One of the things I really enjoy about the work I do is taking complicated, complex or confusing topics and trying to make them understandable, interesting, entertaining, or simply relevant- not to 2nd graders, but to anyone outside that given niche.  When I take on a new topic, in the writing/development stage, what helps me is to first understand what the thing is, but then try and think about how to explain it to the last person I would expect to care about it.  Some might say this is a ‘lowest common denominator’ approach but I think it’s really about balance- writing with an inclusive attitude, while trying to not to do the subject a disservice by oversimplifying or trivializing it.

How many of these terms jump off the screen at you?  Each one links to a video I’ve produced:

Inbound Marketing

Electronic Futures Exchange

Human Factors Research

Sustainability

Supply Chain Efficiency

Dance- Modern & Ballet

Live-Virtual-Constructive Simulation & Training

Risk Management

Informatics

I’ve shot quite a bit of dance in the last few years and still get calls about it, so I thought I’d share some of what I’ve learned.  Depending on what the choreographer or client wants, I usually take one of three approaches:

1. Containment coverage (farthest)

 
• purpose: to document the performance and/or choreograph
• strategy: get as close as possible without losing hands or feet
• audience “engagement” factor: low, but at least you can see what happened

2. Selective coverage (medium to close)




• purpose: to highlight/sample/summarize the performance;
• technique: privilege principle dancers, facial expressions and compelling details
• audience engagement factor: better (audition reels, TV spots)

3. Interpretive coverage (all distances from CU to XLS)




• purpose: to create a derivative work from the performance
• technique: anything goes
• audience “engagement” factor: high, if done right

 

Do more with less in the economic downturn

Whether you are a freelancer, a filmmaker or new media producer you are likely having to make do with less resources during this economic recession.  Now more than ever, people want value- and producers who can make a lot of out a little are the ones people will go to (I know I will).  Here are some ways to make to do more with less: 

• DOWNSIZE

Use less gear.  If it sits on a shelf 99% of the time chances are you don’t need it.  For those specialized tools you use once in a blue moon, rent. If nothing else, downsizing means less stuff to insure and lug around on shoots.

• STRATEGIZE

More planning = more purposeful shooting = faster editing.  Thinking about your idea and writing your outline, treatment and storyboard is the least expensive- and ironically, most critical- part of the process.  Any time you spend on this phase is a wise investment.

• SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL

Compact cameras, little lights, mini mics, tiny tapes, even the screens are small- more people than ever are watching content online.  Be small so you can think big.

• REDUCE-REUSE-RECYCLE

Organizations of every size in every industry and sector use video content online.  Interviews you shoot for one video can be released as a podcast.  B-roll from this program can be re-purposed in another.  Think about the ways clients can get more mileage and shelf life out of the content you produce for them, and make that part of the value you deliver.

• LEVERAGE THE WEB

From free content-sharing platforms like Wordpress, YouTube and Flickr to streamlined, to slick production planning software like Celtx, to affordable production resources like Voices.com and Shockwave Sound, the means of video content production are readily available for anyone with ideas and initiative to take advantage of.

The urgent need for real, clear value compels both sides of the relationship- client and producer- to think twice about how they use their time and resources and also forces you, the storyteller/producer/filmmaker to be more practical, more purposeful, and more creative.

“Iowa Magazine: Vitality” premieres this Thursday February 12th at 3pm.  Stories on The Maia Quartet, Informatics at Iowa, the Iowa Electronic Markets, and Operator Performance Lab.

Produced for the University of Iowa & Big Ten Network.

Air times: 
Thursday February 12th at 3PM CST
Tuesday February 17th at 3AM CST
Wednesday February 18th at 9AM CST

I filmed and edited this piece for Leslie Nolte of the Nolte Academy of Dance.

1. HDV cameras use the same relatively inexpensive tapes as MiniDV
2. HDV is the same data rate (25 Mbps for Canon/Sony HDV) and file size (12.6 GB per hour) as DV
3. HDV tape cassettes are an “instant archive”- capture it, then put it on the shelf!
4. HDV is very easy to capture & edit with a Mac and Final Cut Studio & with the proper hardware can be mastered to broadcast formats like HDCAM
5. HDV’s harsh compression makes it less forgiving in some ways than higher grade formats, which forces the videographer to be very careful and deliberate in order to get a high quality image. 

You have a project to produce but no budget to work with, or not enough human resources, or not enough time to do it “right”.  Are you ready to throw in the towel, or will you show the world what you’re made of?

Producers, directors, designers, writers, even engineers, all have to work with limitations- of time, of money, of helping hands.  What separates the professional from the amateur, more than anything else, is what we do with the limits we are given.

Do we fight the obstacles in our way?  Or should we recruit these limitations as our allies?  I’ve often found that a scarcity of resources can actually force creativity, leading to an abundance of ideas.  Sometimes a deliberate shift in our thinking can allows us to see the very things we considered liabilities- the things holding us back- as strategic advantages.  What obstacles stand in your way?

It is only human to get frustrated or angry when realize the gap between what we want to do and what we actually can do; one way to turn the tables on fate is to let our “can” guide our “want.”  When we approach the task with this mindset, we can creatively re-engage and see what was a hopeless project as a primal challenge; it is me vs. the limitations.

I am often asked to shoot or produce video for groups that necessarily have little or no resources but really need to make a video.  While I would love to be able to help anyone who asks me, I simply can’t.  Fortunately, the age of awesome cheap video cameras and YouTube has made it so anyone with even a modicum of tech skills and some tenacity can actually make and distribute video content for a variety of artistic, public service, promotional or informational purposes.  Here are some resources and possible solutions for D.I.Y. videography:

• Handy-cams- a lot of little camcorders that only cost a few hundred bucks are actually more than adequate for many uses, you just need to take your time, shoot with plenty of light and good sound (use a mic!) and make it work.
• Your public library- they often have video cameras you can check out free of charge
• iMovie- a great easy to use video editing software that comes with iLife suite on Mac
• Windows Movie Maker- video editing software for PCs
• YouTube- the best thing since sliced bread, features great tips for DIY video-making
• Videomaker- Product reviews, articles and beginner information on consumer video production

Happy filming!

There are many ways to approach interviews and every solution depends on context- form follows function; but from my experience in non-fiction video, I have found it useful to make these things habitual:

1. Think strategically

Know what kind of contribution you want from a given subject so that your time with them will be purposeful.  Before you ask the questions, before you write the questions, before you even book the interview! Know what you need from this person, whether it is general or specific.   

2.  Crew up 

Whether you bring a professional videographer, gaffer and sound operator, or you are a one-man band, make sure you know how to get good video and audio.  Having the bases covered technically will ensure solid footage and when done right, allow you to focus on the big picture- your subject & the content.

3. Do your homework 

Research your subject, including their work and their milieu.  For the video pieces I make, I often interview experts on specific fields or industries, people who are very accomplished at what they do. They are often media savvy and can detect an insincere journalist or TV producer a mile away.  Even experts will forgive a  cursory understanding as long as you demonstrate sincere interest, so a little research beforehand can go a long way towards getting a more engaging interview “performance”.  Which leads into my next point: 

 4. Direct your actors 

In a documentary or non-fiction piece, interview subjects are your actors.  Some are more natural and experienced at it than others, but always remember that your subjects are your performers and just like on a movie set, you as the director have to create the conditions for them to make a compelling and unique contribution.  By agreeing to be interviewed in your video, people are trusting that you know what you want from them, know how to get it, and will present them well.  Don’t let them down!

5. Get b-roll

Illustrate your subject in their environment, especially if the interview is something very typical like a non-descript background or limbo space.  Whether it is a tv segment, a documentary, a marketing video, it can be very useful to have footage of your interviewee in their laboratory, at their workstation, polishing their motorcycle, teaching, playing the violin, anything that shows them doing what they do.  You may need b-roll to cover an edit or simply introduce your subject, or may not use it at all- but you are already there and tape is cheap.  It is so easy to get these shots while you have the opportunity that there is little excuse not to.

Taping an interview for a television segment, my especially curious subject peppered me with questions while we set up. Why do some interviews have a solid background, while others are filmed in a messy office?  Why do you need lights?  Is that a fluorescent light? Why is that better?  Do you ever interview more than one person at a time?  Why do you have two different kinds of microphones?   I was amused by her interest in the nuts and bolts of production but also surprised at how often I replied “it depends.”  It made me realize that the more I do this, the less I am tied to a specific mode of thinking or acting, and the more supple and adaptable I try to be in my approach to a given project; everything depends context.

Today for example, I visit a sprawling hospital complex with the intention of taping an interview, but not having seen the location and not knowing whether it would be adequate.  Experience on office interview shoots has taught me to expect the unexpected, and as it turned out the available space was not ideal- small, crowded, overhead fluorescent lights and somewhat noisy.  Instead of letting this be an obstacle, which I have done in the past, I thought about how I could use this to my advantage in the context of the story I was creating.  Since this was a segment about information science and she was a research assistant writing database algorithms, I decided to make this her environment- her context- and this less-than-ideal shooting space became a nice way to situate her within the story.  The more I think about context, the more purposeful my work is and that usually gives a better result.