I just wanted to say a quick note on location noise. The rule is that background noise is okay if it’s a consistent level and you can see the source of the noise in the shot. So, for example, if you’re going to film a shot in a call centre and you will see people working in the call centre in the background, then call centre background noise is okay.
But if you can’t see the source of the noise, its really offputting and as a viewer you feel like you want to look around the corner of the screen to see where its coming from.
If the sound you’ve recorded is distorted, there’s really very little you can do about it so it’s vital that you are monitoring sound throughout your filming.
And sound is important in the edit too. If you have graphics or special effects, don’t forget to add sound effects.
As with all post production, this is time consuming but it makes a huge difference and brings your graphics to life. Here’s an example:
Well, ideally you can leave this to your video director and cameraman but you may be asked to find a filming location so here are a couple of pointers.
Never interview people up against a flat wall, even if it does have a poster on it.
There’s nothing more corporate than an interview in a meeting room with plain walls and a plant in the background.Avoid at all costs!
Even if it’s the CEO you’re filming, get them out into the call centre, outside, in the cafeteria, on the stairwell – anywhere other than a blank walled meeting room.
So what should you look for – well, the larger the filming location, the better.
The more depth behind a speaker, the more interest there will be in your shot.
If you’re on the shoot, look at the shot on the monitor.
If you see something in the background that looks messy or strange, move it. If you don’t, this is all you’ll ever see when you watch your video.
Your production team should be studying this and tweaking things and people as they go.
Whether you’re producing a presenter-led or interview based programme, you are going to need cutaways.
Cutaways are shots that you cut away to. If you need to remove a section of an interviewee’s answer, you need another shot to cover the edit point. Cutaways give you control over your message.
It’s rare that you’ll see a person talking on TV for long without a change of shot. Because we’re all used to this level of visual stimulation, it’s really hard to watch the same shot for more than a few seconds without starting to lose focus on what’s being said. It doesn’t matter how interested you are.
So if you want viewers to absorb your message, then you need to keep things moving. If your aim is to train or inform, it will really help the audience to see footage of the subject matter.
So as I’m sure you’ll agree, this is a very straightforward, conventional way of producing a programme.
There are a couple of points I want to make about cutaways though.
First of all, filming cutaways usually takes longer than it does to film the actual interview itself, so time needs to be allocated in the shooting schedule.
Secondly cutaways need to be planned.
If you only have a few hours with an interviewee, you’ll need to film quickly. This means that location permits, extras, stand ins and props all need to be organised beforehand.
Of course, you can’t plan shots to illustrate an interview unless you know what the interviewee will say. So, the director needs to speak to them prior to the shoot. This also helps to establish a rapport and gives the interviewee chance to voice any concerns they may have about the filming.
It may not always be possible to film shots of the subject matter. But this doesn’t mean that you can’t film cutaways. Here are some examples.
The Hong Kong Revealed project for HKTB, Cathay Pacific and Travel 2 wins the Silver Screen Award at the 2010 US International Film and Video Festival.
The campaign demonstrated a complete ‘Online Production’ to scoop the award, including a TV show, a competition website, a national search for 3 star presenters, videos on youtube, tweets from the shoot as it happened, blogging directly to the Travel Trade Gazzette, and a swanky launch at an exclusive West End cinema.
The 2010 US International Film and Video Festival attracted entries from 25 countries.
The client commented, ‘I would not hesitate to recommend this professional, organised and talented team to colleagues within the Travel Industry… the finished film is amazing!’
‘iceni were a pleasure to work with. The end result is spectacular.’
The U.S. International Film & Video Festival, which was founded in 1967, recognizes outstanding Corporate, Documentary, Educational, Entertainment and Student productions.
The bubbly flowed at the 2010 Direct Selling Association Awards.
The Event was hosted by Blue Peter’s Connie Huq looking very glamorous. We sponsored the Web and Electronic category, and met some of the business leaders from an exciting industry that’s worth over 20 billion euros across Europe, with over £1.2 billion of sales in the UK.
Congratulations to all the Nominees and winners, we’ll be publishing photos on www.dsa-conference.co.uk in the next few days.
Oh, and it’s a happy anniversary next week for the UK DSA as it celebrates its 45th year representing the industry.
Have you noticed Google’s search results increasingly include video, along with images and news articles?
With video appearing in natural search, now more than ever, creating content is absolutely the best possible way to attract more potential customers.
Search engine results are rapidly changing, there’s more and more web pages with more marketing messages competing for attention, and it’s the organisations that embrace online video marketing that will thrive.
Positioning your video content on your website, as well as posting it to social media sites like Twitter and YouTube is just the start.
Get in touch with us for a chat about how to turn YouTube video views into sales leads with targeted links and landing pages.
0845 680 99 10 – cathy@iceni.tv
We are delighted to announce that our films for Birmingham City Council and Kleeneze are shortlisted at the New York Film and Television Festival.
Entering these awards isn’t just to fill an empty wall at the office, or a trophy cabinet, we measure our work with the best in the business and entering top awards means the quality of our work stands up to peer review. The award schemes we choose are tough: you don’t even get a mention if you can’t show you’ve achieved real, measurable business results for customers.
Our film work has been included in the New York Fesitvals since we first entered in 2007, and we’re the only UK company outside London to have consistently taken home awards every year for the last 4 years. That’s something we’re very proud of.
The New York Festivals is one of the world’s largest international competitions dedicated to both the TV and film industries and showcases the “The World’s Best Work”. Now entering its 53rd year, and with entries from over 30 different countries it’s one of the most well known and widely respected competitions on the globe.
Our promotional film ‘The Adventure Starts Here’ has been short listed in the Corporate Productions / Internal Comms category. Shot by an Emmy award-winning crew, the film raises excitement, motivates sales teams and promotes Kleeneze’s 2010 Conference event in Cape Town.
‘Making a Difference for Children in Care’, a short film exploring the challenges looked after children face, and the agencies that are there to help them, is one of only three finalists from the UK in the ‘Instruction & Education’ category.
The results are announced in early April so we’re all keeping our fingers and toes crossed…watch this space.
Gareth and Zoe from iceni receive the Class Winner award
I am proud to announce we have won two awards at the 2009/10 Midlands Communicators in Business Awards.
Last year we were class winner in both the video and electronic media (web design) categories. This year we received an award of excellence and another class winer in the same categories.
Give your corporate video a makeover - high end digital grading is available on all projects. We use industry leading Avid High Definition post production equipment - it’s what they use to make most feature films.
It seems a lifetime ago when the iceni team were shooting in sunny Cyprus. I thought a clip from the highlights film we produced for Kleeneze would warm us up a bit on a cold February day.
The film was launched at Kleeneze’s New Year Conference at the ICC in Birmingham.
If you are planning a sales travel incentive, or a corporate event, and want a broadcast quality film to promote the event, call the team at iceni on 0845 680 99 10.
