NEW PATH MEDIA

This blog is in response to a question:

"Describe in brief the whole process including the precautions, do and don't during the process, hardware, equipments for shooting, and recording , sotfware use to editing."

As was stated in an earlier blog, pre-production is the most important step in a video production. Create a script on what you want in your video. A script can be as simple as bullet points, number of people and where it needs to be shot or it can be fully detailed text that can be memorized or put up on a teleprompter. This script helps to clarify what you need to do and the points you want to cover.  Will you need to be in more than one location? Will you need to bring props or additional people? The script lays out the framework and helps determine weak and strong points of the production. The video production company you use can help in this process or even write the script for you. It is very important to get a final approval of the script from all the people in higher positions before shooting begins.

Once a script is in hand, schedule a time. Depending on the complexity of the script, it can take a few hours to more than a day to shoot everything. Sometimes there can be difficulty in getting all parties available at the same time so it is adviseable to schedule the shoot a few days to a few weeks in advance. It's also good to have only one person in charge of this production and have them there at the site on the day of the shoot. This person will make all of the final decisions. If that person is only reachable by phone, then many delays can occur and can cost you extra. This person is usually called the producer. The producer needs to coordinate the work of the videographer and the talent and make sure the script is followed. The number of people involved in this production can grow according to the complexity and depth of the script.

The videographer/crew will set-up the equipment where both of you agree is the best location or just follow their lead. Unless you have done this a lot before you are going to have to trust them that they know what they are doing. You have hired them for a reason. This set-up process can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour or more to complete. During this set-up time is when the talent should be getting prepped. If at all possible, give them the script the night before so they can get a feel for what they need to do.  If they get it handed to them cold a few minutes before recording, there might be some more delays. When the vidographer has everything ready to go, the talent will need to have a microphone clipped on and step in front of the camera. There will be more adjustments once they are in position to make sure the lights are situated correctly and that the audio is good. More than one take is common so do it as many times as is necessary to get a good one.  And then get one more good one. When some people get in front of a camera they get nervous. Allow a certain amount of time for them to relax and get into a rhythm. If they are not getting any better. Call for a short break, get them a drink of water, go over the script and try again. If it still isn't getting any better, make a decision to pull the plug or forge ahead and live with the results. Some people are just better at it than others.  You should take that into consideration when deciding who steps in front of the camera.  Now sometimes there is no choice.  Maybe it's the head of the department and they are the only ones who can do it.  Try rewording the script or have them make suggestions as to wording that flows off of their tongue easier. You might think about cutting the script up into shorter pieces that are easier to handle. It can be edited together later.

Don't expect everything to go like clockwork. There is usually something that goes wrong. A light bulb burns out, batteries die, water spills, the sun goes behind clouds, a jet plane goes overhead, trucks back up, jack hammers bang away, talent gets tongue tied, phones ring...a lot can happen. Expect it to take hours not minutes for every step of the production process. Expect things to be done more than once. Allow changes to happen to fit the needs of the moment. Do not compromise on quality, even if does cost a little more. Most of the time you will look back and say it was worth it. If you keep the things you are unhappy with, you will notice them every time you look at the video. When the shoot is done, recheck the script to make sure you have everything on tape. Forgetting something now will make it very expensive to have everyone come back to do just one little thing. Allow 15 to 30 minutes for the crew to pack up the equipment and get ready to leave.

Be aware that some production companies charge time differently. Some will start the clock when they arrive at the site and stop the clock when the leave.  Others charge a "door-to-door" rate which starts from the time they leave their own office and stops when they get back to it.  Drive time in these situations will make a difference. Some call a full day 8 hours, others call a full day 10 hours. Half days are similarly structured. Know when overtime starts and how much it costs. Know if additional equipment costs more or is included in the rate. If you are using tapes, how much do they cost? Is it a tapeless workflow, are there any extra charges associated with that? Is a contract required? Would a contract benefit you, them or both of you? Be aware of the "work for hire" clause and if you want to include that in your contract.

As far as hardware and equipment for shooting, that will be determined by who you hire for this video production. You can usually have a small choice but they are the ones with the gear. You can say I want HD (hi definition) or SD (standard definition) video shot but that determination is more relevant to what you want for your end product. There are 4 major camera manufacturers these days.  Sony, Panasonic, Canon and JVC. Each one of these companies offer many tiers of cameras. From the consumer, pro-sumer and professional models. In all
there are probably 50 or more different cameras to choose from. You shouldn't concern yourself too much with this as it is the video production company that will decide on the camera, unless you have very specific needs. Be prepared to pay for those needs. One thing you should be aware of is whether you want to go tapeless or use tape. This will only make a difference to you if the people who shoot the event are different from the ones who edit the video. At that point you will have to figure out how to get the shot video to the editor. Which is why it is very advisable to talk to both parties before starting a shoot. Otherwise you will have video that the editor has major difficulty in using or transferring to their system. Which will ultimately cost you more to figure out a solution. The other point to keep in mind is what size do you want your video shot in. Do you want wide screen 16x9 or normal 4x3. If you choose HD it will automatically be 16x9 but if you choose SD you can have it shot in either size.  That is something you need to figure out at the beginning of this process. Where is this video going to be displayed and through what medium? There is no right or wrong, just what works for you.

Once the editor has the video make sure they also have a script. Without a script the editor has no guidelines.  They are flying blind and it takes a lot more time to edit without one. Also, if you drop video into their hands without letting them know what type of video it is you could add a massive amount of costs to this production. They may need to rent additional equipment to get it into their computer or they may have never worked with that type of format before.  There are currently about 20 to 30 formats to choose from. Each format has it's own issues, so an editor having worked with something before has more weapons at their disposal.

Get the editor all of the elements they need for the edit at the very beginning.  Do you want music, graphics, pictures, extra video, etc? If so, are you choosing it or are they.  If they are, get them involved in this process from the start. Also, make sure to deliver them the correct size/type of graphic/picture file. Don't expect them to pull it off of your web site. Those items pulled from your page will NOT work very well in any edit situation. It will degrade the quality of your video. Find out from the editor the size of the graphic they need and what file format they want. This can take some time to gather from your departments so getting everyone involved at the same time you are working on the script is best. PowerPoint presentations are NOT a good source either, other than reference. The slides created for a computer don't fit video very well and usually require a total rework.

There are three major editing software platforms you will run into.  Apple's Final Cut, Adobe's Premier and Avid. They all do the job so the preference is pretty much up the editor you choose. This may become more important to you if you use several editors or want another editor to work on an older project done by someone else. Then you need to make sure all their systems match.  Going from one edit system to another is not pretty and
sometimes causes major headaches. The version of each system is also important for the editors to know. There is some backward compatibility issues that can interfere with the process.

Small changes can be easy to do while others can be major. Find out where in the process the change occurs and how much it will impact the entire process. An example is changing one picture. That can be fairly easy to do unless a lot of other elements are tied to the picture.  So if you change the picture, you need to change 10 other things that can be a lot of extra work. If changing the picture only affects the picture, then that is relatively simple. Another example may be if you have just been handed a DVD, looked at it and now want the picture changed. That is another story. You would need to go back to the edit, change the picture, re-export the video, convert that video into a DVD and then burn a DVD. That could easily cost another hour or more of time.  Depending of course on how long the video is. Try to be aware of how much work is involved when making a change.

I hope this helps to explain the process of video production a little better. If you have any more questions, please let me know.