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How to conduct a remote shoot?

In the old days, if you couldn’t be on set for a video shoot, you’d be out of luck. However, as technology has evolved, it’s now possible to conduct a whole shoot remotely! This means you can conduct an interview from the comfort of your living groom or give the client access to give feedback on a shoot like never before. Given the Covid pandemic, this technology scaled quickly and resulted in video production possibilities like never before! In this article, we’ll discuss how we conduct remote shoots with remote agencies and clients and how we also conduct remote shoots with talent recording themselves in locations across the country. By the end of this article, we hope that you will know how to conduct a remote shoot!

Basics

So what is a remote shoot and how do you conduct a remote shoot? It starts with determining what exactly you are looking to cover and where the shoot will take place. For the first scenario in which the client will be remote, you need to keep in mind what the shoot entails. Are you shooting a few internal interviews or are your remote in the jungle covering a wildlife shoot. The only true thing that you need for any remote shoot is a solid internet connection. This could be anything from a hardwired connection, wifi or even a bonded cellular connection, whatever the case is, they should have access.

In the case that you are the remote director, you’ve got a few options to ensure that your talent has the right equipment. This could include sending them a camera, or perhaps even a light and microphone as well! Then you can have them plug in this equipment to their laptop and direct them as they speak to the camera. They’ll have the high-resolution files saved locally to their camera as well as a zoom copy for you to review! The cool thing about this remote shoot is that you can correct any mistakes in real-time.

Long gone are the days of you having to wait to get the footage back, just to realize they made a framing mistake or a mistake with their lines. That said, we’ve also found that this remote pressure can add to the talent’s stress level as they know they are being watched. Sometimes we recommend they close their zoom window such that they can only hear, but not see the remote director!

Client feedback

Now if in addition to you giving them access to the camera feeds you want to be able to hear them give feedback, you could either hop on a phone call or you could use Zoom. This would allow you to create a virtual camera and share it as well as hear them when they unmute themselves.

Support Staff

As you decide what level of remote shoot you are offering, it’s obvious that this is going to take some extra staff to pull off. You can keep the shoot basic and just give them a link to watch as you film, or you could have someone manning the phone and getting feedback on every take. This person should not be the director or person talking to the client, and you’d also want to keep your producer away from this call. Without this line of connection though, with the director and producer, it would be virtually impossible to get remote feedback to the correct place. As you evaluate which crew member might be best suited to manage the clients, you’d want to put someone who is client oriented but perhaps not so into the production that they slow it down.

On a recent shoot we did, we started the day thinking it would just be us filming and the client giving occasional feedback when in reality, the agency wanted to get client feedback and approval of every shot. This slowed down the production significantly but allowed us to ensure they were satisfied before moving on. If you are wondering how to conduct a remote shoot, you can not overlook the importance of having a solid crew to get their feedback. By having a dedicated person to man the zoom call and ensure strong connectivity, we were really able to make the most of the production.

Technology

So how do you actually get the signal into the zoom call? That’s a good question. For us, we use an SDI Magewell encoder. This device takes the SDI signal and converts it into a useable signal that zoom recognizes as a webcam. We further add to this setup by using a Decimator multiviewer. This allows us to combine up to four SDI signals as well as embed audio to give a high-quality multicamera signal to the client. While these tools are not foolproof, they definitely give you a great starting point to make the stream happen. The other piece of software we’d recommend is Zoom professional. Yes, the free plan will accomplish what you’d need for up to thirty minutes, but likely it will time out and look unprofessional to the client. Trust us, it doesn’t cost much!

Challenges

As you consider your remote shoot, the biggest challenge we’ve run into is that client feedback can slow down the video production. It’s something that is hard to minimize on the day of the shoot, so it’s important to get sign-off before the shoot happens. Likely, as the client gives their feedback, the crew will zone out and will be hard to re-engage. We recommend running through a whole scene and then getting client feedback. This way the crew would naturally have a rest moment and then you can go back into it, to re-capture anything that they’d like to see differently.

Another thing to consider is that you oftentimes have a hot mic. Have your crew be careful of what they are saying! Although the client is not physically directly within earshot, you never know if your sound tech’s mic into the stream is hot!

Hopefully, this article showed you the challenges of how to conduct a remote shoot. They can be thrilling at times, as the client is virtually watching in, but they can also pose challenges that need to be overcome in order to have a successful video production.

Conclusion

Looking to conduct a remote shoot or want to be right on set as we are filming. We can offer our remote shoot video production services and make your dreams come true! Our team at Luma Creative is based in San Francisco but works nationally to satisfy the needs of our clients. Reach out today to learn more!

When should you rent a grip truck?

As video shoots get larger and the budgets increase, it’s pretty natural to look at what would increase your production value and reduce your stress. For most companies, bringing less equipment of their own and relying on more talented production professionals to help get the job done. Perhaps this is hiring an assistant camera with a prep day to pick up and build cameras. It could also be hiring a gaffer and grip and electric crew with a grip truck. In this article, we’ll break down when should you rent a grip truck.

What is a grip truck?

For those that don’t know, a grip truck is a vehicle designed to carry film production gear such as lights, stands, and modifiers. Most of these trucks are just standard vehicles that have been specially outfitted to carry this equipment. The goal is to make the equipment quickly and easily accessible to the crew working the job. On most film sets, the days are scheduled in such a way that everyone must work quickly in order to get the shoot done. Now if you packed a small car to the brim with equipment, chances are you’d need to unload everything just to get the last piece of gear out. With a grip truck, this is not the case. Most of the equipment on these trucks is on carts that quickly and easily come off on carts.

Video production shoots can be quite chaotic. There are often numerous pieces of equipment needed by multiple departments at one time. Without a system in place to get everyone their gear, it’s likely that the shoots would be much longer than desired.

The great thing about grip trucks is that while there isn’t necessarily a standard kit that every grip truck has, they all pretty much have the same equipment. There are different sizes(with different gear) depending on your video production needs.

When should you rent a grip truck? Part 1

Whether you are shooting a small music video or a feature film, there’s a good chance that a grip truck might make sense for you. There are a few primary reasons for this.

The first is that they are extremely convenient. Long gone are the days of renting several stands and lights just to jam them into the back of your small car. With the best of luck, this process will be a little frustrating. In the worst case, you’ll likely damage your upholstery. This can be frustrating and leave a lasting impact on your car and ego. Second, they really aren’t that expensive. Sure you could rent a small grip and electric package and pack it into your own car, but likely those several items will probably equal around half of what you’d just spend on the truck itself. Below we’ll break down some fairly standard rates for grip trucks.

But how do you know if you actually need a grip truck? For us, it comes down to if we are hiring a gaffer? A gaffer is the chief lighting technician whose responsibility is to work with the director of photography to design the lighting setup and modifiers used on a film production set. These talented professionals have a vast knowledge of lights, diffusion, blocking as well as motion in order to make your shots look their best. For most jobs, you’d also have a key grip. And if this is the case, it is a no-brainer that we absolutely need a grip truck. After all, if we are supplying the equipment from the back of our car, it’s very likely that there isn’t much to work with!

When should you rent a grip truck? Part 2

A Key grip is typically responsible for modifying the lights. This could be through blocking light. Bouncing light. Diffusing light or even helping to operate dolly’s that can be moved around with the camera and/or operator on them! These men and women are typically great at rigging pieces of equipment in temporary, yet safe, ways. They’ll help you get the desired lighting in a shot.

All this to say, if you are on a small no-budget shoot, it’s obvious that there just isn’t the resources to hire a gaffer and key grip, and therefore unlikely that you’d need a grip truck. Perhaps it’s just yourself and a friend shooting a small passion project with two actors. Likely you’d just be using the few lights you already own or rented as well as a few diffusion pieces. Sure it might not be the greatest looking thing ever made, but you are having fun doing it. Perhaps it doesn’t require much lighting or modifying of lighting. We’ve worked on several projects of this caliber. Quite frankly there is definitely a budget and a time for them!

What equipment is on a grip truck?

This is a great question because while there isn’t typically a set number of items, there is a sort of standard to work off of, regardless of who’s truck you end up renting. Take a look at these videos below for some walkthroughs!

How much do grip trucks cost?

The standard rate in the bay area for a grip truck ranges from $275 to around $850/day for a 5 ton. There are also additional mileage costs to cover wear and tear which can vary from 50 cents to over a dollar per mile. Lastly, there is typically a fuel cost which ranges based on the current fuel cost.

Are there any additional requirements?

The biggest hurdle for many new production companies would be production insurance. Grip and electric rental houses are going to require a certificate of insurance that covers leased and rented vehicles and well as drivers. While there is a low chance of anything happening to these trucks, it’s better safe than sorry to ensure you are covered. Many insurance companies will offer day or per project insurance to cover this. While our insurance is a few thousand per year, it can get much higher depending on the specifics involved! Best to research insurance companies that would best suit your needs. It’s worth a mention, that Hill and Usher’s package choice has been awesome over the years!

Are there any San Francisco bay area rental houses you’d recommend?

In our time as a production company we have worked with several grip and electric houses around the bay area. There are also some owner/operator “rental houses” that don’t necessarily rent to others unless they are hired as the gaffer on the job. Below is a list of a few we’d recommend

Bolt Lighting: Located in Berkeley, they are a small rental house with a few sprinters, 1 ton and three ton trucks.

DTC Lighting: Located in Emeryville, DTC is probably the biggest most well-known in the bay area with a plethora of trucks. They’ve got a few 1 tons, a 3 ton, 4 ton, 5 ton, and 10 ton available for rent. They likely also have the biggest selection of lighting equipment available.

Rebel Sun: Located in Cupertino in the south bay, they are a smaller shop that offers a 1 ton, 2 ton, 3 ton and 4 ton option as well as most main lights.

Little Giant and grip: Located in the Mission district in San Francisco they are one of the best lighting and grip rental houses with a 1 ton, sprinter, 3 ton, and 5 ton available.

Owner Operator grip trucks

Luke Seerveld at Seerveld Lighting – Also creator at Meet The Gaffer

Clay Kerry at Bulldog Lighting

Thanks for taking a look at our article on when to rent a grip truck. Hopefully, it gave some insight into when it would make sense to jump in on one. We know it can seem overwhelming, but having one of these trucks, will likely elevate your video production!

Looking for San Francisco video production? Contact us today!

Where to find San Francisco video production crew

In much of the video production world, a lot of the success of both companies and contractors is who you know. Whether that’s a friend of a friend who’s a marketing executive of a big company. Or a local grip house that has a roster of talented gaffers. Being courteous and networking with other talented individuals can go a long way! We have built up a solid network over the years, but you never know when you’ll need additional help! In this article, we’ll discuss where to find San Francisco video production crew.

Networking events

The first area we’d recommend to find San Francisco video crew is at networking events. However, since the pandemic began, these events have not had the same value. No longer were you able to meet and greet. Instead, you were able to watch the presentation via zoom and ask any questions. As people begin to start meeting in person again, we’d recommend checking out the Bapva group. This group focuses on the Bay area and has monthly meetings to inspire and engage the larger film community.

We’ve found that a lot of the people at this group are owners of small businesses but there are always willing people to lend a hand or come crew on your job!

FB Groups

The next area where we’d recommend to find San Francisco video production crew would be Facebook groups. Some of our favorites are “I hella wanna be on set” or “Crew up“. These groups focus solely on finding crew members for your job. They recommend that you follow a standard format to keep things concise. There are often talented people on here who will refer others and you can usually see with the number of likes or comments how well known they are. There are also other groups like the Commercial videographers group. You can post what crew you are looking for and likely you’ll find exactly what you’d need. Maybe you are looking for a Director of photography or an Assistant camera? Whatever the case, you’ll likely find that bay area crew in this group.

On-set introductions

As we get back to work on set, I’d say the best way to find San Francisco video production crew is on-set introductions. This can work a few different ways. Depending on what your role on the production is, you may be able to network with other people. For example, if you are a grip and meet a 1st Assistant director, you can likely network with them. However, in our opinion, even though it’s networking, it’s also about making new friends in the industry. After all, in the freelance film world, these watering hole conversations are sometimes all that we have!

Grip Houses

The next place to find SF video production crew would be through grip houses. These places are often chock-full of talent. And while they primarily focus on lighting and electric, it’s obvious that they know other departments as well. At these grip houses, you’ll likely be able to source your lights and a grip truck but also likely a full grip and electric team. From a gaffer, best boy, Key grip, electric and more. They most likely have a big list for you to look through. In the San Francisco bay area that would likely be Little Giant, Bolt, DTC or Rebel Sun.

The cool thing about these places is that if you are trying to run an out of town production, often times they’ll have a gaffer or Key grip that can drive the truck to set for you. This means that your logistical challenges will be easier and you can focus on other problems. to be solved! However, just keep in mind that often times they will want their hours to be “portal to portal”, such that their 10 hour day(in bay times) start and ends when they leave this grip house and come to set. Not a big deal if it is relatively close, but if it’s an hour drive both ways, then likely you’ve just shortened your day significantly.

Camera Rental houses

After you’ve locked down your Grip and electric team, you may also need a crew in the camera department. We’d recommend checking out Chater Camera’s crew list. You might also consider Element camera. Whether you need a 1st AC, 2nd AC, camera PA or even a Director of photography, they’ve got a chalk full list of the crew for you to pick from. One thing to keep in mind with your crew is likely that the department heads will be able to help you source people to work under them. This means that your Director of photography likely already has a list of 1st assistant cameras to help them or even other support they may need. You’ve got to tread a fine line between being overbearing with your crew and letting them have free reign. It’s you who are likely paying them, but it’s them who are actually doing the work.

At a minimum, we’d recommend having a conversation with each crew member just to discuss rates and expectations for the job. Especially if you are not going to have them sign a deal memo. We recommend at a minimum putting the day rate and the terms in a text message such that you both have a copy of it. Since most of the local productions in the San Francisco bay area are nonunion, it makes sense that there really isn’t a perfect standard. Other than lunch needs to be before 6 hours and the days are usually 10 hour workdays. There are also other subtleties such as if you give a thirty-minute or an hour lunch or if that adds on to the end of the day.

Production Services locations

The last place we’d recommend finding a San Francisco video production crew would be at production services locations. The biggest one in the SF bay area would be Ranahan production services. And while they are primarily known for their rentals, they also have an extensive crew list. This crew list is likely in the production support sector, such as a production assistant or a production coordinator. They’ll help you get the production rentals you need and find a talented support team to make it happen! You might be asking, what is edutainment?

We hope this article gave you some insight on where to find San Francisco video production crew. Likely you’ll need to source many crew for your bay area production and it may just be easier to hire a local production company to handle it all. If you are looking for a talented a San Francisco Video production crew? We’ve got a large list of talent to help out. Contact us today!

How to run a covid safe video production

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to create challenges amongst our daily life, these challenges carry over into our worklife as well. With people working from home and avoiding in-person social contact, it is challenging to film responsibly with many crew members! Video production demand continues to increase on a daily basis as brands see the power it can add to their bottom line. In this article, we’ll discuss how to run a covid-safe video production set. From rapid tests to covid compliance officers, and everything in between, we’ll do our best to help you run a safe video production set. We’ll break up our article into preproduction precautions, on-set precautions as well as post shoot precautions.

Pre-Production Precautions

As we begin pre-production to plan for successful video production shoots, we’ve got another item on our list to take care of: covid-19 safety. There are a couple of ways to help reduce covid-19 exposure, as well as mitigation strategies. First, mandate covid-19 testing for your crew and cast members within 72 hours before the shoot date. While the crew can still be exposed to the virus within that time frame, it significantly reduces the risks of transmission. Next, request crew members fill out a covid-19 waiver form before they come on to set.

Screening the crew can minimize risk, liability, and ramifications for the production company. It will also enable your cast and crew to think about any contact with someone who had been diagnosed with covid, travel to high-risk areas, or contact with others outside of their immediate circle. You want to be sure that all of your crew can successfully complete these questionnaires to help minimize any liability for other crew as well as legal liability.

On-Set Precautions

After your crew has completed the questionnaire and completed a negative covid test before the shoot, it’s now time for production! If the budget is there, the shoot is not outside, and the crew size is larger than a few people, we’d also highly recommend onsite rapid testing. We’ve worked with Arcpoint Labs for our San Francisco Video production shoots and would highly recommend them. The cost was approximately $150/test and required a 10 person minimum. The results were delivered in 10 minutes and gave everyone the peace of mind for the day.

If you cannot afford to do rapid testing or it isn’t available in your area, we’d recommend the following:

Mandatory mask-wearing
Reminding crew and cast to wash their hands frequently
Social distancing the crew as much as possible.
Providing hand sanitizer before meals and at frequent intervals

Covid Compliance Officer

We’d highly recommend hiring a covid compliance officer. These certified individuals will ensure mask-wearing is done, social distancing is maximized, and that everyone has a safe shoot! Another thing they will do is help disinfect the set. Tasks such as handing out sanitizing wipes and wiping down shared surfaces can be delegated to this officer.

Other on-set suggestions

Another suggestion on how to run a covid safe video production set is to minimize the number of crew and clients on set. There are many ways this can be done. On the social distancing side, any not immediate crew should be away from the set as much as possible. This means that if the director can direct from 30 feet away via a monitor, it’s probably a safe bet. Does the client really need to be on set? With today’s technology and a little planning, clients can have a live remote video feed sent to them via the internet. This enables the client to watch and listen as the crew progresses without exposing themselves or others to the risk of Covid-19. Making others feel at ease on set is crucial! You’ll make to make sure they are comfortable with the shoot.

Essential Crew

On the small crew side, you’ve got to think about what the essential crew truly are. Although more crew can generally get you a better-looking image, every person on set has really got to add some value. Being responsible to your other cast and crew will go a long way! A suggestion we might propose is to try and simplify the number and complexity of setups such that you don’t have to have a large grip and electric department. This might also mean that you don’t necessarily need a 2nd AC and instead can just rely on a solid 1st AC.

Another idea is to have your production design crew come the day before the shoot to help build the set. Not having them on set does obviously pose potential issues, but perhaps your main build could be done the day before? Likely you’d still need a production design assistant on the day of the shoot but this plan can minimize the amount of crew in a small area. A reduction of one person could truly make a huge difference!

Post Shoot Precautions

As your shoot wraps up and you head home, it is important to let your video production crew know that you want to be informed if they develop covid within the next 14 days. This will ensure that if anyone does develop symptoms, they can trace it back to that event. The last thing you want is an outbreak because of careless actions on your video production set!

Wrap up

Thanks for taking the time to read our article on how to run a covid safe video production! We hope this article has given you some thoughtful suggestions on how to make the most of this situation. Looking for a San Francisco video production company? Want to ensure that you have a covid safe set. Contact us today!

How to Grow Your Video Production Business Without Burning Out

The season has been incredibly busy. From live streams, talking head videos, explainers to commercials and more. It was as if every marketing department in San Francisco realized they needed to use their budget all at the same time! At times it has felt overwhelming for our team. In October, we had back to back shoots with tight turnarounds, a travel job as well as simultaneous shoots on the same day. Our team was starting to burn out. During this time, we asked ourselves, how do we grow our video production business without burning out?

Running a video production business definitely has its challenges. Especially when there are multiple projects happening. Just because we are on set for one project, doesn’t mean that post production for another project stops. We have deadlines and they must be met! This often resulted in late nights or early mornings, getting work done after being on set. But during October, there were numerous points, where multiple members of our team asked themselves why they were working so much?

The obvious answer to this problem was that we needed more back end support that wasn’t on set. But as a business, how would this affect our bottom line? What if we hired more staff and the work slowed down? After Covid shut everything down, we were hesitant to scale up quickly. The other option was to hire contractors on a per project level. Sure this makes a lot of sense for on set roles, but the backend business support of quoting, ideating and handling logistics can be tricky to scale up. We needed quality support who’d represent our brand well, but could also work independently and creatively. But beyond that, we decided we needed to go back to the drawing board. We came up with a few ways to grow your video production business without burning out.

Set Realistic Expectations

Although we all want to be superheroes and accomplish the unthinkable. There are many times we need to be realistic with our production schedules. How realistic is it that you finish post production on a project one day after you shoot it? What if there are problems you didn’t think about? What if your editor is sick? Does this give you any room for error if the client is relying on this deadline? Giving your team a realistic deadline will help you grow your video production business without burning out. They’ll be more invested in the current project and likely, your clients will be happier with the end results.

Hire Extra Support

There have been times over the years if we wonder if we are doing something wrong? Where’d the work go? We’ve got a small team of people just waiting for the next project. Bills need to be paid. Equipment depreciating by the day. Then there are other times, where we just don’t have the bandwidth to take on another project. Our best take away from this would be to keep your core team small but multi-talented. Then scale up your specialty roles and production support as you get busier.

This mean that perhaps you don’t need a full time colorist on staff for those high end commercials, but perhaps instead need a full time production coordinator who can also edit simple projects. And when you’ve got multiple projects lined up, consider hiring another production coordinator or even a line producer if the job calls for it. Sure the added expense on the particular job might be higher, but the rest of your staff will thank you.

The difficulty with hiring contractors is that you may have your top pick be unavailable because they are working for another company or frankly just taking time for a vacation. We’d recommend having at least 2-3 people for each role you can call on, in case your top pick isn’t available. In the Bay Area, there really isn’t a huge number of people in film, so it’s critical that you get to know your options! Hiring a video production company should take weight off the clients shoulders, not add it!

Learn to Say No, Without Saying the Word

Our next tip would be learn to say no, but in a careful manner. From an early age, we are taught that the word “Yes” is one of those words that will help us to get by in life. “Of course we can do it.” “We’ll make it happen.” “No problem at all@” These are all examples of times in the past where we’ve dug ourselves into a hole with little option but to be stressed and burnt out. Instead, we’ve learned to say no. But without saying it. This doesn’t mean to be rude or short with someone. For example: Can we tighten up the deadline by a few days? Can we get an extra round of revisions? In production, our goal is always to give our clients the red carpet experience, but sometimes we’ve just got to be realistic about their expectations.

We aim to work with the client to understand their needs as much as possible up front, but sometimes we just can’t make it happen. However instead of just saying no, we’ve learned to present solutions. Want to tighten up the deadline? Sure thing. We’ll just add on an extra editor(and thus additional costs) for a few days to make it happen? Need an extra round of revisions? We’ll make it happen. We’ll just need to bring on our editor for one more day onto the project(and thus additional costs).

Have Clear Communication with Clients and Staff

We’re in a space with tight deadlines and high expectations. This means that it’s critical that everyone communicate clearly. We strive to communicate clearly at every step of the way. Whether this is with with your Production assistant who is picking up snacks for the crew? Or with the VP of marketing about a change to the voice over. Something as simple as, “yes we’ll make the change and send it back within 24hours” Is better than “yes we’ll do it”. Why? Because it’s objective and gives everyone on both our team and the clients team an expectation about when it will be done.

Be Kind

Lastly, I think it’s important to state that kindness goes a long way. Not just being friendly, but genuinely getting to know your staff and your clients. People are human and have things happen? With covid it showed us all that working from home could be tricky. Dogs barking, babies crying. Internet cuts out mid zoom call. Learning to be kind and understanding of the human condition goes a long way!

Thanks for taking the time to read our article on how to scale your video production business without burning out. We’re still growing and are always trying to better ourselves to make the most of the opportunities we are given. According to the Studio Sherpas Podcast. ““Just keep pushing. Love the passion. Enjoy the work. Love the process. Just never stop learning.””

Got any more tips for us? Want to learn more about our video production services? Looking for a professional San Francisco Video Production company? Contact us today!

How to write a great video production RFP

Are you ready to start getting quotes for your video production? Perhaps you’ve just decided you’d like to make a video but don’t know where to start? Or maybe you are just trying to figure out how to budget your video marketing budget for the year? Whatever the case, learning how to write a great video production RFP is critical to ensuring you are getting quotes for the same video.

What exactly is an RFP and why do you need it? An RFP is defined as a request for a proposal. So essentially, by shooting several video production companies, the same document, they will all be able to give you a proposal based on the same information. Another benefit will also help save you much time instead of having to have the same conversation over and over. Most likely every video production company will ask you the same basic set of questions, with some perhaps even needing a lot more information to generate a quote. In this guide we’ll break down the essential information to put in as well as some extra info which can really help get an accurate quote.

Background

To be frank, over the years, we’ve received many different types of rfp’s. There really isn’t a standard format but there are definitely some red flags. The first being the person who asks for a lot but needs it done very quickly and doesn’t have much money in their budget. We like to think about the triangle of good fast and cheap.

When we receive RFP’s like this, it’s hard not to laugh to think about how difficult it would be to make this work. Many times, we’d actually be losing money on the job based on what they listed. We’ve found that after having honest conversations a few times, that person just simply isn’t aware of the labor, rentals, insurance, and editing costs that go into good video production.

The next type of RFP we receive one that just doesn’t have enough information. It’s missing something material and ultimately involves us needing to reach out to make sure we’re on the same page. You shouldn’t let this stop you from creating an RFP, but at a bare minimum ensure that you have a brief description of the deadline, type of project, any specific requirement as well as a target budget.

Deadline

This first section is important to ask because it tells us how many hours a day we’ll need to work to get the project done. Will we have to work nights and weekends? Will we be able to fit it in with our other production projects? If your deadline is flexible, it can also be helpful to let us know this. A deadline that isn’t flexible, is oftentimes tricky and involves other sacrifices outside of work! We’ve produced commercials in as little as two weeks. Depending on the type of project, different amounts of time will be necessary to complete the project. We recommend reaching out to video production companies as early as possible to ensure the deadline can be met.

Type of project

The next thing to consider when wondering how to write a great video production RFP is the type of project you are looking to create. Each one poses different challenges and would be approached differently. Our systematic approach ensures that we get through each project in a curated and professional manner. We produce many types of projects. From commercials, infomercials, documentaries and narrative work. If you know what type of video you’d like to make as well as show us some samples, that will go a long way. That said, if you know you don’t have a big budget and you send us an Apple commercial, most likely, you’ll be disappointed. Try to find work that fits the caliber of your budget and let us know why you like that video.

Additionally, what level of creative support will you require. Do you already have the concept and creative locked? Are you looking for us to script something? Do you need storyboards? Most times, if we receive an RFP from an agency for a creative shoot, they’ll provide boards. For direct to client work, it’s often that we create them. Whatever the case, letting us know how you’d like to work, would go a long way!

Specific Requirements

Perhaps you know that your video is going to need some 3d modeling or specific text laying out some features. Each of these things can guide us as we put together the proposal. It can also be helpful to let us know any specific locations, actors, or other elements that we wouldn’t be free to choose ourselves. This could involve shooting with a particular landmark in the background, or even shooting at a particular time of day. San Francisco video production can be much more costly than shooting in another country. Will we need to permit parking for our teams? Are there other logistical concerns to the production? If so, this means that your RFP should reflect these details!

In a recent shoot we did for Pact, the client requested a product explosion shot showing all the internal pieces of the product. This took our VFX team around 40 hours of work for the motion tracking, texturing, re-lighting and final color matching. Simpler VFX like screen replacement typically takes just a few hours so any VFX should be thoroughly thought out.

Target Budget

The last(and most controversial) item to put on the RFP is your target budget. Many clients argue that this isn’t necessary because they are trying to get bids. That’s fair… But on the other hand, you’ve got to know that video production can be done on MANY different levels. This means we could shoot with a skeleton crew and still get the job done, as well as shoot with a big production team. Either way, you’ll still get the end product, but the exact video production quality will vary.

If you are still wondering how to write a great video production RFP, let’s talk about how to leverage your budget. A great way to use your budget as leverage is to ask the production company, what level of quality(with a sample) they should expect to receive back for this budget. Also if there is a range of your budget that is good too. Something like 30-50k goes a long way. Typically we’d generate two bids as well as send multiple samples.

Conclusion

As you start to generate your RFP’s, keep in mind that the more information you provide, the more accurate of a quote the video production company can give back to you! Additionally if you let the company know what level of creative support you need, that can help as well. If you are looking for a San Francisco video production company, shoot over your RFP and we’ll get back to you ASAP!

How to Write a Great Video Script

The ability to write a great video script is not reserved for directors and writers alone. You too can write a great script with a few tweaks here and there. Your video content has to be engaging to capture the interests and the attention of the target audience; otherwise, our video marketing efforts may not bear much fruit. If you are new to writing video scripts, you may find the task scary at first, but don’t worry! In this article, we guide you through the essential stages of how to write a great video script to take your video production to the next level.

Write with a Specific Audience in Mind

I can’t emphasize this enough, but writing for everybody results in writing for nobody. Marketers know this concept all too well. As you start writing your video script, you may be tempted to cover a broad range of people, but that is not what works. Even copywriters know how to narrow their content down. Before you get down to writing, identify your target audience. Assess their pain points, understand their goals and values, and know what it is they want. This ensures you write your video script not yourself but your target audience. For example, let’s say you were writing a script for kids. A movie about how a family moved to San Francisco but forgot their dog. In this case, you’d want to be sure that you weren’t using language that kids would not understand!

Tailor your Video Script towards a Major Goal

If you are going to write a video script that packs a punch, you must have the end goal in mind. For example, your end goal could be a Call to Action whereby you expect viewers to take a specific action after watching the video. Your viewers don’t necessarily need to take action so make them want to! Your goal could be as obvious as someone clicking the like button or sharing it after watching. It all boils down to what stage of the marketing funnel your video is. The purpose of the video and what goal it’s working towards has to be clear from the beginning.

For our Eyeque video, we wrote the script in less than two days because the whole production timeline was only two weeks.. The end goal of this video was to have people support the Kickstarter campaign! We used comedy as well as some cinematic elements to make this video production come to life! Make sure to keep your end goal in mind if you want to write a great video script!

Identify a Central Character

It would be foolhardy to write your video script without a central character in place. How will you focus on the main story if you keep shifting the storyline from one character to the other? A major character in place will not only help you create a powerful account but also gives focus to your video. There is a reason why brands stick with one character throughout their videos. It becomes easier for their target audience to familiarize themselves and connect with the videos. The same applies to videos with a narrative arc. It’s better if you stick with the main character than shifting from one place to the other.

Understand the Objective of the Video

If you were to convince someone to watch your video, what would be the point that would give them a compelling reason to watch your video. Your video needs to make a point that your target audience will be interested in knowing. You stand a chance of winning more viewers should you reveal the point or objective of your video. This means that the answer to the intent of your video should be as clear as possible from the start. You might be asking. What is edutainment?

Write like you Speak

Nothing woes your target audience better than sounding natural in your script. The speakers in your video need to sound natural by writing a script in plain English. As you start, you may find this a challenge because you still have a rough idea of the script you want to jot down. However, practice makes perfect. With time, you should be able to master the skill. Develop the habit of examining yourself often so that you don’t have to stop your video shooting mid-way because your script sounds boring. What you want to do is read every sentence out loud so that you can hear yourself out. If you sound weird, your audience is going to find your script sounding weird as well. The spoken word is critical in writing a great video script.

Be a Good Story Teller

It’s easier to follow a story than technical jargon, right? That’s how you should make your script look like; a story. Your target audience will be interested in reading one part of the story while anticipating the next. You create a memorable script in the process. Some pointers you want to have in mind to produce a script that reads like a story are:

Excite their Imagination: Imagination keeps your audience interested because they have been listening to stories all throughout their lives, and they would love to know how different your story is going to turn out. Move your audience by adding metaphors and references to other movies in your story.
Create Suspense: I know you are trying to be as revealing as possible, especially if working on a product or service video. But that is not what is going to keep your audience engaged. Having some element of mystery is what will make your audience remain engaged. Avoid going into details from the get-go.
Employ emotional words: Sounding natural is good, but you are better off using words that amplify your target audience’s emotions when it comes to emotion. This will have a great impact on your video script and the video. For example, if saying happy, you can say thrilled.
Personalize the message of your script: Audiences relate more with people in your video, especially the central character. It’s essential that you personalize your message by giving your main character a name and use it. Your audience is more inclined to listen to your main character’s thoughts as opposed to a blanket statement.

Keep your Script Short

Your script needs to be as straightforward as it can be to capture your audience’s attention for the longest time possible. Past studies have conclusively determined that the average attention span of a human being doesn’t exceed 8 seconds. To ensure you are maintaining your audience’s attention, here are a few tips you want to consider.

Ensure your sentences are not exceeding 20 words long: The longer your sentence is, the complex it becomes, making understanding it difficult.
Tie your script to a single idea: Try solving a specific issue with a single solution instead of solving several issues in one writing. It’s easier for your audience to remember the message this way.
Cross-check your script for wordy sentences and repetitive phrases: Repetition is monotonous, and that isn’t something you want your target audience to experience.

Have Someone Proofread your Script

I know you are a pro at writing video scripts, but even the best scriptwriters can make mistakes. It would help if you had someone else who has not been working on the script proofread it. Proofreading helps correct mistakes that escape your eyes. It also ensures that your script is easy to understand. Finally, a proofreader helps you fit your message and voice tone with the objectives of your venture or company.

Check out this video on how to write a promotional video script!

Conclusion

Coming up with a great video script is not a walkover process. You need to be creative by identifying your target audience, have a major goal, choose the central character, among other activities. The tips listed in this article will give you an excellent roadmap to becoming an effective video scriptwriter. Your first script may not be the best one, but you will write great video scripts in the future if you keep practicing!

If you are looking for a talented video production company, and want to see what script we could write for your project, contact us today!

10 Video Production Mistakes to Avoid

Video production agencies have their own tricks and methods to produce content specified to their brand and target viewers. Unfortunately, not all videos created provide the results that the producers or clients want. What might work for your team might not work for others vice versa. It’s not easy to tell what exactly is best for everyone but in this blog, we’ll talk about 10 video production mistakes to avoid leading your crew down the wrong path.

Lack of preparation

Not having proper planning is a perfect recipe for disaster in video production. It is the most basic task that needs to be done before heading out to the actual shoot. Jumping the gun on a video production project could be horrible and end up messy. But with preparation, everything could go well and smoothly, or at least with minimal errors here and there.

Of course, planning should always include vital factors such as theme, crew, actors, budget, location, etc. Proper planning is always equivalent to good foresight and foreseeing video production as a whole would save time, money, and energy from re-shoots because of improper planning.

Too many irrelevant messages

Planning for a video production wouldn’t be complete if the theme of the video is fragmented and patched with ideas not related to your main point. Video is another form of storytelling. A plot that is easy to understand and digest will have a bigger impact on the viewers. Remember, the message and theme of your content should always be unified and concise.

Being B-O-R-I-N-G

The average human sustained attention span for online videos is about 60 seconds, and wasting the first minute of the video with nothing that piques the interest of the viewer is a big no-no. Keeping your audience glued to the video is as important as making them click on it. Remember, internet users are exposed to hundreds of videos every day, and looking for something more creative and entertaining is only a couple of clicks away.

Now, how to avoid producing dull content? Try to consider the relatability and the artistic side of the content. Offer something new and of value. Try to come at the same topic from another light. Is there a way to put a spin on the video that others haven’t? After all, the type of video you are producing will play a huge role into the format you take while creating the video.

Too “salesy”

Pushing the viewers to fall under the bait of sales and marketing especially in video production for products is understandable. However, feeding them too much advertising could cause disinterest to viewers and would result in poor traffic or lower view rates.

As much as possible, keep it subtle and properly toned. Your audience would look forward to your next videos if they find them relatable and engaging. In today’s busy world, people want to feel a genuine connection with the product. Consider who you are selling to. Are these younger people? Older people? If you can connect with your viewer and have completion on your video, there is a fair chance they’ll want to learn more. We aim for diversity in race and age to maximize the relatability factor.

Poor choice of light and audio equipment

Video production could be expensive and settling to poor quality equipment to save money can cause big issues. This move will only result in poor content and fewer hits from viewers online. In the end, videos are all about visuals and sounds, and everything related to their technicalities is easily spotted. At some point, these flaws could turn off the viewers and their loyalty to the video producers. You can also read more about shops that provide good video and audio equipment to help you pick the right tools.

Awkward angles

When producing video production, your angles truly do matter. Whether it’s a metaphorical sales angle or a camera angle, each can play a big role in the reception of the video. Wrong angles or awkward focal points in video production will spoil the message that the video would like to employ. In some cases, awkward angles won’t let the viewers see the appropriate emphasis of the scenes. Without proper consideration, bad angles will hamper the quality of the video.

Filming with white walls

This one might seem basic but we try to avoid white walls at all costs. White walls can make or break a video. That’s why it’s not commonly used unless the subject can stand on its own. Excessive use of white walls is not advisable because it simply lacks depth and emotion. Just in case, the video production uses a white wall in some scenes, make sure to break the monotony without being a distraction to the subject.

Improper jump cuts

A jump cut is an editing technique used to separate two sequential shots without changing the position of the camera. Although this method could save time while the story is still moving forward, the lack of knowledge on how to use it could make the video confusing. In some circumstances, playing with jump cuts is a good way to creatively reveal each scenario. But be mindful that this technique hinders the flow of the video due to unrealistic changes in the scenes. This is one of our top 10 video production mistakes to avoid.

Incomplete transitions

Video transitions are a post-video production technique in video editing connecting two shots. This practice is widely used in films and other video-based platforms. Since putting together two different scenes would appear awkward, proper transitioning is the best way to make things appear more appealing. However, short clips or uneven lengths of two subsequent clips could result in a black screen in the middle or after the clips.

Though video transitions can work at some point with proper use, this technique is one of the least creative ways of putting the content together. If you’ve got to use one, make sure to operate on longer clips to avoid incomplete transitions.

Inconsistency with visuals

Art is a conscious use of skills and imagination in an attempt to produce aesthetically appealing objects. The rule also applies to video production to express artistic images through moving pictures.

But in some instances in crafting videos, aesthetics are excessively used. At some point, inconsistent designs and graphics are pulled together in one video. To avoid this kind of mistake, always remember that the simplest is the most creative. Just keep in mind the rules on consistency and focal point. There are many ways in which you could have inconsistent visuals. This could result from shooting with two types of different cameras and not color grading them the same. Having different kinds of movement throughout your video. Perhaps cutting from static shots to shots with a ton of movement. It could also happen with crazy effects that don’t make sense for the story!

Wrap Up

Video production can be difficult but should hopefully become rewarding as you see the fruits of your labor. With a few tweaks on some of the basic aspects from pre-production, actual shooting, and post-production, you can create a masterpiece. Hopefully, you learned something from our article on the 10 video production mistakes to avoid.

One thing to take note of is we should all be students of our craft. Mistakes might be inevitable, but we can do our best to avoid these. Analyze other videos, talk to other professionals, read more articles about creating good videos to help you develop your skills and techniques.

Looking for a San Francisco Video Production Team to help you with your content? Contact us!

Why you need a 1st assistant camera for your video production

As the budgets on your video production shoots increase, one of the top tips we have is to hire a 1st Assistant camera or 1st AC. These men and women play a huge role on set and their necessity cannot be overlooked. Sure, it’s more money out of the production companies pocket, but on big shoots when the margin for error is slim, it’s pretty crucial to minimize risks for error. For example, let’s say you’ve got a super packed day and don’t have time to build a camera the day of the shoot. Guess what, a first AC can solve that! Or perhaps your client can’t be directly on set because of social distancing protocols. The 1st AC will make sure the client monitor image is up and clear! In this article, we’ll break down why you need a 1st assistant camera for your video production.

Although assistant camera rates vary city by city, most will request a prep day as well as a few items to rent from the production. These could include a kit fee, a monitor rental fee or even a wireless follow focus rental fee(such as an Arri WCU-4. Give them the tools they need for success and they’ll help take your shoot to another level. Below we break down the key things that 1st AC’s are known for.

Save Time on Set

One of the biggest reasons to consider hiring a 1st AC is to save time on set. This comes about in multiple ways. First off, you can hire the 1st AC to prep your camera gear. This means that they can go pick up the gear from the rental houses. They can also put the camera and accessories together the day before the shoot and troubleshoot any potential issues. Does the wireless follow focus signal not working properly? Better to figure that out the day before the shoot than on the shoot! Is the lens not mounting properly on the camera? Once again, probably better to determine this before the shoot instead of on the shoot.

Having sufficient time to build the camera on set can often be stressful as there are so many shots to get taken care of. And imagine having an issue with the camera before you even start. By hiring a 1st AC to prep the camera before the shoot, you are eliminating many potential issues that would be extremely costly on set. Additionally because you are only paying one person the day before the shoot, you can save that hour or more at the beginning of the shoot day to discuss lighting and get it set up asap.

After hiring a 1st AC you’ll also find that they are extremely knowledgeable about the camera and accessories. Maybe you as the Director of photography could figure out what was wrong with the camera, but likely the AC could do it in half the time!

Ensure camera focus is sharp

The next reason why you need a 1st assistant camera is to keep the image sharp. This is what 1st AC’s are most known for. Whether you are shooting wide open on a tight focal length that has a razor-thin depth of field(DOF) for a walk and talk or a locked-off shot with a wide-angle lens with deep focus. They are responsible to make sure the image is sharp. That said, they are humans, and often times it can take multiple takes to nail the focus if you are shooting a very challenging scene. As a crew, it’s important to make them feel confident in their job, so avoid saying things derogatory things that add more pressure than necessary.

There are multiple tools to help them keep the image sharp. Sure you might be able to save a little bit of money on a cheap follow focus rig. But more often than not, having a better tool is going to make their job a bit easier, and therefore give you a better rate of nailing focus on your takes. If you as the director of photography, sense that they are having trouble nailing focus. You can try stopping down the lens or ensure that they have marks on their follow focus and the actors are very aware of their marks as well!

Keep your client monitor connected

Another reason why you need a 1st assistant camera is to ensure that your client monitor is up and running! While this often falls to the 2nd AC, if there is budget, it can get left to the 1st AC as well. If you’ve paid a 1st to build the camera the day before, then they should have sufficient time to set up another monitor for the client to be sure that they have an image for the day. Sometimes this might mean adding on and syncing another wireless receiver from the camera with the monitor and ensuring that it the glare on the screen is minimized. After all, they are the ones paying the bills, so treat them well!

Troubleshoot camera

Even though you might have had your 1st AC build the camera the day before, you still might run into camera issues on the day of the shoot. This could be caused by a myriad of issues but likely can be troubleshot relatively simply by your 1st AC. Perhaps it’s just a simple battery swap? Or perhaps the lens contacts got dirty? The more you have them do, the more chances they may make a mistake. Are they comfortable with the tasks they are given or do they need more help from a 2nd AC. You can train a production assistant to make a great camera PA!

Once you’ve troubleshot the issue, try to move forward with ease. Although the issue may have been a direct result of something the 1st AC did, be sure to keep your cool. You never know who is watching! If it’s an issue that can’t be fixed, consider alternatives at this point. Are you out of recording media? Do you need more batteries? Regardless of the issue, remember that they are human! Help them solve the issue and get back to shooting.

Manage media cards

Last but certainly not least, AC’s can help manage cards. On a smaller/ slower set, they may also be able to help you offload them as well. But be sure to ask them before the shoot if they are okay with this! If the media on the shoot gets corrupted or erased accidentally, this could be extremely costly. Would your client hire you again? Help yourself stay in business! Talk with your 1st AC before the shoot to be sure you have enough cards.

1st AC’s will write reel numbers on pieces of tape. These pieces of tape will be pulled off throughout the day and attached to memory cards as they get full! If you have more than one camera, they will usually put little tags on that camera as well. So for example, it might be A01 and B01 if you had two cameras. If you had 3 cameras, they’d just start with C01 etc etc.

There are countless software programs to help you offload your media. One of the more well-known ones is called Shotput Pro. Some AC’s may also use the finder to offload cards. Be sure to double and triple-check before formatting any cards. In an ideal world, you wouldn’t format any cards until the day was over. However, this is not always the case. Be sure to have enough media and hard drives to finish your shoot. Bring backups to the shoot as well. The 1st AC’s can manage them!

Wrap up

In this article, we discussed several reasons why you need a 1st Assistant camera. They will help make your productions look professional and take your image to another level. Sure you can get away without one. But why risk it? Your images will be tack sharp! If you want to know more about how 1st AC’s can help your set run smoother, reach out to us. We are a San Francisco video production company looking to make the best films possible.

How to travel with video production equipment

You just booked a video production job out of town and are wondering how to travel with your video production equipment? Travelling can be unsettling and comes along with its fair share of issues. Video shooting excursions may require you to carry most of your shooting gear, if not all. Depending on your client’s needs, you may want to really think about what items are necessary to get the video produced. In this article, we got insights to offer how best you should pack your bags if you got film shooting equipment to carry around.

1. Figure out what you need to Carry

To avoid unnecessary luggage, you only want to carry along equipment that you 100% need for the job. Of course, the fear most shooters have is missing out on their profit while out there because of missing gear. To get started on the right foot, you may want to check with your potential client what the video shooting project will entail.

With such information at hand, you will avoid over-packing or carrying extra stuff that could make your travel a pain in the butt. You are better off carrying shooting gear that is only useful to you. Carrying equipment that you only need for the job saves you the trouble of having to worry about losing your valuable shooting gear. Also, you will cut the cost of added fees due to extra weight on your luggage. The type of filming equipment you are going to carry is also worth checking; for instance, taking LED lights is advisable for the simple reason that they don’t break easily and are lightweight. Can you imagine carrying with several big incandescent light bulbs!

2. Stay Punctual

Traveling with production equipment can give you butterflies if you run short of time. Making mad dashes out of your house or to the airport is never the best situation. To have a stress-free journey, especially if carrying your equipment around, start your day as early as possible; I need not mention this, especially if you are rushing to the airport. You will need to give yourself no less than two hours because of the typical procedures; check in lines, checkpoint lines with overflowing security. It will be hard rushing through this while carrying heavy shooting equipment around. Always start packing your bags two days before your travel so you can figure out things.

3. Make use of Hard Shell Cases

Have you heard of pelican cases? If not, you better find out about them because they are what you need for your expensive camera equipment when traveling. What you want to avoid is a busted camera that will make you appear unprepared for your job. Pelican cases are small and portable, allowing you to carry your audio gear and accessories with fewer worries. When packing your equipment in hardshell cases, pay attention to your grip, lighting, and sound gear. Proper packing with padding will insure everything arrives in one piece.

4. Pack your camera bag as a carry-on item

Our next tip when learning how to travel with video production equipment is to bring your valuables on board with you. No one wants to incur the cost of damaging their video production equipment. For that matter, you are better off having your camera bag around as a carry-on item. No broken lenses with a carry-on-size camera bag to store your miscellaneous accessories. You never know how the baggage crew is handling your luggage so do your due diligence to make sure it’s all loaded properly!

5. You need to get Insured

Risks sometimes do turn into accidents even as much as we try to mitigate them. Anything could happen on the road. For example, while at the airport, multiple airline staff who are not conversant with your gear could mishandle them. It would be safe to say that risks are not unavoidable when in transit. Should your accessories or equipment get damaged without insurance, you will have no one to blame but you. You want to get all your gear insured just before you travel. Check your current insurance policy to ensure it fully covers the damages on your equipment should they get damaged.

6. Pack Lithium Batteries in a Carry-on bag

There is no way you will travel without spare batteries, especially if your video shooting project will take you much time. You may want to pack these lithium-ion batteries in the same case with the other luggage. However, we don’t advise this since you run the risk of your batteries shorting out in mid-flight. You also risk paying a fine since it’s illegal to store lithium-ion batteries with other cargo. Your best way out is to pack these lithium-ion batteries in a carry-on bag to avoid any trouble on the road. This is a big tip for how to travel with video production equipment

7. Get Cleared with Customs

Cross-border travels will require that you get cleared with customs. For example, if leaving the U.S. for a shoot-out in Europe, pre-clearance with the Customs department is vital to ensure that you are not falling short of the law. If you are a filmmaker and a resident of the U.S. traveling, you will pass through customs on both exits a return journey. Depending on which country you are traveling to, there is a good chance you’ll need to get a carnet to avoid exorbitant taxes. That means they will check your equipment to determine whether you purchased them in the U.S. or overseas. If you have bought your equipment overseas, a tax will apply upon entry into your country. To make sure you are not falling into trouble with the law, it would be best to reach out to Customs or the border clearance teams with details about your travel and what equipment you will need to carry for the journey. Different country’s handle this differently, and getting the right information before you travel is of the essence.

8. Have TSA Locks for your Equipment Cases

It’s highly unlikely that someone will break into your case while traveling, but you are also better off not taking any chances. Cases of traveler’s luggage being damaged have happened in the past, and you don’t want to be next in line. Get yourself TSA locks for your equipment. You will not prevent a crook from carting your case away, but you can secure your valuable items inside the case.

Wrap up

Traveling with video production equipment is pretty easy if you follow the tips mentioned above. Save yourself the cost and stress of daunting travels by beginning your preparation early. Know what to carry so that you don’t overpack. Check into the airport as early as possible. You also want to get the right casing and carry-on bags for your equipment. Enjoy your travel next time.

Looking for San Francisco video production? Contact us today!

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