It's All Right to Cast Pearls Before Swine

Ok, so that's a pithy name for a post that's really about planning A.K.A. pre-production for video - no, wait, don't go - it gets interesting, really.

For a recent project about agriculture practices, I took some time to head out to the farm before the upcoming shoot and it reminded me of the paramount importance of pre-production. Even though the farm project was on a limited budget, I took one of our precious budgeted hours to scout the location. I brought along the DSLR camera to grab some stills and quick video shots while the farmer showed me around.

This simple act accomplished two things: first, I had some beautiful stills and some cover shots in case they were needed later, second it helped me to pre-visualize for the day of the actual shoot which would involve not one, but two farms, and countless shot set-ups.

The above pig shot isn't very inspiring, nor did it make the final cut of the project, but it helps me to demonstrate an important point; planning is everything. Although a lot of great imagery can come spontaneously from being in the right place at the right time, no good film or video ever came out of a lack of planning. Let's face it, no amount of planning ever ruined an otherwise perfectly good project whereas the lack of planning has ruined the execution of countless great ideas. To say that pre-production is more important than actually shooting video is not really an overstatement.

That one hour I spent on-location before our appointed shooting day saved my crew, my client and the talent TIME on the day of the shoot. Since we charge by the hour, time really is money. My client may not even know it, but this was a key part of how I got their project done within their tight budget and tight timeline.

Another fantastic bonus was that it spared everyone a lot of stress. Because I knew the lay of the land (and the pigs) as well as the desired content ahead of time, problems that would otherwise arise on the day of shooting and have to be resolved on the spot and under the gun (with everyone staring at me for an answer NOW) could be pondered and solved beforehand.

On the day of the shoot I could be more relaxed instead of more rushed and that would rub off on the client and on the talent. Imagine this...on the day of the production we all actually enjoyed ourselves! We had time to be creative and get all the content needed to make the project a success. THAT is what pre-production is all about.

Doing your video production right means doing your pre-production right, and that means that you will always produce high quality work...at that point, whom you cast it before hardly matters.

The 900 Thousand Dollar Video

If you have any doubts that a video can help you in your fundraising efforts, this story should lay those doubts to rest.

A few months ago we created a video for MaineGeneral Health to use in support of their internal employee fundraising campaign. We produced for them a 2 minute testimonial montage, not too big a budget, nothing too fancy. We gave them just what they wanted, something simple, a brief video that they could have on their website and show at meetings to voice the heart and soul of the campaign. At the end of the project we both went away happy and a few months passed. Recently I received an email from Buffy Higgins, Director of the MaineGeneral Fund. She had the following to say:

"Carol, I just wanted you to know that we raised over $900,000 in our employee campaign this year. Now, it was a special year, fundraising for the new hospital but even compared to the year we raised money for the Cancer Center, we blew those numbers away!"

Well, I was thrilled to hear of our client's success, so I made a call to congratulate Buffy. While we were talking here's what she said to me:

"I think our success was definitely due to having the multimedia approach with the video you made for us...the interviews you did were fantastic. It was quick and direct. The video said all the right things...it was our most successful campaign to date!"

From my perspective, it is immensely gratifying to know that by producing a reasonably priced video for our client, we played a part in helping to raise funds for the New Regional Hospital in Augusta. Imagine what you could achieve using video! Here it is...the 900 thousand dollar video:

2011 Employee Combined Campaign from Linda Allen on Vimeo.

Our Success is Your Success!

When we create a video for a client, the aim is always to communicate what THEY want to communicate.

Whistle While You Work...Ode to Autumn

Over a couple of days, on the way to work and play, I couldn't resist capturing some of the Maine foliage before it fades. This time lapse captures the mundane and the sublime of what you see when you travel around Maine. I like to think of this as my version of whistling while I work. Take a deep breath, relax and enjoy the colors and the feeling of a Maine Autumn.

...time crunching

Once you getting started doing time lapse videos, it's hard to stop. Here is another look into the construction of Colby College's Biomass Plant in Waterville, Maine. Again, my thanks go out to the folks at Pizzagalli Construction and Cote Crane for being so accomodating while I ran around with a video camera and the still camera. I was there on two separate days to cover this move, total time spent: roughly 3.5 hrs. The process was a two-stage move of the boiler into it's final position, so compressing the time makes it much more fun to watch, and in HD no less. And really, is there anything better than watching other people work while you sit back and relax? Enjoy!

Everyone loves a parade and...

...a time-lapse video! At least in my experience, people seem utterly drawn to watching time on fast forward. There is nothing cooler than seeing something big and time consuming happen really quickly!

On that note, this video is one we made while covering Colby College's Biomass Project. Special thanks to the folks at Colby College, Pizzagalli Construction Company and Cote Crane Corporation for being so accommodating and also for making sure I didn't get crushed during filming! The item being lifted was somewhere around 37,000 pounds, I believe. So I thank you again guys for not sqaushing me, or more importantly, my cameras!

Fundraising With Heart

Here's a look at a recent video we produced for MaineGeneral Health in support of their Employee Combined Campaign. The interview subjects were so sincere and really great to work with; they made the project a success...and it's always nice to be working for a good cause.

2011 Employee Combined Campaign from Linda Allen on Vimeo.

Celebrating Success

I am happy to announce that we have just won our fourth Telly Award. The winning project is a campaign video we created for Winchester Hospital in Winchester, Mass. As an independent production company we measure our success by the satisfaction of our clients; a happy client always makes me feel great. Once in a while, though, it's nice to get a nod from the world at large, so thank you to the Telly Awards for recognizing our work and helping us celebrate it with our clients! And the winning video...

Tools

Last week Frank and I took a trip down to Boston to check out the Arri Alexa camera at Talamas. You know you are a camera geek when listening to a list of camera options makes you really excited. Well this is truly a beautiful camera, and one can't help but get the gimmies for it. I have to remind myself that it isn't always just the tools you use, but what you do with them that makes or breaks a project. Let's face it, some terrible movies have been created with a cast and crew of hundreds and the best equipment in the world. One must get philosophical when one doesn't have handy the $80k required to buy this gorgeous camera.

Seeing Spring in the Snow

This week marks the beginning of Spring for me. It may not be true calendar-wise. It certainly doesn't look true when the flakes are piling up into larger and larger snowbanks every other day. But I am lucky enough to have a yearly reminder that Spring is near. My reminder takes the form a meeting with a new group of students at Colby College who have gathered for a Spring semester class on documentary film making. I have the distinct pleasure of giving them a crash course on production techniques and editing with Final Cut Pro.

Tight Spaces

Recently we filmed with our friends at Woods End Laboratory in Mount Vernon, Maine. It's always interesting to set up all our gear in tight spaces. The soil lab is a great place to work though, because they keep us on our toes. Once we set up the camera and lighting there are plenty of soil test steps to get through.

In fact, every location shoot provides its own unique challenges and problems to solve, which is why I love what I do. It is never ever boring and I am always learning something new. This time I learned about CO2 respiration in soil and compost. Here are some stills from the day..and then the end result. Enjoy!