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Producer's Guide

How-to save time and money in the pre-production stage of your Industrial Video Production.

Blue Sky Video Productions is a full service video production company. We have the ability to produce a video from concept to completion. The following guide is designed to help your company save money. This Producer's guide will help you cut costs by doing the some of the pre-production work yourself. Even if you have no video experience, The Producer's Guide will help get you started in producing your first industrial video.

• THE SCRIPT
• TARGET AUDIENCE
• BUDGET
• SHOT SHEET
• PROPER FORMAT?
• PRODUCTION CONSIDERATIONS
• LOCATION

How-to save time and money in the pre-production stage of your Industrial Video Production.

THE SCRIPT: This is the most important part of your video production. Many companies, on their first attempt at producing a training, demonstration, or promotional video, do things backwards. That is, they shoot the video, with what they think is important, and then write the script to cover what's been shot. Try this idea with John Hughes or Steven Spielberg. Maybe when they were in college running around with their movie camera, they might have agreed with you. But when you have to contend with a budget, writing a script to an existing video tends to waste time and money. Preparing for your video production is like looking for a new car. Know about what kind of car you want, learn what the accessories can do for the car, and then figure out what fits into your budget. To write a script you must think visually as well as verbally. It is said that one picture is worth a thousand words. Plan your script to let the video portion of the subject matter tell the story. One way to start working on a script is by using an audio tape. For an instructional video you can record your standard explanation of the process. Walk through the company with the recorder and tape the explanation of the activities to be covered with a co-worker. Decide what scenes to include in your program. Know what you to get a shot of. You should also keep in mind the overall length of the program, to ensure that your video delivers its intended impact. Once you've written the script, the next step is to lay out a story board. This is done by matching pictures with words. Decide what will be shown during what portion of the script. Also consider the angles.

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TARGET AUDIENCE: Determine who the tape is for. New employees? Refresher training? Teaching a new process? Perspective clients? Stockholders? Management?

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BUDGET: One way to calculate your budget is to estimate how much time and money will be saved by using the video. This can be in staff-hours for training or in travel expenses for promotion or sales. By producing a training video you can free up personnel, thus saving time and money. Professional on-screen talent costs more than using your own employees. If you use any of your employees for on-camera narration, make sure they are capable of delivering the message well. Their performance will reflect on the image of your company.

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SHOT SHEET: The shot sheet is the listing of what scenes should be shot in what order. The final chronological sequence of the script is not as important as sequencing the shots that are at the same location. Any shots that can be done at one location will save the time of returning to the same location to tape a subject that appears later in the script. The tape can be edited into the proper order in post-production.

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PROPER FORMAT? What is the proper format for your production? Before you can answer this question you should know what formats are available and what they can do.

1. VHS - This is the most well-known consumer format.. It is also the least expensive mastering format. Although the final copies will be made with VHS tapes, the master does not have to be a VHS tape. Recording time on full sized VHS tapes are 2 hours.
2. 8mm video - Another fast growing format in the consumer market. Recording time on 8mm tape is also up to 2 hours.
3. S-VHS - This format is quickly catching on because of it's low cost professional equipment. Along with the move into professional video tape formats, is a move to professional cameras. S-VHS cameras come in many forms. Single chip - Similar to the consumer camcorders, 1 CCD chip is used to capture the video image. The S-VHS camcorder format delivers over 400 lines of resolution. Two-chips -This model, launched by Panasonic, failed to catch on. Because of its uniqueness, it was used more for weddings than industrial video production. Three-chips - The three-chip camera can be used either as a component or as a single-unit configuration. When attached to the deck the combined unit is similar to a camcorder, but the 3 CCD camera delivers a much higher quality picture. This system also requires more light to reflect its capabilities.
4. Hi-8 Video - High resolution and light weight equipment gives this format an edge over more expensive equipment. Relatively in-expensive production costs make the single-chip Hi-8 camera the format for shoestring budget video productions. The single chip version delivers over 450 lines of resolution, while the 3-chip combination delivers over 700 lines of resolution.
5. 3/4" and 3/4" SP - While 3/4" was the original industrial format, it has lost its popularity. If you have it, us it, if not there are more advanced formats with Digital Video and Betacam.
6. Betacam and Betacam SP - Born out of the Betamax format, this new format is as far removed from its origins as it is from VHS. This is the format of TV news field camera persons. It's high quality pictures and compact style makes this the most versatile format. However, both equipment and tape are very expensive. Recording time on field decks is only 30 minutes per tape, while post-production studio decks can handle up to 60 minutes. This format is used for broadcast quality productions. Loss of picture quality in post-production is minimal. Third and fourth generation copies maintain clean and clear video. The new and improved Betacam format is Betacam SP, a format that delivers increased video resolution and picture quality. The format dictates that only 3 chip cameras be used with the recorder. The most commonly used is the dockable Betacam SP deck and the 3-chip camera although component decks are available.
7. Digital Video - The three main formats for DV are MiniDV, DVCAM and DVCPro. This format is becoming more popular for industrial productions. Higher end cameras equal the quality of Betacam. This format dominates the low to mid-range budget productions. Maximum recording times range from 60 minutes per tape on MiniDV to 3 hours on DVCAM (4 1/2 hours at MiniDV SP recording speed).

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PRODUCTION CONSIDERATIONS: Some question that may need to be answered include: How many locations will be needed to complete your video? Are these indoor or outdoor locations? If you do plan to shoot outside, are there any permits required or restrictions.

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LOCATION: Locations can be both indoor and outdoor. One consideration for an indoor shoot is whether to use your company's location or a production studio. Another consideration for an indoor shoot is whether a production studio will better serve your needs. Sound stages can reproduce ideal conditions for demonstrations Sets can be designed, with lighting, sound and cameras placed in the controlled environment of a studio. If you decide to shoot on-location at your factory or office, make sure that the equipment or offices needed are set up the day before the shoot.

Note: No matter which format you ultimately decide on, you must also consider the post-production editing costs as well. With increasing field production equipment comes increasing editing costs.

Blue Sky Video Productions can help you with any point of your pre-production planning. We can provide you with writers, directors, camera-persons, lighting designers, audio engineers, artists, and production assistants, as well as full post-production facilities for whatever format you choose.

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