Hi everyone! So my workplace is considering using video in relation to marketing and branding in the near future, and we really want to do it ourselves. We're a small 10 person IT consultancy business who feel like we have a lot to share! We're thinking about doing 2-3 different kinds of video: 1. Information-heavy screencasts (5-10 minutes pr. video, and maybe several videos in a series) 2. Personal white-board "Look what we're doing" kind of things For equipment, we have a decent button-on mic and a Canon EOS 550D with a custom firmware called Magic Lantern installed. What I want to ask you guys is: What would you wish you'd known when you started shooting video? Are there any hoops/software-choices or anything I should be particularly aware of?
I'm not sure about your specific project but I use Adobe Premiere Pro. It looks a bit intimidating on first inspection but once you get used it it and learn a few shortcuts its actually quite easy to use. Some time savers i've found: * - drops a marker on the timeline for syncing your video with music Ctrl + d - drops your default video transition effect if your on a clip transition on the timeline Main downside of PP is that the titles are a bit lacking. Maybe there is a third party plugin for this, but in terms of flashy graphics titles, that seems to be a Final Cut thing (apple). In terms of planning your project choose a framerate and stick to it. Ending up with clips at different frame rate can be a problem later on. Personally i prefer 24p as anything else looks too crisp and robotic to me or maybe i've only seen bad examples! This is only a hobby for me so someone with more professional experience may be able to help more.
Having used Final Cut, Premiere, and Sony Vegas quite a bit in the past few years, I would say that there is not a great deal of difference in terms of the standard title capabilities. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. If you want flashy titles you need to look into either After Effects or Apple Motion. My vote would be After Effects. Having said that, what is the intended use for these videos? You mention something about using them in relation to marketing and branding, so if you intend on using the videos to increase your business presence, I would think about hiring an actual production company to help you out. With no real experience and a DSLR with a cheap microphone, your videos will probably come off looking very amateur. That's not something you want in marketing materials. If you choose to make your own videos, consider putting an equal amount of time and investment in lighting. Having a great camera and a professional editing suite will only get you so far if the video looks like it was recorded in a dungeon. Also put a lot of thought into the script for each episode. Don't just wing it, because it will show.
The very first "project" I'm working on now is an hourlong (!) interview with a guy who designed a custom font for us. Unfortunately, the footage is hideous at best. Only filmed from a single angle in multiple clips. No clear story-line or questions. I have around 50 minutes of footage I need to cut to 10 minutes. The intended use is hard to define yet. It's something we want to put on our website in order to inform our customers about our identity and capabilities. It's a way of letting people know who we are and what we do. I'm currently using Final Cut, as that is what we have a license for. It's pretty easy to just "drag and drop" stuff around, and I'm sure I'll get the hang of it by just using it. Google is my friend, so it's generally easy to figure out how I can do what I wanna do. So the scripting part is already pretty obvious. Having a bachelors degree in media studies, I knew this, but since I wasn't the one filming this or setting the interview up, it's too late to fix now. What do you guys do for sounds, music etc? Are there any free sources of nice stock-material for video editing out there?
I feel your pain about paring down interviews. When we did our ISS 10 Year documentary, we had 15-20 hours of interview footage across numerous people. Going through it all to find the running narrative was a task all its own. What is the story you want to tell with the font designer? Specifically what is it about that experience that you want to share with your viewers? Keep only the comments that help form that narrative. We had some great quotes from our interviews that unfortunately were left on the cutting room floor because as great as they were, they just didn't work in the larger picture. Since it's all a single angle, b-roll will be your friend. You can make judicious use of screen captures of the design process. It also doesn't hurt to see if you can go back and record them working at the computer; show the designer actively designing. forum member Awoken recently asked about ambient music over in General Discussion. There are a number of good links in that thread.
Thanks a bunch! I'll have to look into b-rolling my way through some of the boring patches of the interview. Unfortunately, the designer is not easy to get a hold of, and is not an in-house member. I guess I'm going to make some animations or something along those lines.
