Chris Blair
Forum Replies Created
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Yep…agree with on the audio. I typically do a final sound sweetening once the spots are approved, and these were approval versions for review…so I’m with you on that.
On the looseness of the edit, those were all client changes. I originally had used mostly cuts with just a couple 10-15 frame dissolves. The client thought the transitions were too quick, so I slowed them down to satisfy.
There are a couple places where we intentionally left some audio breathing room to emphasize a line. One in particular is when the girl says “I AM strong.” We really liked her look and intensity, so we hung on her for a fraction of a second. Same with the line about “last breath..”
I also agree with alternating sides of the screen. I actually kept track of which side people were on during the shoot, but we had no idea which people we’d use in the final edit. We even did some on both sides of the screen, but I ultimately picked the best takes rather than which side of the screen they were on. It bothers me that they’re mostly on the left side but no-one on the client/producer side seemed to notice.
Thanks a ton for all the feedback. I get so close to projects I sometimes question if I’m doing the right things…so nice to get some confirmation and similar thoughts on how to improve it from you guys!
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com -
I 100% agree with you. They wanted to keep framing medium on a lot of these to show their ID tags and badges. You probably don’t notice but they all have on the same color and style of tops and the exact same ID badge placement with the RN tags as well…which is new.
We didn’t have time to get close-ups on everyone. My preference would’ve been to shoot in fewer locations that we had more control over, but some of the locations were at the mercy of the nurses schedules (the hospital has facilities all over the areas across 2 counties). We constantly struggle with the notion that if an ER nurse is going to be on-camera, you have to shoot them in the ER. But if you’ve ever done Healthcare videos, it’s always difficult to find appropriate locations to do stuff and work around doctors and nurses schedules.
So again, we were trying to satisfy the client’s wishes and get what we felt we needed. But I agree more closeups would’ve strengthened the emotion and blooming out the backgrounds would help focus attention on the nurses too. At this point we’re already over budget so I likely won’t spend the time adding that effect.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com -
wow…you hit on all the EXACT same things I tried to convey to the client BEFORE we shot. We originally had planned to shoot b-roll of the nurses doing things outside the hospital, like helping at a food bank, or coaching kids in a basketball league, etc. But there was just not time or budget to do that and include the numbers of people they wanted.
Also…my recommendation was to pick the BEST 5 or 6 nurses in our auditions and really work with them on camera. But politics overrode that and they opted for numbers over quality.
In some cases, we literally had 5 minutes with the nurse on-cam. In others, we had 30-45 minutes. And these shoots are a roller coaster in that the producer and client have ideas about how copy should be delivered which often conflict with mine. So I have to navigate a minefield when it comes to directing and try to get what I think will work as well as what they want.
Thanks for the feedback though. I don’t normally do this, but I’ve been so close to it I’ve lost all perspective.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com -
Thanks…and yes…we’re constantly telling clients to only communicate one idea, theme or story in a :30 spot. The original concept was to just have nurses reciting poetry about nursing. Period. But when there are dozens of nursing departments to satisfy, that’s a tough sell.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com -
You’ll likely have to pay to find academic based research that uses scientific and statistically sound methods of making their case.
But just doing a quick Google search brought up a handful of abstracts and research studies that seem to clearly show the effectiveness of video in training.
But let’s forget it’s effectiveness for a minute. Let’s just say it’s equally as effective as in-person training. What about the following advantages:
Cost-savings of having to send an employee to every single training session.
The repeatability of video…it’s the same presentation every time.
You can check the accuracy of video and be sure it includes exactly what you need to teach people.
Video can be dynamic everytime. People have off days.
Video can show complex processes through animation, through product demonstrations.
Video can take you to mutliple locations to show you multiple processes and demonstrations, all over the world if required.
Video can bring top-ranking executives or industry leaders to the class each and every time, which is impossible with in-person training.
Video can easily and affordably be updated as training changes.
There are many other reasons video can be a great substitute for in-person instruction. So forget the argument of which is more effective or better. Focus on the HUGE cost-savings, the accuracy and repeatability, the ability to take the viewer many places and hear many people in a very short time-span.
Hope that helps.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com -
In this economy I’d also caution you about starting a business right out of school. You may have a fantastic idea for a business, you might be incredibly talented at video production, and you might be mature beyond your years, but there is no substitute for experience in just about any business.
Sure there are stories like Michael Dell starting Dell computer out of his garage in college, and Bill Gates dropping out of college to start Microsoft and probably a 1000 more. But for those 1000, there are probably a million others who tried it right out of school and failed.
I studied video and advertising in collge and have been doing this for almost 25 years, and honestly only in the last few years feel like I could call myself an expert in this field. And even when you’re an expert, there’s STILL a crapload of stuff you DON’T know.
And I’m not just talking about editing or shooting or technical stuff. I’m talking about learning about sales and promotions and running a business efficiently and managing people (employees and clients), not to mention the financial side of things.
Nobody on these lists wants to kill your dreams, but David said it best…the only way any employer wants to hear about your plans if you tell them you want to learn all you can in the next 5 years because your goal is to start your own company. Then…they MIGHT think you have the drive and desire to help them.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com -
That’s what we’re considering for this project. Just depends on how business goes until the project comes up, which isn’t unitl June.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com -
Thanks Noah,
I’ve talked to them. They no longer rent the DVX100. The other places I’ve talked to rent it for $150 to $200/day for JUST the camera and a couple of batteries, and $450 to $600/week. I’m just a little surprised that a DV camcorder that’s selling for under $2500 brand new is still commanding that much for rental.
The packages we’ve gotten quotes on are running almost to $1000 per week (tripod, small on-camera LED light, 6 batteries, dual charger and a few other accessories like filters and such) which again, was a little shocking. Especially considering we’re used to using professional camcorders and we typically pay that to rent those for a weeklong gig.
I guess it says something about their popularity when they’re still commanding that kind of price. I know you can dicker with the rental places and I’ll probably throw them an offer 20% lower than what they’re asking. But I thought I could get a decent package (with tripod/head, plenty of batteries, a few accessories) for around $200/day or $600/week.
Thanks for the suggestion though.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com -
I think the original poster has a client that is using Omneon. If that’s the case, he HAS to use them. We have clients that have contracts with Vyvx. We can’t use another service just because we like them better, we have to use Vyvx to deliver the spots.
So I would imagine he has to figure out what Omneon’s specs are and deliver it that way.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com -
We’ve been in business going on 13 years now, and we’ve found that payment speed runs the gamut, from clients that pay with corporate credit cards and force you to give them a 2 or 3% discount (on top of the fees you have to pay to use the credit), to companies that take 90 days or longer to pay. I agree that taking longer than 30 days isn’t a good way to do business. But if you’re doing work for a Fortune 500 company and they typically take 90 days to pay, it’s virtually impossible to speed that up. There are just too many layers of people and policies to wade through and you’re sure to piss somebody off in the process.
When it’s a small company, I’ve seen countless ad agencies in our region do what your company is doing. I don’t agree with it, but the “we can’t pay you until we get paid” line is a pretty standard one from ad agency folks.
One way to soften this is to require deposits on projects. A third or half up-front gets some cash in your pocket right now and insures a sort of good faith agreement for all parties involved. It’s also a very standard practice in this industry.
Bottom line, if that’s the way they do business, you have little chance of changing it unless you have some service or product they MUST have to do business. If they can go somewhere else and get your service at similar rates and similar quality, you’re going to either have to ask for deposits, or suck it up and just budget for the wait for payment.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com