Round Table Discussion in Downtown Boston


After spending a lot of time filming for Cambridge Sound Management last week, we got to branch out into something a little different. We were at the offices of Pan, a Boston public relations firm, as they were holding an event on modern marketing issues. This meant our video producers were pressed for time. We had to shoot our interviews and B-roll in the small window between guest arrival and the round table’s start.

A Shoot with a View

One of the toughest choices we had for this was which way to shoot. We were on the eighth floor of a building right on the waterfront of Boston, and the windows had a terrific view. We thought about putting the vista of Boston harbor in the background, but although it was beautiful, we decided to shoot looking through the windows into the office. This gave us a more thematic background, and we didn’t have to worry about the view changing too dramatically as the sun set.

The Show Goes On

Taking a page out of the theatrical playbook, we only had one shot at getting this event right. This changes our methods dramatically. With limited opportunities to get footage other than the event itself we had to shoot with two cameras so that we could edit without creating jump cuts,  edited together shots from the same camera that created a discontinuity in subject’s movements. We also needed to place our cameras and lights carefully so we could capture the action without getting in the way of the live event.

Sounds Good

In any project audio plays a critical, yet often overlooked, role. We had five speakers during the roundtable. A camera with at least five audio inputs was not something we had at our disposal. We had to use an external audio recorder which had four inputs, and one of the inputs on one of the cameras. We were running on all lapel microphones, four of the five them were running wirelessly. While convenient, wireless microphones create the issue of potential interference. So we had to have one of our video producers dedicated to listening to the audio recorder to make sure any kind of interference was minimized.

One of the things we enjoy here at Skillman Video Group is the variety that this work puts into our days. We enjoyedn great views of the city, explored cutting age marketing theory, and talked with people doing new and exciting things. We’ll be sure to inform you when the videos are finished.

Skillman Video Group LLC is a Boston video production company. Call us anytime at 617-858-8232.