Many corporate videos today are built around the interview.  Clients, employees, spokespeople are recorded talking about the product or service.  It’s a quick and effective way to tell your corporate story.  This usually involves the video production of shooting an interview (discussed Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3).  What we’re discussing today is the mechanics behind the editing of the corporate interview.

How We Shoot Interviews in Dallas

First, we like to shoot interviews with two cameras.  Lately, the majority of these interviews are with DSLR’s– they give a very nice, rich look, shallow depth of field and with the speed of the lenses, we don’t need a lot of light to make it beautiful.

So after shooting, I will have two different sets of clips and a totally separated audio file.  I use Final Cut Pro to edit and I build a timeline with one camera on video layer 1 and the other camera on video layer 2.  I also separate out the audio tracks so that the clips all keep their audio.  Then I lay down the discreet audio recorded on set separately.  The program Plural Eyes is a neat little software fix for syncing audio.  I tell it to sync the sequence I have open and within a few moments, it has analyzed the waveforms of all the clips and brought them together.  If my camera sound is really bad, I might have to manually sync it, but generally pluraeyes is great.

After that, I go through the sequence, cutting and pasting good sound bites onto a “selects” sequence.  Then from those selects, I can pick just the great ones, all depending on the length of the video the client is wanting.  I have one Dallas Fort Worth client that it’s not unusual to have over 60 minutes in selects and we need to get it to about 8 minutes.

In video productions, it’s critical to be able to shoot and edit corporate interviews.  Talking heads don’t have to be boring but can be done in an exciting way that engages the viewer in to your product or services.

How do I get started?

One of the questions I get asked by new filmmakers is exactly how to get started.  They want to know what their next step is.  Here is an extremely practical, where the rubber meets the road answer to that question.

What’s my First Step towards making my feature film?

I usually start the answer by asking a couple of clarifying questions.  Do you have a screenplay written?  (If no, then that’s your next step).  It doesn’t have to be polished and locked for production, but needs to be complete.  Do you have any funding?  Usually the answer is no.  Have you set up the entity?  Usually, the answer is a look of confusion.

So here goes.  First,you need to have some development money ready and able to be spent.  $5K would be good, $10K would be better, and $20K would be great.  Now here’s where one of many Catch-22′s are encountered– you need money to go to the second step, and you need the second step to get the money.

Secondly, you need to set up a legal entity.  Maybe this is a Limited Partnership or an LLC, or even an S Corp.  If this is your first time, it’s a really good idea to hire an entertainment lawyer to help you with this first step.  One way to beat this Catch-22 is to do some sort of agreement with your investor that they will front you the development money so that you can get your entity and the crucial paperwork that comes with it ready.

Third, you need the Big Four Documents: Entity Papers (for an LP, it would be the LP Agreement), Offering Memorandum (this is the risk factors), Subscription Booklet, and the last one is the Business Plan.  Again, the lawyer will assist you here on the paperwork.

Once these ducks are lined up, you can now approach investors about your film.  Make sure you also consult with a securities attorney in case your entertainment attorney doesn’t do that.

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If you’d like to register, go to the SFilms store by clicking here.  If you plan on coming, please do register as soon as possible.  At this workshop, you will learn how to handle weapons like a professional, adding value to your performance on the set.  You’ll also learn some fight basics and learn to perform in the midst of special effects– what can be costly and how to be safe.

You can take one class or all four over the two days.  And if you’d like to experience a squib hit at the end of the SFX class Sunday afternoon, you can add that for $35.  Each class is $49 and all four is a discounted $155.  Hope to see you there!

One of the services we provide is music video production.  Artists will contact us looking for production services.  The problem comes in trying to determine a quick cost estimate, because music videos can cost as little or as much as you want, depending on how much production value you want.  It’s like asking…

How long is a piece of string?

Well it depends.  For music videos, how many locations?  How many days of shooting will be required?  What about other performers?  Dancers, extras?  If you want it to look like a concert setting for some of it, now we’re talking about staging and lighting and potentially hundreds of extras.  (Like in this music video from “Rising Stars”)

Production Value Matters

Or it’s a concept video, with a variety of locations and actors.  So the price can vary greatly.  As a general rule, most professional music videos out of Nashville start in the $15K range and move up from there.  Because we own all our own equipment, our prices start significantly lower.  We use steadicams, jibs and sliders to give everything a high production value.

Again, it will all depend.  So each one is different and the best thing is to call or contact us through the website form to get an accurate estimate.  Here’s a rap music video that we did with one primary location  in Dallas.

I remember in 1997, we offered our big client the ability to do live onsite editing for playback right then at their closing event in the hotel ballroom.  Sure, we had done some betacam editing, linear style in a few rare instances, but this time, we’d be playing back on our relatively new non-linear editing computer.  We had a crew of 8 or so and felt we could do it.  It was scary– the computer had a propensity to crash or to fail and we would not have time to output to tape.  But it all worked that night.

In 2000, it had become even more simple.  I took a laptop to a clients event and ingested the tape footage and played back a video– all as a one man crew.

On Site Video Editing Today

Today, on site editing has become a mainstay for many corporate clients who hold tradeshows, conferences, or sales meetings.  Technology has made it quick and reliable.  I’m on the floor at the Heli Expo 2012 editing live for one of the large helicopter makers.  Footage comes in on P2 cards, CF cards and memory sticks, all are flying back and forth.

The interesting thing about the videos, destined for daily facebook updates for the international client, is that wide variety of footage.  It used to be different sizes and frame rates would crash systems faster than anything.  But today, I’ve got footage shot in 1080 50i from our European friends, 720p 24 frames from one camera unit… and then 1080 24p from a DSLR.  And it all meshes together well.

Technology has come a long way.  The next big improvement for on site editing will be faster processors– the biggest setback on site is the speed of ingesting the footage and converting or compressing the footage.  The actual editing is pretty quick.

Experienced & Trained Actors Save Time & Money

Early in my directing career, I was casting a day player speaking role on one of my films.  I auditioned the part with some sides that included her lines.  I looked at whether she could pull off the part as an actor.  But I made a mistake.  On the day of the shoot, it was required that she get roughed up a bit– not really a stunt situation– but needed to move a bit and the actor I cast was extremely stiff.  It showed.  It was not pretty.

The lesson I took moving forward was not to be so tunneled-vision in the audition. If the part requires the person to take a punch, I might want to see how they move in the audition room.  It matters.

This is one reason we’re teaching screenfighting basics on Sunday morning.  It’s not about becoming a stunt person, but about being a better actor for film and tv.  For instance, on Striking Range, the Yancy Butler character sucker punches the Lou Diamond Phillips character.  All I had to say to Yancy was, “do an uppercut” and like the pros the two were, it was done.  Yancy punched and Lou sold it.  Saved me tons of time.  And time is money.

Lou and Yancy have done this before.  Again and again.  The experience is what helps them.  To all our local actors, get experience.  If you don’t come to the workshop, get training from somewhere.  As a director, I want someone who won’t cost me on the set.

Bad Guys From Above

The Hollywood cliche of the cop turning the corner with the pistol pointed up in the air is disappearing.  The “tea-cup” grip is rightfully becoming rare.  Not as rare are the bottomless magazines, but many filmmakers are spending more time to make their weapons sequence more closely resemble real life.  The Hollywood types are hiring real life consultants to make sure it’s done the way it really would be done.

Real Law Enforcement officers and military don’t point their weapon in the air unless there’s a threat from up there.  Why?  Because it has been proven (many years ago) that you can bring your weapon on target faster by moving up, not moving down.  Your vision isn’t obscured.  Your fine motor skills react more efficiently.  So a real Law Enforcement type has been trained to hold that pistol down when moving– both hands in the correct grip, ready to bring that weapon up to engage the moment it’s needed.  Watch the cop dramas– you’ll see that they’re pointing their handguns down instead of straight in there air.  Watch an older one or a movie that doesn’t care, you’ll see the cop holding the gun straight up in the air.  Go ahead an laugh at them now.  You know better.

Tea-Cupping Anyone?

Another classic amateur mistake is the “Tea Cup” grip.  This is where the person grips the pistol with their strong hand and then puts the support hand under the handle palm up.  The support hand looks like a saucer for the tea cup that is the gun.  People who depend on weapons in their line of business know and have been trained that this grip does not provide the most effective support.  And when your life depends on it, you want to have the most effective grip.  Yet you see this in the movies and the tv shows.  The proper grip is a two handed grip where the strong hand grips the handle, high up, and the support hand overlays it, with both thumbs ended up pointing down range and on the support side of the pistol.  The strong hand or firing hand, has the index finger pointed towards the target.  The finger does NOT touch the trigger until you are prepared to dispatch a threat.

These are just a couple of the things you’ll learn at the workshop.  Hope you can make it!

On March 24-25, the Screenfighting Workshop will take place at S Films in the Studios121 building, 6125 Airport Freeway, Haltom City, TX.  To register, go to the store.  There are four classes at $49 each or take all four for $155.  If you take the special effects class, you can add a squib for $35 (this is where we’ll place a squib on you and you’ll experience what a bullet hit on screen is like).

Saturday, March 24

Weapons 1 – Doug Williams Instructor – 8:30 to 12 noon

In this class, basic handling of pistols will be covered, with emphasis on the Law Enforcement techniques.  You will have hands-on experience with real weapons and will learn firearm safety, set etiquette with firearms, how to properly carry, present and fire the pistol.  The goal if this class is to give you the knowledge necessary to perform a law enforcement role and handle weapons like a seasoned law enforcement individual.

Weapons 2 – Doug Williams Instructor – 1pm to 4:30pm

This class will give you experience with a combat rifle, with emphasis on military and some law enforcement.  Different rifles will be discussed and handled and information given on what situation arise for different rifles and how they are handled differently.

Sunday, March 25

Screenfighting – Steve Krieger Instructor – 8:30 to 12 noon

This is not stunt training, but rather getting the actor to the point where a director can use you more in fight scenes.  You will learn what the basic types of punches are, how to throw them safely, and more importantly, how to receive a punch.  We’ll go over camera angles and how to best sell fighting to the camera.

Acting Around Special Effects - Steve Krieger Instructor - 1pm to 4:30pm

Special Effects coordinator Steve Krieger goes over the importance of being knowledgeable about special effects and how the actor can save a lot of money or cost the film a lot of money.  He covers safety and proper handling of items like breakable bottles and glass, as well as how to safely act in the midst of fire, rain and explosions.  For those that add a squib, you will actually get wired up and take a hit.  The experience you gain in these classes will help you go much further on the set.

For registration and to reserve your seat, go to the SFilms store.  The class size is going to be much more limited this time to ensure lots of hands on time, so make sure you sign up quickly!

And he floods things, sets things on fire and smokes things.  If you need a gag on camera, you call Steve.  Steve has been a stuntman.  He is an actor.  But his day job is Special Effects Coordinator.

Some of Steve’s SFX credits include: Necessary Roughness, Bonnie & Clyde, Captain Ron, A Promise Kept, A Killer Within, Living and Dying, and work on shows like Walker, Texas Ranger and Wishbone.

The way it works is that Steve is sent the script and he goes through it, tagging what might be on-camera special effects (different than computerized “visual effects”).  If the script reads “it explodes” or “his body is riddled from the bullet hits,” Steve takes note and starts preparing.

In one of the Serendipitous Film’s movie (“Striking Range” with Lou Diamond Phillips), Steve was called upon to rig a microwave to blow up, a grenade launcher to shoot and explode near Lou, and lots of blood effects. Since many gags are specifically crafted and created unique for that project, Steve has to test it to make sure it’s going to work when the cameras (and money) is rolling.  As a director, it’s always fun to watch Steve’s videos of his tests.  There’s usually a story behind how it went off, or how the neighbors freaked out, or how the barn was almost burned down.  Never a dull moment.

And when you come to the workshop on Sunday March 25, there will never be a dull moment.  Steve will go through basic screenfighting in the morning class.  This isn’t to teach you stunts, but to teach you the basics of how to give and receive punches and the types of punches a director might call for.  In the afternoon, Steve will go into the exciting world of SFX on the set and how it applies to you the actor.  As a director, one of the most frustrating moments is when an actor messes up an expensive special effects shot because their reaction isn’t right.

You’ll come through the day, able to offer a new savvy to the directors when you arrive on the set.  To register, go to the store.  Spots are very limited– we’re keeping the class sizes smaller this time to ensure personal attention and lots of hands on time.  Also, if you’d like to experience a squib, they cost $35 each and we’ll wire you up at the end.  Just add that in the store.

So what’s the class like?  Here’s a taste, which includes the weapons portion that will be taught by Doug Williams on Saturday March 24.

Doug Williams

Doug will be teaching on Saturday March 24, both classes.  He will be teaching weapons basics in the morning.  This involves safety on the set, difference between military and law enforcement regarding weapons use, and handling of hand guns.  This is a hands-on workshop, so you’ll be handling real weapons (please do not bring your own or have any live ammo on premises).

In the afternoon, for Weapons 2 Intermediate, Doug will teach about rifles and how they’re used and carried.  If time allows, we’ll workshop movement as individuals and teams.

Doug has trained at some of the best facilities in the world, including Valhalla and Frontsight.  He has taken and completed weapons courses with the FBI as well as trained with military.  He understands that today’s filmmakers are requiring accurate weapons handling and portrayal.   He has served as Weapons Masters on several films and knows how to work with actors to achieve the best, most realistic performance possible.

For those who took our class the first time, Weapons 1 will be a refresher.  Weapons 2 will chart new ground as we head into handling of rifles.  Tomorrow, we’ll meet SFX Coordinator, Steve Krieger.