Creative Flagging
We here at FiveSix Productions, your favorite Las Vegas video production company, believe our clients to be the most important aspect of our company! That being said, we always try to offer the best production experience possible on every job, from crew, to gear, to total experience. When a client hires us, we try to maximize the product we deliver while staying within their budget.
On a recent shoot, we ran into a situation where some flags would have been really helpful to create the best lighting situation; unfortunately, during the planning process, the client didn't add them to their order. While we would love to bring our entire studio to each gig, that is unrealistic, so we run into these tricky situations from time to time. The key is to be able to adapt, and change on the fly. With a little creativity, calm demeanor, and some patience, we utilized what we had at hand, and were able to mimic a proper flag with some other gear. To the trained eye, the gear may have looked out of place, for the rest of the folks moving in and out, everything was ship-shape.
So, stay calm, take a deep breath, and those little speed bumps can be traversed with no trouble.
(I've included an old photo example of a time we used a soft box that wasn't in play to flag for one that was.)
Three words that will change your life.
Some people live their lives by the motto "Never Look Back". Out on location, we were chatting with the maestro of teleprompting here in Las Vegas, Mr. Jeff Critelli. Jeff told me the #1 rule of prompting... 'Never scroll back.'
Teleprompting can be difficult, as we can all attest to. Speakers occasionally go rogue and start talking off script; a good teleprompter operator can anticipate where the daring CEO is headed, and can have the approved copy sitting there waiting for him/her to get back on track.
It's usually during these high stress moments where the rookie operator panics. Thinking they have scrolled too far, the unwitting operator goes against all of the forces of nature and diverts down a path that will lead to their impending demise. They scroll backwards! The presenter is totally caught of guard. Their safety net has just been pulled out from under them. Initiate 'panic sequence'.
The operator is sitting there defeated; nothing to do but count down the number of words left in the script, knowing when zero hits, all hell is going to break loose.
But this isn't going to happen to you. Your presenter is going to go off the cuff and you won't even flinch. A little voice in your head says "never scroll back" and you hold tight. The presenter looks up and there you are with your script all queued and ready to go, right where they went off course. You're the unsung hero, waiting to get the speech back on course . Well done.
Wedding Season? I Prefer Trade Show Season!
What's better than crashing a wedding? Being invited, because then you know someone out there likes you. Wedding season is a great time of year; love is in the air, great parties, and gosh-o-golly, plenty of cake and champagne to go around! We here at FiveSix Productions in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada prefer the Trade Show/Convention season. Don't get us wrong, we can chicken dance with the best of them, handle our share of fruit punch, and we look pretty dapper in bow ties and top hats; but there is just something special about that trade floor.
The ol' trade floor. The crossroads of any good convention. It's where you get to mix and mingle and get your hands on a lot of free merch'! When we are contacted about shooting conventions and trade shows, we make sure we know just what we're getting into. Is this a fast paced, high tech trade show? Or, is this a trade show about knitting turtle neck sweaters for turtles? (Please, never underestimate the ruckus world of turtle turtle neck knitting- we've lost a lot of good men at those events...) When we send crew out on the show floor, they have to be quick, clever, and able to work well on the fly. There are hundreds, sometimes thousands of people all around, and they have to be able to adapt to any changes. They also, like with "man on the street" interviews, have to be compact.
Man on the street doesn't necessarily only happen on the street, it can happen on the trade floor, or in a hall way, heck, you may be interviewing a woman in a vestibule, it's all the same. This is the crew that is going to seek out convention goers and get those awesome, exciting, and totally radical sound clips from convention goers who are literally bursting with joy. You need a team that is clever, durable, and out going- no shy kids who aren't going to be able to get strangers to talk to the scary camera. You also need your camera man and audio guy (with boom, and handheld mic) to be compact. They want the least amount of gear needed to get the job done. Lugging 80lbs of gear sounds like fun, and believe you me, it is... but maybe there's a better way. Customer testimonials are very similar, though usually you're going for quality over quantity. When doing this, have a good cameraman with a good eye for framing and background. That ficus in the corner is great- but I think we all know I mean played out... Listen to that creative voice in your head and unleash your inner Scorsese.
That is not the case with the ever popular and important "Green screen interviews". This is where the heavy hitters come to be interviewed by the experienced director or producer. This is where you need a director, producer or two, you're going to need a couple camera operators who can stay focused, along with an experienced audio mixer who isn't afraid to place a lavaliere mic down a shirt or two. You're going to want at least one grip (multiple for set up and tear down), makeup artist, and a p.a. or two. If you're doing a marathon of interviews, it is highly recommended to have a media manager- they will save the day if they're worth their salt. Be wary however, as to whether you're shooting in a ballroom or a hotel room/suite- this changes the game as far as lighting, and amount of bodies you can have on hand. Here, more is more, and you want all the gear and crew you can afford and have- you're usually interviewing field experts, CEOs, and all forms of important folk- this needs to be knocked out of the park.
Finally, any good convention or trade show ends with a great party- and we here in Vegas know how to do just that. If you hire a Las Vegas video production company or crew, you'll be sure to be covered on all the best ways to get down and have a great shoot, and a great time.
Paying the man!
From time to time out freelancers swing by the office. Sometimes they want to check out a new piece of gear but most often its just to shoot the breeze. We work with some very talented folks and we have always considered our freelancers as part of our extended family.
One of our regulars was in today and mention that another company in town announced a policy to pay their freelancers Net 90. WTF! That is ridiculous.
As a company we rely on our freelancer to represent us on each and every shoot. Not only in delivering a top quality product but also in taking care of our clients as we would personally. As our freelancers look out for us, we have made it a point to take care of them.
We have always vowed to pay the best rate based on our clients budget.
We make sure or freelancers are fed and happy.
We don't ask our freelancers to do any work we wouldn't do personally.
We pay Net 21 (at the latest).
If you haven't had the opportunity to work with us send your info to rob@fivesix.com
The digital master
As I am sitting here mastering our latest video (again), I can't help but reflect on the days of old. My mind takes me back to a day when we would master all of our videos to tape.
Now I would never want to turn back the clock. I can shoot 6k footage on a solid state drive with our red dragon. I have a 4k drone that I can fly around the house on weekends. Who wants to go back to the big bulky decks and cameras? Not I.
But in this instance, while mastering version 12-b, a simple little title change has caused us to restart the process. A half hour export, followed by a 10 minute encode, followed by a 10 minute upload. I realized, gone are the days of the insert edit. As we embrace all of this new technology and efficiency I can't help but think this would have been a 30 second edit to my betasp master.
Canon's 8K and 120megapixel Reveal!
Yesterday, the Japanese imaging giant, Canon, our favorite company from The Land of the Rising Sun, announced the near-future release of an 8K cinema camera and 120 megapixel DSLR.
The cinema camera will have a Super 35mm equivalent CMOS sensor, capable of 60fps, and 13 stops of dynamic range. The camera will feature the awesome EF mount we've become so fond of, and the sensor will be 8,192 x 4,320 pixels (approximately 35.39 million effective pixels). Canon will also produce an 8K professional reference monitor, because, let's be honest, what's the point without it?
As for the DSLR, it will have 120 effective megapixels, capable of beautiful, clear, poster size images, and allow for cropping without compromising quality. Imagine your vacation photos with Mickey blown up to life size!
Canon hasn't said when the camera will be available, nor if it will even be unveiled at NAB, PhotoKina, or... maybe a random Taco Tuesday (or Sushi Sunday if you're in their neck of the woods).
Either way, what a surprise bomb-shell from Canon that's sure to get your motor running.
Do you service your production gear?
The quick answer to this often asked question is a resounding yes! As former freelancers we have all been on shoots where you are hoping the gear you are working with that day operates like it should.
We pride ourselves with working with the best talent in Las Vegas. It important to us to know our gear is going to be working reliably on each and every shoot. An important aspect of a good production is having the equipment you use routinely serviced and cleaned. Here at FiveSix for instance, we send our Canon C300s out for an annual cleaning and "sprucing up"; that insures that everything is running correctly, all the nuts and bolts are tight, and everything is clean, especially deep down. By taking advantage of our Canon CPS account, we ensure all of our lenses as well as our cameras are in tip top shape.
The fine folks over at Canon are trained and able to clean all the intricate and difficult parts of the camera that we here would rather not mess with. We certainly take pride in taking the best care of our products while they're here in house, but definitely don't underestimate the trained professionals that help keep our machine running smoothly. Here in the desert, our production gear needs all the care we can give it!
The Tempo of Your Edit
As all good editors know, the pace and tempo of the any project your dealing with is crucial. The pacing of cuts, the use/frequency and type of transitions, duration of clips, and especially the tempo of any music utilized, all play a critical role in the feel and basic watch-ability of the final piece. Here at FiveSix Productions, our senior edit team is working on a project that involves several people telling one story. The overall story is broken down into approximately half a dozen subjects that are woven in with b-roll, each subject playing over it's own music. We've utilized different types of music to allow for the subjects to be easily disseminated, however, the music has similar tempo and rhythm so as to make it coherent. As societies' attention span lessens, it is crucial to keep even an eight to ten minute piece, (such as the aforementioned) flowing smooth with a good pace that isn't slow nor rushed, and accomplishes the overall goal of the project. APM Music is a great resource we utilize to find music for video.
Happy editing, and rock on (or, corporate-style elevator music on).