Corp/Industrial Video Opinion on what to charge & lighting

[Mark Suszko]

Al, as far as billing, know your day rate and hourly rate before you commit to a figure. Just because this may *seem* easy, don’t commit to a flat fee. Set an hourly rate with say a 2-hour minimum.

For your lighting question, softboxes should work fine unless the item being hand held creates a glare problem. Even then, adjusting angles should get you out of trouble.

There are numerous ways to get the animation into your edit system.

For speed, I use an external scan converter and thus I get it as useable video right away. To an extent, you get what you pay (or rent) for with scan converters. The really expensive ones do make prettier output, but if you are talking something of powerpoint quality for graphics, you can often make do with a hundred-dollar model. I use both a 6-thousand dollar Scan-Do Ultra as well as a 99 dollar cheapie, depends on the situation and the need. other means include screen recorder programs like you mentioned, however, some times the nature of what you’re doing on the computer can be disrupted by the additional processing and storage overhead of the screen grabber program, and I hear many laments about the size of the files thus created.

Don’t forget to plan for good sound. Sometimes for a demo like this the best thing is to pre-record the audio and then mime the action to a playback of it, since all you are seeing are the hands. Other times we had a person read the script out loud alongside the action, then re-recorded better audio in post to match. What you do may depend on how well parts have to synch up or match a set timing. Just dont ignore the audio, as it is one of the features that make pro work stand out from wannabees.

When you shoot, use your compopsition skills and shoot with the edit in mind. That means multiple takes at different angles and camera distances, and plenty of establishing shots that keep the viewer well-oriented. Build in cutaways and other classy touches to distinguish your work.

[Al Herr]

Hey Mark,
thanks for the excellent advice. Especially on the voice over – had not thought of that.
Al

[Al Herr]

Mark,
Looks like this is going to happen.
Can you recommend a screen cap for their Windows PC? It has to be captured to their PC first – animation won’t run on my comp.

I am on a mac and after capture will have to get it over to my laptop.

Thanks,
Al

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