Blogging from NTEN Nonprofit Tech Conference. If you aren’t able to log-in and learn, I am tweeting and Cinchcasting from the conference and posting information from workshops I attend.
Stacy from See3 Communications did a great job of taking us through planning and pre-production for your organization or personal videos. You can review her PowerPoint here. Let me summarize.
Pre-Production
- What are your goals?
- Who is your audience?
- What is the timeframe/budget?
- How will you measure success?
- Who will shoot and edit?
- How will you share the finished product?
Preparing for Production
- Production schedule
- Determine format – HD, Beta etc.
- Get familiar with gear (practice and review)
- Scout locations and plan
- Prepare interview questions/script
- Review any pre-existing media
Before You Press Record in an Interview
- Interviews with leadership, guests ahead of time
- B-roll – background video – helps tell the story visually
- Check location lighting and sound issues
- Educate interview subject – line of sight, off camera, questions and complete answers
- Find your frame – off set from center – divide into thirds
- Medium close up – general answers
- Close up – emotional answers brings viewer in
- Set white balance, focus and iris (light level on face)
- Check audio levels, record AND playback test
- Place interviewer CLOSE to camera – shoot from over interviewers shoulder so guest looks at interviewer/camera
- Run 15 sec of black or color bars at beginning of tape so you don’t miss beginning of recording
- Process environment, B-roll
- Pick the right microphone
Workflow and Process
- Import and organize on a flash drive and back up (alot and always)
- Render our clips for transcript as needed
- Paper edit – from hard copy transcript (great intern work)
- String out
- Rough cut – look at sequences
- Fine cut – smoothing placing B-roll, music (Royalty free music)
- Final cut
- Build a story line
Resources:
Talisman Thinking Out Loud 