The ultimate filmmaking resource on how to do more with less.
Learn the entire pre-production workflow, from brainstorming to asset allocation all the way to actually pre-shooting your project. This course is geared to filmmakers working with small crews, but it offers essential lessons and resources for all content creators.
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/video-pre-production-for-low-budget-films/welcome
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This is your chance to join an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker on location! Get a unique view, from concept to delivery, and experience how to capture stills, video, and sounds to produce a commercial for a boutique winery in beautiful Oregon.
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/video-for-photographers-1-filmmaking-essentials/welcome
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Expand your creative options and the range of services you can offer to clients by incorporating video and hybrid projects into your new 2020 skill set.
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/video-for-photographers-1-filmmaking-essentials/welcome
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Learn highly effective and time-saving techniques to produce compelling lighting for corporate videos, documentaries, short films, educational content and anything that requires harvesting available light and the use of practicals.
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/corporate-and-documentary-video-lighting/welcome
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Composition is one of the least understood yet most important aspects of cinema. Using a wide variety of examples, Emmy Award-winning Director of Photography Eduardo Angel breaks down effective cinematic composition, shares his favorite compositional effects and techniques and even covers how and when to successfully break well established rules.
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/cinematic-composition-for-video-productions/welcome
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Learn wow to use the subjective power of movement and composition to guide the viewer’s attention and emotions.
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It doesn’t take a Hollywood budget to make to make the most of available light, and to learn simple tricks to reveal or obscure objects and subjects in your scene. Here’s your chance to learn field tested techniques to manipulate moods, add depth, and enhance your overall production with a few lighting tweaks.
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/lighting-design-for-video-productions/welcome
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When it comes to video length, a challenge is the tendency to equate “shorter with worse” simply because viewers aren’t used to ultra-short content (like 6-second videos) just yet. But that’s about to change, as lot of big brands with deep pockets have been exploring “six-second ads” including YouTube’s own marketing team.
According to YouTube’s marketing team “the key to success is to view the six-second time frame as a blank canvas rather than a limitation.” I like the sound of that.
All of the examples shown below have been produced for large corporations, with large budgets and most likely big crews. But the reason I believe this is relevant to small-crew and 1 -Person crew productions is because the applications are the same. Short-form videos may be a condensed version of longer stories, or they might be customized to reach specific audiences, for example YouTube vs. Instagram vs, LinkedIn.
Cool? Let’s move on. Other great examples are the Duracell bumper ad, the sequential story for Xbox, or the product lineup for La Mer.
I believe the most interesting examples happen when brands approach the six-second ads as part of a larger campaign—when storytelling expands beyond the boundaries of one ad unit and spans multiple ads served to the same viewer over time. For instance, KFC used a six-second add to tease an UPCOMING 30-second commercial.
Conversely, Danone used the six-second video as a way to echo something a viewer had already seen in a PREVIOUS video.
Similar campaigns by Estée Lauder, and SurveyMonkey are also meaty and memorable. According to SurveyMonkey “the 6-second time constraint was a great driver for creating a sense of energy while communicating the power of the tool simply. This was accomplished by effectively messaging the main components of our platform: creating surveys, collecting answers, and analyzing results.”
As I mentioned earlier, short-form ads an d videos may be a condensed version of a longer story, or they might customized to reach specific audiences through contextual targeting. Campbell’s Soup Company took the latter approach for its “SoupTube” campaign in Australia.
Here’s what Campbell’s did: To amplify a 15-second ad they created hundreds of variations of 6-second ads and ran them as additional media. Using some fancy audience targeting, Campbell’s delivered the contextually relevant 6-second ads to users by matching its product message with trending YouTube videos.
For example, users who searched for Pokémon Go were shown one ad/video where they were asked, “Legs hurt from walking around?”, while users searching the outcome of a specific soccer match saw a different version of the ad asking “Had your money on England?”
By building multiple 6-second stories that offered different facets of its message, Campbell’s proved that short-form ads can provide powerful touches to boost a longer story.
Campbell’s original hypothesis was that the six-second version would “help drive upper funnel metrics like ad recall” and the thirty-second version would “build on that initial impact by telling a longer story to shift perception.” That’s pretty technical, but I get the concept.
What happened with that hypothesis? Glad you asked. The 6-second clips alone were LESS effective than the 30-sec videos to shift brand perception. But, and this is important, when the 6-second clip and 30-sec clip were paired through remarketing (essentially exposing people who had seen the long-form ad to a bumper as a follow-up) the 6-second clips were a great way to reinforce the 30-sec clips.
According to YouTube “the optimal media journey for a viewer is a 30-sec spot followed by another 30-sec spot, followed by a 6-second ad.”
Let’s say you just finished a travel video you would like to promote. It doesn’t hurt (and it doesn’t take that MUCH extra work either) to cut different 30-sec teasers and a few 6-second clips, and try to target specific audiences based on each platform. You could target groups that talk about that specific destination on Facebook, and travel companies on LinkedIn and travel enthusiasts on Instagram. Same travel video, slightly different marketing approaches targeting different people.
What do you think? Leave your comments below.
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It makes no sense to have a super light laptop and/or camera system and having to carry a heavy bag full of chargers, adapters, and cords.
Also, I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who has forgotten expensive chargers at hotels (Buenos AIres, Casablanca and Houston) and airports (Porto and Barcelona to name a few), or who has lost a cable that could NOT be replaced (try finding USB-C cables in Myanmar).
And what about spending 14 hours shooting on location, getting late at night to your hotel to dump the day’s footage, and not being able to go to bed because you have to make sure all the batteries are fully charged for the following day? It simply sucks.
So my goal was to find a simple way to charge multiple batteries at once, minimize the amount of chargers and cables, and make everything fit into the most compact package. Ah, and also super important, be able to use this setup anywhere in the world.
Let me introduce you to “the Octopus” a gadget I’ve been using (and fine-tuning) for quite a while. Right now I can charge seventeen (17) batteries and/or devices, with a system that weights only 2.12 pounds (or 0.96 kilos). And the best part, I only need ONE international adapter.
Let’s see what I have on my current setup:
Here’s what you’ll need to build a similar “Octopus”:
One last thing. I don’t know why, but sometimes a “brand name” battery costs more than two third-party batteries, sometimes even including the charger! I’ve using Wasabi batteries and Watson batteries for a long time and never noticed a performance difference against the “original” brand. I don’t know about other brands, but Wasabi and Watson work fine.
Check this out, ONE Sony NP-F970 costs $125.99. You can get the same battery under the “Watson” brand for almost half the price, $69.99. But for only $49.99 you can get TWO “Wasabi” batteries, with an adapter, plus a car charger AND a European plug. Wow!
There are SO many camera bags, all claiming to be THE perfect one for your specific needs. Obviously that’s impossible. So which camera bags are best for the 1 Person Crew and why?
I’ve owned dozens of camera bags in the past 20 years. I actually used to work at a camera store so I was able to field test ANY bag I wanted for a weekend, and then buy it with a significant discount. Needless to say I ended up with a closet full of them, from very uncomfortable “Sling bags” to extra heavy “hard cases” to even a “floating backpack” that I used once….
Over the years I’ve been increasingly demanding when it comes to buying equipment, and this includes camera bags.
I’m always looking for three things: I want the bag to be comfortable, to have the right features (like compartments that are easy to reach for me, but not for pickpockets), and “the look.” I want something that looks nice, but doesn’t scream “Hey! I have $20,000 right here!”
When it comes to brands, I also have used them all. I want a company that keeps innovating and taking risks, that is using high-quality materials, but also offers a fair price, customer service and warranty. This is easier said than done, of course.
At my workshops I often hear attendees complain “$400 for a bag?!?!?! That’s a lot of money!”
But is it? If I’m putting $20,000, $30,000 or even $40,000 inside a bag that will take some serious beating for 5 years, is $400 really a bad investment? I don’t think so.
So, I currently use three kinds of bags, all made by the same company. The smallest bag is a Messenger style bag. That’s the one I use pretty much every day, for my laptop when I’m not shooting, and with a very compact setup, especially if I need very quick access to my camera.
What’s inside that Mesenger Bag? Watch the video below to find out:
The second bag is a video backpack. That’s the one I’m taking with me pretty much every time I leave town. It goes next to me in a taxi, under my seat on a plane, and on my back the rest of the time. That bag NEVER leaves my side.
The third bag is a hybrid bag, which means it’s a rolling case AND a backpack. That’s my carry-on bag, that rolls 90% of the time, and it’s on my back when I’m dealing with sand in Mexico, snow in Chicago, cobblestones in Lisbon, stairs in New York’s subway, and mud in Bali.
So, what about you? Do you have a favorite bag or packing tip? If so, please share your comments below.
DISCLAIMER
This article is not paid or sponsored by anyone. It reflects my own independent opinion. I only recommend companies and products that I trust. Some links might be affiliates, which means I may get a few pennies if you decide to purchase something.
Thanks in advance for your support!
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