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  From time to time, production companies will hire freelancers to fill the gaps on various video productions.  Rarely are two video projects the same– and each project requires a different set of tools and personnel.  So almost every production company will hire freelancers at one point or another. The Four “A’s” When we look to contract freelancers, we run everyone through our “4 A” filter– Attitude, Ability, Availability, Affordability, and in that order. Attitude- Many years ago, we did a large corporate conference in Dallas, and the AV company promised me the best audio engineer in town.  He was good, but he brought a real bad attitude and had to be replaced.  Attitude trumps ability every time. Ability- The freelancer has to be talented.  Their level of expertise can directly effect the production value of the project.  And depending…

The key to powerful, effective corporate video productions is the ability to produce with different styles. When I worked for a video production house in Dallas in the 90’s, a client of mine would always tell me faces, faces, faces. We were doing sales motivational videos for people selling insurance. I had tried to put some fancy transitions in, and the note back was to get rid of the “color bars” at that transition point and to put in more faces, faces, faces. So as we shot for our insurance client, we adjusted to shoot close ups of the people. These sales people were not interested in cool effects, and brilliant cinematography– they wanted to see themselves up on the big screen. As we’ve shot some scope-of-project pieces for a construction client, the opposite has held true– the notes come…

The camera development has been in a state of flux for the ten to fifteen years.  For decades, it remained essentially the same.  But now, not only new models of cameras are coming out, but radically different ways of capturing footage is being created. Depending on the type of film or video production, you might use totally different cameras.  For instance, our films might call for a Red Epic, or a 35mm Arri 535, or even a Alexis.  But for corporate video production, there are several different tools in the toolbox. So here are my top five cameras for use in corporate video productions.  I don’t rank them in order because the different corporate or industrial video shoots require different technology.  A hammer is great if you need to drive a nail, but if you’re turning a screw, doesn’t work…

I had a potential client call me to ask about producing an infomercial for her company. In my mind, I was picturing a peppy pitchman, showing off a product to a live audience, in a 30 minute format, ready to broadcast. What she meant, was a short, 2 to 3 minute web video… an “informative commercial” or infomercial. With the advent of YouTube and Vimeo, anyone can broadcast their story quite easily. No need to buy airtime, just click and upload. In ever increasing amount, we are being called upon to create this new breed of “infomercial” — the short web video. The most common request is for a “documentary” style. Interviews supported by “B-Roll.” But as marketing directors try to differentiate themselves, we do some more creative video and film formats. The “narrative” is like a mini-movie or feature…

Dallas / Fort Worth Aerial Photography & Aerial Video Production Services The 8 rotor helicopter can handle cameras up to 18 pounds, which makes it great for anything from a GoPro to DSLR’s to even a Red Epic. RC Helicopters and small high quality cameras have opened giant doors for getting shots that before only very expensive cranes could do. The advantage is that in the past, for aerials, you had to rent a real helicopter with an expensive gyro mount, that could cost well over $1000/hour and most of the time more expensive than that. And the manned helicopters usually can’t fly under 500 feet for safety considerations. The remote controlled helicopters are able to get those aerial shots in the sweet zone– 60 to 200 feet, where the dramatic sweeps make much more impact. In this YouTube video,…