Turn and Burn

In the last month, I have been subjected to some of my favorite parts of production; the last minute project. Usually many people in production cringe at the prospect of a last second project with a tight deadline, but its one parts of video production I enjoy. It can really help to hone your skills and efficiency. In the last few months I was thrown four projects with a week or less turn around.

The first projects is the Chapman Law School Deans message. We had two days from concept to final edit to place this project online before the end of the academic year. We shot with one HPX300 on a dolly with an iPad teleprompter. We took one hour to light and set audio, and after three takes we packed up and headed back to the office. 

The second project was a promo for the University business school. This project needed to be completed a week from the shoot. After meeting with the dean of the business school and the marketing account executive, we agreed on a creative direction. The initial difficulty with this project was that we would not see the location until shoot day. However, this ended up being a small issue. I planned on using smaller cameras, HDSLR, which increased our mobility. I also planned to bring some additional lights in case we ran out of daylight. The project was shot in one day and final edit was five days later after several rounds of review. 

The third project was a very last minute project. I was approached to shoot a green screen video to promote sports week for the university. The only problem with this shoot was our studio did not have a green screen built yet. So not to be deterred, I drove down to Samy's camera and picked up a 'Tech green' backdrop for 50.00 dollars. I worked with the sports department to obtain student athletes the next day. We were able to get seven athletes to volunteer their time. I was able to direct them with little after to get the actions needed for the shoot. After completion the video was given to our motion graphics artist to drop out the green and add the graphics. This is the final project.

Although these projects do add a bit of stress, especially to an already heavy workload, I do enjoy the occasional 'test' of my abilities. Its one of the few ways to keep me sharp and learn new ways to think creatively.

Efficiency

Efficiency

Lately I have become slightly obsessed with efficiency, more so than usual. I often find myself enjoying conversations with other professionals and intrigued by their methods and practices, especially when it comes to equipment. Most people, especially in the photography business, will have their own opinion on what gear to take and what is necessary to achieve the shot they want. This is a point in which I will concede every time, but I will often argue the finer points of what is truly necessary. When I first started, I was like many new photographers, working with professionals who were using big name equipment. In many cases the power packs for the flash heads weighed 50 lbs or more. Moving this gear around did get you bigger biceps, however it was slow. In the beginning I did want this equipment because I felt that it made me a better photographer, I didn’t. I slowly started to realize that there might be a better way to achieve similar results without the back strain and snail’s pace.
I began to take note of the gear I was really using and removed items that were rarely used. This was great for two reasons. One, it reduced the weight of the overall gear I was hauling as well as the amount. Second, and not so obvious, it helped me to hone in on my lighting technique and helped me to be much more efficient at lighting.
I now have a package that includes 3 light-weight stands, 3 strobes, 2 shoot through umbrellas, 1 brolly box, wireless triggers, 2 cameras, 3 lenses, batteries, CF cards, and a tripod. All of this weighs under 50 pounds and fits into one backpack.
The best thing about this set up is complete mobility and the ability to give the client a number of looks quickly and efficiently. It saves you money by keeping your gear and overhead costs low and lets the client get more bang for their buck. I really like it because it gives me more time to experiment and find a real cool look and it really expands your portfolio.
Finally, I must say that the shrinking of gear and the light weight nature of the small package is great for traveling, location shooting, and allows me to save on my healthcare costs :P. Yet, I cannot say that this was mostly my Idea. The initial inspiration was a website/blog called strobist.com and I must say that it is a fantastic resource for anyone who wants to have the look of big lights, but in small packages.