"After a long time of practicing, our work will become natural, skillfull, swift, and steady."
One of the keys to Shakespeare's success over the last 6 years is the mindset that "practice is everything." Even when we’re not on the clock at work we are shooting and producing video, sometimes on our holidays. Like a musician that is passionate about music they still need to practice to become great. As video professionals we’ve discovered that having a best in class production process allows us to provide even better service for our clients. Recently we won a competitive tender based on the quality of Shakespeare's production process.
In fact, It’s one of the most asked questions we receive: ‘how does your production process work’? This is understandable, a production consists of a wide range of elements that need to be planned, coordinated and executed somewhat seamlessly (we hope:). So to an ‘outsider’ this whole video thing may look daunting - “where to start”?
Well, this is in essence why we exist! It’s our job to take our clients through this journey from start to finish. You shouldn’t even need to know, or worry about what goes on underneath the hood in our production machinery, but we do appreciate that clients do want to know. So we thought it would be helpful to share our production process. Here it is;
this is how we work
Stage 1: Project start
We start off by discussing with our client what they want to achieve with their video(s), and work out how to build upon their initial ideas. From here we develop the creative concepts, ideas, plan, timeline and budget. Once this is established, the production is approved and we move into the pre-production stage. For this we have systems in place to take care of the creative development, storytelling, storyboards, shot lists, scheduling etc, to make sure the objectives are met. A lot of back and forth communication takes place during this phase via email, phone and in-person meetings.
Stage 2: Pre-production
This is the stage where we prepare everything we need for a well-executed production: writing scripts, preparing production schedules, auditioning talent, scheduling and preparing the crew, selecting equipment, finding and locking in locations and so forth. This stage involves hundreds of decisions that affect the success of the next three stages and the quality of the final video(s). It’s important to spend adequate time here and make sure all those decisions are made right.
Stage 3: Production
The main part of a production is to capture the various project assets. Meaning, this is when we press the record button, create animations, etc. All the time and energy spent preparing the production culminates into something special at this stage. Shakespeare Media and the client agree on a filming date(s), and when the video(s) need to be completed by. Production includes setting up lights, cameras, arranging set, directing talent, actual filming and interviewing.
Stage 4: Post-production
The final stage is when it all comes together in post-production. We edit the video; add music, audio effects and voiceover, adjust sound and colour, add titles and credits; create special effects and complete the production. The final video(s) will go through a review process where necessary adjustments are made before finalising the video(s) for delivery. The final video(s) will normally be delivered via a download link on the internet.
Make sure that when you’re choosing the production company to produce your videos, they have had a long time of practicing the process. When the fundamentals are easy, more energy goes into creating the magic of your videos.
Good things take time
Why does the videographer have to take so long!? Does that thought sound familiar? Time is pressing, you have other things to take care of, and all you need are a few shots for your video, so why is the cameraman taking so long? Well, it's understandable to feel that way, and with a busy schedule like yours, your concern is legitimate and perfectly normal!
The Psychology
However, we think it's important to keep one thing in mind. Research shows that there's an intricate emotional process at play when people view films and videos; every frame counts. The quality of the image composition has a decisive effect on whether the viewer, which could be your potential buyer, will be visually stimulated positively or negatively. Our intuition determines whether an image is out of balance, is poorly lit or has wrong camera movement. But this is mostly subconscious so no wonder why most people don't think about these things.
The more pleasing the visual experience, the more impact the video has. That's why most TV ads look like short films in terms of style and quality. Companies pay a lot of money to promote those premium productions on primetime TV in a bid to influence a potential customer.
To illustrate: Hollywood productions or TV commercial crews often spend hours on-set to get one shot, and the film crew might have over 50 people to assist with this! Traditionally corporate video production don't have the same starting point for various reasons, one being budget limitations.
TimeTradeoff
However, in recent years with the rapid development in camera technology, this 'magical' film look that used to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars is now possible on a smaller budget.
In saying that, there has to be a trade-off, like other things in life. You could argue that this trade-off is time. Hollywood productions might spend half a day getting one single shot.
There are many reasons for this, but one obvious one is that the film crew, often consisting of at least 15 people work together to make sure every little detail in the camera frame is exactly the way it's supposed to be.
In corporate video production, we don't have that luxury, but at the same time, we don't have to adhere to such high standards. So a happy medium is to make sure the skilled cinematographer has two things; suitable equipment and adequate time to capture the 'TV commercial look'.
The Challenge
Corporate video production has another challenge that film crews don't have. We work in-field with real people doing real things and not actors who are trained professionals in performance. Naturally, that comes with its challenges. Takes can be more lengthy.
What Else?
At Shakespeare Media, we focus on artistic perfection during filming. To achieve this, a few things have to line up: image composition, balanced framing, lighting, camera movement, 'amateur actor' performance and so on. To juggle all this with a "one-man-band" or a small crew is what we're used to doing; however, one key ingredient for this recipe to work as mentioned is adequate time.
The other consideration is editing flow. Shots need to flow together and have to be crafted in a specific way to be effective. This would take a while to explain in detail, but in short, it might result in several repetitions of takes from multiple angles and a certain amount of waiting around for the client. Sometimes this repetition and waiting can be interpreted as things not going the way it should, but actually, this is precisely the process of quality film making.
So we always try to mention that on the day of filming, you may find yourself waiting around or being asked to repeat a lot of things, but there's no need to worry. This is a sign that everything is on track, and the crew is working their hardest to capture the best possible footage for showcasing your product or service.
Hurry Up and Wait!
The first thing we usually say on-set is: get prepared to "hurry up and wait!". (embed link: https://oneofus.net/2014/12/hurry-up-and-wait-movie-set-etiquette/) You can google that term and discover for yourself what a common term this is in the film industry. It captures exactly what we're trying to communicate in this blog post.
We're looking forward to creating a high-quality video production for you and thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. If you would like more information on how Shakespeare Media can assist you, please contact our Executive Producer Alexander Nilsen on 1300 855 218 or email: [email protected]