You can give anyone a video camera – but that doesn’t make them Francis Ford Coppola. And while the spec sheets on the new digital camcorders promise to film in a few lux – digital doesn’t look its best unless it’s lit correctly. Shooting digital is actually harder than shooting film!
Adding video to your website can greatly improve your presentation and perception. There are many options in producing program material. The end use determines the budget.
If you want a helicopter shot of your plant that began as Google earth zoom from outer space, expect your budget to correspond to your vision. On the other hand, if your project is for web presentation only, and not broadcast, there are many techniques that can be used to keep a budget under control.
As with any business, creating a video is a business. First you plan (pre-production) where you develop a script, shot list, schedule, cast and crew needs as appropriate etc. Then you shoot (production). Staying on schedule is imperative or your budget will go out the window. From there, editing needs to be done, sound corrected and mixed, and music and graphics are added.
Then the final product is ready for DVD authoring or encoding for web presentation.
So if you have been shooting video without a plan, without a tripod, no lights, and you think the microphone on the camera is good enough, maybe you should contact Barking Toad Media about your video needs. We can either produce them for you or train you on how to stop looking like you don’t know what you’re doing!
