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video production dallas Archives - Page 2 of 2 - S-Films

History of the Camera, Part 1

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

Intro to the Camera For incoming interns and new students of corporate film and video, we cover the basics of the camera and answer questions such as “what is progressive scanning?” and “what’s the difference between component and composite video?” and more. Brief History of the Camera Cameras were created in the 19th Century by utilizing glass to focus light onto a chemically treated surface.  As technology improved, glass got better and the chemically treated surfaces were improved.  By the early 20th Century, the cameras had become somewhat standardized.    Then motion picture cameras came along.  Same principle- but instead of taking one frame or picture, now a motor was created to speed the chemically treated surface (film) through the housing to enable taking many pictures each second.  This started by hand cranking the film through (resulting in variable speed– notice…

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Shooting Video at Tradeshows

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

Video Tradeshows One of the calls we get a lot, is to see if we can shoot video at tradeshows.  Because companies and corporations drop a serious investment in tradeshows.  The cost of attending, with travel. The exhibitor fees.  And the booth construction.  With all this investment, businesses want to make sure the marketing pays off.  And that’s the bottom line: Sales. So video at the tradeshow extends the reach of that investment.  Whether video is used to grab the attention of potential customers walking by or used as a broadcaster on social media, video at the tradeshow can magnify the marketing and multiply the results. Tradeshow Video’s 4 Components Usually this has four components: Pre-shot and edited content to be displayed at tradeshow Video coverage of the tradeshow, both the booth and the tradeshow itself Interviews and testimonials with clients…

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The Corporate Video Documentary

By Corporate Video Production, Tips/Techniques, Video Production

The Corporate Video Documentary There are many different styles to use when crafting a corporate video.  Some might be news-style– a “reporter” or spokesperson talking directly to camera.  Others might be conceptual– recreating scenes out in the sales environment or such.  But out of all the video styles in use in corporate America, the documentary is probably the most common.  The Documentary Style This is the video that is interview driven, what people call talking heads.  Some might view this style as boring or flat.  But it all depends on how you approach it. The talking head, documentary-style video can be highly effective.  There’s a reason it’s the most common style of corporate video out there. The Power of BRoll To make it more engaging, the key is to cover the interviews with footage about what they’re talking about.  This…

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Top 4 Tips for Freelancers in Video Production

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

The Top 4 things every Freelancer needs to know about Video Production History of the Freelancer The word freelancer comes from medieval times– when a fiefdom needed an extra lance or two for the defense of their city or for the attack on someone else’s city, the would hire an extra knight or two to bring their sword and lance along.  A “free lancer” did not belong to anyone or any fiefdom.  Today, a freelancer is usually not employed, but works job to job, gig to gig.  And they usually make more money for working less days than someone employed. And it’s easy to start a freelancing career in corporate video.  You can begin at the entry level– a production assistant.  And this goes all the way up to directors and producers.  How you set yourself apart will determine how…

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Video Production – What are Apple Boxes?

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

Video Production Apple Boxes For you new to video production, or maybe you’re a corporate client on the set of a video being produced for you, you might hear the Cinematographer or someone else call for a “half apple.”  Well, he’s not asking for a previously bitten into piece of fruit.  Apple Boxes have been around in the movie and film business for almost a hundred years.  The history is a bit cloudy, but it’s reasonable to assume that early film crews saw a box sitting there and put it to good use.  And maybe it had some apples in it.  Or just looked like an apple box.  Either way, the term was adopted and stuck. Where Do You Find the Apple Boxes? Apple boxes are usually part of the grip equipment.  They are used for just about anything on…

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5 Worst Actor Auditions

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

Actor Auditions from the Director’s POV As a director, I have sat through some really powerful actor auditions.  And we’ve discussed important things to do when auditioning, whether for a feature film, corporate video or a commercial.  But today, I’m going to mention five things you should never do when auditioning.  I could play you some pretty incredible audition videos, but I don’t think I could ever get the talent releases. 5 Worst Actor Auditions Face Covered By Sides – I have one audition tape where the whole time, the actor is covering up.  I don’t know if it was his first time, but I hope so.  An egregious error like this from someone with any kind of training is a hope killer for new work. Trouble Reading – A real painful to watch audition, is the one where the…

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shooting run and gun video

Levels of Corporate Video Production Companies in Dallas

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

When looking for a company in Dallas to produce that corporate video, you will find several different levels of production companies. And the corporate video production we’re talking about here are marketing videos, training videos, internal communications, sales and product videos, and web videos.  This is for the Director of Sales and Marketing, the head of corporate communications, the public relations team, or the person in charge of corporate training. We break down the levels into four sizes—the Big Dogs, the medium size, the small company and the one-man band. Let’s start at the bottom and work up. For some reason, the creative services industry can bring out some of the biggest egos in people. And this occurs throughout the following list. When you are looking for a great video production company in Dallas to work with, in addition to…

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corporate video dallas with DJI Osmo

DJI Osmo Review – Great for Corporate Video

By Corporate Video Production, Info, Reviews, Tips/Techniques

Handheld gimbals are not new anymore, and the release of the DJI Osmo moves the handheld gimbal into the next generation.  Ever since we grabbed our small phantom drone, turned it on, and held on to it, moving around the location to get that “steadicam” effect, it was clear a new market (or call it a new tool for the videographer) was opening up. Several years ago, we here at SFilms in Dallas purchased a relatively cheap powered gimbal (sold by a US distributor, but clearly made in China).  It required a GoPro, but we used the device constantly in our corporate videos.  It was taken on road tours for a corporate retail client of ours, for internal communications, and we used it on construction sites and other places as well.  And it fell apart.  We had to take screws…

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corporate video interviews

Top 3 Reasons People Love Their Corporate Video

By Corporate Video Production, Tips/Techniques, Video Production

Passion for the Dallas Corporate Video Here in Dallas, Texas, we enjoy nothing more than to see the look on a clients face when they see one of our extraordinary videos. Not only do sweat and tears go into every video we do, but our heart and soul as well. We take the client’s expectation and desires and then we try to go above and beyond the call of duty. This not only ensures that the client will be satisfied, but also that they will be calling us the next time they need a video done. We all love return business. So what are the elements that need to be in a corporate video to get a “call-back”? Well, besides being a pleasure to work with, here are the top 3 things that are must-haves in your next corporate video. Production…

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Why Dallas for Corporate Video?

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

The Big D King of Corporate Video The Dallas metropolitan area is a have for corporate video production and corporate communication.  A strong crew base, many video production companies, studios and resources are available in Dallas.  Some might say this is due to the strong number of large corporations headquartered here.  Names like Exxon, Kimberly Clark, Frito-Lay.  But all the large companies will have their own video production divisions or departments.  And you can point to places like Houston– they have many large corporations but the video and film production resources available in Houston are small in comparison to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The key to the corporate video industry in Dallas is the number of progressive and growing mid-size companies.  Mid-size means they need the communication muscle that the large Fortune 500 companies have, but don’t have the internal…

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