn’t it)

How are you handling your production each day? Are you in control as the
director? Does your crew respect you? Is your first assistant director supporting
you? How are you handling your budget?

This brings up the question of makes a great director? When you look at films
like Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter, you recognize that these directors can
turn out a series of films that all look great and earn many dollars. So what is
their secret?

Great film directors often have great life experiences or at least have learned
The elemental truths about how to bring out the best in people who surround
you.

So?…as the director of your epic, how are you doing with your film, with your
crew. with your budget? Think about it!!

Back in the 1700’s I a man named Lord Kelvin found
out that objects vibrate at different colour temperatures.
Now for a moment forget the phrase “colour temperature”
and just think of the word colour.

What Kelvin found out that relates to film and video is
this…When the sun is rising it is a different colour than when
It is high in the sky. He gave a rating to this change in
colour that we call Kelvin degrees.

This applies very much to film and video in that the
colour of a shot you take at 8 a.m. will be different to the
colour of a shot you take at 1 p.m.

Here’s an example. The colour of direct sunlight at 8 a.m.
Is around 2000 degrees Kelvin, (very amber looking). The
colour of the light when the sun is high and we have a lot
of blue sky is around 6000 degrees Kelvin, (much bluer).

Your video camera does an auto white balance based on
the composition of what colours make up white light at a
given time. So if you’re shooting outside and white balance
in the early morning and don’t re white balance at 1 p.m.
then you will notice that when putting these two shots
together in editing there Is a major colour difference…
get it??

Always remember to re-white balance your camera around every
hour or so. This will help your colour a lot if you’re shooting all day long.

This is only part of what we have to deal with in the real
world of shooting film and video. There is a host of other
lighting sources that we also have to deal with including:
mercury vapour, sodium vapour, warm white fluorescents,
cool white fluorescents and other discharge lighting
instruments. We’ll save those for another time

The truth in advertising? Boy is this an oxymoron!

Ok, let’s look at the homorous side of things.

This is a bit of the topic but bear with me for a minute. From lot’s listening to commercials especially on TV, it seems to be that there a few big words that advertisers use to sell anything and everything. The words are:
*Just
*Only
*But wait
*Low Low
*Limited offer
*Have your credit card ready

JUST AND ONLY

Let’s look at (Just) & (Only) for a moment. When the advertised price is $19.95, you have to figure if that is good price or not? They don’t want you to think about this so they think for you, by sticking in (just or only). Now you’re convinced you can afford it because after all it’s just or only $19.95

BUT WAIT

Another big one is (but wait) They get you excited about the offer but just when you’ve got out your cheque book and about to write, The guy announces in a somewhat louder voice (BUT WAIT!!) startling you and causing you to knock over your cup and spill coffee all over your pants. This is called the up-sell.

LOW LOW.

A new one they are using now is (low, low). The phrase they used previously was; (for the low price of), but they found that it wasn’t low enough to get you to buy, so they introduced (for the low, low price of) I wonder what would happen if they introduced (the, low, low, low price of)? It’s got to cost less?

LIMITED OFFER

by the way this doesn’t mean that by waiting you might not get one. It simply means the advertiser has only so much money to keep the commercial running. It’s his limitation not yours.

OPERATORS ARE STANDING BY

What about (operators are standing by) Personally I have never seen an operator standing by and I’ve watched a number of telethons and channel 9 programs and they are never (standing) they are always sitting by. So why don’t they tell the truth, that operators are sitting by. The reason is that (sitting by) doesn’t really make you feel like they want your business but if they are leaning up against a wall… then they do?

HAVE YOUR CREDIT CARD READY

(Have your credit card ready)?? C’mon, nobody has their credit card ready. That’s why all those operators are standing by and seem to do more listening than talking. It’s because the person on the other end of the phone is off in the bedroom looking for their credit card number.

CHOICES IN EDITING

We could spend days on this subject but I will try to keep to the basics. When you get your video to the editing stage you have to have choices to make things work.

I don’t care what your subject is. Make sure you a have master or wide shot of things. Then go in for a more detailed look at things (medium shots) and follow this with close-up shots of more fine detail.

Always include reactions to the subject matter (people observing things etc.) When you get to editing you have to have your coverage (all the shots needed to make editing work)

Make sure there is at least a three times change in image size from the master to the Medium and to the close-ups.

If you’re going to zoom into the subject, zoom in first without the camera running, focus on the subject then pull back. Start the camera; hold on the wide shot for at least 5 seconds, zoom in slowly to the close-up and hold for another 5 seconds. Now if you don’t like the zoom or you screw it up for any reason, you can use the wide shot and then go directly to the close-up. Without using this technique you are stuck having to use the zoom. Like I said it’s all about having choices.

Cutting on action is an old established editing technique. If you have a wide shot of someone sitting, have them do the same action again in a medium or close shot. Now when you get to editing you can cut the shot on the action of sitting, which will carry the edit nicely and make the cut seem smooth.

You don’t want to bore your audience so make sure you have a variety of shots both, wide, medium and close.

Never assume that just because you can read whatever it is on the sign in the background that your audience can too. No no, always get an insert shot of what is on the sign. (An insert, is a close-up of some object so that the audience gets the point)

Contact me about coming to do a workshop in your area.

Cheers, Barry

Night for Night lighting

Had a couple of question on lighting lately, so here is something on night for night lighting. I am assuming here that some of you have at least a couple of small lighting units to work with.

The thing about night lighting is your frame basically will have more dark areas than light areas. Lighting a set for a dark mood does not mean an absence of light. It is a way of controlling the highlight and shadow areas and arranging these areas in a way that they still have a balanced composition.

Underexposing the image to give the feeling of darkness will just result in a noisy and muddy looking picture in video and a grainy image in film. You simply have to have enough exposure to pull out the detail in what you are shooting.

A very big clue to doing effective night lighting is to make very sure that you do not light from the front (at the camera position). This will destroy the mood and give your picture a very flat look.

Try to bring your light across the frame from the side and let the light beams bring out the edges of objects but keeping the front side dark.

You have seen this many times in motion pictures where a man walks into a dark warehouse and is lit only by some streaks of moonlight coming from a skylight. If you look carefully you will notice that the side closest to the camera is often very dark but the subject is rimmed or outlined by the moonlight making the scene look very real.

By the way, the blue light is simply accomplished by putting blue gel over a tungsten balanced light you light to give the effect that the light is coming from the moon. We have come to accept this in movies, though in real life you will notice the moonlight really isn’t blue but more of a chalky green/blue colour.

Points to remember:
Light from the sides not the front
Have more darkness in the frame than Lightness. Set up the areas of light and dark for a pleasing balance Don’t simply underexpose the whole image.

Try it out and let me know how it works for you.

Top this for the most embarrassing moment story.

Some years ago I was a rock n roll drummer and spent more than a year in England playing and touring with some famous rock n roll legends, namely: Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and The Original Drifters.

At one point I got tired of the on the road gigs and wanted a nice steady gig where I didn’t have to travel.

I saw an add for a drummer in a house band playing 5 nights a week in a large ballroom in Bristol. This is perfect for me, I thought. So I answered the add. After checking me out on the phone the band leader asked me to come down to Bristol and audition for gig.

Now most of the material being played by this group was big band stuff like Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, the forties dance tunes. I always liked these tunes and felt very confident to play them.

So now it’s my audition night and I’m watching the band consisting of
15 musicians, most with musical degrees and all reading music. Gulp!! I thought, I don’t read very well. Too late now I said to myself, but I am A good faker and I can pull this off.

After one of the breaks the band leader invites me up to sit in. To my left is a music stand with charts for each song. It might as well have been written in Chinese as for as I was concerned. So we go through several tunes and each time the band leader looks up to me, I quickly focus my attention on the chart and make like I am reading. Now you got to remember I had a good feel for the songs even though I couldn’t read music.

After the audition the band leader comes ups and shakes my hand telling me I did great. I do my best to blurt out that I don’t read very well, but he is just fine with everything and gives me the job. So I go back to London, grab my drums and move to Bristol.

Now it’s my first night on the job. We play a few tunes and each time the band leader looks up to me I once again focus my attention on the music and fake this reading stuff.

About half way through the evening me and the band are cooking along with this Benny Goodman tune and it comes to an end. So I rest my sticks on the snare Drum and start fidgeting with the music. Then the leader waves the band on and we play the tune again. We get to end of the tune and I turn To the bass player and ask “Hey Charlie, why did we play that last tune twice”? He looks at me with head bowed and says “We didn’t…there was a 16 bar drum solo in the middle”.

So for 16 bars every guy in the band is counting time and yours truly is fidgeting through the music oblivious to what is happening.

I got fired on that my first night. I could have died on the spot. I felt completely destroyed as a drummer and it took me weeks to talk myself back from this disaster. I did eventually learn to read music, never very well but enough to prevent moments like that from happening again. And the point of this story is?

“The greatest learning always comes
from our errors and mistakes, not
from our successes”