05 December 2010
Making video invisible.
10/12/10 12:28
A video should transcend the technology that captured it. These days, anyone can afford an HD video camera and some software for their PC. But not everyone has the vision, patience or skill to make a video invisible.
What do I mean by invisible? Technology has a way of being invisible when it is done correctly. My grandparents speak of having to wake in the middle of the night to keep the fire in the stove going during the winter. Today, thermostats keep our homes at a constant temperature. A self-igniting furnace frees us to sleep through the night and spend our time on activities that we enjoy instead of chopping firewood. In other words, our heating systems are invisible (until they break)!
When we watch quality Hollywood movies on the big screen, we do not often notice the choices that directors and editors have made such as color-correction, edit points, and music selection. When we see a bad movie, we often don’t know why it is bad. We might notice that the acting is poor, of maybe the camera is shaky, or an edit is abrupt, or the audio is too low or distorted. Sometimes these failures are subtle.
However, in video created for business, we often see poor choices in production. Sometimes this has to do with budgetary considerations. Sometimes the poor musical taste of a director or limited access to a professional music library makes for some terrible choices in music. Or, an editor does not know how to use music properly and uses it as “wallpaper” (I’ll talk about “wallpaper” in a future post) and the music becomes a distraction, or worse yet, puts the audience to sleep.
Some clients come to me asking why they should pay for professional video production services. I concede that you don’t have to hire a professional. But if you do it yourself, you might find yourself up at 3 AM trying to keep a fire started in your stove, and wish you had invested in a furnace and thermostat. And with all the time you invested in chopping wood, you still are cold and have neglected some other activity that you enjoy.
If you missed the metaphor, let me say it simply: a professional video production company can save you time, headache, and produce a video that you are proud to show, allowing you to reap the benefits of your business.
What do I mean by invisible? Technology has a way of being invisible when it is done correctly. My grandparents speak of having to wake in the middle of the night to keep the fire in the stove going during the winter. Today, thermostats keep our homes at a constant temperature. A self-igniting furnace frees us to sleep through the night and spend our time on activities that we enjoy instead of chopping firewood. In other words, our heating systems are invisible (until they break)!
When we watch quality Hollywood movies on the big screen, we do not often notice the choices that directors and editors have made such as color-correction, edit points, and music selection. When we see a bad movie, we often don’t know why it is bad. We might notice that the acting is poor, of maybe the camera is shaky, or an edit is abrupt, or the audio is too low or distorted. Sometimes these failures are subtle.
However, in video created for business, we often see poor choices in production. Sometimes this has to do with budgetary considerations. Sometimes the poor musical taste of a director or limited access to a professional music library makes for some terrible choices in music. Or, an editor does not know how to use music properly and uses it as “wallpaper” (I’ll talk about “wallpaper” in a future post) and the music becomes a distraction, or worse yet, puts the audience to sleep.
Some clients come to me asking why they should pay for professional video production services. I concede that you don’t have to hire a professional. But if you do it yourself, you might find yourself up at 3 AM trying to keep a fire started in your stove, and wish you had invested in a furnace and thermostat. And with all the time you invested in chopping wood, you still are cold and have neglected some other activity that you enjoy.
If you missed the metaphor, let me say it simply: a professional video production company can save you time, headache, and produce a video that you are proud to show, allowing you to reap the benefits of your business.
