January 15, 2005

2:39 PM

How to make professional videos for a software company on a budget...(more inside)
posted by pandaharma to (8 comments total)

So I've started a small educational software company which has reached the point where we have to start some filming. Our budget is very limited and all of the current funds have already been spent on the writers, the designers, and the elements needed to make a 10x10 booth work in my field's chief professional conference.

I get to be the jack of all trades, handling project management, software dev, and now video. We've hired a local child actor to do a series of talking head introductions and a few walking-through-the-school scenes to our material. We're going to be filming this in a local school and fortunately I already own a Sony camcorder which was top of the line 3-4 years ago.

So my question is how to make this look more or less professional with my experience mainly spent in much more casual videos, usually taken on my hikes. I've found a website for making my own 8' mike boom; I have iMovie and have access to Final Cut Pro, if needed. I don't have any solutions for lighting. I'm hoping the flourescent at the school is good enough and that the video editor can correct the rest.

So has anyone else out there been in my situation? Any tips or hints when using this minimal level of equipment? Anything I've forgotten which would make a huge improvement?
posted by pandaharma at 2:48 PM on January 15, 2005

You probably aren't going to want to work with flourescent light. Your actors will end up with very deep shadows underneath their eyes.

Keep in mind that there are generally places you can rent equipment from at very low prices in your area. Check with the local photo supply place. You might be able to rent an am/pro (Professional Amateur) Mini DV camera like a Canon X2 (or whatever their current model is.) You can also rent good lighting from them. Your total bill for a few hours of filming could be as low as a couple hundred dollars.
posted by SpecialK at 3:04 PM on January 15, 2005

If you're going to be using rented lighting along with the fluorescents, be aware of color temperature differences. You'd probably need to put color-correcting gels on the [rented] lights to match the fluorescents, so your camera can properly do the white balance.
posted by neckro23 at 3:58 PM on January 15, 2005

The key is to understand how to do these things economically.

The problem will be is you'll be giving yourself an education and the first 10 or so will suck.

My best suggestion? Hire someone, and learn from them. Go out to Home Depot and buy some lights. Makeup. Write the script.

Use a wireless lav rather than a boom. Go out and "fake" shoot a day around the kids so they aren't freaked. Bonus, they'll begin to ignore you.

Don't zoom. Move closer. Shoot on a tripod if possible.

Really? Hire someone to shoot. What a difference it'll make.
posted by filmgeek at 11:00 PM on January 15, 2005

You could go gritty and shoot b/w to eliminate your white balance conflicts :).

All jokes aside, the flourescent vs. incandescent battle is a big problem. Be mindful of your photons.
posted by basicchannel at 1:57 AM on January 16, 2005

I agree with filmgeek that if you haven't done anything before it really would be best to hire someone, or your company might come across looking unprofessional. If you really can't afford to hire someone I'd recommend you shoot and edit and the entire project as a dry run with a friend playing the kids parts before doing it for real. You will learn a ton about what works and what doesn't work, especially when you sit down to edit your material. If you have a friend who is into photography, perhaps you could get them along to help compose shots.

In general - keep it simple, keep the camera still (use a tripod), don't zoom, record clear, clean sound at decent levels (and make sure you don't over-record the level), don't mix light sources (if there is nothing you can do about the flourescents it should be acceptable so long as you set the white balance correctly - again, do a test, and if you're not happy consider moving the scene somewhere else). If you want to do walking shots, practice a lot - try different ways of holding the camera to get the shot as stable as possible and watch the results to see what works best for you, then practice some more. and don't use any crazy transitions they give you in your editing software.
posted by gravelshoes at 3:07 AM on January 16, 2005

Thanks for the advice.

I've been looking most of the evening looking at DIY lighting solutions, including going the Home Depot route. Seems doable but a bit frightening.

I still think I could probably pull this off on my own but I'm going to call around on Monday to see if a pro is affordable. The demo is going out soon so its probably a worthwhile investment in order to shore up the first impression, etc.
posted by pandaharma at 3:49 AM on January 16, 2005

If you have a university in your area you might find a film or video student or two who'd be willing to help on this just for resume points. Ask the department head to reccommend someone with relevant skills. Anyone who's been in such a program for a couple of years should have some knowledge of sound & lighting issues
posted by Tubes at 1:03 PM on January 16, 2005