My 1st video project

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Wilson
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My 1st video project

Post by Wilson » Mon May 09, 2016 1:15 pm

Hello gang,

I have just been asked, for the 1st time, to do a small video for a local non profit. The video consists of a series of about 10 three-minute on location interviews and testimonials with the program participants. The videos will be posted on the company's Facebook page and website. I will be shooting with a handheld LDSR camera, editing video on Premier Pro and sound on Logic 9.

I have been doing sound for 15 years and this project seems simple enough to get my toes wet with video. My questions are:

1. What do I charge for this?
2. What technical considerations do I have to follow?
3. What is the best way to capture audio? Cam mounted shotgun mic, handheld wireless?
4. is there anything I haven't thought or need to think about?
5. Do you guys need any more info to be able to provide useful advice?

Thank you all for your bits!
As in music, so in life

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joninc
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Post by joninc » Mon May 09, 2016 1:53 pm

#1. how much time do you estimate it will take? charge a reduced hourly since it's something you've never done before and you want to build a bit of a portfolio for this type of work. i don't think it's fair to bill the client to learn how to do something new so you have to factor in some sort of break of the price to account for that - like if the job were gonna take 1 day of shooting and 3 days of editing. maybe you give one day on the house? some people would say do the first one for free as a learning experience - I'd say maybe half price of what you'd usually charge for audio work.

do they have a budget? are they expecting you to do this pro bono to support the cause?

#3. I see a lot of guys using a zoom recorder up close on the source and the DSLR and using some sort of clap sound as a obvious transient you can use to sync up the 2 recordings later.
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Nick Sevilla
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Post by Nick Sevilla » Mon May 09, 2016 2:53 pm

Yes:

Try to find a LOCATION that suits the material you will be shooting, and try to make it
so that there is not a lot of AMBIENT sound in that location.

As to how to record for sound, you can use the on board camera's, along with a simple lavalier mounted in the body as a backup.

Try to stay away from boom mics, as then you will need a boom operator / recordist.

Unless all three are to be done in the same location one after the other, then you can set up a room mic as a backup recording.

Try to use a hypercardioid mic for that case, and place it slightly above and to a side of the camera, where the polar pattern eliminates most of your sounds including clothes rustling, and the noise of the camera operating.

Another consideration is how long it will actually take to film these three minute pieces:

Is it an interview with two people, interviewer and interviewee on camera? Interviewer off camera? Interviewer / interviewee interchange moment on off camera?

Or is it a testimonial only / interviewer off camera the whole time?

For technical specs, usually record at the right frame rate (25 is film, 29.97NDF is color tv, etc.) check out some video maker forums for the right specs.

For audio typically it should still be 16 bit 48kHz sample rate.

Depending on this you may need either a second identical camera, or ask the interviewer to ask questions afterwards, and then you edit those into the montage.

Your SMPTE time code should always match on every machine and editor. This helps keep things simple and synched properly.

Cheers
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

Wilson
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Joined: Fri Apr 16, 2010 12:20 am
Location: Denver, CO

Post by Wilson » Mon May 09, 2016 11:34 pm

Thank you guys.

[quote]do they have a budget? are they expecting you to do this pro bono to support the cause?[/quote]

They do expect to pay for the service but I don't know the budget. They currently are shopping around. I do, however, have an inside lane: I am dating the VP.

[quote]Is it an interview with two people, interviewer and interviewee on camera? Interviewer off camera? Interviewer / interviewee interchange moment on off camera? Or is it a testimonial only / interviewer off camera the whole time?[/quote]

Primarily it'll be subject on camera giving a testimonial, but some will be subject and interviewer on camera. The shoot will happen over 2 days about 1 hour at a time. It'll be in an indoor location with lots of people around chatting. I may be able to find an empty room to film in.
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Nick Sevilla
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Post by Nick Sevilla » Tue May 10, 2016 6:20 am

Wilson wrote:I do, however, have an inside lane: I am dating the VP.
As the old adage goes:

"Never mix business with pleasure".

Good luck.
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

The Scum
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Post by The Scum » Tue May 10, 2016 4:28 pm

I work for a company that does a couple of sales videos every week. A few things learned in the process:

Better lighting is probably the investment that's added the most to the productions.

Sound is typically done wild with handheld Tascam or Zoom recorder. Mics are typically wireless lavs, occasionally handheld, news reporter-style. For sales/interview/testimonial stuff, it's OK to have the mics in the shot. Wind, background noise, and big, empty, echoey rooms are still problematic. People chatting in the background sounds like it might be a problem - when you see a crowd in a shot in a movie, the extras are only mouthing the words.

When synching in post gets squirrley, it's helpful to have other angles or b-roll to cut away to.

Slating can be useful for synch & keeping track of footage. I prefer to use a slate with a white balance card that hangs off the side to help with post.

For some ideas of how to run a shoot, and keep track of the media, the Camera Assistant's Manual is a pretty good resource.
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