I just heard an interesting story on NPR about the shrinking attention spans of Americans. “Viral videos” are losing their luster, in part, because there’s just too many of them to make them memorable. Our strategy for cutting through the clutter has always been putting an emphasis on high quality and creative content. That’s what makes people pay attention– and more importantly, REMEMBER the video for more than a few minutes. If you want a video to stick in someone’s mind, in our opinion, this is the way to do it.

We’re taking a moment to catch up with family and catch our breath. 2012 has been incredibly good to us. We want to take time to reflect on that, and be grateful for all the amazing opportunities we’ve had over the past 12 months. More importantly, we want to thank all the people who’ve been an integral part of our success this year. We couldn’t have achieved any of it without your help and support.

Hope you have a fantastic holiday season.   

For those of us in mourning over what seemed to be the looming extinction of film, some good news.

For over a hundred years, film has been king. It has those pleasing skin tones, the wide variety of stocks to choose from that will handle light, dark, flat, contrasty and any other situation you throw at it. Arguably, the RED camera began the downfall of film in major studio pictures. Directors like Soderbergh, Finch, Jackson, all flocked to the new camera system. It saved them tons of money in the camera budget, and opened up whole new avenues to explore.

It was an obvious choice for the more “average” production companies that were looking to slim down their budgets. Cutting out the use of film meant you didn’t have to buy reels and reels of film stock, let alone have it developed and transferred before you could watch your dailies. Instant gratification for you and your client. It was a win win.

So Kodak and Fuji have been slowly dying out. Within the past year, all the major film camera manufacturers have announced that they are ceasing production of their film camera line up and focusing solely on digital. And those who want to shoot, or develop film are left with severely limited options.

This all got me thinking. In a recent post, I talk about taking an average shoot and trying to make it unique. The other day I was looking at a project and thought to myself “man, it would be cool to try and shoot that on film”. It dawned on me that the video/film production world is, like most things, a cyclical world. Take a look at the resurgence of Super 8mm film: Kodak just announced a new Super 8mm film stock for the masses.

Our good friend and team member Dave Poyzer loves turning to Super 8 to add a little creative flair to his projects, and he isn’t alone. While in China shooting for Where The Trail Ends, our DP was regularly busting out his new 8mm film camera to add a little color to the project.

In the end, while the digital era is reigning supreme, I think it won’t be long before DP’s around the world are choosing to revert back to 8, 16 and 35mm film to differentiate them from the competition. While I can’t say if that means the film camera manufacturers will decide one day to bring their line-ups back, I am confident that, while times may look bleak, film will never really die.

It’s that time of year when relatives like to dust off the home video cameras to capture the happenings at holiday gatherings. Typically, the quality of said videos is, well, unfortunate. And now that most mobile phones have video cameras built into them, you can expect to see more and more grainy, shaky video. Now, we realize a “home video” isn’t supposed to look like a professional shot it, but here’s a few quick tips on how to improve the quality, if just a little bit: 

Lighting, lighting, lighting. Just flipping an overhead light on can make a big difference. Dark, candle-lit ambience looks lovely in person, but it doesn’t work on camera. The more light, the better the video will be. Also, try to avoid pointing the camera at a window (or pull the shades), to avoid the silhouette-effect. And when in doubt, go outside. When the sun is up, natural light rarely fails. 

Slow, steady movements. When I was a kid, my mom had a habit of whipping the camera around so fast, it made you dizzy. (Sorry, mom.) Just slow it down a bit when you pan the camera from one side of the room to another. And if you can steady yourself on the back of a chair, for example, to reduce the shakiness, all the better.

Keep it short and sweet. Let’s face it. Who actually sits down and watches hours upon hours of Uncle Frank shoveling mashed potatoes into his mouth? Try to edit “in camera” as much as possible. You certainly don’t want to miss a golden moment, but a table of dinner scraps probably isn’t going to be one of them.  And now, thanks to smartphones, most folks have editing capabilities right at their fingertips. Learn how to use them, to cut out the boring stuff. That will help you better organize your most important moments, not to mention free up memory space on your phone.

Home videos capture life’s milestones. Why not make them look as good as possible? Good luck, and happy holidays!

I spend a lot of time watching other people’s work. Whether it be a feature film, or somone’s latest post on vimeo. There will naturally always be a lot of similar videos, but what I love to watch are the ones that take a very popular subject (like skateboarding, skiing, how-to videos,etc) and use a totally different approach to shooting and editing. The result truly stands out. You may not realize it at first, but then you catch yourself watching it for the 50th time in a week and it dawns on you that it’s a truly inspiring piece of work. I applaud that. It’s really hard to take the risk and push the boundaries of video production– especially for a paid project with a new client, or your favorite client for that matter. You fall into a very comfortable routine: shoot the same shots, edit to the same style of music, on beat and very simple. Before you know it, you are in a video production rut. The best way to fight this is to just have FUN. Take a subject that you really like. Hell, take a subject you HATE and see if you can make it something that is engaging to watch. Don’t do it for money, don’t do it to try and get attention, just do it for yourself. I hear from a lot of people that they “don’t have time for those types of projects” or “I’m too busy with real projects to play”. I think this is the very attitude that leads to that dreaded rut. Everyone, and I mean everyone, has at least 30 minutes to point a camera at something mundane and try and make it cool/exciting/inspiring– whether they like it or not.

Now don’t mistake the point I am trying to make. You don’t need to make something cool/exciting/inspiring for your viewers. The point of this exercise is to inspire yourself, and to remind yourself that the reason you got into this game was because shooting, editing, lighting, writing, whichever role you play, when it comes down to it… it’s just awesome.

With all that being said, here are some videos I have seen lately that speak to this point. They take something that has been shot every way from Sunday, and still found a way to make it really fun to watch:

JP Auclair Street Segment (from All.I.Can.) from Sherpas Cinema on Vimeo.

I LOVE this take on the standard street skiing or “jibbing” scene in your typical ski movie. The skiing isn’t amazing, it doesn’t have any earth shattering new tricks, but the shooting is so simple and pure, and the editing is constantly teasing us with really simple shots that pull the piece together. Case in point, at 1:02 the kid has just tossed a snow ball and the next edit is a brief shot of him obviously ducking from one being thrown at him. we are only seeing his brief reaction, but its just enough to get the point across. The whole lead-in to the skiing is built like that. we see just enough to know that there is a skier hunting for some sweet lines through the neighborhood, and it builds up are anticipation. This is seriously the best Jib scene I have ever seen.

FIREFLY from samadhi production on Vimeo.

Here is another example. I don’t think I have ever seen skateboarding shot like this. Again, no crazy tricks, just a cool concept that is executed really well. The introduction of an RC Heli really helps get creative too. I am not normally a fan of RC Helis, but this one was definitely used right! There is something really mesmerizing about the LED’s on the skateboard too!

GHOST OF OLD HIGHWAYS from Lovett on Vimeo.

I first found this video on No Film School (a great resource by the way). The band who wrote the music wanted a unique music video to go with it. they pulled together a talented team of people who had access to gear and all had the drive and passion to want to make something great. The result is a pretty fantastic music video shot with no budget at all. If this doesn’t help prove my point, I don’t know what will.

Again, this is an awesome time to be in the video production business. Go out and play.

EDIT:

I mention making something engaging to watch, I neglected to include this video:

Love Letter to Plywood. By Tom Sachs from Tom Sachs on Vimeo.

Here is a topic so simple, plywood, but for some reason I can’t stop watching it.

        71 years ago today, the U.S. found itself going to war. Today, you’ll likely see that infamous video clip of FDR declaring that December 7th would live in infamy. And it has. Perhaps, in part, because that powerful speech was recorded into the history books with a film camera. Prior to the World War II era, important moments in American history were recorded with pen and paper, and then eventually still photographs and radio. It doesn’t make those moments any less important. But watching the film of warplanes attacking Pearl Harbor somehow keeps that moment in history alive and connects us to it, as if we were there ourselves. Its a reminder of just how powerful the medium can be, and how it needs to be handled with great care.

        More importantly, today we want to thank all those who have had the courage and strength to answer the call of duty and serve our country. We sincerely appreciate the sacrifices you’ve made, on behalf of the country and the world.   

     We’re excited and honored to be helping Yess Yoga, in Minneapolis, kick off its first marketing campaign. Founder Lucia Yess decided to take the plunge into the world of small business-ownership this fall. Like most start-ups these days, social media is a major part of the marketing plan. And so is video. The two can make a very powerful combination– if its done correctly. Unfortunately, we’ve seen our share of poorly-produced marketing videos posted all over the web. Bad video can often backfire, and leave potential clients with a bad impression of a business.

     Lucia knows its critical to make a good first impression on potential clients who are looking for a yoga instructor that they can connect with. She has a calming presence, makes beginners feel at ease, and genuinely enjoys the practice of yoga — all highly sought-after traits for a yoga instructor. Thanks to video, she can introduce herself and her brand to potentially thousands of online clients looking for those qualities in a yoga instructor. But if the video is poorly lit, or the sound is tinny, no one is going to pay attention to Lucia’s soothing voice. They’re going to get irritated, click out of it and move on to the next thing. And what’s worse, it’ll leave people with the impression that Yess Yoga is inferior in quality. High-quality video, on the other hand, sets her apart from the competition, shows potential clients that her business has high standards, and makes them feel confident that her product must be high-quality, too.

     Keeping up with the high amounts of video posts necessary to be effective on social media may seem daunting and cost prohibitive.  But it doesn’t have to be. A little planning and prioritizing can pay off big time. Quality doesn’t have to take a backseat to quantity. Just ask Lucia. In one day of shooting, she’ll have 52 cinema-quality videos– one for each week of the year– ready to post on several different platforms. We’re shooting them next week. To see them for yourself, keep an eye on her facebook page. She’s awesome, by the way.

Things just keep moving at the 515 HQ. We are back from Red Bull Rampage and in one piece! It was an epic event this year, and Red Bull has decided to begin holding the event every year, instead of every other year. The level of progression is beyond anything ever thought possible at this location. There were some seriously burley lines!

Here is a recap of the event

After Rampage we came home to finish off some edits and begin production on a new von maur video that will be playing in their stores soon. It should be something a little different, and lots of fun! We also helped out a non-profit shoot a video highlighting a young man with autism who was getting an award at a fundraiser, that video can be seen here.

In other news, the camera industry is turning some serious heads these past few days. Sony has announced their new “F” lineup with the F5 and F55. Both will be 4k capable, and direct competitors to the Arri Alexa, and Red EPIC. The form factor is something I have been waiting to see for quite some time, and I am truly excited to see what these cameras can do. As it stands the price point has not been announced yet, but we expect it to drop somewhere around 25-30,000 for the F55. which means it is the big brother to the F3, and slightly younger brother to the F65. RED’s answer was to slash their prices in half, while at the same time saying Sony wasn’t a threat, but their actions seem to indicate otherwise. I won’t complain about affordable EPIC’s though!

We have some interesting things shaping up at 515, and will keep the blog updated so everyone can stay in the know!

cheers.

Ian

Its been a whirl wind couple of months lately! 515 Just got back from the Vegas premiere of “Where The Trail Ends”. I kid you not, it’s the BEST bike movie ever made. I am really proud to be a part of the production. We are looking forward to the next movie.

We also helped shoot a commercial up in Alaska for a friend of ours, Arctic Media Solutions. Check it out

In other news, we are officially re-located. We have moved into our new HQ in the East Village, and couldn’t be happier. Looking forward to all the opportunities it has to offer.

Off to Utah this week for Red Bull Rampage. More biking in the desert, life can’t get any better!

cheers.

Yet another whirlwind couple of weeks at 515, but we don’t want it any other way! 515 was contacted by a client about shooting a campaign commercial for Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley. Campaign commercials have always been on our list of things to shoot seeing as Iowa is full of them. So we jumped at the chance.

While gathering the 515 team for the shoot I got an email from the client asking “are you available for a campaign event on tuesday in cedar rapids?” Now 515’s rule of thumb is the answer is always “yes”, it wasn’t till after I set it all up that I found out is was for President Obama and we would be traveling in his motorcade all day. Not a bad gig! The plan was to follow the President to 3 stops during the day and get footage of him for his next campaign commercial. I have to say, it was a very surreal moment driving down the highways, and neighborhood streets in a motorcade, all the on and off ramps of the highways are closed, no cars in sight, and the neighborhoods are in full lock down mode. The logistics that must go with what should be a simple task (driving from point A to point B) are just mind boggling! The producer, sound op and myself got to sit in on a discussion between the President and a family, then we followed the entourage to his next stop which was a rally at a high school. After the rally, we headed to an ice cream shop and at that point the President may, or may not have offered to buy me ice cream. replaying the moment in my head I am pretty sure he was looking at me when he asked. I could be wrong though.

I get asked a lot after gigs like the trip to China, or the shoot with Bear Grylls, or this most recent shoot with the President, “was it amazing?” of “what was it like?” These are hard questions to answer, as any cameraman will tell you. Our job is to stay in the shadows. To get the best possible footage while not getting in the way. To not miss a nano second because that nano second will probably be the best part of the whole video. So your eye is glued to the viewfinder the entire time. To the cameraman, its a very detached feeling when you are shooting these events. So the answer is “yes and no” and “I have no idea”. You never really get to experience the actual moment or atmosphere when you are shooting these things, but its truly an honor to be there none the less.

The following few days were filled with location scouting, and prepping the team for the campaign shoot. When I say location scouting, I mean it. We were never more than 20 miles away from Waterloo (the site of the first shot) yet we put on 100 miles driving in circles. Always fun! Shoot day started at 5am with the temp at a cool 83 degrees. It was going to be a hot one. The convoy consisted of the 3 ton grip truck, the 515 crew/camera truck loaded to the gills and one more vehicle to bring the Gaffer, Grip and Makeup artist to the location, gotta love convoys! The crew pulled off some amazing things on a pretty tight schedule. lots of resets, and re-locates. They never missed a beat, and everyone had a good time despite the 97 degree heat.

As for the tech side of things, we shot this commercial using our F3 in S-log mode, recording to the Atomos Samurai in ProRes HQ. That codec isn’t ideal for AVID, but for now its all that was available to us. Everything worked great, no hiccups and S-Log never looked so good!

After the shoot wrapped, we hustled back to Des Moines to re-pack the gear for our Whole Foods shoot. They were opening a new store in Iowa and tapped us to handle shooting profiles on some local growers, and then to cover the grand opening of the store itself. The heat wasn’t going away either. Needless to say it was a long week of production for the 515 team, but as I said before, we wouldn’t want it any other way!

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