Video Production: Finding the Right Production Company

You know what you want, but
where do you find it? The hunt
for a great production
company requires not only
knowledge of where to look,
but also careful consideration once you find some options.

Disregard your phonebook
and go straight to the Internet.
Through the continuing
growth of online resources,
you might be able to conduct
your entire search at a desk. All reputable production
companies have websites with
easily accessible information
and demo material on them.

Reputation is an important
track to follow. A first-hand
client testimonial can tell you a
lot about general rapport,
professionalism, the overall
process, and the final outcome. You may discover that a famed
production company really
does not provide the quality of
a smaller, lesser known one.

While personal referrals are
often the most helpful, keep in
mind how knowledgeable
your source is. Use the
opportunity to inquire about
the experience and view some of the final products. If any
element of a video sample
appeals to you, find out the
origins behind it. The
animation might be unusually
impressive, the soundtrack undeniably gripping or the
editing seamlessly suspenseful,
so ask for names.

Has the production company
been recognized and acclaimed
by fellow filmmakers?
Websites usually devote a
space to brandish any honors.
Regional and national awards showcase superior work.
Prominent competitions
include the Emmys, The
Accolades, The Videographer
awards, the New York
Festivals, the International Film and Video Festivals and the
Telly Awards. While all awards
are noteworthy, some signify
more than others. Be aware of
how each award is
determined. For example, an Emmy honors work that
excels beyond all other
competition, while a Telly is
awarded to any work that
meets set standards.

Making Your Video Dollars Work Harder

So, you're thinking about
doing a video. Maybe you have
a trade show coming up, or
you need a new marketing
piece for an upcoming product.
A video sounds like a good idea, but you're just not sure it
will be worth the cost,
especially if you only have one
event to use it. Can you justify
the purchase? What about the
time you'll spend on it? Is there a way to make it last?
Can you stretch those dollars a
little further? Yes. Here's how...

With a little careful planning,
the work that goes into
creating one video can be
stretched to cover multiple
uses, and even several videos.
Say you need a marketing video, and also one for
training... would you have to
do two complete productions,
costing you an arm and a leg?
Not necessarily. It's simple:
shoot it once, use it over and over again. Get all the b-roll
possible in every location you
visit, keeping it in your footage
library for future use. After all,
if you already have the video
crew out and gathering footage, why not get a little
extra? You may not need it yet,
but it will come in handy when
you have that last-minute
tradeshow or CEO
presentation! The cost of video production decreases
exponentially when you
already have plenty of footage
to work with, so taking care to
cover all the visuals possible
will serve you well, both during the initial production
and beyond. Even if you just
need to do an update to an
existing video, freshening it up
with some different footage
can make a huge difference, without the huge price tag.

Another way to keep your
video production cost-efficient
is a simple marketing concept:
branding. Every company or
organization should have a
good branding strategy, with at least a solid base of a logo,
colors, and mission. Visual
consistency among your
products goes a long way,
both in video and in any other
sort of media. Maintaining a cohesive look and feel among
your productions allows for
quicker recall of the brand for
the viewer, which is always
beneficial for spreading your
message. It's also great for cost; a consistent graphic look
minimizes the time spent by a
graphic artist, and a clear
understanding of the
company's brand allows
producers and editors to spend less time trying to decipher the
company and how to convey
their message. Less time spent
equals less money spent!
Branding is good all around for
your company, and can save you some serious cash.

Stereoscopic 3D: Back and Here to Stay?

The 3D boom is here, and it
looks like it's here to stay. Are
you one of the many people
who have watched a 3D
program and thought about
how you could put it to work for your business? It may
seem too expensive and
complex for anyone but a
Hollywood film studio, but in
reality, 3D can be a cost-
effective solution for capturing a great number of eyes for
your product or your
company. In addition, recent
industry testing has shown
that using 3D video for training
can increase retention by close to 30%. Those who work in the
training field know that is not
a small increase.

When talking about 3D for
business purposes, the key
point to remember is that you
must control the viewing
experience. When we say
"control the viewing experience" we mean that you
must provide your viewer
with a 3D monitor and the 3D
glasses. You can't simply make
a 3D video and send it out,
hoping that your audience will have a 3D television. This
requirement will, of course,
limit the usage for 3D in
business applications for the
short term, but those that can
take advantage will see a huge benefit to using 3D video.
Recent advances in 3D
technology indicate that
"glasses-free" or auto-
stereoscopic viewing is right
around the corner. However, even without the glasses, you
will still need to provide your
viewer with a 3D monitor.

Keeping in mind that we need
to control the viewing
experience, what sort of
businesses can take advantage
of 3D video? One big place with
potential is at tradeshows. If you are running and
promoting a 3D video in your
booth, you are guaranteed to
see a huge increase in traffic.
After all, 3D is interesting and
people want to watch it. Timeshare sales or resorts
could also benefit by using 3D
tours of the properties they are
representing. Like all
technology, 3D is moving
pretty fast, and delivery/ viewing options, and therefore
applications, are increasing
almost every day.

Film School: The Production Designer

One of the most important
roles in any film school
education is that of the
production designer. You may
think it's an easy task, but it's
more than just what it says. In some ways it's more of a
supervisory position where
you have several people
working under you. However,
all of them contribute to the
overall look of whatever film is being made.

The production designer's
responsibility is that of
maintaining the look of a film.
By working closely with the
director and the director of
photography, they are able to keep the visual style of the film
in check over the course of the
production.

The production designer
works with other key
members of a production such
as the costume designer, to
ensure that the fashion sense
meshes with the feel of the film. Say you're making a film
set in the 1950s and for some
reason someone is wearing
clothing for the 1970s; this can
clearly be a problem as you
want to keep track of these types of issues. The same also
goes for props and furniture,
especially if it's a period piece
that's being made; you always
want everything to be from
the same time frame. You wouldn't want a film set in the
1940s to have characters using
cell phones, would you?

These types of things revolve
around the photography, the
costumes and many times, in
science fiction for example, the
special effects. Look at the film
Blade Runner for example and its resemblance to the classic
film noir style fused with a
post-apocalyptic ambiance.
Imagine how the overall look
of the film would be drastically
altered if sunny exteriors were suddenly incorporated into the
film? It would sort of throw
the whole vibe of the film off
kilter, which is why the
production designer is such a
crucial element to any film production.

The Naked Truth About Errors and Omissions Insurance in the World of Indie Film Distribution

Errors and Omissions
Insurance (E & O Insurance) is
something every movie
producer needs if they want to
sign a movie distribution deal.

I'm not an entertainment
attorney or insurance
salesperson, but Errors and
Omissions Insurance protects
you and the movie distributor
you sign a deal with from different lawsuits common in
the entertainment business.

These include allegations of
breach of contract, copyright
infringement, defamation or
degrading of products
(showing trademarks on
camera), invasion of privacy, infringement on title, slogan
and lots of other nasty legal
salvos.

These include allegations of
breach of contract, copyright
infringement, defamation or
degrading of products
(showing trademarks on
camera), invasion of privacy, infringement on title, slogan
and lots of other nasty legal
salvos.

It's an insurance policy that
protects a movie producer and
movie distributor's ass in the
course of doing business in the
entertainment industry.

But if you want to sell your
show to a movie distributor
you'll have to learn what it's all
about at some point.

The Production Schedule

Part of any film school
education involves how to set
up a production schedule. The
production schedule is an
overall breakdown of how a
film's production budget is used through the making of a
film.

This involves various elements
such as special effects,
costumes, props, make up and
music. It may be hard to
establish how much you plan
to spend on each element at first, but think of it in terms of
how you plan the budget for
your household. You spend a
certain amount of money on
bills and entertainment, with
other funds going to clothes and food shopping. In many
ways setting up a production
schedule is very similar, yet the
amount of funding you have
will greatly vary depending on
the kind of production you're involved in.

When I was a student in film
school, I gave myself a budget
of $4000 for a very short film
that wasn't as involved as say
a major motion picture. I put
some money aside for actors, basically paying for their
transportation costs, yet other
funding went to supplying
food, film, lighting as well as
props.

Keep in mind that this was a
fifteen minute short film, yet
you have to keep in mind that
in something along these lines
you'll probably have to rent
your equipment unless you already own it and the film is
rather costly as well.

Shooting in video will also
save you a substantial sum as
you only need the camera, yet
you should budget these items
accordingly, depending in the
type of camera you want to use. A good hi-def digital video
camera will cost you several
thousand dollars, yet renting
one is usually much less
expensive. I made the mistake
of using 16mm film for this particular project, so
purchasing the stock and
developing costs put me over
budget in the end.

How to Set Up an Amateur Movie Set

Keen on making your own
movie? Depending on how
professional you want your
project to be, there are a fair
few factors to consider before
pressing the record button on your camera. That's if you
even have a camera of your
own! From organising a film
crew to setting up all the
necessary equipment even a
small scale amateur production can take a long time to
produce. This article aims to
ease the process of organising
all things related to the film set.
It won't touch upon pre-
production, sourcing funding, casting actors, filming, editing
and post-production.

Though small scale amateur
movies can be made by one
person, if you're aiming for a
production with somewhat
professional camera work and
sound it's best to have a reliable team on board,
including a director, at least
one camera man, a boom
operator and lighting
technician or gaffer. Some
films might require additional forces like a make-up and hair
team, and costume designer.
But for small scale productions
you might be able to get away
with combining these roles.

Before starting work on the
actual production make sure
everyone knows each other
and is familiar with their exact
role on set. You should indulge
in some team building and brainstorming prior to filming.
If you take responsibility for
the project make sure you
establish authority within the
group from the start but don't
make the atmosphere overly formal.

First of all, your location needs
to be publicly available or
approved by the proprietor or
landowner. You then need to
make sure it's safe and doesn't
pose any health and safety risks to you and your crew.
This should be checked and
double checked by performing
thorough assessments.
Consider factors like the
weather and whether there is anywhere to hide from the
rain or sun. You also need to
ensure the provision of
restroom facilities and on-site
refreshments so people don't
get dehydrated or hungry.

The World of Movie Distribution Is a Tough Place

The world of movie
distribution is a tough place.
After fighting and sweating to
finish a movie you're mentally
and physically exhausted.

You just want to take a break
and rest, but you can't because
finishing a movie is only half
the battle. It's time to enter the
world of movie distribution.

Movie distribution is a tough
place for filmmakers new to
the grind. It's hard to switch
off the creative mind to deal
with the business side of
selling movies.

What I've learned the hard
way is the movie distribution
really starts with promoting
and marketing a movie.

It's cool to go the film festival
route to get your movie seen
by viewers and potential film
buyers, but over the years
from talking to other
filmmakers there is a common feeling that the film festival
scene is too crowded now.

U.K. filmmaker Wayne Daniells
from LiarDice Films told me his
last trip to The Cannes
International Film Festival was
a ruthless feeding frenzy.

Corporate Video Becoming a Must-Have Tool for Businesses

More and more companies,
large and small, are looking to
video production services to
communicate both internally
and externally. The use of
video is certainly not a new concept, although the
increased versatility is making
it a stronger choice for many
business owners and CEOs.
New technology, including
more compact equipment, makes professional video
production a more reasonable
choice for a wider range of
businesses.

The marketing powers of the
internet are endless. Smart
business owners have or are
beginning to look into video
production services to connect
with customers online. Many internet users prefer to watch
a short video to learn about a
company or their products and
services rather than hunt for
the answer they are looking
for in subpages. Videos are also a great way to demonstrate
new products or introduce
new employees to a large
number of people online.

Training of new employees
and the professional
development of current staff is
one of the single most
important aspects of a
business. Human resources are often the largest expense that a
business will incur, and one
that is responsible for the
smooth day to day operation
of the business. Corporate
training videos are an excellent tool for keeping employees
involved in the training
process. Training manuals are
often dry reading and can be
glossed over by even the most
interested readers. Training videos activate a different kind
of engagement that is more
likely to hold the focus of an
employee and convey the
message more effectively by
using visual and audio instructions.

Scenic Road Film Locations In South Africa

Scenic roads suitable for film
locations can be hard to find.
That perfect stretch of road
curving into the distance is
often marred by ugly
buildings, or perhaps it's just right but local authorities
aren't prepared to close it to
traffic for the time needed for
filming.

South Africa is a favourite
destination for productions
making car commercials,
precisely because it has such a
wide variety of wide open
spaces, and roads of all types. Wide freeways, winding small
local roads, dust roads in
assorted colours from red to
grey to gold or white,
mountain roads, coast roads,
farm roads and roads through wilderness. Here are just a few
of the car commercial
industry's favourite scenic
roads to film on, all of them
within a very easy distance of
Cape Town.

Chapman's Peak Drive
This dramatic road winds
along the shoulders of the Cape
Peninsula from Hout Bay to
Noordhoek. Steep mountain
slopes plunge down into the ocean and the road hairpins
through pristine vegetation
against the blue backdrop of
the ocean. Its beautiful setting
and hair-raising twists and
turns make it a popular location for filming both in
commercials and movies. As a
toll road that is regularly
closed for maintenance or
during bad weather
conditions, it is quite straightforward to close the
road temporarily for filming.

Philadelphia Farmlands
The rolling wheat fields of the
Swartland just north of Cape
Town are frequently chosen
for car commercials. The road
winds, rises and dips through expansive emerald green fields
in winter and early spring,
followed by gold in summer
with the horizon defined by a
long line of mountains
receding into the distance. A network of minor provincial
roads criss-crosses this
farmland, where traffic isn't
heavy and can be stopped as
necessary during filming.

Avenues
Whether it is the endless
avenues of towering blue gum
trees lining some of the old
roads north of Cape Town, or
picturesque avenues of ancient oaks leading up to the great
wine estates, in the Cape
Winelands there is plenty of
choice if dappled shade and
serried ranks of tree trunks are
on the location brief.