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sfilms Archives - Page 2 of 2 - S-Films

Sep 11
Love2

File Management for Production Companies

By Corporate Video Production, For the Crew, Info, Tips/Techniques, Video Production

On Set File Management Production Companies Problems One of the biggest “gotchas” that production companies can encounter is lost or corrupted footage.  It sounds simple: “Copy camera cards over to hard drive.”  But it’s the most critical job on the set.  You mess this up, and you can lose that great performance, that wonderful camera work, those awesome sets.  So to avoid this pitfall, let’s look at the tools you need. File Management Tools First of all you need a computer and hard drives.  Preferably two (or more).  Industry best practice is to take the camera card, copy it over to two different hard drives.  And make sure you copy to each hard drive from the card—don’t copy to a hard drive, eject the card, and copy from the first hard drive over to your back up hard drive.  If…

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Sep 08
Love1

History of the Camera Part 2

By For the Crew, Uncategorized

History of the Camera Part 2 For part 1, click here.  The importance of this information is in giving you, the new camera production person, background into why things are the way that they are.  We discussed progressive film rate and interlace film rate in part 1. The 1990’s The call was out for quality.  For decades, the television signals and standards stayed exactly the same.  But technology was starting to improve and though the television industry resisted change, eventually it to caved.  Why did they resist?  They have millions of dollars invested in equipment.  You change to HD and all that expensive gear would become garage sale material. But eventually, the call for quality started to overcome the call for everything to stay the same.  Everyone agreed it would be called “High Definition” or HD, compared to Standard Definition…

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Jul 21
Love1

Hot Corporate Filming

By Uncategorized

Corporate filming in the summer!  And down here in Dallas, Texas, that means things are heating up this time of year.  For the corporate film set, this can have some major impact.  So in today’s blog, let’s talk about temperature and it’s effect on shooting industrial and corporate video. Hot Corporate Filming When shooting in a hot environment (July in Texas certainly qualifies), you can expect production to slow down.  If you’re shooting indoors, it’s not as big a deal.  But if you’re shoot is taking place outdoors, this can lead to a huge time delay.  With the heat, the crew starts to move slower.  People need more breaks.  When you schedule the shoot, make sure you allow for these delays. Logistically, try to avoid parking the base camp in unprotected hot areas.  Look for shade and areas that people can take…

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Jul 19
Love0

The Corporate Video Spokesperson

By Corporate Video Production, Seminars, Tips/Techniques, Video Production

The Corporate Video Spokesperson In corporate video, sometimes it’s beneficial to have a person talk directly to the audience.  They look right at the lens to tell the story.  This is called being a corporate video spokesperson.  In today’s article, we talk about the skills necessary for a spokesperson on camera for your corporate video.  In decades past, most people were unaccustomed to performing in front of the camera, looking directly at the camera.  But thanks to today’s selfie culture, there’s quite a few budding “spokespeople” at every company. The Non-Professional and the Professional Actor However, this article is not limited to just non-professional actors (company employees).  The professional actor can benefit from a review of proper tips and techniques of being a spokesperson.  The non-professional actor is one defined as working for the company, has not had acting lessons,…

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Mar 22
Love1

The FAA 333 Exemption for Drones

By Corporate Video Production

Okay– I’m starting to see more and more activity for the FAA 333 Exemption and want to throw some thoughts in there– especially to help those UAV operators who might consider plopping down some fat stacks to companies offering to help them with their 333 exemption. Now I’ll preface by mentioning it’s all changing anyway. But right now, if you want to legally operate a drone for commercial purposes, you have to either have a commercial pilots license, or you have to ask the FAA to give you exemptions from those rules. To be the Pilot in Charge of a UAV, even with a FAA 333 Exemption, the PIC must have some level of pilot’s license. Some people (I know a few), have applied for and gotten the 333 exemption without having a pilot’s license. What this means, is that…

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Feb 17
Love0
dallas video production company

Screenfighting Workshop now March 24-25

By Seminars

Due to several factors, we’ve moved the Screenfighting Workshop to March 24-25 (after spring break for most people).  Doug Williams will be teaching weapons on Saturday March 24 and Steve Krieger will be teaching the fighting and special effects on Sunday March 25. 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…

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Feb 12
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Serendipitous Films

Screenfighting Workshop – Saving Time on the Set

By Seminars

(We’ve got a workshop for screenfighting coming March 24-25.  Register at the SFilms Store). 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…

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Dec 19
Love2
Children & Teen Actors

Children & Teen Actors

By Seminars, Tips/Techniques

As a working film director, I’ve had lots of opportunities to work with children and teen actors.  And it seems to me that most of the training is actor to actor– so here’s some information to children and teen actors and their parents from a director to actor.  I’ll be teaching a class in Fort Worth on January 21 on this subject.  You can register at the store.  There’s a morning session and an afternoon– you just need to pick one– they’re identical. First of all, the child actor needs to look and play younger.  The younger the better.  This goes against what almost every child is seeking– to be grown up.  So as you shoot headshots, assemble demo footage, go to auditions– keep that in mind.  You want to look and play younger. Why?  Two simple reasons.  The more…

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Dec 08
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Audition in NYC for Rising Stars

Audition Tips from a Working Film Director

By Tips/Techniques

In addition to our corporate video productions we do in the Dallas, Fort Worth area, SFilms has made five feature films over the years starring Adam Baldwin, Mimi Rogers, Lou Diamond Phillips and others.  In today’s post, we talk to actors about quick tips to instantly impact their auditions and give a better chance for landing that role. The Dilemma for Local Actors When I was casting for Rising Stars in New York City, the producer that hired me (as well as most producers in LA and NYC) had a bias against local actors.  They were fine for bit parts and dayplayer roles, but not for principles or leads.  And as we auditioned back at home for these roles, I thought about this dilemma and why the local actors are handicapped right out of the gate. So how can a local actor…

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