Video Special Effects on a Budget
Want to add special effects to your videos but don’t want to spend a fortune? You may be surprised to learn that it can be affordable if you’re up for trying some unconventional approaches. Below, we’ve detailed a project where we created an invisible whiteboard. We’re fortunate to work with some really wonderful people. One of our favorites is Dr. Woodie Flowers, emeritus professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. If his name sounds familiar, he was the original host of the PBS series Scientific American Frontiers. We’ve created many videos with the professor and each one has had a unique...
read moreVideo Special Effects using PowerPoint
We frequently encourage clients to use programs like PowerPoint and Keynote to help get their ideas across. One of our longtime friends and clients, Sargent Production Services was tasked to go one step further. He was asked to produce a video but use Keynote slides and animations as a substitute for traditional video animation. The presenter, Dr. Woodie Flowers is an advanced user of Keynote (Apple’s version of PowerPoint) and is the mastermind behind the project. Not many people would attempt something this challenging but in theory, everything was going to work. We recorded Woodie...
read moreChoosing a background for your next video shoot.
An important thing to consider for any video shoot is the background choice. Not every location has an ideal room for shooting so in many instances, we create a background. Once we learn about a project, we try to determine what the background should be and then see if it exists at the shoot location. Unfortunately, even if the perfect spot is available, it might be near an area that is too noisy or not big enough to fit all the equipment. Not every project has the budget to bring in a set decorator to “prop” a location, so it’s important to be flexible on smaller budget shoots. The photos...
read moreVideo Production Safety and Preparation
We’ve been fortunate to have shot in some pretty interesting places. The photo shows owner Jay Duchin 60 feet in the air shooting inside a dark and dusty warehouse. Not everyone is comfortableworking on top of a swaying, open air platform tethered to a steel bar. When faced with challenging location environments, it’s really important to let the crew know exactly what they can expect. Most crew members are prepared for seasonal cold or heat, but might be thrown off by a shoot in a walk-in freezer in the middle of August. The following is a list of things that you should communicate to your...
read moreHow long should a video be?
You can read all over the internet that videos should NEVER be longer than two or three minutes. When we get asked the same question, our response is “a video needs to be as long as it needs to be,” length should be the last thing on your mind. There’s no doubt that most videos are about three minutes long since that tends to be the limit of many people’s attention. Consider for a moment your own video viewing experiences. You’ll think nothing about sitting through a two hour movie but a two hour presentation streaming on the web is definitely another story. On the other hand, if you...
read moreMake your videos Timeless
Make your videos Timeless! One of our goals is to create videos that get used for years and years. The following tips will hopefully give you ideas to extend the shelf life of all your content. 1. Avoid “dating” references in favor of “recently” or “a while ago.” When you refer to specific dates, the content will quickly become out of date. Keeping an ear out for non-specific time frames will allow you to keep your content up as long as you want it there. 2. Similarly, remove holiday decorations from backgrounds. Someone watching your videos in the middle of August will be really...
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