Filming with Digital SLR cameras

admin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:33:29 +0000

One of the recent developments in the video production world has been the capacity of Digital Stills Cameras or Digital SLR’s like the Canon 7d to record stunning video as well do their day job of taking photographs.

Without going in to technical explanations that I dont understand, high end professional Digital SLR cameras, (and I am talking £800 for just the camera body and no lens) come with a full frame sensor which are the same size as the image area of 35mm film and as such can achieve high quality “film like” video acquisition for a fraction of the cost of an equivalent full frame sensor video camera.

The combination of this large sensor and being able to use interchangeable, lenses gives us control of how much of the image is in focus. The technical term for this is depth of field but use the images below to see how a shallow depth of field results in only a small area of the image to be in focus. This is nigh on impossible to achieve with a HD video camcorder of the same price range. They simply dont have the same size of sensor and you cant change the lens to something more suitable for the job.

This shallow depth of field is widely used to great effect in high end TV productions and in particular cinema films so that your eye is less easily distracted by irrelevant detail. Conversely it helps draw your attention to the important elements in the scene.

Next time you sit and watch the TV and / or a film, see how many times this is used to good effect.

Up until the last year or so this just wasn’t something you would see in budget conscious corporate video productions because the video cameras simply couldn’t achieve it. When vidoegraphers started to realise what full sensor stills cameras could achieve then things started to become more exciting and that is why we are telling you about it now.

Of course, it would be too good to be true. Well, actually it is true but it isn’t the full picture, if you will excuse the pun. At the end of the day the digital SLR is only a stills camera. It isn’t configured to act like a full video production camera so there are some important compromises we have to take in to consideration.

For a start, there is the issue of recording audio. For a lot of video productions audio is absolutely critical to get right, especially interviews, but this an area of real shortcomings with a stills camera like the Canon 7D. Sure it does do audio but it doesn’t do managed, professional audio. It has a small onboard microphone and a 1/8-inch microphone input which simply isnt good enough for professional interviews.

Sous Productions approach is to use an independent audio recording device. Either a dedicated audio recorder or possibly a 2nd video camera that handles professional audio and then sync the audio and video together at the edit stage. A bit of a faff but personally I think it’s worth it for the end results.

After audio we get down to what are mostly just inconveniences that we accept and find a way around. Remember, a digital stills camera is not a professional video camera and we shouldn’t expect it to perform entirely like one.

What we do get though is stunning video and that “film like” picture quality we long for. The results, if used in the right hands can add incredible video production values to what might otherwise look pretty unspectacular for that price bracket. The alternative is to invest in some very expensive video cameras that are not cost effective for a lot of the current swell in SME companies looking for an inexpensive video production.

My conclusion is that for a lot of jobs the Digital SLR is a very useful addition to the corporate video tool kit. You have to appreciate it’s limitations but must also sell it’s virtues. We love the results we can achieve for our clients and we would hope you love them too.

If you would like to know more about how we can incorporate the benefits of a camera like the Canon 7D Digital SLR in to your business video production then please get in touch.

As always, we look forward to being able to help you.

Product Testimonial – Behind The Scenes

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:03:35 +0000

Sous Productions were commissioned by The Rooflight Company to film a couple of interviews with Architect, Ian Hogarth and Architectural Designer, Charlie Luxton to explain why they chose to specify the conservation rooflight; neo for their respective projects.

The interviews were filmed at the two respective product locations. For Ian Hogarth, that was his Grand Designs featured home in West London. For Charlie Luxton we headed to a project site in Oxfordshire and getting there late afternoon, just as we started to lose light. respective projects.

Both Ian and Charlie were great to work with. Ian remained super cool while a fair amount of “events” were going on around him and Charlie is just a complete natural presenting to camera. Both did a fantastic job. Our client contact Lisa was with us through the day and again was fun and professional through the whole day.

The interviews were filmed on a Canon XF305. For lighting we used a couple of 12″ Rosco LitePads which were just perfect for providing some soft fill in light. The videos are now edited and placed pride of place on the client website. It was a really nice project to work on and we are really pleased with the results.

We wish The Rooflight Company every success with neo.

Here are a few images from the day:

Using motion graphics to add impact.

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 12:30:45 +0000

A great way to add impact to your video is to incorporate motion graphics or in fact add your video to motion graphics.

Make videos more dynamic with motion graphics

Using graphics, you can embed your video clips and images inside place-holders. The place-holder might for example be something like a screen or the side of a 3D cube.

The graphic can then be given a range of motions to make the video more dynamic. For example a 3D cube could rotate or spin. The screen could move around and hover in different locations.

In addition to the place-holder for the video or image, you could also have text on screen to highlight key information. Like the video place-holders the text can be animated to appear more dynamically.

See example below to get an idea of what can be achieved.

The cost of the motion graphics and animations will of course depend on your requirements. The example above is a template design meaning that once developed, it is much easier, quicker and less expensive to embed your video and text and produce the video. Costs for using templates can be anything between £187 to £500 depending on their complexity and changes required.

Not all motion graphic templates will suit your needs in which case we can tailor make them for your video.

Client Video Production – Behind the scenes

admin — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:27:14 +0000

Sous Productions in action

Sous Productions were commissioned by IT server relocation firm, Sunspeed; to produce a corporate video to show the quality of their services, especially the care and attention taken in the de-install and transportation of PC’s and servers.

The challenge was we could not film the de-install within a real working server room. Far too risky. Instead we had to film using a single server rack located on the 1st floor of a warehouse (that didn’t look anything like a server room). This was going to be interesting.

Clearly we could not show it was a warehouse so we would have to keep all the interior shots very close crop. This was going to be all about showing the detail. Was it possible, with a bit of careful lighting to turn a warehouse in to a high tech server room?

Here are a few images taken behind the scenes and mixed in are some screen grabs taken from the video we shot.

This business video is initially to be used on an exhibition stand to help grab attention of visitors and also to help provide a visual presentation of the Sunspeed services. This will also become an online video being embedded within their website.

Conference Video Filming

admin — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 08:13:18 +0000

Sous Productions really enjoyed filming a conference for Albany Software at the Microsoft offices in Victoria, London (despite the 5am start to the day)! My crew Andy and Michael of course did a fantastic job and event seemed to go extremely well for the client.

Albany put on a good show and they were great fun to work with too. Georgia definitely knows her stuff and set an excellent tempo, Becky made it all happen and Peter did a sterling job helping us with interviews.

Have to say how impressed I was by the customer service provided by the wonderful girls on the reception desk in the Microsoft conference centre in Victoria. They definitely made our job a whole lot easier by hastily organising parking etc for us.

We delivered a 3 Camera shoot designed to cover all the presentations in full as well as all the coming and goings at break-time and lunch. I think we got through something like 15 or more vox pop interviews during the breaks to gather some opinions on the event and of the products.

Now got to get on with the editing.

Simple tips to enhance client testimonial video

admin — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:11:59 +0000

Video testimonials are very popular at the moment and for good reason. They are a great way to show your prospects why you are a good firm to do business with.

Matt Hopper recording a voice-over

A video of your clients saying good things about you is extremely compelling and a great way to convert prospects to customers.

When budget is tight then companies tend to keep the video to just the clients talking. While they do still work they can come over as a bit flat and lacking in interest.

Here are a few things you can do to enhance your client referral video:

Add in images or video of your company or your products to add context to what is being said by your clients.
Consider adding in some comment from you the business leader or some of your staff. It’s OK to include yourself in the video as long as it isnt just you.
Add in a low background music track (royalty free) to add some interest and tempo to the video.
Use a professional voice-over to fill in some key marketing messages and provide the video with some story and structure. It doesnt need to be very much voice-over. Just enough to add some interest and story line.

Obtaining a quote for a video production

sousproductions — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:56:35 +0000

We are often asked for quotes on a video but given very little information to base the costs on. Rather than come out with the old “how long is a piece of string” response we thought it might help to provide some insight in to how costing a video needs to be approached.

A production company need to work out what crew to use, what equipment we will need and how long it will take to film and edit everything. There is no single way of doing things.

To get the best and most accurate costs you are best to put together a brief which the production company can work to. Not sure what you want in your video?

The following list is some of the elements that might impact on the cost of a video if they were to be included. Providing the answers to these questions will help you build your brief.

What are the main elements to be filmed?
Will you need Graphic animations (maybe to show an internal mechanism)?
Is there to be a voice over used to narrate the main story of the video?
Can all the video be shot in one location on same day?
How many things to be filmed at the same time?
Describe what will need to be filmed. Some things like presentations are best filmed from two different cameras.
Will you want music added to the video. At the beginning and end or all the way through?
Do you need text to be placed on-screen to explain or annotate things in the video?
How long is the video likely to last?
If the content is interviews, how many interviews will there be?
Is the filming to be done indoors or outdoors?

Hopefully by now you are starting to get a feel for what is involved. Just as placing air conditioning on the spec of your car will add to the quality of your journey’s adding a Jib to your production will add to the quality of the final production. They will both add to the cost. Whether they make it in to the final product probably comes down to available budget and how important they are to you.

Increase sales with Video

sousproductions — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 11:06:16 +0000

Original article by Penny Schneck http://bit.ly/nUT594

Ecommerce video has grown in the past year, with 73% of US retail sites now using video according to eMarketer. Still, video remains relative underutilized in our industry with only a handful of videos on some sites and many of these videos hidden deep in the website.

There are a lot of good reasons to feature product videos on your website as well as the multitude of social media sites now available. First, video is interactive. It will keep customers on your site longer; lower the number of abandoned shopping carts; reduce return rates; generate higher sales; and enhance the customer’s experience of your brand. Video is more personal and can help build trust with your customers. It also can bring your product and brand to life in ways unattainable through text and photographs. You can use video to showcase new products; demonstrate special features; instruct customers on how to use or put a product together; bring testimonials to life; and bring new life to the traditional “lifestyle” product images.

Today, there are even more ways to leverage your investment in video. In addition to giving copies of your video to sales representatives and customers, post your videos on Facebook, YouTube, Twitvid and any other appropriate site available to you such as local business chambers and affiliate sites. You’ll reach new audiences, build your brand, and drive traffic back to you site. We can even post your video right here in the video gallery of this website!

Another great way to leverage videos is with QR tags. Use a QR tag in your print ad, direct mail or even point-of-purchase displays. Link the tag to a video and you’ve now launched your first mobile marketing program!

Incorporate snippets from your videos into web display ads. Video can be used in a pre-roll commercial (15-30 seconds) that runs prior to news videos; sponsorship of special news segments; and in-ad videos. In-ad videos can have nearly triple the click through rate of standard ads. A good combination buy is a video with a standard banner ad running next to the video to optimize click through rates.

Here are some tips for getting the most out of your videos:
• Be sure to tag the videos so search engines find them. Video search engine optimization (VSEO) works like regular SEO. Promote your online video using back links from other reputable websites. Optimize the search terms and tags connected to your video and post links on social media websites. For some great tips on how to optimize your video, visit Reel SEO at http://www.reelseo.com/seo-for-video/
• Feature a link to your videos right on the home page of your website.
• Make sure there is a call to action in the video as well as clearly visible on the landing page where you video is posted. Don’t put your call to action at the very end of the video as many viewers will not watch the complete video.
• Keep your videos short with a focus on a few key points. If necessary, produce a series of short videos to get your whole story out.
• Be sure to storyboard and script your video before the camera roles! Even if you don’t follow a script word-for-word, storyboard and script will not only save you time and money in production, but also ensure your message is clear and impactful.

Amazing 1 take steadycam video

sousproductions — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:28:49 +0000

Want to know what can be achieved with a camera mounted on a steadycam?

Check this out. All filmed in 1 continuous take which makes it quite amazing. It is difficult to describe the full complexity of this but even in this image I have shown here, behind the camera operator is a whole team of production crew involved all of whom have to remain out of shot and do their job correctly.

The choreography of all the people involved in the film including all the young students and teachers in the film is absolutley spot on and interwoven through the film is this sole camera that floates effortlessly through the action.

And then there is the main character of the film. A young man who delivers his role without a glitch.

A perfect bit of film.

Amazing 1 shot steadicam video

Vimeo PRO video-hosting

sousproductions — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 19:14:44 +0000

If you are a company looking to host your business video within a professional environment that can be branded to your business and doesnt have advertising surrounding your content then this service is worth a look.

Vimeo PRO is video-hosting done right. Built for business and commercial-use with powerful tools that are easy to use. And best of all, it’s insanely affordable.

Vimeo Pro