Category: Corporate Film School

It turns out that where we can shoot video is the aspect of production perhaps most disrupted by the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 Pandemic quarantine. And, with most communication - both business and personal - happening through video - almost exclusively shot at home - the focus on setting has been, well, kind of hilarious. The fact is that, while there may not be a Twitter account dedicated to it (but you should check) we consciously or unconsciously scrutinize every setting in every video we watch. Setting is a major element of film language and it delivers - like it or not - significant…

IMHO we spend too much time and resources on making images look good and not enough on what we’re trying to communicate. In other words, on style versus content. That’s not to say that style and image quality aren’t important. In fact, image quality or, more broadly - to include lighting, sound and setting - production values, make the first impression on the audience and set expectations for the content they frame. And, often, the content of the communication demands the highest possible level of production values. But not always. And it’s important to understand how an automatic application of highly polished production values can…

When the pandemic suddenly stopped business as usual, we took a new look at our almost twenty years of making films and videos under the Pickerel Pie banner.  One thing we became aware of, over that time, working with dozens of clients on hundreds of projects, is that our clients would benefit from a better understanding of the language and grammar of film.  First, because the language of visual communication is fascinating and constantly evolving but also because, we think it would help the process of making great video if we all spoke the same language.   This series, somewhat cheekily titled, Corporate Film School (where else…