Parc Entertainment - A Video Production Company

Based on the lessons I’ve learned by running a business, I have written several articles on this blog pertaining to entrepreneurship. Earlier this year I wrote an article providing tips on what you need to have in your contract before starting any job. As I looked back over that list, I realized that I missed something very important. What happens if your client decides to pull the plug before the project is finished?

“No problem,” you say, “my client paid me a deposit up front.” That may be true, but a deposit usually only covers certain up-front creative costs. Let’s say the time you have invested into a particular project now exceeds the amount of the deposit. Let’s assume that you are well into phase two, when all of a sudden, the project is put on hold. Your client becomes unresponsive. When he/she does finally return your calls, he/she says that the company has been forced to table the project. So, how do you recoup the cost of your time up to that point?

Since this has happened to me before, I now insert a clause into each of my contracts which says something like, “Should Client terminate the project before its completion, Client is responsible for paying Company all unpaid costs incurred in the production of this video up to the date of termination.” By inserting this sentence, I can cover myself in case my client decides to shelve the video project before it’s complete. The wording of your contract ultimately might be a bit different from mine, but the point is to make sure that you get paid for your time.

If you happen to be graphic designer, a fan of fonts, or just a fan of movies, you will appreciate the following video. It’s amazing how pervasive one font can actually be and how overused it can become. There’s a lesson for the kids out there. Be willing to do something different to help you or your client stand out.

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• Font Squabble: Why So Hot Over Comic Sans (cehwiedel.com)

Running a successful business (whether you are a sole proprietor, small business, or freelancer) depends a lot on exposure. Visibility is incredibly important, because when a company is in the market for your services, you want to be the first vendor on the call list. Sometimes, when you are first starting out, gaining exposure means conducting business trade-offs. For example, you might shoot some photos for a local publication in exchange for ad space. You might design posters, ads, etc. for a local event in exchange for sponsorship recognition. Nothing is wrong with this approach, but it’s important to be very selective for whom you do these trade offs. If you aren’t careful, you will find that you are spending a lot of time and creative energy for little in return. Sometimes the exposure pays off. Sometimes it doesn’t. The trick is to learn how to find those trade-off opportunities that will maximize your publicity. You also want to be aware of those groups, businesses, non-profits, etc. that are only interested in how many “freebies” they can get out of you. Doing favors is fine. Donating your creative talents to a worthy charity is fine. But ultimately, you have to pay the bills and you have to make a profit. So it’s important to strike a healthy balance between the two.

In the past, I have been asked to produce video content for various non-profits. Many times, these non-profits have little or no money allocated for video. I try to help out when and where I can, and I have learned that if you are willing to make special arrangements for them, then they are willing to negotiate with you, so that both parties can benefit. For example, a few years ago I did some video production work for a non-profit. I was willing to do the job pro bono, hoping to gain some exposure among local businesses. Last year, the same non-profit came to me with two video projects in mind - First, they needed a promotional video for an annual fundraiser. Second, they were interested in producing some PSAs. I worked out a deal with them that I would produce the promotional video for free and in exchange they would pay me my normal production rates for the PSAs. It was a deal that benefited both my business and the non-profit.

I would encourage all of you to be charitable, but I would also encourage all of you to be business savvy as well.

Editors don’t always have the luxury of working with raw files that are entirely the same. Sometimes, footage of varying formats will come in to the studio and editors are required to convert those files into a format suitable for post-production or for sharing via FTP or for upload to a website.

MPEG Streamclip from Squared5 is a video file conversion program available for a free download. In this tutorial we introduce MPEG Streamclip and provide a brief overview on how you can pull footage from a DVD, an existing video file, or even a website, and convert it into a format suitable for your particular project.

Some people working within Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 have experienced two specific problems while trying to preview their edits on an external monitor:

1. They are unable to send a signal out to their external monitors.
2. They are unable to preview clips from an HD project in full HD resolution on their external monitors.

In this brief tutorial, we show how to properly set up Premiere Pro CSC4 to ensure that you are able to preview your edits on an external monitor and in HD (when working with an HD project).

*Note - You might want to watch the tutorial in full screen mode.

While watching a recent episode of the New Minute Minute from Daisy Whitney, I was treated to this little nugget of information. According to eMarketer, online advertisers are spending more and more money on video, versus any other format. The chart below details the advertising spending growth (in percentages) for various online formats from 2008-2014. As you can see, advertisers definitely favor online video. Look at the statistic for 2009. Advertisers spent 20 times more money in video than in Search, which is ranked second. And the amount of spending growth for online video is expected to remain a favorite format for advertisers through 2014.

Here are a few things we can take away from these statistics:

• Utilizing video for your online presence is a necessity in today’s market
• Video has impact
• Video is an effective communication tool
• Your competition is using video
• The use of video is one of the best ways you can gain an audience and improve your bottom line.

A few months ago I posted a couple of articles outlining ways in which you can help make the post-production process a little more efficient.  The foundation for a smooth post-production is laid during the actual shoot. If you are disciplined and organized in production, then the edit will get off to a good start. There are two major things you need to do throughout the shoot - slate each shot and maintain a shooting log.

Slating each shot means placing a clapboard, card, a piece of paper, etc. in front of the camera before each scene. Written on the slate is valuable information pertaining to the individual shot, like scene number, take number, production title, and date. Having this information appear before every take will help your editor keep track of all the shots throughout post. Even if you are working both as director and editor, a slate is an invaluable tool.

In addition to slating each shot, it’s important to keep a running log of everything you shoot. A log contains a description of each take and a record of what happened during that particular take. It will help you remember, for example, if the pickup truck blocked your main actor on the fourth take or the sixth take. It will help you to remember if the conveyor belt moved at just the right speed on the third or the fifth take. And it will help you to remember when your interview subject used that great sound byte.

This all sounds great, in theory. The reality is, sometimes in the hectic pace of a documentary corporate shoot, or low-budget indie project, it can be easy to get off track. However, the iPhone has apps available to help make the process easier and more convenient. iSlate, from iBuiltThis, is a digital clapper that allows users to conveniently slate and log their shots. It’s perfect for a run-and-gun project with a bare bones crew, because you will always have your phone with you. And since it’s only $3, iSlate is a great option when compared to actual chalk and dry-earse slates on the market.

I love my iPhone. It’s incredible to have that many resources and tools in one device. I’m always interested in learning about new apps that can increase productivity and make my life a little more organized and efficient. Last month I posted a video about Cinemek’s storyboarding application, Hitchcock. Today I wanted to post a little information about Helios. Released last April, Helios is a tool for cinematographers that will allow you to calculate the position of the sun for any given day, at any given time, at any given location around the world. This can be an incredibly useful tool for DP’s working with natural light. Let’s say you have an exterior shoot in Grand Rapids, MI next month, but it’s overcast and rainy on your location scout . With the Helios app, you can instantly calculate where the sun will be at the exact moment of your shoot. It’s a great way to keep track of the ever-changing lighting conditions when shooting outdoors.

This question came to me recently…

We have a cannon XHA1 and are having issues shooting dark objects inside. The pixels within the dark areas become noisy or fuzzy. It seems like lower shutter speeds help this issue but don’t resolve it all together.

If you are shooting video in low light and your camera is set to auto iris, the camera will maximize all available light to boost the exposure. This results in grainy, or noisy video. You can also introduce grain onto your video if you increase the camera’s gain to compensate for low light. Many video cameras with manual controls allow you to control the amount of gain, usually in increments ranging from 0db to 18db.

To ensure that your image is clear, sharp and clean, you need to ensure that there is enough light on set for a proper exposure. If your script requires that you shoot nighttime scenes, or scenes in dark interiors, remember that the illusion of darkness is created NOT by taking away the amount of light on set, but by increasing the amount of contrast. You can shoot nighttime scenes without grain by knowing how to properly light the set.

This question came to me recently:

My videos have been oddly yellowish. I read somewhere about ‘white balancing.’ I have a Sony Cybershot. Do I white balance on the camera during filming, do I do it during editing, if so where? Thank You so much for your help!

Although our eyes can’t perceive it, certain light sources give off a particular color temperature. These varying degrees of color are represented on the Kelvin scale. Tungsten bulbs burn at about 3200 degrees Kelvin, while sunlight burns at about 5600 degrees Kelvin. However, the color temperature of the sun doesn’t stay constant. It’s constantly changing as morning turns to afternoon and as afternoon turns to dusk. Our eyes can automatically compensate for this change in color temperature, but video cameras cannot. So, they need to be calibrated every time the light source changes. Otherwise, the footage can come out with an orange tint, blue tint, or even a green tint.

Calibrating a video camera to ensure correct color representation is called white balancing. Many cameras come with preset white balance settings for different shooting situations - indoor, daylight, cloudy, etc. However, conducting a manual white balance on your camera is the best way to ensure that all colors within your scene are represented correctly. There’s a great tutorial on color temperature and white balancing here. You can also read my production tip for shooting under fluorescent lights, which pose a different set of challenges.

To white balance, turn your camera’s white balance setting to manual. Then, hold a plain, white sheet of paper in front of the camera and zoom in until the paper fills the screen (make sure you hold the paper under the light source under which you will be filming). Then (this is true of most cameras with manual white balance), press and hold your white balance button until your camera confirms that a proper white balance has been set. Then, you’re ready to shoot. Just remember to re-white balance every time you change locations and lighting setups. Read this post for tips on how to adjust your white balance to a warmer or cooler tone.