What we do at 7 and 20 Seconds Productions | Film Production & Television Commercials | High Definition 24P

	What is what Filmmaking is our passion and it shows in our productions As a professional video/film production company, we follow a rigorous process to provide the highest standard of quality. You need to have an idea of the key ingredients that insure the great success of your project. The Camera Lighting TelePrompter The Director The Cameraman The Camera Picture quality matters and getting this quality right starts with the camera. Good camera equals good picture. Typically a good camera will cost $50,000 or more. And the difference shows. Today's video camera is more than just a camera. It's a computer too. For example, before taking a shot, the camera operator will do a White Balance. This ensures the colour comes out correctly. This process works like this: Before a shot is taken, the camera operator points at a white object such as a piece of paper. Based on this "white", the computer in the camera can then calculate what all the other colours of the spectrum should look like, for the particular lighting conditions. This is quite an important feature as the lack of a white balance will result in poor colour, and poor colour is one thing that a DVD will definitely show. Lighting Lighting can make or break a video shoot. While a newsy look around an office or workplace, or an interview on the fly are often fine without lights, there are many situations where lighting matters. For example, a Presenter on location at your site, or a key speaker to film, or a drama shot onsite, are just three situations where top lighting can make a big difference. On many occasions, the actual subject will need to be lit and - backlit. While the subject can be lit in an interesting way to give character and a distinctive "look", backlighting will enhance things even further. Backlighting is literally what it says, lighting the background area behind the subject, so that the whole picture looks more composed, has depth, and generally feels warmer. Coloured gels can be used with backlighting, casting a faint colour that will set the mood and make the background area look more interesting and appealing. One key point to remember about lighting is that it takes time to set up lights. If there is a lot of footage to be shot and time is short, then lighting may well be minimal, or non-existent, and rely solely on the available natural light and a good camera. But for best work, lighting makes all the difference, and the extra time required for this simply has to be budgeted for. It costs more but you get more. Electric power supply for the lights also needs to be available. While this sounds obvious, a warehouse with 3 phase supply will need a step-down transformer provided or where there isn't a power supply, a silent generator will be required. A noisy generator will be picked up on the microphones. TelePrompter A teleprompter is a device that lets you look at camera while reading scrolling text. Everyone uses a teleprompter, from politicians to news broadcasters. In a corporate video production, if a speech is required to be made to camera, then it's asking a lot to expect the subject to remember a whole speech. This is where a teleprompter comes in handy. No one has to remember anything, and everything can be read off a screen. It allows a corporate executive to make a polished professional presentation. With a teleprompter, there's also the opportunity for the speaker to perform a number of reads, maybe fast and slow, or calm and excited, or still and with gestures. Taking different reads is good as it will usually result in one style of read that really works for that particular speaker. It's hard to predict in advance what anyone's best style is. This is why a read with a number of variations is such a good idea. It takes time to set up a camera on location with a teleprompter. We need to allow a extra time to setup in an office or boardroom and time to take down once the shoot is over. As a guide, one shoot of one speaker using a teleprompter can take a couple of hours; so if you have two or more speakers, it's best to do them all in the one location to save time. The Director What does a director on a corporate shoot do? At one level, the director is the boss of the shoot. He is responsible for ensuring that the shots required are all actually taken and that nothing is missing. The director comes armed with a detailed storyboard that will contain all the script and documentation required for the shoot, such as locations, the route march for the crew, the types of shots required, props and so on. The director will then be required to oversee all shots to ensure that they are taken correctly and match what is specified in the storyboard. All subjects are different and can range from a security officer at reception being interviewed, to a chief executive speaking to camera, to a performance from a cast of professional actors. The director is trying to get the best performance out of each subject, regardless of who they are. This requires a lot of flexibility from the director. Other subjects will need directions to get the best out of them. This needs to be done subtly. A cast of actors will each need individual guidance on how to interpret their role, and how to relate their performance to other members of the cast. On the other hand, a class of schoolchildren need a completely different approach. Likewise, interviews with the staff in a Call Center need something different too. The Cameraman The cameraman has a central role in any corporate shoot. Their skill in operating a camera under almost any conditions has to be taken for granted. On any given day a cameraman can be expected to spend the morning shooting a small drama to television standard in an office, complete with lighting, then shoot a couple of interviews in the street in the early afternoon, then finish off the day with superb brochure-quality shots of a corporate headquarters. Many of the shots will use a tripod, but often the camera will need to be held on the shoulder, which requires a steady hand to avoid camera shake. To succeed, the cameraman has a good understanding with the director. For example, while the director is busy giving guidance to the subjects on camera, the cameraman will be busy interpreting how best to set up that shot, how to light it, where the subjects should stand in order to get the best picture, and so on. They also have an intimate knowledge of the camera, lights, electrics, and are able to technically cope with the requirements of the location.