VIDEOGRAPHY
Behind the lens
Videography is the capturing of moving images on
digital media at live events.
A cinematographer directs the art and science behind a
movie, television show, or commercial.
We specialise in the latter. Our productions typically break down like this. 50% Creative, involving story, actors, and crew, and are typically bigger budgets $5k-$50K. 35% Talking head videos, company origin stories, testimonials, explainer videos, product videos, and safety videos with smaller budgets, $750-$5K. Around 15% of our work would be videography, live events.
Some projects involve multiple days of filming but let’s run you through a typical one day video shoot.
That way you will have an idea of what to expect on film day.
SUNRISE
It’s dark outside as we load in all the camera equipment we prepped the day before. There’s a feeling of great anticipation that something very special is about to unfold. Even though it’s early, humour and coffee are first on the agenda. We love what we do, this is not work, it’s art. With a healthy dose of science and problem solving thrown in.
We leave the studio fully loaded with camera equipment, 2 crew for most jobs, lighting, audio, and often several props or pieces of decor to add production value to the set.
We pull into Maccas, because we fkn love coffee! Breakfast can wait, we keep it light with a couple of snacks and make up for it around lunchtime.
THE JOURNEY
Most of our clients are based in Auckland, our studio and office are located in the business park, Whangarei, so it’s a 2-hour drive for the most part. We’ve been doing it this way for the past 6 years and it works extremely well. Harnessing this time as a creative space to discuss the shoot.
THE SETUP
We arrive on set and greet the client. Energies are high, and there’s this feeling of the “night before xmas” something is about to happen. We walk into the first location and go through setup options, truck all the equipment in and get cracking.
THE COACHING
Raewyn and I handle around 70% of the shoots ourselves. For larger shoots, we bring in experienced contractors. We are both multi-skilled in directing, cinematography and editing. In saying that Rae has a very special gift when it comes to coaching and bringing out the best performance possible from our clients. I’ve lost count of the number of times people have thanked her profusely and walked away smiling once we wrap. It’s a gift she has.
LIGHTING AND SET DESIGN
So typically Raewyn will be going through the script with the client or talent and I will be tweaking the lighting and set design to ensure we capture not only a beautiful image but one that is on brand and on brief, underpinning the tone and feel required to captivate their audience or at least stop them scrolling!
ROLL CAMERA
Once we’re ready to roll, I will be on standby while Raewyn coaches them through the script. This will typically take around 20 minutes and then we will roll the camera.
When we feel we have the best performance in the can “that’s Hollywood talk” 😉
We will move on to the next scene or video.
DIFFERENT STYLES
Now because each job is unique it can be a mix of talking heads, B-roll (supporting imagery that visually tells the story), and acted scenes. Below are two examples of completely different videos and styles. The first one is a movie trailer for an interactive video experience, we used a crew of six and around a dozen actors. The second one is a talking head video shot by Raewyn and myself and the clients did the presenting and acting.
EXAMPLES
ITS A WRAP
Throughout the day it’s not uncommon to change locations and setup multiple times.
Once we wrap on set we will pack down, load the van and head to the accommodation, check in, and then head out for dinner. This de-brief time is a ritual for us and sometimes the client(s) will join us. During dinner, we will go through the shoot and discuss editing options and direction. This lays out a blueprint for the edit while the shoot is fresh in our minds.
After dinner, the footage is ingested and backed up to another hard drive. The next day we will rinse and repeat this process or head back to the studio in Whangarei.