Facing Challenges in a Corporate Video Shoot

Our job as videographers isn’t always easy. Even when shooting what seem like static, neutral shots, we often find ourselves fighting against natural lighting, reflections, ambient noise, and other unforeseen hurdles. However, as experts, we learn to adapt to these obstacles in order to produce memorable, high-quality video.

Our shoot, in which we were subcontracted by FreshTV Videomarketing, to shoot a corporate interview and was one of those shoots.

Our call sheet, the document that dictates the main points of a shoot, required our talent to be shot in a small conference room with a window directly behind her. With it so close to her back, the window tended to be very bright in comparison to the talent, leaving either the background either washed out, or the talent in complete darkness. Our videographer, Chuck Green, corrected this by using 200 W of LED lighting in two fixtures in order to raise her luma levels closer to the background, about as much light as possible without making her uncomfortable. Luckily, cloud cover was for the most part maintained for the duration of the interview, and highlights are able to be adjusted in post-production. We adjusted the position of the talent and the camera in order to make sure that a particularly nice New England church steeple was included. In addition, we added black fabric over disruptive objects and turned off office lights to minimize reflections

All video was shot in 4k, shooting multiple takes as needed in order to produce the best possible answer and intonation. We then redid all questions with the camera moving slightly on the dolly. One challenge we faced here was the heavily textured carpet, requiring us to move the dolly only along the ridges to allow it to move smoothly.

For B-roll, or supplementary footage to be intercut among the main footage, we used both staged and natural shots, shooting both inside the office and outdoors. While shooting inside, we again faced the challenge of the textured carpet and were thus somewhat limited in terms of camera movement.

In terms of sound, we struggled with a fair amount of street noise coming in from the windows behind for our talent, so we put the camera low in front of, rather than above her as usual, which helped to block out the noise somewhat. As with all our shoots, we recorded twenty seconds of room tone at the end of the interview, so that additional footage could be added without auditory disruption.

Shooting video will always have difficulties. Even an experienced videographer won’t have the capability to prevent these difficulties from occurring, but will be able to adjust to the situation as needed in order to ensure that your video turns out great.

To learn more about what we can do for your company’s video needs, contact Boston video production company, Skillman Video Group at at [email protected]