[Jonathan Alsop]

Just here to write a conclusion to this thread.

I realise now that the problem was political. The issue was to do with the department I’m sat in not wanting to spend a chunk of their budget on equipment. However, this is a fast growing company that makes a lot of money. In short, the amount wanted to increase quality would be a drop in the ocean for the business overall.

So what did I do to overcome this?

I firstly had to push the issue beyond our department. I knew I was hitting a brick wall asking my manager so I asked people higher up the chain, who in turn pushed it to the people with purchasing power.

I then had to justify the purchases. This was easy because I knew the equipment I was using before was unfit for the types of videos we wanted to produce and I wrote a detailed list of recommended kit after researching the most quality but cost effective kit available.

Then there was a lot of delays due to forms not getting signed etc, but in the end I got what I wanted.

A conclusion:

1. Know the commercial status of the business you are working in before asking for kit. If you’re in a company that spends millions on marketing campaigns, then you’re probably at a company that has a pot of gold somewhere and can set realistic aims for acquisition of equipment. However if at a small/medium business you may have to lower your expectations for kit.

2. Do research. Forums, reviews, footage tests. Build it into a document.

3. Create a proper business case, use your research, translate it into terms that people unfamiliar with the technology can understand, look at competitors videos, look at the limitations of the current set up. Also look at the long term goals of the company and why they hired you to back up any statements of intent with the new kit.

4. Ask for everything. I was told that the company would probably only be able to get me a new camera, but I have a whole new kit as a result of outlining my full needs. Also it saves you having to later request more items and going through the laborious process again.

5. Be aware of politics. Try sending issues higher up if hit a brick wall, and be pushy when someone shows a sign of acknowledging your issue, to make sure it is dealt with. Generally noone cares, so it’s up to you to make them care.

I hope this helps people in a similar situation to myself.

[Jonathan Alsop]

Some great suggestions on approaches to equipment. I have really pushed the need to invest to my boss over the last week and it sounds like further up the chain they are starting to understand my situation.

I’ve made a bit of a breakthrough anyway short term. I’ve now got the full cs package via creative cloud in addition to basics like a hard drive, camera batteries, clapperboard, reflector and a hard drive. This will allow me to at least replicate what was being produced previously, because I have essentially replaced what belonged to the freelancer.

Now that I have that sorted, I’m looking to improve the overall video infrastructure.

My current production kit I’ve been given is a 500d with kit lens, tascam dr 05 with a basic mic and a basic tripod.

I’ve been told to compile a report on why the current equipment isn’t
suitable and to come up with ideas to improve the kit.

I really like the suggestions to get the Panasonic dmc gh3. I’ve been reading a lot about it, and it sounds like a suitable camera for the mixture of product demonstrations and talking heads.

I’m still considering audio solutions. I’ve used a Sennheiser EW112-p G3 Portable Camera System with fantastic results in the past so may push for that.

Thanks again for everyone’s feedback on kit and how to approach the challenge of getting businesses to understand video production.

[Jonathan Alsop]

Thanks for the post Mike. Good bit of detective work! Unfortunately it was my last job that gave me the Panasonic AG AC160 and I’ve left that company now.

I see your point, and I have previously taken it into consideration to work with what I’ve got. The first thing I’ve done to the Canon 500d is install magic lantern to try and get a bit more performance out of the camera. I’ve also told the company that they can use the purchase of Premiere to get discount on the entire CS package via Creative Cloud, which would allow me to utilise photoshop, after effects, audition and illustrator at a minimal monthly cost- thus improving the screenbased stuff we do in the tutorials.

One of my main gripes about the DSLR the new company gave me to shoot on though, is that it has severe limitations with it mainly being automatic settings and I almost feel like I can’t trust it on a shoot.
I have to interview very senior people, and I don’t want to be let down by the equipment.

Basically I think it’s a case of some clever investment now rather than later so that they can see improvements in the quality of the video right away- the challenge is trying to get them to understand the increase in quality.

I think because the predecessor seemed to bash out loads of videos (she was freelance so didn’t mind working 20 hour days- she got paid for it), without thinking of the general video infrastructure and the management of expectations it has set a precedent, which means I have to educate the boss on how to raise the quality whilst not coming across as inept.

[Jonathan Alsop]

Thanks for the insight into different set ups.

I certainly see what you mean regarding reflections, in fact this is one of the biggest problems of shooting screens in general. We tend to (again possibly not the best way of doing this) place a reflector directly above our set up, which helps slightly.

I do like your idea of having a metal arm holding the phone and using the floor as a backdrop, this is not something I had previously considered.

Really what I want to do is downscale the set up though. As in the video link I posted you can see basically a mini tripod and a webcam. I would want to implement something like this that I can hook up to a computer directly and capture the footage. I would want the camera to be professional quality, maybe a DSLR attached to a mini tripod. I don’t know what others think of this?

Cheers

[Jonathan Alsop]

Thanks for your help everybody.

I achieved a fairly satisfactory result by creating booles and moving a large cube through the middle. I also added ambient occulation.

Will look into the plug in mentioned.

[Jonathan Alsop]

Thanks for your reply, when you talk about the animated aspects, will this have been done in flash?

You ca

[Jonathan Alsop]

Spot on mate, thanks very much for your help.

You ca

[Jonathan Alsop]

OK guys, heres the craic, I’ve found a way to import it into Premiere.

I use a program called tsMuxer (https://www.smlabs.net/tsmuxer_en.html)
and save the file as a M2ts. Premiere does support this format, and the program does read these files. Further, I have discovered that the videos I encoded use the HDV3 codec, which is why this is such a palaver.

I’ve been forced to compromise on the quality a little by converting to M2ts, but its better than waiting 3 months to get back onto a Mac and have the client annoyed. Some of the footage is still usable which is reassuring.

The problem now is that this TsMuxer program is a little bit unstable, and so some of my clips are able to be converted and others arent, it all depends whether TSMuxer can read it.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to software that is more stable but can convert HDV3 encoded MOV files to a Mgts file or something else that is compatible with Premiere.

Thanks to those who have helped me so far.

[Jonathan Alsop]

Maybe its because I’m a student on a Film and Media course that I spend £3500 a year to go on, which leaves very little prospects for when I graduate and I cant afford to spend £5000+ on equipment that I can use in term time anyway.

Call me unprofessional if you like, but everyone has to start somewhere, and this client is the key to any success I may have in the future. I’m attempting to get my foot in the door early because I know from my own research that its difficult to break into this industry upon graduation next year.

Besides, I havent actually made any money from this yet.

[Jonathan Alsop]

Thanks for your reply.

The camera is a Sony Z1 and it was recorded onto a DV tape.

I have already read the various posts on the issue (in both forums), but all I could find was the 2 codecs I already installed, but it didnt work. SO i was hoping someone might have an alternative solution.