Recently I spent a day filming in Manchester and Sheffield for the US/UK video production company WebsEdge. Here’s the finished film:
Together with Tom on second camera we filmed at various Medical Labs and an interview in Manchester, as well as additional interviews in Sheffield. The Sony A7s matched very nicely with the JVC LS300. Both cameras filmed at 30fps for US distribution and the end results look great.
Another client that I can’t blog about too much: Kirklees Adoption Service.
As well as the confidential work I do with them, I also look after the filming of their training conferences.
It’s straightforward stuff for us, because we have all the right kit and decades of experience. I supply a few cameras and operators then I edit the powerpoint into the presentation and it’s delivered to Kirklees intranet.
Occasionally, the subject matter can be seen publicly such as this presentation at a recent conference in Sheffield:
Beacon Medaes manufacture medical gas outlets and distribution systems. They were keen to to show how much simpler the installation and maintenance of their systems is compared to others.
I used my own voice in the initial edits purely as a guide, but the client decide to keep my voice in the final version.
The guys at IdeasBynet are always asking me for something a little out of the ordinary. This time we were making a TV commercial to promote their rebrand, something fresh and fun with loads of character.
This was shot in their photo studio, lit with two 1.2kw MSRs through my diffuser frames and Dedos as backlighting. The performers were two staff members and one semi-pro actress. They were holding sticks with cardboard sheet and tracking markers drawn on. The shoot was fairly simple, the only difficulty was ensuring that the actors didn’t move their mouths too much behind the cardboard and that they didn’t turn their heads too much or their mouths would be visible.
The post production process was obviously quite complex as you’d expect…
-Get the voice performances edited and signed off by the client.
-Edit the actor’s background footage to match the voice recording.
-Save each dialogue line as individual Quicktime files.
-Motion track the individual mouths for each file.
-Edit the mouth movement images to match the voice recording.
-Apply the mouth images edits with the motion tracking to the ordinal background files.
-Put it all back together in Final Cut Pro.
-Apply colour corrections, add strobing/weaving effect.
I’m really happy with the end result:
Today was the second day of factory tours, specifically for a printing client.
I’ve been filming the specialist processes required to print on promotional gifts, which are made from a wide range of materials and present many challenges to the printers due to the wide variations of shape and size.
I’ve filmed Pantone Selection, Ink Mixing, Silkscreening, Pad Printing, Epoxy Bonding, Laser Engraving, Embroidery, Heat Transfers, Injection Moulding, Litho and Digital Printing, Mug Screenprinting, Kiln Drying… I’m sure I’ve missed some of the list… Not forgetting an industry secret, three colour process I’m not allowed to talk about. Shhh.
The phone rings:
“Come to Sheffield. We’ll brief you when you arrive”
– Sounds like a secret mission.
PHD called me in to shoot a promo for their new startup
Pr1ntingbynet
A few hours filming and a day of editing later…
Ideasbynet wanted to redesign their website to include demo videos for 37 of their best selling products.
So over the course of two days I filmed Carla doing her very best QVC style presentation. I used two camera to save time, and synced them up in post production. I also created opening and closing graphic stings with sound effects.
The videos are all live on the website, but here’s an example:
The guys at Ideasbynet.com created a cool scrapbook,
which together with a variety of props and practicals was brought to life for this fun video.
In the end it took eight of us, and a morning of rehearsal to get the final take.
I found some suitable music tracks, sound effects and light leak flashes then produced the final video in 1080p High Definition.
Over 2000 views and counting…
We’ve just finished four nights at Magna – the children’s science park in Rotherham. It’s based in an old foundry, 350 metres long, 3 floors, painted black inside with very atmospheric low lighting. Bert Agency in Manchester kindly asked me to shoot the commercial for their client, so together with Vic McCullagh on lighting we took on the challenge.
After a screen test session a few months ago, the final actors were chosen, the lead part taken by Finlay:
The Science park has four zones, Earth, Air, Fire and Water (as well as a nice Cafe). Bert had a storyboard to work from, and I suggested additional areas to film in each zone to make the most of our time there. Safety was of the utmost concern, we were working in the dark a lot of the time, as well as being surrounded by water, flames, and dozens of child extras and their families.
The gloves are on… Vic means business
Finlay hosing the camera in ‘Water Zone’
I rigged the camera on the Jib, and behind a sheet of perspex, held up by magic arms.
It worked great, but I couldn’t keep my feet dry.
The turbine in ‘Air Zone’ recreates a hurricane,
and I’m sat in the middle of it…
Getting additional setups. Funny.
After the second burger, he was full.
Duncan and the Chris’s from Bert
Fully operational mini JCBs in ‘Earth Zone’ = NOISY!
The commercial ends with Finlay sleeping in the back of the car on the way home… Shhh!
I spent the afternoon in Dore, Sheffield working with a regular client – Ideasbynet.com who wanted a short viral video for one of their unique and quirky products that they personalise and sell. So we set out to prove that the What?Gravity mobile phone holder can do much more than just hold phones! If you need one in your life you can order it here!
It’s had 61,000 views on YouTube so far…
