Tech News: Are We Ready For 3D?

Let’s face it – 3D isn’t new technology. It’s been around for a long while (think back to those cheesy looking red and blue paper glasses) and for a good period of time, it seemed like 3D was just a quirky little addition to old school B-Movies. Of course, as of about a decade ago various studios began releasing movies in a “new” version of 3D. The key difference: depth perception. The film was shot and edited carefully to tweak the presentation of objects on screen to the viewer by tricking the eye into believing objects were either closer or farther away (very different from the original version of 3D, which only allowed images to “pop out” of the screen). This iteration of 3D gives a much more dynamic presentation, and when used correctly, can add an extra bit of flair to a new movie (ie. Avatar, Hugo, Spider-Man, Brave, etc.).

 

But are we ready for that? Does 3D actually add anything really substantial to the film? I’ve personally had this argument with numerous groups of people and it usually gets divided into two categories: 3D is amazing and more movies should be like this, and 3D is campy having little to no effect on the overall impact of a piece.

 

 

 

Okay, sure: these are personal opinions, but when you think about it…what does 3D actually add to a production? It definitely adds a bit of a “wow” factor – which is great for kids movies and maybe dynamic action flicks. But does it impact the story? Is there anything concrete about 3D that simply makes it the new “must have” technology for films? Here at SVG, we utilize the best technology to deliver expert results. With this trend in 3D films, and the rise of cameras soon able to shoot “3D like cinema quality,” it’s entirely possible that in the future, more projects will become 3D. Till then, this local Boston based production company will continue to deliver the best possible quality for every production we work on.

 

Is 3D the next big thing, or do you think it’s just a trend? Leave a comment and tell us what you think!

 

That’s all she wrote, literally: Final ruminations on being an intern at SVG

So here it is, my final blog post as an intern at Skillman Video Group, ending with a nice round number of 20.  I have to say, or write, that I feel as if I have come a long way in terms of my blog writing and my understanding of internet marketing.  While video production has been my main area of focus for the better part of a decade, learning all that goes along with marketing the videos that one creates has been the most challenging and rewarding experience for me while at SVG. What seems to set SVG apart from other full service video production companies is the fact that they practice what they preach when it comes to promoting and marketing themselves.  SVG offers expert internet marketing work for clients which includes SEO, website content like blog writing and social media management. This type of work is what I have been doing for the past three and half months for SVG’s sites and it has given me insight into how important it is to constantly keep providing new content to increase your web presence and maintain it to attract clients.

Not all of my intern hours were spent sitting in front of a computer, blogging and typing in keywords however; I also went on quite a few on-location video shoots.  Designated as the behind-the-scenes photographer and sound, lighting, camera, renaissance woman, I got to be very involved in every shoot.  This led me to new experiences like being exposed to Hebrew, exploring the wacky Artisan’s Asylum in Somerville, and meeting a Great Horned Owl at Blue Hills Reservation.

The culmination of my stint with Skillman Video Group ended with writing, shooting, and editing a marketing video of my own. After some anxiety over finding locations and actors, everything went as smooth as could be and turned out how I had envisioned.  With only a few days away from having the final cut finished, I feel that I have contributed to the future marketability of the company.  I want to thank Christina and Francis for making my time spent at SVG gratifying, comprehensive, and always entertaining.

Why video editing is important

There are many factors that go in to creating the perfect marketing video. Having an intelligent script, skillful camera and audio work, and seasoned producing and directing are crucial aspects to making a marketing video successful.  But perhaps the most important piece, the place where all of this comes together to form a coherent story is during the editing process.  In the last post, the technical aspects of editing were analyzed including the software.  The other side to editing also needs attention, the side that should be considered an art form. When combining the technical knowledge and skill with creativity and craftsmanship, the choices editors make can affect the overall tone of the piece and what emotions they want to evoke, create rhythm and timing, and transform the raw material into a cohesive final product.

For Skillman Video Group, editing is where the footage we shoot is molded into a story.  It is important to realize what you are trying to convey with your video and after revisiting the initial script, editing lets you trim the information into a concise and clear message.  Working with many different types of clients with varying needs, our videos are tailor made to fit the style and intentions of those that use our services. SVG strives to create unique and exciting videos that will entice customers to believe in your company.

If your company is looking to produce a marketing video or you have footage that needs to be edited, give Skillman Video Group a call.

Behind the Scenes at SVG: Editing

“You make three films. There’s the film you write, the film you shoot, and the film you edit.”

-Ancient Filmmaking Proverb

Shooting a video or film is unglamorous. It is an inherently structered, regimented, slow, and tedious process. On set you aren’t creating, just following the instructions laid out in the script: a shot from this angle, a line from that actor. The real creative inspiration comes from the writers, while questions of structure, pace, and taste go to the editors.

Imagine: the writer finds the diamond, the director digs it up, and the editor cuts to find the natural beauty. It’s much the same for social video marketing as it is for film.

We shot our own video commercial a few weeks back. You can read about the shoot here. On set we worked to cover the angles and actions laid out in the script. Apart from lighting, however, there was very little creative energy. Putting the pieces of the puzzle we shot together in the editing room, however, proved to be great creative fun.

The first thing I noticed, after the painful transcoding and backing up process, is how many things we shot that didn’t work. Sometimes it’s continuity, sound, framing, performance, etc. Most of the time it’s pacing, especially in a marketing video. You only have a couple minutes to hook your viewer and tell a story; beyond that you bore them, especially in the age of countless kitten video distractions. I started with a three minute cut and struggled to trim it to a taught two minutes two seconds at a time. the cuts always seemed to be my favorite shots. They just didn’t fit when I reduced the piece to it’s essential parts.

Perhaps I’ll come up with a 3 minute “Directors Cut Special Edition.” Then again, the edited film is better than the ones I wrote and shot. The boundary of running time helped.

This is why SVG shoots so much footage for our clients. We want to bring many pieces to the editing room so we can use only the best and most essential ones in our final cut. We spent two days shooting at the Al Huda Society and boiled the footage down to two minutes. Don’t be surprised when something we shoot for your company doesn’t make the cut.

With Non-Linear Editing technology powerful enough to do almost anything, the artistic choices an editor has are nearly limitless. (If you want to see that power used poorly check out this behind the scenes video of the first Star Wars prequel.) Then there is sound editing, mixing, and visual effects. You can do anything you want nowadays, but it’s often best to stay within boundaries.

That’s why production companies like SVG exist: To collaborate with clients on branding and content, go through the process of shooting, and craft everything into a cohesive, snappy social video.  That’s in addition to technical editing expertise with encoding for the web, uploading with a CMS, printing DVD’s, and so on. We have the experience and expertise to quickly turnaround a final cut.

I’ve hardly scratched the surface here, but I thought I’d share some of our experience editing at SVG.

UPDATE: Watch our new Videomercial on Youtube.

Cut!

I remember my college days sitting for forty hours at a Steenbeck cutting and splicing a five minute short, getting to know every frame intimately. Today the same short would probably take a quarter of the time to edit, but I think I would know the project half as well. There’s something about the tactile act of physically cutting film by hand and splicing it with tape that makes one appreciate their own work as well as the work of master editors and directors.

Nowadays it is so easy to edit video digitally on their home computer, that nearly everyone can do it. An entire generation of filmmakers has never actually “cut” film.

But don’t think good editing is not still an art. Editing is where the story comes together and takes a certain level of experience and expertise to take the most jumbled of raw footage, and turn it into a concise and powerful video. Professional editors not only use the best practices and technology, but they also use years of experience solving problems, shaping story, and most importantly, following the technological changes. They also know how to create graphics and polish audio — integral to creating professional looking and sounding video. They know how to compress video for the web just enough to make it load quickly without losing quality. It might take“do-it-yourself” home editor hours to read printed manuals and scan online help forums; only to end up no better than when they started. When you have a deadline, time can’t be wasted finding answers. That’s why the editors at Skillman Video Group keep up-to-date and well practiced in the latest editing techniques and usually can end up editing the project in a fraction of the time as a novice, and with far superior results!

Save iMovie for your home videos.