Parc Entertainment - A Video Production Company - Birmingham, AL

I received an email a few days ago from an individual interested in purchasing a large quantity of videotape. I quickly scanned the email. It was odd, but I just  assumed he made an honest mistake. After all, we are a video production company, not a supplier. I responded and recommended a reputable supplier that I have used several times before.

After sending the email, I looked at his original message and read it more carefully. The more I read, the more suspicious it sounded. First, he introduces the email by giving his name, but does not tell me who he works for and what position he holds. Second, he doesn’t seem to know whether I am a video production company or an equipment supplier. If he obtained my email address from my website, then he would easily see that Parc Entertainment is a video production company. Third, if he is a professional in the production industry (as he indicates both from the content of his email and his email address) then surely he would be aware of the production supply businesses that are out there. And finally, there’s something about the way the message reads that throws up a red flag. The grammar isn’t quite right and some words are misspelled. Here’s the original message I received:

GOOD DAY,
I Am …,I Want to Order The Product Bellow.

SONY DVCAM TAPE PDV184N …………………….

165UNITS

I Will Like You To Get Back To Me Now With The Total Cost Plus Sales Tax.I Will Forward My (Visa Card) or (Master Card) Details For Payment As Soon As You Email Me Quote..

If you don’t have the tapes or you are a video production store,Videographers or photgraphers and you have a supplier that you can help us place a special order overnight and we can offer $3 on each unit for service render fee and make payment upfront before you place the order.We want your store to help us order from any supplier you know because we are busy in our production film field.

Get Back To Me Soonest on email.

Hi Clint,Thanks for your email.I want to know if you can help us place a special order for 165units of sony tapes and we will make payment upfront plus tax and give you extra $3 on each unit for service render fee.Pls render us the favour because we are kinda busy on a film location field.

Clint,I know it will save me money but i will appreciate if you can get us the units through your company and we will keep you in our record for future business on video production contract.

Understanding as much as possible about the physics of light will greatly improve your skills as a cinematographer. I recommend reading Placing Shadows as a good reference. For my location work, I normally use an Arri kit consisting of one (1) 1000 watt lamp with chimera soft box, two (2) 650 watt lamps, and one (1) 350 watt lamp. The kit comes with stands, scrims, gels, and diffusion; each accessory giving me the flexibility to manipulate the light.

The Arri kit provides great latitude in an easy-to-transport package. Recently I have also been utilizing china balls while on set. China balls are a great addition to your lighting package and they have several advantages. However, consideration must be given to the type of look you want to achieve before you decide to use them, because china balls aren’t right for every occasion.

The first thing to consider is the fact that the light coming from a china ball is difficult to trim. You’re dealing with an even and diffused light source, so you will need flags and c-stands to control how the light spills onto the scene.

Second, if you want to utilize a low-key lighting approach to your set, china balls are probably not the way to go. Since the light output is even, the contrast of the subject is reduced.

Third, china balls are difficult to gel. You can always purchase daylight balanced bulbs or tungsten bulbs to match the color temperature of your scene, but trying to color correct with gel is more challenging than using lamps with barn doors.

With these considerations in mind, china balls have some great advantages:

Light Output

China balls give you a nice, soft, diffused light source with little effort. If you want to achieve the same look with a lamp from an Arri kit, you would have to add a chimera, or diffusion, add some scrims, adjust the lens, etc. With a china ball, you can simply put it on the stand and plug it in.

Quick & Efficient

China balls are quick and easy to set up and use lower wattage bulbs. If you need to shoot a number of on-camera interviews during a grueling run-and-gun kind of day, a china ball is a great asset.

Comfortable

Since China balls use lower wattage bulbs, they don’t give off nearly as much heat as other tungsten lamps. Therefore, your talent can work under them for longer periods of time without getting too hot.

Affordable

Not everyone can invest in a Kino-Flo or Arri kit, but China balls are great because of their pricing and availability. No-budget filmmakers can grab a few of these lights, get out with their cameras and their friends, and shoot some great looking footage.

In film production continuity is incredibly important. In short, continuity refers to the consistency of actors, props, plot points, locations, events, etc. seen by the viewer. Filmmakers must make sure that if an actor opens a door with his or her left hand on one shot, he/she must do it the same way in subsequent takes. There are people on set whose job is to watch out for these visual errors. It can be very difficult to keep track of all the details within a particular shot, but careful consideration of continuity will make the film seamless.

Last weekend while shooting a scene for my upcoming short film “If Only,” we ran into a situation that demanded we pay careful attention to the light falling onto the set. That particular day we began filming around 6pm while it was still daylight. It was an interior scene staged against a large window. I wanted the scene to take place in the late afternoon, but I knew that we would never get the coverage we needed before sunset. It was up to our cinematographer to match the lighting in subsequent close-ups with the daylight we saw in the establishing shots.

Fortunately, we were shooting 720p/24p on a Panasonic HVX-200a. All of our footage was on our P2 cards. The beauty of P2 is that every take it itemized as a separate file. Therefore, users have the ability to go back to any take without the need for rewinding tape. Rewinding tape to review footage can be risky due to possible time code breaks and the potential for recording over important footage. However, with P2, my cinematographer and I were able to review our wide shots from earlier in the day, examine the way the light was falling onto our actors, then match the close-ups accordingly. I think the results were excellent. This is another reason why I am a big fan of solid-state recording.

It can be incredibly monotonous to sort through raw footage, especially if the director of photography has failed to properly prep and label the tapes. Imagine sitting at your work station trying to organize footage that has broken time code, mismatched labels (or worse yet, no labels at all), or labels with incredbily vague information (like “Tape 1.”) Any good cinematographer should always think of the editor when prepping for a shoot. It will make post-production a much more efficient process. Here are some important tips to remember:

1. Pack Each Tape - When you unwrap a brand new tape, fast-forward all the way to the end, then rewind all the way to the beginning. This method of “packing” the tape is much like an athlete stretching before an event. It will help prevent drop-out and digital artifacting.
2. Stripe Each Tape - Pop the tape into the camera and roll about 15-30 seconds of color bars and 1KHz audio tone. This will help the editor calibrate his/her equipment before capturing the footage.
3. Label Each Tape - It’s amazing how often people simply forget to label the tape, or they neglect to put enough information on the label. Always label both the case and the tape itself. On the label I like to write the client’s name, the project name (and a project number, if applicable), the date, and the tape number.
4. Preset the Timecode - Set the “hours” mark of your timecode to correspond with the tape number. Tape #1 should be, “1:00:00:00,” Tape #2 should be, “2:00:00:00,” and so on. That way, when the editor is looking at the footage in studio, he/she can tell instantly from which tape a particular scene came. Also, if someone ignores tip #3, an editor will know instantly what number tape he/she has in the deck.

Video Production is a collaborative process and a professional courtesy is always appreciated.

There’s a fine balance that has to be made between delivering a high-end product and maintaining a budget that your client finds reasonable.

Let’s say you’re getting started in your video production business and you need to keep your production costs low to attract new clients. However, you also want to create content with high production values to give the appearance that your client spent more than they actually did. You always want to go for the “wow” factor. So, how can you create videos with great production value while working with a modest budget?

1. Learn everything you can about proper cinematography techniques. One of the easiest ways to make more aesthetically-pleasing videos is to know the basic concepts of cinematography. Video production is a craft. Don’t think that you can pick up a camera and then point and shoot. You have to learn about composition, framing, camera movements, lighting. You have to learn all you can about the camera itself and its functions. Don’t take this first lesson for granted. This is a necessary pre-production task that won’t cost you anything but time, but it’s the foundation for better looking productions.
2. Capture good audio. Nothing spoils a video faster than bad audio. Make careful considerations regarding your locations. Scout them first. Listen for anything in the vicinity that could cause a problem for your audio track. If you can, hire an experienced audio mixer/boom man for your shoot. Even if the crew consists of just you and the sound guy. Trust me, it will be worth it.
3. Keep the crew to a minimum. Your production budget can really spin out of control once you start adding on grips, audio technicians, editors, etc. When you’re starting out, you will need to function as producer/writer/director/DP/editor in order to keep your costs down. However, you have to concede the fact that while you’re on location you won’t be able to do everything yourself. Start off by hiring one assistant to help you with gear. A fair rate for this individual is anywhere from $200-$350 per day, depending on his/her experience.* (a day rate is based on a 10-hour day. You can pay your assistant a half-day rate if you are on location no more than 5 hours.)
4. Develop a shot list. This is a no-cost pre-production task that will save you time while on location. Each shoot needs to run as efficiently as possible. Time is money. So, always write out a shot list before arriving on location.
5. Rehearse before shooting. The less tape you use, the less money you spend. The less footage you put on your P2 card (or other solid-state media), the less space you take up on your hard drive, meaning less money. So, always rehearse with your talent before shooting. Go over the action and the camera moves. Make sure everyone is clear on what’s to happen when the camera rolls.
6. Take advantage of DIY techniques. High-end productions utilize dollies and cranes to create smooth camera movements. Those movements look very professional on screen and ramp up the production value of any video. But that equipment costs money - a lot of money. But have no fear. There are a number of wonderful do-it-yourself resources on the web for creating the same professional look at minimal cost. Just look at our previous post about creating a dolly move without the use of a dolly. Also look at tutorials from sources like Triune Films and read DIY stuff from FilmmakerIQ. Here’s a quick tutorial on creating your own camera car mount.
7. Invest in stock footage. This will be a rather pricy upfront cost, but the resource will quickly pay for itself. Let’s face it - Shooting at the beaches of Mexico would be too expensive. Grabbing that aerial shot over the Colorado Rockies is probably out of reach. But, if you had a library of stock footage, you could quickly plug in that aerial shot when the subject matter calls for it and by doing so you can instantly increase the production value of your video. A good resource for stock footage is over at Digital Juice.

There are a number of ways to keep your costs down while giving your client a video that “wow’s” them. All it takes is a little imagination and resourcefulness. And as your business gains momentum, you can start investing in bigger crews, better cameras, and additional gear.

Shooting under flourescent lights while on location can be a nightmare. First, the light emitted by the bulbs creates a very flat, even, and uninteresting scene. Second, each flourescent bulb gives off light at a different frequency, which can play nasty tricks on your camera’s CCD. For those of you who have been forced to shoot under flourescents, you may have noticed that the color of your footage will gradually shift from a cooler tone to a warmer tone, then back again. Ideally, it would be best to turn off all flourescents while on location and set up your own lights to ensure maximum control over the lighting situation. However, this isn’t always an option - especially if your shoot is more run-and-gun. So, how can you best control the lighting when using your own light kit isn’t always an option?

1. The very first thing you want to do is set a MANUAL white balance. Don’t leave control of the color in the hands of the camera’s auto white balance function. This could make things worse and the color shift could become even more noticeable.
2. Try using a minus green card for your white balance. Flourescent lights will add a green tint to your scene. White balancing off of a minus green card will negate that tint and give your scene a more natural look. However, I’ve noticed that some green cards when used with certain cameras will make the scene look a little too rosy. you may have to experiment here.
3. Adjust the camera’s shutter speed to 1/120. Usually, this will sync up the camera’s shutter with the rate at which the flourescent bulbs give off light, preventing the scene from color shifting. In my experiences, this has worked well with the Canon XL-1s, Canon XL2, Panasonic DVX-100, and Panasonic HVX-200.

Those are a few tips for correcting in-camera. If you ARE able to use your own lights, here are a coupe of additional suggestions:

1. If you are able to use your own lights, but are unable to turn off the overhead flourescents, be sure to add green gel to your lights to compensate for the green tint emitted by the flourescent bulbs. Then, after adding the gel, get a manual white balance.
2. Invest in a Kino-Flo light bank. the flourescent bulbs in a Kino kit emit light at a constant color temperature, so you don’t have to worry about fluctuations in the color of your scene.

Following these suggestions will certainly help compensate for an unpleasant lighting situation. I would also suggest that you visit the forums at Cinematography.com for tons of useful information on camera techniques.

I came across this site today, thanks to the FreshDV blog. It’s called FilmmakerIQ and it has an exhaustive list of tutorials, reviews, insights, etc. on everything pertaining to films and filmmaking. There’s a great DIY section on how to achieve certain effects while keeping production costs low. The site has resources available for any filmmaker, regardless of the stage of production you’re in. I will definitely add this to my Delicious bookmarks.

One of the things people struggle with in the digital video medium is creating a smooth, rich slow motion effect. In film you can simply overcrank the frame rate and create slow motion, free from duplicate frames. If you own the Panasonic HVX or Varicam you can now do the same thing in the HD video world. But what about those shooting DV? Ordinarily when you shoot DV footage, bring it into your timeline, then slow it down, you can tell that frames are being duplicated. The footage doesn’t look quite as sharp and it has a slight jittery feel. Here’s a little trick I learned from reading The DVX Book by Barry Green. First, shoot your original footage in 60i, using a shutter speed of 1/120. When you load the footage into your timeline, slow it down to 40%. This will give you a nice, rich slow motion look with no duplicate frames.

If you looked at video footage side by side with footage shot on film, the average viewer would probably tell you that film just looks better. They may not be able to tell you why, but most will be able to tell that there’s a difference between the two mediums. That’s why videographers have employed techniques to make their footage look more like film, including shooting at 24 frames per second.

Shooting at 24fps is the film standard, while the video standard is 30fps. A few years ago, companies like Panasonic introduced 24p into their video cameras — a setting which allowed video cameras (for the first time) to shoot at 24fps, just like a film camera. The letter “p” in “24p” stands for “progressive,” meaning that an entire frame of video is captured at once, just like it would be in a film camera or a still camera. Before the introduction of 24p, interlaced video was the standard. Interlaced video means that two “fields” are blended together to create one frame. First, the odd numbered lines in a video field are scanned, then the even numbered lines. Put them together and you have an entire picture.

Making 24p available to videographers was a step toward making video look more like film, but there are many more techniques that must be employed besides 24p, like proper lighting, camera movement, and depth-of-field. Now with the rise of HD, 60p is not too far away. 60p means that 60 progressive frames are captured, not just 24. Now there’s a debate on the rise as to whether 24p is a limitation in the face of higher res HD video. Take a look at this article from Videographer and leave your comments.

I recently purchased the new Panasonic HVX-200a, a recent update to the original HVX-200. I was pleased to see that The HVX Book by Barry W. Green was included with my purchase. This is a great sidekick for anyone using the HVX. He also wrote a companion volume for DVX-100 users, aptly named The DVX Book.

Both books provide valuable information on how to achieve the best results from these impressive prosumer cameras. Every feature of the camera is explained in detail, but Green also provides important technical information that you won’t find in the manuals. He also gives helpful hints on how to use the camera to improve your cinematography skills.

What excited me the most about The HVX Book was a companion CD which contains about 24 different scene file presets.* The presets give the user an incredible amount of options for the way the image looks on screen — the “war epic” setting is a desaturated look, similar to Saving Private Ryan. “Desert” has a bit of an orange cast. “Dark Neo” mimics the look of the Matrix movies. This is a great tool for anyone who uses the DVX or HVX.

*Both the DVX and the HVX have six different scene files. Each scene file is customizable so you can adjust picture saturation, hue, tint, noise, frame rates, etc. Each setting you manipulate is stored within the scene file, so you can create multiple looks at the turn of the dial.