I’ve spent ten days shooting and editing 11 videos for Kirklees Council. The videos feature children in foster care across the region.
The adoption agencies then use the videos to introduce the children to prospective adopters – forever families for the children.
It sound like an extravagance perhaps, but it helps get the children out of care and into stable long term families much sooner. And that saves the council a lot of money and resources.
Of course I can’t mention specific cases or show videos on here, but I will say it’s the most humbling and worthwhile work I’ve done in some time.
http://www.duncancraig.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/logo7-300x185.png00adminhttp://www.duncancraig.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/logo7-300x185.pngadmin2012-10-27 16:00:532013-07-03 13:07:00Finding a Family
VisMedia, London asked me to shoot this fascinating corporate for them.
We filmed in Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds shooting interviews and GVs on my FS100 mostly using my new 28-70 f2.8 fast zoom. As we were very tight for time I lit the job using two of my 512 LED battery powered heads on small portable Dedo stands.
Most of the locations were medical so we needed to cause the least disturbance possible. My flyaway kit is small enough to take on a train and be carried by one person.
http://www.duncancraig.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/logo7-300x185.png00adminhttp://www.duncancraig.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/logo7-300x185.pngadmin2012-09-17 09:11:072013-01-23 13:45:46Have a heart!
The day involved filming around the city at three venues, as well as establishing shots of some well known Harrogate landmarks. I shot the film on the FS100 using a mixture of tripod and slider, with macro and ultra wide angle lenses.
This year as well as making my usual Toolbank instore video loops in Sterling and Euros, I was asked to get involved in the TV commercials too.
I got the team at Dark Horse involved as together we have years of experience in producing commercials, and they now have an airtime sales expert onboard too.
A perfect match for Toolbank’s needs.
We shot the commercials in the white cyc studio at Prime Studios, Leeds. Vic M. lit it with a bit of help from yours truly.
I’ll post some videos when they’re on air.
(around Christmas 2012)
http://www.duncancraig.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/logo7-300x185.png00adminhttp://www.duncancraig.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/logo7-300x185.pngadmin2012-08-22 18:53:082013-01-30 19:38:29Toolbank in the Studio
Today I filmed and edited a Royal visit by HRH the Duke of Kent to the Glenn Dimplex factory in Merseyside.
HRH was presenting Glenn Dimplex with the Queens Award for Export. And it was a double celebration as Belling, who are part of the Glenn Dimplex group, are one hundred years old this year!
I needed a second cameraman to cover the event and called on local talent, James Goodchild from Zippy Angels to help. We quckly formulated a plan on the day to cover the event and it all went very smoothly.
In the far northern reaches of the Yorkshire Dales you’ll find Swaledale and Arkengarthdale. These were to be my filming locations for the next few days, and with beautiful sunshine every day it was a fantastic place to be.
This was another great opportunity to use my new camera the Sony FS100. I used the kit lens for general shooting, a fast 35mm for interviews, an ultra wide 11mm for the interiors and a 55mm macro for closeups. I also shot some slow-motion and time-lapse in the countryside.
Both venues have have a different story to tell, through their location, history and decor. So I tried to portray that in the videos. As a business they make great use of social media, the views on YouTube have been fantastic so far.
http://www.duncancraig.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/logo7-300x185.png00adminhttp://www.duncancraig.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/logo7-300x185.pngadmin2012-05-22 18:48:542013-01-24 22:05:03The Inn Crowd
Today was the first proper job using my new camera –
the Sony NEX-FS100 camera.
Staff from the Rezidor Hotel Group were part way through a charity bike relay taking in all of the company’s 32 hotels in the UK. And I was asked to shoot and edit the Yorkshire leg.
I met up with the client’s production team and Lee from VisualMedia at 7.30am in York, where we confirmed a few last minute details. I got a few prep cutaways and then shot three interviews including York’s Mayor. The riders set off at 9am and headed to Leeds via a short break at Wetherby.
It was a good chance to test the camera handheld and on a tripod, I was particularly impressed with the quality of the 10x kit zoom lens which came with the camera. I shot a lot of material on the long end of the lens and even with an expensive Variable ND filter attached, it held up well in the edit.
After a brief lunch in Leeds, some new cyclists joined the relay team and they headed to Manchester across the Pennines. The weather came in for a few hours but I continued filming under a brolly where I could.
http://www.duncancraig.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/logo7-300x185.png00adminhttp://www.duncancraig.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/logo7-300x185.pngadmin2012-05-09 08:04:402013-02-07 18:39:03On yer Bike
A new client – TheBusinessDesk.com asked me along to their ‘Go For It – Exporting for Beginners’ seminar in the amazing Lion of Vienna suite at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton. Leaving Leeds at 4.30am for a 6am get-in seemed like a distant memory by the time the bacon butties and milk came round at 7.30am.
After shooting some timelapse of the sun rising into the stadium, which worked out OK-ish, I filmed the event from every angle and then shot three interviews against a bright window. As this was the only location available to us, I shot the footage with the maximum latitude to enable selective colour correction in Final Cut Pro to bring the foreground out from the shadows.
http://www.duncancraig.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/logo7-300x185.png00adminhttp://www.duncancraig.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/logo7-300x185.pngadmin2012-03-29 19:17:492013-01-25 17:46:31I'm a Wanderer
Appeal PR asked me to film the ‘Asset Based Lending Charity Dinner’ at the Queen’s Hotel in Leeds tonight.
The swanky event was hosted by the legendary Harry Gration from the BBC and raised £15,000 for the Leeds Children’s Hospital Appeal. The shoot was challenging with very low lighting levels and a huge crowd, not to mention an abscess in my jaw.
Today was the first proper job using my new camera –