Making a House Call: SVG on Location

For our most recent shoot, SVG made a “house call.” One of our Directors of Photography and a Production Assistant traveled to Amesbury to shoot a video of our client giving a speech. The video will be presented internationally at a conference the client will be unable to attend.

House calls can be risky – you never really know what you’re getting into until arriving. This one was no different – there was construction, a time limit, a dog, and lots of windows with light pouring through. You must also deal with bringing all the equipment there. House calls, however, can also be really nice. Being in his or her own home allows the client a certain level of comfort. You can leave certain equipment in the car upon inspection of the place, and if you need to grab something, it’s only right outside. Plus, you can create a really personal set for the video.

This house call was a great one. Upon arrival it only took moments to decide where to shoot and what would be needed to do so, then less than an hour to set up all of the equipment and move around some of the furniture. The windows were actually helpful, allowing just enough nice natural light so that only two LED lights were needed to assist with the overall look of the video. The dog was sweet, well-behaved, and (most importantly) quiet. Even the construction ceased as soon as it was time to start filming. What luck!

The speech lasted around 14 minutes. She used notes to read off of, rather than using a teleprompter, attempting to replicate what it would be like if she was actually at the conference. Soon, she will supply our editor for the video with graphics that he can overlay on the final product to help break up the still image.

Only a few takes were needed to nail it, and the only thing to stall the production for a moment was an overhead helicopter. The whole shoot only ended up taking less than four hours. It was a great learning experience, both for making house calls and adjusting to a new setting and treating it like we would a studio.

This video allows for a quick turnaround, with the finished product already expected to be playing overseas the first week of August. Hopefully the post-production will fly by as quickly as the actual shoot!

Skillman Video Group LLC is a Boston video production company. Call us anytime at 1-800-784-0140.