M.I.T Doctoral Research Forum Shoot

On March 17, Skillman Video Group, a Boston video production company, completed a live event shoot at the M.I.T. campus. It was for the Doctoral Research Forum at the Sloan School of Business. Four total speakers were filmed presenting their doctoral theses. It was a simple shoot, but it still required a lot of work. At a live shoot anything can happen so preparation is key to deal with any problem that might come up.

Set-Up

Three Camera setup at the M.I.T. Sloan School of Business Doctoral Research Forum

Arriving at 8:30 a.m. for the 10 o’clock shoot, I met with Director of Photography Michael Brigida and CEO Christina Skillman in the lobby of the Sloan School of Management at M.I.T.  From there, the set-up began. It was a three-camera shoot. One camera was focused on the projector screen while the other two were used to film the speakers. The shoot called for three lights to be used. Two open faced lights and one LED fixture. One of the open faced lights was placed high in the back of the room looking down on the subject. The other one along with the LED were placed up against the wall to the right of the speakers. After I helped Michael with the blocking and white-balancing of the cameras, we were ready to shoot.

The Shoot

Soon after finishing the setup, the guests and speakers started to arrive. M.I.T. has used the video production services  SVG provides on multiple occasions. In fact, this was the third time we had been asked to film the Doctoral Research Forums. The crowd listened intently as each presenter spoke for about twenty minutes and then was asked a series of questions by the  panel of three judges.  Michael and Christina operated the cameras efficiently. It was important for them to capture good footage while also maintaining the events integrity. After the final presentation and questions, the shoot was over and it was time to strike the set.

Post-Shoot

The breakdown of the set took a lot less time than the set-up. A good production crew will leave the location the same way they found it. It is important to clean up after yourself and make it seem as if nothing was filmed there.  I disassembled the light stands and folded up the tri-pods while Michael packed up the cameras. Everything was placed on the cart and the shoot was in the books. That doesn’t mean the work is over. There is still plenty to do in post production. The footage needs to be edited and the PowerPoint slides are to be inserted before we can truly say “its a wrap.”

Skillman Video Group LLC specializes in video production Boston. Call us anytime at 1-800-784-0140.