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MEDIA PRODUCTION TIPS

Here are some helpful tips on undertaking a Media Productions project.

 

It’s all about planning your video.

For an average 90 sec video plan around 30mins interview per contributor. (this excludes the setup travel time for the crew)

Have a clear plan on what key points you would like contributors to bring to the video. This means 3-4 focussed questions and not making it a free flowing conversation while filming.

The contributor needs to be comfortable on camera and they have to be briefed and prepped clearly beforehand so they know what is expected of them. Remember they are there to sell their course and should know what makes it unique. And of course they should be upbeat and enthusiastic on screen!

Allow time to shoot other material (B-roll), and schedule breaks.

Allow at least 30 mins to film B-roll with the contributor. Not just on their own but talking to colleagues / students. Think of an interesting and relevant setting like a lab, workplace, somewhere outside. If you want them to talk about how vibrant the place is, and how they are supported by others, we need to be able to illustrate that. Shoots are manic and draining for the crew and everyone else involved, so make sure to schedule time for a (lunch) break!

Don’t rely on archive and stock footage alone.

Archive / stock footage can all start to look the same and quickly look dated.

Sourcing stock footage takes up editing time and the really nice stock footage will need to be purchased. Buying a single stock shot usually costs $80 upwards, so filming them makes much more sense!

Help us in the edit and review process.

A well planned interview is much quicker to edit. If the interview is long and rambling we need to do more in the edit to help it make sense. At this point we might need to send the raw footage to you for you to make the selections, and you will find out this is not easy!

Once the 1st edit is done we will share it on Frame.io for your comments and suggestions.

It is very helpful if you let us know why you don’t think certain shots or music works, and please provide suggestions for alternatives if at all possible.

Warning: the more people get involved with this process the longer it takes and messier it gets! So try and limit these to you and your superior. We suggest sending a courtesy copy to the contributor at the end, but not getting them involved with the review process.

As part of our quote we allow for two sets of changes, after that we might have to re-quote the editing.

Allow time for colour grading and subtitles.

Once all the changes have been implemented we will begin the colour correction and graphics. At this point we can also add subtitles if requested.

Allow time for this (at least one day per video), to make sure we make the deadline.

 

And finally…. Be prepared to commit a decent amount of time to the project. Committing to undertake a production project will likely end up being more time-consuming than you may think. We will look after the technical and creative needs of the process, but we also need your input and time through the whole production process. Your timescales will determine what we are able to provide in terms of complexity. The less time we have to create the video, the more simplistic the end product will need to be. Scheduling the required resources takes time and perseverance! (e.g. academic colleagues and location availability/suitability) Being present during filming is helpful, but we find having multiple people present during filming can be overwhelming for the interviewee, so try to limit that. Your availability during editing expedites this process and enables us to help you get exactly what you need! This all helps to make this project as cost efficient and smooth as possible.