Quality and cost are the two big things that will influence your decision in choosing a production company.
Cost – everyone has a budget and it’s just a question of finding a company that gives you the best value for money, which leads us to…
Quality – because when you commit something to video you are putting your business out there for the world to see. It’s vital that the quality standards are maintained. Time for a little tea analogy…
On every Like an Egg promotional video we tend to use a minimum of two cameras, it’s a simple rule that we always like to adhere to. A lot of other crews out there prefer to shoot with a main camera and a B-camera to cover all their bases, and we’ve also found this as the best formula for us. There are a number of reasons for the use of multiple cameras and we’ll explain them in this article.
We’ve made videos for huge record labels like Warner Brothers and Sony as well as for indie labels and even directly for unsigned bands. For newcomers, figuring out how much a video will cost them can be quite tricky. Searching online can leave you with a lot of conflicting information and not many figures. It’s strange because it’s actually very simple.
The budget comes first and the budget informs the idea. This is how big record labels do it and there is no reasons why unsigned bands can’t do the same.
For some, capturing quality sound is an easy part to overlook. It tends to be the afterthought, when in reality it’s just as important as the images on screen. Audiences may or may not pick up on a bad shot, but they will most definitely notice when it’s difficult to make out what everyone is saying amongst the background noise. We believe sound recording is just as significant as the images we capture. This article will explain in more detail why sound is so important and how we go about recording the best quality sound.
This post follows on directly from the article entitled ‘Who owns the video I had made?’ So if you haven’t read it yet, you can check it out here!
When I say footage I mean all the footage/shots recorded in the entire filming process, sometimes called the “raw footage.” This question is perhaps much more contentious with clients and production companies. Crucially it shouldn’t have to be. As I wrote in the previous article this is something that needs to be discussed and agreed before any production begins. Getting the question of ownership in writing before hand is essential to make sure you don’t find yourself in different positions.
In the TV and film industry it is standard practice to ensure contracts are in place for the creator, the director and all the creative influence (i.e. Camera, costume, make up etc.) to assign copyright over to the producer. When creating something with multiple people it is essential the issue of who owns the footage is cleared up before any filming is started.
It’s always surprising how often this comes up in discussions with clients and fellow production companies. And the truth is different production companies will have different terms and conditions laid out to cover this. We know of some clients who’ve had videos made for them in the past where ownership has become a big problem. We have also encountered our own issues when it comes to uncertainty of who owns what footage. So regardless what is written in the next few paragraphs, the most important advice we can give is to get the issue of ownership addressed before you agree to anything.
Video production can be a confusing process filled with many complicated technological terms. We’re sometimes asked whether we shoot in HD, and on occasion asked to explain what ‘HD’ actually really means. We’re all suddenly finding ourselves in a bewildering new world of Full HD, ‘Retina’ displays, UltraHD/4K and even 8K TV screens! If your eyes glazed over a little during that last sentence, don’t worry you’re not alone. It can be tiring trying to keep up with ever changing technology these days, but it’s also far too easy to get left behind. So should your video be in HD? Absolutely, and this article will try and help to explain why.
After watching two very different documentaries this week I thought this would be the perfect time to explore the importance of trust when filming in very distinct communities.
The first of the documentaries was BBC’s Valleys Rebellion, which had actor Michael Sheen retracing the steps of the Chartists down the Gwent Valley. It looked at the violent uprising of the past but also the views of the people who live there now. Unfortunately it was only broadcast in Wales.
The second documentary was Immigration Street, focusing on a street in Southampton where 85% of residents are immigrants. Behind it was the same production company who produced the controversial Benefit Street. Perhaps that explains how quickly it descended into chaos as large parts of the community decided they did not want to be the subject of a documentary. For all the claims it had no intention to show the subject matter in a negative light, by consistently ignoring the community and allowing things to escalate it sure ended up that way.
This is a huge question but we often find that when a client gets a few quotes for the same project the prices can still be very different. With the changes this industry has seen in the last ten, five even two years, it’s not really surprising at all. I’m not going to go into what you should be looking for when choosing a production company (that will be a blog for the future). I just want to shine a light on the changes that have happened in our industry. And there is one big factor that has revolutionised video production in the corporate market – technology.
It’s hard to explain how quick technology moves in video without going into a huge amount of detail that will most likely bore you to death. So I’m going to try and keep this simple and relate it to as many as possible on how this is effecting your quotes.
This is a big question. I suppose the easy answer from our point of view is yes of course you do! Unfortunately for us this isn’t true. Having a video for your business is just a tool and not an essential one. But as any business will know to be successful you have to be aware of what is going on around you and be prepared for change.
For example 20 years ago having a website for your business was not an essential tool. A nice bonus perhaps but it didn’t really effect sales. Today if you don’t have a website the chances are you are missing out on a large chunk of work. People used to use yellow pages now they use Google. Times have changed.
