Video interviews are difficult. Speaking, while looking into a camera, is a special skill reserved for those in the news business.  CEOs and sales managers don’t normally look professional even when reading from a teleprompter. The script should be written in words that the presenter customarily uses. Rehearsing the script not only makes for a better video but will save you time (and money) on both production day and editing.
We recently recorded several great interviews when working with the Host Foundation at a school for homeless children. Those who were interviewed were the staff and students of Children First Academy in Phoenix. They were speaking to a person that they liked and respected, Jamie Anderson, founder of the Host Foundation. The foundation has brought in much needed funds and many volunteers to help the students achieve a more-normal school experience through sports and extra curricular activities to name just a few. Those interviewed were speaking from the heart. There was nothing to memorize or read, the words of praise just flowed. We ended up with too much great footage. Because of the successful interviews, we decided to leave the entire production at 13:45, which was more than twice the originally intended length.
See below for another blog about the technical aspects of producing the video.
Watch the Host Foundation video.

To help these homeless kids go to www.host-foundation.org.

The video for the Host foundation is a multimedia presentation.
On production day at the Children First Academy School in Phoenix, interviews were recorded with the Panasonic HVX camera and a Sennheizer wireless lav mic. Interviews were lit with 2 Rifa lights. Some B-roll footage was recorded. Ambient sounds of children in halls and classrooms were recorded by Frank Salle using a Zoom H4n recorder and a Sennheizer Me66 shotgun mic.
The Edit, Final Cut Pro, Motion 4 and Photoshop
First video clips of several interviews from faculty and students were assembled according to topic to create the basic story and establish the flow and tempo. Then photos and some B-roll footage were added to break up the “talking heads”. A DVD was made for client approval. Many changes were made and the voice over from the Host Foundation founder, Jamie Anderson, was recorded and edited into the timeline. The 17 second audio intro was visually reinforced by video created in Motion 4. More photos, text and B-roll footage were added at this time, where appropriate, to cover the remainder of the VO. Additional photos of Phoenix shelters were taken by photographer and board member, Karen Shell. I used Photoshop to create the black and white – to – color conversions. These images were given the “Ken Burns” effect with basic motion in Final Cut Pro for each individual photo. Text and lower thirds were added 32 times throughout the 13 minute video (using basic motion and drop shadows) to convey more information than we had on audio. There are 6 video tracks
The final audio mix.
As I mentioned, the interviews were recorded with Sennheizer wireless lav mics into the HVX 200 camera, as was the VO. The children’s sounds that were recorded throughout the school on the Zoom H4n were added as background sound for the stills and the VO. Music was added and attenuated for the proper effect throughout the video which has 7 audio tracks.
Watch the video. To help these children go to www.host-foundation.org.

HDR photography is another miracle of digital imaging. HDR stands for high dynamic range. The digital sensors in cameras are limited to a narrow dynamic range (light to dark values). They cannot register the full luminance range that our eyes are capable of.
In architectural photography we have traditionally used lights to bring up the brightness of the dark areas. This required cases of equipment, cables and power packs and one-to-four hours to light most interiors. Those days are gone.
We now bracket the exposures, sometimes using as many as 11 photos to record the entire dynamic range of a scene from the dark mahogany wood furniture inside to the sunlit cool decking of the pool outside. We may use one light to bring out the texture in stone, brick or other materials. The software miraculously assembles the different exposures to render one image with all the detail. This image must then be brought into Photoshop and enhanced to produce the final, natural looking photo.
What does this mean to clients? We spend less time at the location and disrupt fewer people. We are not dragging cases of lighting equipment through the homes and office buildings. The time saved on location is spent on the computer to edit, assemble and enhance the many images it takes to create each final photograph.
What else does it mean to the clients. They love the natural look and feel of the interiors. This procedure also works on exterior dusk photos.
My production partner and teacher for HDR, Frank Salle, has many examples on his web site www.franksalle.com.

An experienced photographer can solve lighting challenges.

We arrived at Elliptical Mobile Solutions prepared to shoot a 3 minute video for their RASER product, a 1,000 pound mobile container for servers. We were shocked to find the large product tucked into a small room (16′ x 16′) with 3 walls entirely of mirrors and a low ceiling! The product was made of reflective metal. We now had light and sound bouncing off the product and the three mirrored walls.
The reflections from the metal and the mirrors were eliminated by using 2 large moving blankets to the right of the product. The blankets are not normally a part of our lighting kit. One small 500w Rifa soft box and a 300 watt Mole Richardson fresnel lit the right side from just over the blankets. A medium Chimera box (750w) provided the main light from camera left.  That was all the equipment we could fit in the small room. Keep in mind we needed latitude for 6′ dolly rolls left and right.  Black cloth and gaffer tape on the mirrors masked off any remaining problem areas.
An hour and a half later we were ready for a sound test in this echo chamber. Our blankets eliminated echoes from camera right. The mirror at camera left was covered with a 12′ x 12′ silk normally used for lighting. The silk extended back behind the camera.
All reflections and echoes were eliminated. The client’s comment on the final video…”I love it, love it, love it!

Watch the video

If you are not sure whether your company should use videos on your web site then you may want to read this Testimonial. It was sent by Denise Nojaim, The Executive Administrator to Shane Albers, CEO of Investors Mortgage Holdings, Inc. Scottsdale, AZ.

“I just wanted to drop you a note and thank you for all the good work you and your team did on our video shoot.  What was supposed to be a quick, 20 minute video address turned into a 40 minute production that you and your staff handled flawlessly, not once, but twice!”

“The final product has been a huge hit.  Communicating our message to our investors via video, instead of via a printed letter, really added to the sincerity of the message since our investors were able to see our President and CEO “in person,” as it were.  Its positive impact cannot be overstated; I have had several investors write to say they didn’t understand the Conversion Transactions until after they watched the video.”

“Again, thank you for your professionalism and guidance through this project and I am looking forward to working with you again in the future!”

Sincerely,  Denise

• Producer, editor, cameraman:  John Trotto
• Sound, lighting:  Frank Salle
• Makeup:  Giselle Fox
• Teleprompters:  The Prompter Posse
• 2nd camera assistant:  Ryan Nelson

You are putting together a multimedia presentation. You need photos, some video, the perfect song and you need to record a voice over. Oh, and you like that Ken Burns effect. Would you think to call your photographer? You should.
Call one vendor. Explain your goals one time and let us assemble your presentation.

It’s a new world out there. We’re making it easier for you.

Combined experience for Frank Salle and John Trotto:
Photography – 55 years, Yikes, that’s a lot of pixels!
Video – 13 years

The Ken Burns effect is the panning or zooming in or out on a still image to create motion when there is none. Ken Burns is the award winning filmmaker whose recent work, The National Parks, runs on PBS.
Searching for music can be very tedious and expensive. We have many sources to find you the right music for the right price. If you stay away from current, popular music ($15,000/song) we can find your song for $40 – $60 dollars.
Resizing the pixel aspect ratio of your stills takes some knowledge of both Photoshop and Final Cut Pro so they won’t distort.

Assembling all of this in Final Cut Pro provides much more creative freedom than other editing software.

The ASMP, a guild of professional photographers, has set up a Tutorial on their web site to help still shooters who want to learn video. Providing motion as well as stills is seen as an important step to remain competitive in this industry. I was flattered to be chosen as one of the 14 photographers in the US to contribute information and experience to this new feature for members. This would have been helpful information for me 3 years ago when I began to purchase equipment and software, and learn the video production industry.

Although the 14 photo-videographers use different equipment and provide a wide variety of services, the tutorial can guide those interested. The equipment and software is more complex than that which is used in digital photography, and the learning curve is longer.

The tutorial on video addresses many business questions such as usage rights, whether to be a camera person or producer, rates for the various people in a production (DP, camera, director, etc.), invoicing and marketing the two businesses.

Here is a link to the new video page on the ASMP web site. (American Society of Media Photographers)

http://asmp.org/tutorials/video-tutorial.html

You may need to be a member and log in to read beyond the first page.

Digital SLR cameras from Canon and Nikon have Rocked the video world, but cameras from Red Digital Cinema will turn it upside down.

Photographers turning to video like the DSLR’s for their familiarity and they can use the same lenses. They produce stunning quality even at low light levels. They provide the “Film look” of selective focus because of the larger sensor. The Nikon D90, to select one, records in 720P at 24 FPS. The price is under $900. One problem is that the CMOS sensor will show action or panning as “jelly movement” The chip is scanned in lines by a rolling shutter from top to bottom. As you pan across an object like a light pole the bottom of the pole is scanned later than the top thus it is skewed diagonally down the frame. Recording quality sound is harder because it lacks XLR inputs. XLR cables for audio are balanced so there is no hum. Also none of the DSLRs are capable of recording for longer then 12 minutes. Excess heat buildup on the flash card can add artifacts (noise). The Canon 5D mark II sells for $3,300 for the body only.

Red Digital Cinema will release the 3K Scarlet this spring. It has been reworked to better compete with the video-capable DSLRs. Red calls their line DSMC, digital still and motion cameras. Yes, the Red will shoot high quality stills also. The Scarlet records in uncompressed raw, whereas the DSLRs record in compressed JPEG. The proprietary CMOS sensor doesn’t show “Jelly movement”. The Scarlet brain only will sell for $2750. This is the basic sensor and lens for “run and gun” shooting. A package will sell for $4750. the quality it delivers is worth many times that. All Red cameras are modular. All the accessories for the scarlet will fit the 5K Epic, to be released later this year. The accessories, such as A/V module, RedMote, and battery pack, are added to the back of the camera. Nikon and Canon lenses can be attached with an accessory ring however there will be significant cropping due to the smaller sensor area (2/3″) in the scarlet.

The Red Mini Prime lenses will sell for $950 each. they are cinema grade and fast, 1.5.

Their flagship camera, the Red One, is the first video camera to replace motion picture film cameras from Ari and Panavision. This will eliminate the costly and time consuming telecine process for converting film to video for editing.

More info at www.red.com

Designers, photographers and videographers, anyone up for getting smarter? You can learn from schools, seminars, webinars or books. I’ve done them all, most recently I’ve used the books from the Apple Pro Training Series and Adobe Press (pictured below) along with a few other books on cinematography and video production.   I prefer the self-paced learning from books.  This method fits around my work and family schedule. I’ve ordered most of them from Peachpit Press.

Being a visual person, I remember more of what I see than what I read. So, I recently tried the video tutorials from Lynda.com. The instructors explained everything in a clear, concise way, and, unlike college, when your mind wanders you can just scrub the video back and play it again or pause the video if you are an avid note taker like I am. I’ve used Lynda.com for Apple’s Motion 3 and Color. Now I feel more comfortable diving into the complexities of 3D motion graphics.

It can cost as little as $25 per month or pay for a year, $250, and you can download the files used in the lessons. Check it out. You will be amazed at how many tutorials there are.

So, here’s to more brain power: www.lynda.com

This simple, “roller-skate” dolly will provide smooth, quiet dolly rolls that one person can set up and operate.  Sure, you can rent one but you don’t always know on which production day you will need the dolly. You can make the basic platform and wheel trucks for about $166.00, less if you use fewer wheels. This dolly rolls on sixteen 65mm roller-skate wheels with ABEC 3 or 5 bearings ($66). The metal V trucks, 8mm axles and welding it all together cost $100. I chose to bolt a high hat ($153.00) to the platform with a 75mm half-ball adapter ($40.00) to level the fluid head and camera.

It glides on speed rail. I made this one 6.5 feet long and 13 inches wide ($125). It would be simple to replace the 6.5 foot sections with 10 foot speed rail for a longer dolly roll outdoors. It mounts onto two low boy stands which you may already own for reflectors or lights (Matthews $265, or Modern Equipment $177, low boy with rocky mountain leg). You can set the speed rail on the ground or apple boxes for low-angle shooting. I keep 6 wedges with the dolly to level the legs.

So, as you see it here the dolly portion costs $359. The speed rail costs $125 for a total of $484 without the low-boy stands.

Weights can be added to the platform without affecting the smooth roll. Weights are used to balance a larger camera, longer lens or teleprompter. I attach a small 7” monitor to the platform to follow the action as the camera rolls.

With a little practice you will be panning as you roll.