[Mark Suszko]

Back in the day it was Prompt Dog and prompt puppy, but I haven’t looked at the newest stuff in a while.

[Mark Suszko]

The looks you see are not something that comes out of ANY camera as a default. These looks are created by how the shots are lit on the set and also some things are added in post. You’re already in trouble if your bosses have limited you to $700-$800 or whatever, because unless you already own lights, it takes between $500 and a thousand dollars’ worth of pro lighting, applied with skill, to create these looks. You can’t just expect to unbox a camera, point it at a scene, and expect a perfect shot. Doesn’t work that way. The lighting in these cases is more important than the camera choice. I could make the pool table video using a new iPhone as the camera, but I’d still need to light it. And budget for dollies,jibs, and/or sliders, to move the camera smoothly in some scenes. You would be paying from a thousand to three thousand to shoot the pool table demo, not counting the editing, and two thousand to shoot the fire pit, assuming you had all the gear already.

When people tell me it’s “Just for YouTube”, what I hear is: “It’s just to put on the largest video platform in the world, with several billion users and viewers – it’s not like we’re showing it anywhere important that needs tech standards and some sense of aesthetic quality”.

I’m not in love with the fire table demo: they’ve added a gradient vignette effect to make the white background look deeper and more visually interesting, but it’s obscuring the face of the presenter. This effect should have been applied on the background itself, a layer between the background and the presenter, not plastered over the top like this. The audio is also weak, as is the script.

[Mark Suszko]

Kyle, the setup you’re playing with could be potentially useful in a rehearsal situation in a small, tightly-packed music studio with a group of 4-5 musicians, but I wouldn’t try it on something like a formal orchestral show. And yes, audio is a bigger issue than many may realize in this case.

[Mark Suszko]

What happened to the expensive original shelf/tray the boss was insisting you use?

[Mark Suszko]

Sounds like a poor deal the way you describe it. The only upside on the NETA side might be the larger potential audience. Think of the NETA opportunity as if it were one of the festivals, weigh the possible networking connections and publicity versus touring the festival circuit exclusively.

Also, what kind of shelf life does the film have in terms of being topical after November? That may be an even more important question.

[Mark Suszko]

I used to sometimes use some teleprompter software to create credit rolls, and it was wicked smooth and fast to do.

[Mark Suszko]

Ned may have a point. The language is considered NSFW most places, so instead of an in-class showing, maybe just letting them know where they can link to it on their own time could be safer. Even then, someone with a burr in their saddle could still come after you for it. Run it by your boss first, at least.

[Mark Suszko]

And there’s a sequel…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqMKQQa5ARc

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[Mark Suszko]

Try using GenuineFractals to bump up the print size.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genuine_Fractals

[Mark Suszko]

It’s not normal to promote the production company in any way, unless the client company suggests they want that. This is because the client company likes to project a sort of monolithic personality/corporate identity, that this came from within the company, not from an outside supplier.

Another reason can be that customers are loathe to tell their competitors anything about their suppliers. A rival might then hire you away from them.

There will always be exceptions, as in cases where the prodco has enough cachet on it’s own that mentioning it actually adds to the prestige of the project. But as a general rule, your gut is right about this one: tres gauche.

The more appropriate place for this kind of self-promotion is your promo reels, and you should always have a clause in your contracts or deal memos, allowing the use of a representative snippet of the client’s project for the Portfolio. Sans any confidential information, of course. You may have to show it without the audio, for example.