Blog Archives
Obtaining a quote for a video production
We are often asked for quotes on a video but given very little information to base the costs on.
A production company need to work out what crew to use, what equipment we will need and how long it will take to film and edit everything. There is no single way of doing things.
To get the best and most accurate costs you are best to put together a brief which the production company can work to. Not sure what you want in your video?
The following list is some of the elements that might impact on the cost of a video if they were to be included. Providing the answers to these questions will help you build your brief.
- What are the main elements to be filmed?
- Will you need Graphic animations (maybe to show an internal mechanism)?
- Is there to be a voice over used to narrate the main story of the video?
- Can all the video be shot in one location on same day?
- How many things to be filmed at the same time?
- Describe what will need to be filmed. Some things like presentations are best filmed from two different cameras.
- Will you want music added to the video. At the beginning and end or all the way through?
- Do you need text to be placed on-screen to explain or annotate things in the video?
- How long is the video likely to last?
- If the content is interviews, how many interviews will there be?
- Is the filming to be done indoors or outdoors?
Hopefully by now you are starting to get a feel for what is involved. Just as placing air conditioning on the spec of your car will add to the quality of your journey’s adding a Jib to your production will add to the quality of the final production. They will both add to the cost. Whether they make it in to the final product probably comes down to available budget and how important they are to you.
Amazing 1 take steadycam video
Want to know what can be achieved with a camera mounted on a steadycam? Check this out. All filmed in 1 continuous take which makes it quite amazing.
Vimeo PRO video-hosting
If you are a company looking to host your business video within a professional environment that can be branded to your business and doesnt have advertising surrounding your content then this service is worth a look.
Vimeo PRO is video-hosting done right. Built for business and commercial-use with powerful tools that are easy to use. And best of all, it’s insanely affordable.
Behind the scenes of Sous Productions video production – Values Based Education
A few images of the crew hard at work on a video production shoot. The video is all about Values – Based Education.
We filmed for 1 day covering the whole of the school day from arriving through assembly and classroom work. The video includes interviews with the students, teachers and external people such as parents.
The young pupils were fantastic if not slightly distracted by us using a Jib to shoot a number of the clips including the assembly. A very inspiring school and video subject.
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| Values-Based Education Video Shoot |
The video is also being published as a DVD for showing at conferences and schools around the world. You can see the video here… Values Based Education
Sous Productions
New Video Production – Values Based Education
Uploaded screen grabs from new video about Values – Based Educaton. Behind scenes shots to follow.
Images Here
10 Tips – Get the best from a referral video interviewee
Ready to go. What's he going to say?
A very popular use of video for companies at the moment is to get clients to provide interviews or referrals which you can then place on your website.
Excellent idea. Problem is, concept and reality don’t always line up so here are a few tips to keep in mind.
People don’t always say what you might want them to. You can ask them what you think is a prefectly simple question with really only one answer but you will be astonished by how different their answer can be compared to the one you had in mind.
Maybe it wasn’t quite as positive as you hoped or they don’t include some of the key points you thought would come rolling off the tongue. Invariably your confident client isn’t quite so collected when a camera is stuck in front of them and they either lose their natural voice or launch off on a much longer and rambling answer than you need for your short and punchy video.
The common problems with interviewees are:
- They don’t like the idea of being on camera. They look the way they do quite happily all day but as soon as you point a camera at them they are suddenly very self conscious.
- They don’t think they will say anything sensible. They know the subject inside out but a camera gets them all flustered and tongue tied
- They speak over the top of the person asking questions. We do it in conversation but when you don’t want the question in the video then it is a headache to edit.
- They say way too much – the answer doesn’t really know where it is going and while they search for the answer they ramble.
Where did it all go so wrong?
In the planning of course! Most of us enjoy being able to converse with people easily all day every day. We ask a question and we get a natural answer and then we ask another question and so on. Our brains can handle the natural interaction of a conversation bur for a video it doesn’t work quite so easily as that and so we need to adapt things a little bit.
It would be wonderful if everyone delivered the perfect soundbite for the camera but unfortunately it doesn’t tend to happen that way unless you have done some preparation.
Don’t just tell the client or staff to come along and get them to answer some questions and hope it will work on the day. You need to think very hard about what questions you are going to ask and how you word the question to ensure you get the answer you want.
Here are Sous Productions top 10 tips for getting the best out of your staff / client interviews on camera.
- Start your planning by establishing the answer you want – write it down.
- Then write the question(s) that will get that answer.
- Write the question slightly differently in case you need to ask it again.
- Time how long it takes to say the answer. Decide if you can get in all the answers within the duration of the video. If not you need to revise 1-3 above.
- Explain to the interviewee what the interview is being used for and its objective.
- Describe the sorts of questions you will be looking to ask and what kind of answers you are looking for including how long they need to be. This is not scripting the answer. They use their own words. Dont let them write them down on paper. It becomes a nightmare!
- Explain they are talking to the interviewer not to the camera – This almost always makes them feel a lot better
- If you don’t want to have the interviewer questions in the video (it keeps the video shorter) then explain to the interviewee to pose the question in their answer. For example Q – What do you feel is the key benefit of the service ….. Answer – I think the key benefit of the service provided is ….. Some find this tricky!
- Ask the interviewee to let the interviewer finish their question before starting to answer it so that you don’t capture an unknown voice in the interview.
- Take control of the interview. If you feel any or all of the above are not working well then it is fine to stop and go through the relevant point again as a reminder before trying again.
Take time to put interviewee at ease
I tend to find that by conversationally going through these points while I am fixing up the mic and checking camera framing etc, it actually helps distract the interviewee’s mind a little and gets a bit of early rapport going.
Hope it helps
Please comment on your experiences.
3 Ways to Leverage the Power of Online Video
Some interesting statistics in this article to support the need for using video to help in the promotion of your organisations products, services and events.
3 Ways to Leverage the Power of Online Video : Page 1 of 1 : Target Marketing##.
What the hell is a Track and Dolly?
Well thats a question I have been asked many times by prospects and clients alike and so I want to answer it. I could of course write the answer down here right now but it would be a load of boring text and yeah, wow some pictures. No. I am not going to be rushed.
Next week, weather allowing, I will be filming the answer to “What the hell is a track & Dolly” for you down at Maddogs.tv and they are kindly going to put the whole thing together to show you what it is, how it works and explain / show why you would use it in your video.
OK, fair enough, you can google it or YouTube it but ours will be really up to date, very English (that’s got to be worth something hasn’t it) and “interesting”!
Oh, and we are thinking we might cover off What the hell is a Jib too while were there. Value or what?
I will be updating progress on Twitter @sousproductions and when I have done the edit I will be posting up here on the blog and on our Youtube site http://www.youtube.com/sousproductions
Got any specific questions you want me to ask the clever guys at Maddogs.tv? Let me know by leaving a comment
Sous Productions
No one wants to see a grown man beg…
Oh it hurts not to win a new prospect.
I put my hand up here, I was definately smitten with this new potential client. I loved the concept of the promotional video they were discussing. I also liked the idea of this client (a corporate) being a business to build a long term relationship with and certainly there was the potential for this to happen.
Sadly, email received today has said the project wont being happening. Thankfully the email went to some length to explain that Sous Productions would indeed have been the preferred supplier and that the client was impressed with the approach, advice and support of Sous Productions.
I guess it helps to know we were well received but will I ever get over the disappointment of losing out on a new prospect? No. Probably not because truth is, it always matters.
Moving on!
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