Category Archives: Boston video production services

Boston Videographer

Packing for Success: Video Production Shoot

Video Production Services in New England

When it comes to video production services, nothing demonstrates professionalism and trustworthiness quite like a prepared team. It may seem like old news but no one can overestimate the importance of saving multiple copies, bringing spare batteries, emptying memory cards, and of course, the old faithful gaffers tape to keep those bulky and uninhibited cords out of sight. Throughout the years of providing video production services in the Boston area, these are a few of the essential items and habits SVG has found to be both necessary and heroic to accomplish our corporate video ideas. Skillman Video Group considers these few and often overlooked items to be present at all of our Boston video production shoots:

Top Boston Video Production CompanyTop Video Production Essentials

The biggies: Yes, we mean bring the camera, tripod, lights, and audio equipment. Do a quick checklist before leaving for the shoot to ensure all of the necessary pieces are there to make your corporate video ideas come to life.

Bring spares of everything (Memory cards, light bulbs, batteries, mics, etc.): Running out of space on a memory card can delay a team heavily or disallow a project to meet its full potential. Bring spare memory cards with ample amounts of storage. Bring extra light bulbs and batteries to spare everyone the embarrassment and frustration of powerless equipment. A video that is well lit for a minute, while the other 20 seconds are not, will distract the audience and can delay the editing process. Bring spares of spares. And while you’re at it, make sure the vehicle has its spare tire.

  • Chargers: This one is fairly self-explanatory. If it doesn’t require batteries, make sure it can be charged before the equipment, laptop, phone, etc. veers to 0% and is rendered useless.
  • A hard drive/laptop to save work to immediately: Nothing is quite as defeating as hearing the words, “It’s gone” in the Boston video production scene. One can never save their work too many times or on too many hard drives. Bring a hard drive to save work onto immediately. The team is taking a ten minute break? Save. Lunch time? Save. About to leave for the day? SAVE! We recommend the Seagate hard drives for external memory.
  • Gaffers tape: It truly is a hero. Cords are hazardous with so many moving feet, a trip or a fall can be dangerous. On top of this, tape tells actors and interviewees where to stand or walk to, making any bit of sequence much easier to map out.
  • Cables: Extension cords, HDMI, etc.

Video Production Packing List

Boston video production services require many moving pieces. And so, even though a team may think to bring the bigger items (camera, sound recorder, tripod, lights, etc.), it can be easy to overlook the little pieces that allow the larger equipment to actually turn on. A video production team may have the expensive equipment, but bringing the extras, spares, and being tedious with precious content and footage, is a characteristic of the production team. At SVG, we understand the importance of this and is another reason that sets us apart from the rest. When it comes to catering to peoples already tight schedules, missing a shot, a line, misplacing memory, or dealing with faulty equipment due to unpreparedness is unaffordable. When in the business of providing video production services, one needs to be prepared for everything. And so, to accomplish those corporate video ideas and anything in between, SVG makes sure to check, save, and always bring a spare.

Skillman Videography Group LLC specializes in Boston video marketing. Call us anytime at 1-800-784-0140.

Capturing Views and Dealing with Window Light

Boston Video Production Services

This past week, Skillman Video Group was asked to create a corporate training video for Coverys, an insurance company specializing in medical malpractice insurance. We knew that we wanted to use the expansive views of downtown Boston from their conference room on the 14th floor of the financial building. As an experienced Boston video production team, we knew that shooting with window light, especially when a subject is facing away from the window, would require Boston video production, Downtown boston, corporate video shootsome extensive light manipulation. For the shots, we used multiple lights, c-stands, and adjustments in order to create well-lit scenes.

Corporate Training Video Production

Before arriving, we anticipated having to use ND (neutral density) gel for the windows. When we got there, we realized that the windows already had a tainted green finish on them which would contrast the gel in an uncomplimentary way. We chose to forget the gel and utilize artificial lights as the main manipulators.The interviewees each had their back to the windows, and so the camera faced direct light from the outside. To battle this, we positioned two light stands and a light reflector around the subject to create a well-lit scene on the opposite side of the window.

Training Video

Each interview was shot from a different window in order to portray various perspectives into the expansive downtown views of Boston. It took a lot of assembly, maneuvering and adjusting to light each subject favorably while not white-washing the background. As the interviews continued, we had a forest of cords, gaffers tape, and c-stands sprawled throughout the conference room making walking a bit of a cautionary task.

We knew that working with the window light and the positions of the subjects would require extra time and attention, but the background visuals of downtown Boston were too good to not utilize. When it comes to Boston video production, having the equipment, patience, and adaptability to utilize each setting to its fullest potential is a crucial aspect of getting the best finished product from each project. For Coverys and this particular corporate training video, we were happy to put in the extra effort and time in order to make the most out of that environment and those downtown views.

Skillman Videography Group LLC specializes in Boston video marketing. Call us anytime at 1-800-784-0140.