Professional Practice: All Pre Production

Pre Production

Below is the brief, that I was given upon being successful, with the commission. This is where I was considered their "videographer".  

After being given the brief, I was able to fully understand what was required from me. The next step was for me to visit the location, take pictures and carry out a location recce. With those pictures I will start to create a detailed shot list and shooting plan. Since this video will not include any interviews or real people, I now know that I do not need any scripts of any kind and should merely focus on the location/ visual aspects for the video. 

The Location Visit and Location Recce

On this day I was greeted by the client and then escorted around the facility that I would be shooting at. As we walked around, I knew it would be necessary to take pictures for future reference and allow myself the right tools to visualise and plan the shoot. The walk through was very helpful because I was able to learn a lot about the the company as well as being able to sus out the pros and cons of the different sections. Below are the images that I took; 

Pros: 

• Great depth of field
• great well lit room, will not require extra lighting

Cons:

• Very tight space, if using track and dolly, it will be difficult to have full range of motion
• Doesn't look very tidy on one side with all the fire extinguishers etc, would need to focus on the right side (the racks)

Pros

• Extremely well lit, great ceiling light design. Could create interesting GVs
• Great depth of field shots or contra zoom could be created here, can really extenuate the look of the racks
• Has very interesting sliding doors that can allow great opening effect 

Cons:

• Tight space, can only use the track one way in this room 

Pros:

• Lots of small intricate spaces, can create good range of close up GVs
• There is a room that is identical to this, client wants to somehow match them up to show the before and after
• Very well lit, will not need extra lighting

Cons

• -

Pros;

• Can make great use of the track and Dolly to really extenuate the many rooms
• great line of symmetry, can create neat and balanced shots
• has different rooms with different labels, can get close ups of them to show variety
• Well lit, requires no additional lighting 

Cons:

• Doors close very slowly, would need to time the shots properly and would require an extra hand to open them (security sealed)
• 
  

Pros:

• has intricate buttons and security systems inside the cages, can create great close ups
• can create a focus pull with the handles

Cons

• No room to use the track and dolly

Pros:

• Lots of interesting shapes and apparatus to create a range of GVs
• Interesting lighting (dim and well lit at the same time)
• Lots of room to utilise the track and dolly

Cons:

• It is a developing part of the building and may possibly have builders working on the day of shooting. I would need to be quite efficient and shoot quite quick

Pros:

• Features a high security door mechanism, can utilise this feature to heighten the high security 
• very well lit, will require no additional lighting.

Cons:

• The door mechanism is quite slow, would need to somehow make the process seem faster
• This area may be busy whilst shooting, would need to film whilst no company is actually making use of this system 

Whilst creating this document I realised how important it is to view the location you will be shooting at. It is good to be as prepared as possible so you don't have any surprises on the day of shooting.

Promotional video research

Before creating the shot list, I thought it would be a good idea to familiarise myself with other promotional videos to see what styles they have used. 

I came across this Manchester University Video;

• What I loved about this video was the smoothness of it. The ability to give static objects a bit of motion by smoothly moving the camera. This is something I will need to think about for my promotional video. Since it won't feature people but mostly rooms and objects that don't move, I am quite limited on how interesting I can make it. I already know that I will need to add some sort of on screen graphic or voice over to carry the images along. 
• Another thing I liked about this video was the obvious unified colour that the was carried through out. The stylistic feel is kept consistent and gives the overall video a nostalgic feeling. It showed me you can further highlight a brand by colour correction

Another video I came across was this one for a luxury hotel and spa;

• This video is of very high quality and it is clear to see that they would've had a big budget. Especially with the drone shots. 
• My location doesn't require drone shots because the company is all about what happens inside the building but I love the smoothness of the shots. It is clear to me that in order to make a video as professional looking as possible, it is essential to maximise the smoothness. 

I thought it would be a good idea to gain knowledge about Promotional videos themselves and see some of the best ways to approach them. I came across this informative video on youtube; 

• Even though my promotional video will not be using people, it was very interesting to learn about A roll and B roll. There are plenty of promotional videos that require this set up and it was good for me to gain a greater understanding on this process for future references. 

Camera movement research

as part of my research I thought it would be a good idea to further understand the type of movement you can create. Since my video will be based on the camera movements to create a better looking video, it is important to understand my limitations. From this video i learned; 

• The camera track and dolly is great for smoothness and motion although it takes up a lot of space and can obstruct the location
• the sled and vest is the best option however I do not have that sort of budget and will have to make do with what I have

Conclusion

What I learnt about watching these promotional videos is the smoothness that is created through out. It makes everything look very professional so therefore I will be utilising the track and dolly. I will not be using the steadicam because it will take too long to set up. I will use the fig rig to maximise smoothness also but I will try to avoid constant switching from track to fig rig as this would take time from the shoot day. 

Shot List

With the images I had taken, I knew I had to create a shot list in order to have a clearer idea about what I wanted to shoot. I was also required to send it over to the client for their review. 

"At least 75% of the work is done before you sit in front of the monitors." 

– John Smith

Even though this Director's quote was about multi camera productions, I still felt like it applies to all production so with this in mind, I wanted to make sure I knew what I wanted to film. Below is my shot list;

RISK ASSESSMENT

Although I am unable to upload the document, I was required to create an industry standard risk assessment that listed all the health and safety risks in order to get book out my equipment. My risk assessment was accepted and my project was safe enough to continue.

Next steps;

• successfully shoot the project and edit to the client's standard