A lot of our work is in the field on major civil engineering projects. For such live action shoots a ''run and gun'' approach is taken. The camera is hand-held or tripod mounted, or sometimes on a Steadicam rig.  All media is HD, recording in XDCAM format. We also use aerial drone, to capture footage.

 

When interviewing we follow some general principles: prepare, get the interviewee comfortable, avoid yes or no answers, be spontaneous, don't give questions in advance, position the interviewee properly, keep quiet and ask for a final comment.

 

For a controlled environment we often use a two camera approach:– one to capture the subject, and a second camera at an angle of around 30 degrees for an additional view. This allows material to be edited seamlessly between 'takes' by swapping between views. Where appropriate and practical we light the subject – typically with 3-point lighting: a key, fill and back-light. Sound is recorded to the camera, via stereo channels from radio mic, clip mic or directional microphone, as appropriate.

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Following a shoot, media is duplicated, backed up to an office NAS system, and then transcoded to .mov for editing. We edit native .mov media using FCP7 and FCPX, and incorporate animation generated using Adobe After Effects and Maya.

 

As an edit proceeds we deliver an interim cut – an assembly showing the interview soundbites and cutaways to illustrate the media available. This is hosted on our secure and private Vimeo page. This gives us a chance to refine messages and the look and feel of the edit before final assembly. This is also a point at which music choices can be signed off – we have access to an extensive library of copyright music, and can find something to any required genre or style.

 

The final stages are of edit and refinement – we make every effort to keep the client up to date with the progress of the film and to deliver interim cuts.

 

Final delivery is of course dependent on requirements – typically an H.264 MP4 is delivered, suitable for use on websites and corporate intranet. We have also delivered DVD and USB stick based media as required.