On Set: Branded Video for Bond – Part 2

Another day, another video shoot! This was the last day with our client, Bond, to finish getting all of the footage we needed for their new branded video. There was a half-day shoot last week and a shoot on Monday as well. Over the two and a half days, 25 people needed to be recorded as they spoke a portion of the script, and each person required a different backdrop. The first shoot involved five different angles of a conference room. The second involved five angles in a garage and five angles in a lobby. This shoot, however, required six outdoor backgrounds and then four within one of the company’s labs.

This shoot had a bit more of a challenge than the other two – specifically with audio. Because the shoot was at a construction site, it was loud. Not only were machines rumbling around, but there were cars rushing by on the adjacent road, as well as cicadas screeching away every few minutes. For this reason, a special audio engineer was brought in to make sure that all of the audio recorded was as crisp as possible. It was great to have an extra person on set who could pay particular attention to the audio.

Thanks to him, we were able to get the best audio possible despite the circumstances, even if that meant multiple takes. Taking the few extra minutes to get a clean copy is worth a lot more than just speeding ahead due to the schedule.

We also brought in another specialist, a woman who specializes in teleprompter operation. While we’ve used a teleprompter before, this was the first time we hired someone to assist. Sometimes it can be fine to rent and just attach it to the camera, but her teleprompter was on its own stand and allowed for easy mobility. It also had no problems being used indoors or outdoors. The only downside was that it needs power, so she could not join us when we were shooting two interviews that overlooked the Charles River.   Also, one may wonder why you would even use a teleprompter with people who have no experience using them. The decision was really a matter of time. With so many people to go through, multiple takes due to flubs in the script could not be risked. Thankfully, the woman who was hired actually helped coach everyone and made sure that they felt at ease.

Aside from the noise, however, the whole day ran on schedule and went very smoothly. As with the audio engineer, the rest of the crew really focused on their individual tasks and roles to ensure that the production went well overall.

Everyone had to wear construction hats and visibility vests for safety, which everyone enjoyed, and as an added bonus, we all got to keep them! Always nice to receive a keepsake.

Now the time has come again to load all the footage and start working on the post production!

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