When the camera moves and takes us with it - even in a corporate video - it's thrilling. And, each type of camera movement carries its own meaning in film language. Understanding the code can help you tell your story. https://vimeo.com/857296633?share=copyEdited by: Liz Soolkin Filmed by: Ted King
As we discuss in the episode, a few key upgrades can make a huge difference in capture quality. 1. Platform Conducting your video capture on a platform other than Zoom offers a lot of advantages. While Zoom is ubiquitous, it was not designed for high quality video capture. Some of the podcasting platforms offer much more control over the process. We like Riverside FM. for its array of pro features including: High bandwidth recordings stored locally on the interviewer’s computer Lossless and separate high quality audio The ability to use your IOS or Android cell phone as a capture camera , greatly increasing your production quality. You may…
We were just working on a new episode of #corproate film school about Talking Head shots when this very momentous talking head shot was broadcast. Some notes on the King’s inaugural address: https://vimeo.com/749251403 Want more tips on making corporate videos? Sign up for the Corporate Film School newsletter!
George Martin: “Location isn’t really a main problem at the moment” Paul McCartney: “Breathing is, actually.” Sure, Get Back is amazing on many levels but, setting-wise, you’re stuck in one big and then one small plain room for most of the 8 hours of the hit new doc series - (Peter Jackson’s [Lord of the Rings] re-cutting of the Beatles footage that was shot for Let It Be [1970, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg]. So, it’s ironic that discussion of setting turns out to be one of the major narrative threads (perhaps eclipsing even whether and how to keep George in the band) of the documentary. It’s a great opportunity for us, interested in…
How do you find, hire and develop creative talent for an in-house corporate video department? How do you appeal to really smart, creative people when the job is within a corporate environment (not typically assumed to be creatively stimulating)? And how do you keep them motivated and sharp? As sophisticated and creative video production increasingly becomes a capability that more companies want to have in-house, the challenge of managing creative talent within a corporate environment is on the minds of many of our clients. How do you appeal to really smart, creative people when the job is within a corporation (not typically assumed to…
Very few projects have been as eye-opening and surprising as this video we produced for the Workforce Initiative of the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) about what it’s like to be a Juvenile Counselor in one of the City’s two juvenile detention facilities. As a kid in New York, you definitely want to avoid “juvie” but the staff we met were really inspiring; truly focused on giving kids whose lives are in turmoil the support and encouragement they need to get the chance to turn things around. We’re grateful to our production partners at City University of New York for the opportunity to tell these…
With LA design firm SLAQR we produced this spot for Burlington and WEtv that helps young people make responsible choices about fall outerware. Added to Children and Animals as things to beware of on a shoot, we would add Trampolines, especially in combination with fashion footwear.
Today, even low-budget filmmakers have access to extraordinarily high production values. In addition to crazy levels of high resolution image capture, previously exorbitant devices like Steadicams (copies), jib-arms and sliders have been made relatively affordable, portable and are now standard equipment in many shooters’ arsenals. LED technology has transformed lighting; now a handful of small, lightweight and energy-sipping LED panels often replace crates of bulky, hot and heavy filament units. Drones that cost less than a crew dinner now shoot spectacular aerial footage that couldn’t be matched by a helicopter-mounted camera even if you could afford it. Super! Awesome. (as King George snarks about American…
People often ask us, is it true that police once raided a nightclub where the video feed from the StarBox was being projected live over the dance floor and causing what a sober person might call a riot? Unfortunately, we're still not at liberty to discuss that night (although the resulting NY POST cover is framed in one of our edit rooms) but I’m happy to describe how the StarBox - the personal, portable television studio-in-a-can that we invented - generates amazing content. People do and say things in the anonymous, soundproofed, brightly-lit isolation of the StarBox that they simply would not otherwise. And that’s…
One of many favorite moments from Cucaracha Theater Company shows a long time ago in a Tribeca that no longer exists was a monologue by Todd Alcott in which he tells a story about falling asleep while driving cross-country. He talks about the struggle to keep awake and how, when his eyes close, going 70 miles an hour down a two-lane highway, he begins to have “the most marvelous dream”. The whimsical details of the dream, languidly drawn out in Todd’s retelling, become increasingly excruciating to hear, of course, because of the urgency (to put it mildly) of the context of the dream. I’ve never…