Ten years and new opportunities
We recently celebrated our tenth year in the video production business. Things have moved fast since we first set up a small office in the back of a coffee shop. We’ve built up a résumé of clients that we’re really proud of, worked on exciting and innovative projects, and expanded our skill-set to be able to take on bigger and more challenging projects.
The sector has also changed. Ten years ago, most of our projects ended up on VHS. Then DVD took over. Now the majority of our videos go straight to web. Cameras, hardware and software have also come on leaps and bounds.
But what do all these technological advancements mean for you?
1. Expertise is more valuable than ever.
Cheaper and more available technology means that it is easier than ever to pick up a camera and get some footage, then sit in front of a computer and edit and produce a film. Put it on youtube and you’re there! This means that many more productions can be made in-house, and video as a communication tool is a readily available piece of artillery.
Yet the technology is only half the story. Knowing how to use the tools in the most effective way, how to tell a story, how to prepare for a shoot, how to project manage a production, and so on, are still invaluable skills in the industry. So you have a camera, where are you going to shoot? How are you going to frame the shot? How will you ensure the highest quality of lighting, picture and sound? How will you get creative in the edit?
Hopefully that’s where we come in. It can be tempting for organisations to save money by creating media productions in-house, and therefore save budgets on hiring external companies. And sometimes that’s the right option. But if you want a piece of work that exceeds expectations, then you’re better off coming to the experts…
2. Use the web.
Youtube and social networking sites mean two things have changed things in a huge way since we first started business. Firstly, it’s so much easier than it ever was to distribute video. You no longer have to send out a clunky VHS or DVD to your clients. Just send them a link. Anyone across the world can watch your promotional video.
The second change is competition. The sheer volume of video out there means that if you want your work to succeed, it needs to be something special. That’s where using the experts, and being as creative as possible both come in. What’s unique and special about your video? What will make people want to sit and watch, and not click away after thirty seconds?
So, opportunity and competition. Does your idea have what it takes to reach the top?3. The sky’s the limit.
Special effects software such as Adobe After Effects have gained extensive features in the last decade. And faster hardware means that effects that would have previously been reserved for expensive Hollywood movies can now be used in all kinds of projects. We really are now at the stage where the biggest limitation is one’s imagination, not the tools that we use. So, the sky really is the limit!
So, let’s make the most of the opportunities we have now, and see where the next ten years take us!
Animating or Filming?
A question we get asked is “Should we film something or present the idea just using graphics, and how much is one versus the other?”. Well, as with most general questions, there are no easy answers. In some cases it’s definitely one or the other, and in a lot of cases, it’s a mix.
These are some questions to take into consideration:
1. Who is the audience? Do you think animation would work better for the demographic, or would filming work out better? The answers need to be taken in conjunction with the next question.
2. What is the subject matter? In some cases, you will have little choice but to use graphics and animation – e.g. the inner workings of a machine, or work abroad where budget does not allow international travel. In some cases, film is definitely better, especially if there are human elements to it – e.g. an apprentices’ promotional piece, encouraging people to apply to the firm, would absolutely need existing apprentices motivating the potential applicants to apply.
3. Cost-wise, they are much of a muchness. Filming would require the shoot itself, editing of the shoot and all the other post production necessities that go with it. This includes colour correction, audio correction, music and the editing itself. Depending on the number of cameras and the amount of footage the edit could take anything from half a day to 2 months. One-camera shoots tend to be a lot quicker to edit than two-camera shoots as a generalisation. Animation requires the 2D graphics to be made by a graphic artist and then this to be animated by the animator/compositor. Again, depending on length and concept, this could take days or a day.
In short, we would say that cost should not bear in this as either can be cost effective or prohibitive. Choose the one that best fits the audience and the subject matter and the message you are trying to portray.
Save money on your production!
Charities, social enterprises and not-for-profits can save money on media productions.
Media production, be it shoots, animations, graphic design, virals or commercials, can be an expensive process, but there are things that your Third Sector or corporate enterprise can do to save on cost. Here are some little hints and tips that should save you a little time and lot of money:
1 – Come up with a rough idea of what you want, be it a fundraising video, an awareness viral, a infomercial or a commercial. Most pieces are under 5 mins these days, so two paragraphs explaining content, time and pace would be very useful to the production company. There is a rough guide at http://ignitecreative.co.uk/pre-production-questions/. Have examples of other peoples’ work that you like the style of, and might want to emulate. The more resources you have at the start, the better understood the media production house will be.
2- Keep it short! Can you say the same things more efficiently? Most people switch off in under 15 seconds if you haven’t already grabbed their attention – and even then it has to be compelling. Shorter means cheaper as well. Virals, animations and adverts are mostly 15-30 seconds long. Keep it short and compel the audience to find out more afterwards, once you have got them hooked.
3- Do some work your end. This can include organising the shoot (dates,venues,people,props etc) as well as written storyboards (rough ideas with timings, so long as you are willing to listen to advice from the production company) and a rough script. Most production companies can do all that but if you come up with a rough idea, it’s already saved you on days of research from the production company, and a lot of to and fro.
4 – Prior to the production start date, go through it all again, ideally face-to-face, so you are not faced with surprises once the production phase is under-way. Make sure that the supplier fully understands what it is you want.
5 – Timescales and budget – agree both in advance, and no scope creeping unless you are willing to pay for it! “Can you just do add 3 seconds of this ?” is more than 3 seconds work. It normally requires render times, output, upload, colour correction, audio correction and the like and is a lot more work than you anticipate. Keep to the brief unless the budget flexes for more!
Life with Adobe Production Premium CS5.5
Well, we made the switch to Adobe (sorry, Apple). And we bought two new hi-spec PCs to run our new software.
Having read all about other peoples’ (mostly positive) experiences of this switch on the web, I had high hopes for the new hardware and workflow. And I haven’t been disappointed.
There has been much said about getting to grips with Premiere when you’ve been so used to Final Cut Pro for ten years. There are a few little gripes – things which you’re used to that you have to do without. But then, there are other, better features which definitely make up for this – making life much easier.
One negative has been colour correction. Adobe admit that the User Interface for Premiere’s colour correction is poor, and it’s the big thing they’re working on for the next version. But I do miss FCP’s 3-Way colour corrector, and Apple Color too. Still, After Effects comes with the free Colorista plugin, so it’s not the end of the world. Plus, the fact that Adobe seem to have better customer interaction than Apple means that the updates they make to the software reflect the needs of their client base, which is refreshing.
Another negative is Encore (the software for creating DVDs). On the surface, it’s a more intuitive, user-friendly program that DVD Studio Pro. However, underneath it’s missing a number of features. Primarily, the lack of any scripting languages means that there are things that are simply impossible to do in Encore that were a breeze in DVD Studio Pro.
But there’s one big positive that outweighs all of this: the workflow between the different products. You see, we’ve always used Adobe products such as After Effects, Audition, Photoshop and Illustrator to do our graphics, animation and sound. Switching resources between Apple’s Final Cut Pro and all these other Adobe packages was always laborious. Files had to be correctly prepared, exported, worked on, then re-exported and integrated back into a project.
Now, that’s a thing of the past. Because we’re working solely with Adobe products now, switching media between programs is pure joy. We can create After Effects compositions, import them into Premiere, and any changes we make to the After Effects file automatically update in Premiere. It’s the same with Audition – a couple of clicks, and the audio is ready for mastering. There are things we can do now which we wouldn’t have done before. Not because we couldn’t, but because the time involved would mean that it wouldn’t have been worth it.
And the fact that our new PCs are twice as powerful as our old macs mean that everything is so quick. We spend a lot of time watching progress bars – so any reduction in that is definitely worthwhile!
Youtube – common mistakes!
The beauty of youtube is how easy it is for anyone to share their videos. All you need is a camera, a PC or mac, and a bit of creativity!
However, as professionals it’s easy to spot a few technical things that could make your video that little bit better. There are a few common mistakes that are often simply rectified. So, before you upload your next masterpiece, have a look through these tips to see how you can make your video even better!
1. Effects: Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should!
Using effects well is an art form. Upon finding a new effect, it can be very tempting to use it just because you know it’s there, whether it’s making text whizz across the screen or spinning transitions between shots. The key to using effects well is knowing when to use them. Don’t be afraid to be minimalist. The same applies to colours and fonts.
2. Cutting footage: Less is more.
Being ruthless with their footage is one of the things people find hardest. They have a lot of material that they like, and want to include as much as possible. However, the average viewer’s attention span is very low, and the shorter and snappier you can make your video, the better. Don’t have unnecessarily long title screens, or hold on a shot too long. If you have two shots which are similar, think about using only one of them to tell the story most efficiently. If you voice-over your video, keep sentences short, and avoid redundant speech.
3. Little details: check your video.
Spelling mistakes, audio-sync, aspect ratio, and other little mistakes can distract your viewer. Run your video past a few friends before you upload it so that these sort of things can get ironed out.
4. Get your framing right.
One of the things people don’t always make the most of when taking a photo or shooting some footage is how they frame the shot. Excess head-room is a common mistake. People naturally place the point-of-interest (in this example someone’s face) in the centre of the screen. However, this makes all the space above the person’s head redundant, and makes the person look small. Lower the shot so that more of the person (and less of the sky above them) is visible, and position them to the side of the shot, rather than centrally (If you want to find out more about framing, you can read more here about the rule of thirds).
There are infinite possibilities of where you can place the camera, and how you then frame the shot, so think about the possibilities before you hit record. The obvious choice might not always be the best.
5. Think about light and sound.
Avoid noisy locations if you’re filming someone who is talking. If your mic is on camera, then the closer the camera is to the person, the better the sound will be. Try to have the primary light source behind your camera, so that the person is well-lit. Don’t film them standing in front of a window, for example, because they will be silhouetted by all the light behind them.
But most importantly, you need a good idea in the first place. These technical tips will just help make your video look that little bit more professional. People will only want to watch your video if it’s fun, if it’s entertaining or different. So spend time thinking through your idea, so that you can make it the best that it can be!
Top Ten Tips
We’ve worked on a lot of video projects over the years, and think we have a pretty good idea of what is a good idea to do (and what isn’t!). However, we’re aware that many groups don’t realise how easy it is to make video work for them. So we’ve put their heads together and produced these top ten tips for video success.
If you’re planning to create a video product, then we hope they’ help!
1. Identify your audience. This will determine key points – the style of filming, the approach to editing, the style of graphics and whether to use voice over or a presenter.
2. Define your core message. You don’t want too many messages. Your core message might be that your organization is a viable and socially aware place to work,
3. Set out your aim. This is what you want to achieve. This could be to recruit more volunteers or share best practice.
4. Consider the structure and content. Will it be straightforward, graphics intensive or humorous? What sort of music will work? Will you want different versions for different audiences?
5. Think about the budget. The usual rule is the lower the budget, the lower the quality of production but this need not be the case if you have tackled point 4 thoroughly. The time invested there can ensure you get your ideas across in an efficient way, like adverts.
6. Make the most of pre-production planning and storyboarding. Before filming starts you should have a clear picture of what the finished product will look like. Whether this is done visually or in writing, it will help you imagine the piece and spot any gaps. Identify the right questions to bring out your core message. This stage is vital to ensure your commissioner and the production company understand eachother’s roles.
7. Be prepared for the shoot. Time is money and production companies are paid on a day rate. If the shoot needs several days, aim for back-to-back filming so you only have to set up once. Also ensure your commissioner is at the shoot to green light or red flag the shots.
8. Get the best out of editing. There are several stages from rough edit to final cut. Line up a focus group. When you’ve been so close to a project, the reaction of outsiders to the rough edit can help get the finishing touches right – but if you want big changes, it will cost!
9. Spread the word. Before the final cut’s ready, start the PR and send your press releases out.
10. Send it out and about. On DVD, your website, YouTube – the more the merrier. Get feedback, it could inspire your next production!
Adobe or Apple?
Here at Ignite, like a lot of digital media production companies, we’re at a crossroads regarding the software we use for editing. When we formed ten years ago in Coventry and Oxford, we were faced with two choices. Either we could buy a high-end PC and get the well-established Avid, or we could go all funky with Apple, and get the new kid on the block: Final Cut Pro.
We opted for the latter, and FCP has served us well throughout the years, especially due to the extra software that comes with the bundle, for manipulating sound and graphics, colour-correction and building DVDs.
Now, however, the latest version of of FCP marks a change for Apple. They’re leaving the smaller professional market for the greener pastures (at least financially) of the amateur editor, and losing a lot of loyal customers in the process.
So now we have a new choice. Adobe’s Premiere is currently passing FCP on the other side of the road, and is quickly becoming a very viable professional option. And there’s other benefits – we already use other Adobe products – After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator and Audition – in most of our productions. Adobe products work seamlessly together, so exporting footage from one program to another will be a much faster process. Also, unlike FCP, which is only available on Apple Macs, Adobe products are available on both Macs and PCs, meaning that we have more choice when it comes to the hardware we pick for our next edit-suite.
It’ll take a bit of time to see if this transition is really worth it, but there are already converts flocking over to Premiere, and Adobe are welcoming them with open arms, with FCP keyboard shortcuts incorporated to help editors. As Helmut Kobler writes:
“I’ve been a Final Cut user since 2000. I’ve written three “Final Cut Pro for Dummies” books (plus one about Final Cut Express). I’ve written fairly glowing reviews of multiple versions of Final Cut for multiple Mac magazines. But since 2010, I’ve been contemplating my escape from Planet Final Cut…”
You’re not the only one, Helmut…
Welcome!
We finally decided to start blogging! Check back for regular thoughts, advice and general chit chat!