Storytelling through Post Production #storytelling #postproduction #editing
One of the most challenging, if not the most challenging aspect of editing/post production is telling a story. Story telling doesn't start and stop with the writer and his or her screenplay, it is an integral facet of every department, from camera, to audio, wardrobe, makeup, direction, etc. From beginning to end, no matter the scale or scope of a project, whether it's a film, television show, commercial, instructional video, etc., storytelling is the core element. This fact resonates especially true in the world of post production. The order of shots can be reorganized many ways to achieve very subtle or very drastic outcomes. The choice of music and sound effects, along with the placement of these elements has an equally dramatic effect (ask Dog&PonyShow). The pace of the edit, the placement of music, the order of shots, the type of shots, and a plethora of other factors go into determining the final product, and telling the specific story.
Editors and instructors Larry Jordan and Norman Hollyn give a very interesting and informative guide through the world of post production and how important story telling is. One of the cool notes from Larry Jordan is the "rule of thirds" as it relates to editing. The rule states that every shot effects the shot before it, after, and of course, the shot itself is a factor. Pretty simple, but a great philosophy to keep in mind. He has two books that his partner Larry Jordan said were worth checking out: "The Film Editing Room Handbook" for beginning/novice editors (such as myself), and "The Lean Forward Moment".
So, watch the awesome video, check out Larry and Norman's website: www.2reelguys.com, which is an amazing resource for filmmakers (such as nofilmschool), and, keep on learning and growing!
Web Videos, Quality Matters, #webvideos, #videoproduction
"Oh it's just going to the web."
"This is only going to live on the internet."
"It's just for our website."
"We'll probably put it up on youtube or something."
These comments are a bit dismissive of the power of web video and we hear it a lot. Video put up on the internet is available to be seen every day by every demographic, every potential new partner, every competitor, every client, customer and team member. Perhaps the reach and impact of web video is a bit undervalued by most businesses.
It can be difficult to try and think what industry or business wouldn't benefit from some type of video living on their site. There are so many different ways to show off who you are, what you do, what is your potential, or simply to say hello. A video can hit personally better than just about any other form of medium. We've discussed some examples previously such as convention videos, real estate videos, social media videos, non-profit videos, and training videos. But there are many more and each of those can be tweaked creatively to whatever would work best for a specific business.
Since these videos can be used to display any part of a business, they need to look authentic and professional. So don't dismiss the quality by saying, "it's only for the web." Quality matters, if this video is the only touchpoint that a consumer has of a particular brand or product, then it should represent the best of that brand.
More and more, videos are being created specifically for web display. Production companies like FiveSix use all the same gear on web videos as we do on the other videos we shoot. We understand that quality matters. This is a transition that's been happening for ten years, and it is opening avenues for all businesses of all sizes to use video effectively.