Just some of the broadcast quality sound equipment that we use - but there are some more cost effective ways for you to record better sound for low budget projects.

This post builds on the earlier DIY Video Part 1 in which we looked at ways of improving your self-shot company videos, when time and budgets are tight.

As a professional video production company, MGL Media uses the best audio equipment, including a range of different microphones, recording equipment and on location sound mixers to reduce noise, enrich bass tones and get broadcast-quality results – but we appreciate that there may be times when you want to just put out a quick self-shot video and don’t feel it warrants employing professionals.

If you followed our advice on getting better looking interviews, then you are at least part of the way to creating more effective company videos. However, it doesn’t matter how great your interview subjects look if your audience can’t hear what’s being said – a problem that is all too common with amateur footage. So here are some quick and inexpensive tips for getting better sound for your interviews.

Never use the camera mic!

There are some great little consumer camcorders out there, that can produce high definition images, but very few (if any) will have anything approaching a decent quality microphone built in to the camera. Even if the microphone is relatively good, the fact that it is built in to the body of the camera means that you often pick up sounds from the actual camera itself – as well as general handling noise.

A 'Tie-Clip' or Lavalier style microphone can make a big difference to your sound.

For simple seated interviews, using an inexpensive lavalier, or ‘clip-on’ microphone can really improve your sound quality and ensure that the most important aspect of your video – the content – reaches your audience. When you clip the microphone to the clothes of your interviewee, try to make sure it is close enough to clearly hear what is being said, without being so close that the mic picks up lots of breathing and other noises. If you are unsure, watch a studio news interview to see how the professionals do it.

Let’s film right next to this air conditioning unit – doh!

It never ceases to amaze me how many people choose to record their interviews in the same vicinity as a noisy photocopier or the world’s loudest fridge – just because the background looks nice! It doesn’t matter if your interview is shot in front of the Taj Mahal – if you can’t hear the message, you haven’t got a video.

Try to use enclosed headphones - your iPod ear buds just won't cut it!

Get some headphones

It may seem obvious, but the only way to be sure that you’re recording great sound is to invest in some headphones and to listen carefully while you’re filming your interview.

Use your ears

The most useful equipment you have (and the cheapest!) is your ear. When you’re considering where to shoot your interview, the easiest way to decide if it’s too noisy is to close your eyes and just listen for a few moments. Is there a loud hum from the nearby vending machine or the whirring of a computer hard drive? Maybe you can turn them off, or perhaps you will need to find a more peaceful area to complete your filming.

Sound advice

So there you have it – some sound advice to help you produce better in-house interviews. And when you’re looking to produce something more professional, just give MGL Media a call.

Steve & Catherine Baker from Indigo Blue Media, and our very own Wayne Kelly celebrate at the recent IVCA Awards at the Grosvenor, Park Lane.

We’re delighted to announce that  our collaboration with Indigo Blue Media has resulted in us picking up two IVCA ‘Highly Commended’ awards for our Loake Shoes film. At the fantastic event held at The Grosvenor on Park Lane, we were honoured to receive the awards which are internationally recognised accolades within our industry.

As well as the team being highly commended for the prestigious Laurus Award, our Director of Photography, Matt Holt, received an award in the Best Photography category.

Matt Holt, Director of Photography, MGL Media

Matt said, “It means a lot to be nominated by your peers for a film that we can be really proud of. And I even got to wear my Loake Sloane shoes for the occasion!”

The Loake film is just one of several that Indigo Blue and MGL have been able to collaborate on, with more exciting projects on the horizon.

Catherine Baker, Producer at Indigo Blue Media, was thrilled with the awards:

“Working with a client like Loake was a real accolade and enabled us to make a really creative piece of film. Winning the two IVCA Awards was recognition of the quality of the film we managed to produce – it was a real team effort and we really couldn’t have done it without MGL’s creative input. As always they made everything very easy!”

For our part, working with Catherine and the Indigo Blue Media team has been a fantastic experience. Their professionalism and commitment has been inspiring and we’re looking forward to crafting more engaging films with them again very soon.

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Spend more time considering your film's message.

Think about it this way . . . try to remember a classic TV interview of one of your favourite celebrities (one of my personal favourites is the Michael Parkinson interview of Peter Sellers). When you think of the interview, is it the questions of the interviewer you remember – or is it (more likely) the answers of the guest?

Many corporate films and testimonial videos are heavily reliant on content gained from interviews. Interviews of staff members, interviews of clients or interviews with experts. With such a focus on interviewing your subjects it’s very easy to become obsessed with what questions you should be asking each individual or group, when what you should be concentrating on is . . . the answers!

This is a trap that many clients fall in to, and whilst questions can form a great starting point for the creative process – who is your audience? etc – the real focus should be on which key messages and issues you would like to hone in on. For example, perhaps you would like staff members to share some best practice around Customer Service or you would like to shed light on how you can improve a particular process or procedure.

Ensuring your video production team know exactly what you would like to cover is vital if you are looking to create an effective film. A good Producer will make sure they have a good understanding of what their client would like to achieve with their film and will ask the right questions until they have all the content you need.

So spend a little more time thinking about your message and leave the questions to an experienced production team – and on that note, one final question . . . . have you given us a call yet to see how we can help you with your next video project?

In the meantime, we would love to hear your thoughts and feedback on this, or any of our other posts and videos.

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So you need to produce a video but money is tight. You’ve checked out the local corporate video companies, looked at the cost and decided to make it yourself. After all, most people have access to a video camera, a stills camera that shoots video or even a mobile phone.

Now, you may find it strange that a professional Video Director such as myself should be giving free advice away – especially as it’s what I get employed to do and how I’ve been paying the bills for the last 12 years. However, we regularly get called in to help finish a DIY video that has gone wrong or get handed a project that has been abandoned by a photographer who has decided to enter the film-making business only to come unstuck during production, so it really is in our interest to help ensure the material that comes our way is as good as it can possibly be . If it’s successful you may have the budget next time around to let us handle the whole shebang.

First of all a book that I used at University, written over 20 years ago now but still very relevant today, is On Camera by Harris Watts. There used to be some great videos that accompanied this made by the BBC but I think they have long since disappeared. If you can’t get hold of this (and no, you can’t have mine) then here are some simple things you can apply that will make sure you stand a fighting chance of making something today’s time poor audience will sit through.

Most videos made in house suffer from being shot hand held, with too few locations and poor composition. When you get to the editing stage there’s just not enough material to cut together, resulting in horrible jump cuts during interviews or boring things being held on screen for too long. So give yourself enough different locations and interviewees to make it engaging. The same subject matter shot from a variety of angles or different framing such as wide, mid shots and lovely detailed close ups will pay dividends in the edit. Even the same topic spoken about by different employees in different locations cut together is far more interesting than one person framed in the same way speaking at length about the same topic. If you have three interviewees and no cutaway shots, you can still make a convincing edit cutting back and forth between them. This will also help you to cut down what they are saying, when you get into the edit you will realise what seemed interesting while the camera was rolling now seems long and laboured.

Composition of such interviews is vital – not as important as sound, which we will be covering in a later blog, but a very close second. Don’t sit your subject in the centre of the frame, unless they are addressing the camera (and therefore the audience) directly. If the interviewee is talking to someone sitting off camera left , frame them to the right of of the picture – like this:

It will give them room to look, a place to put their name and job title but more importantly will just be pleasing to the eye. Film your next interview the opposite way: left hand side of the frame looking out to the right of frame:

If you do this and also alter the framing wide, mid and close (but not too close), you could then just cut these two interviews together. Where you film and what you decorate the background with is up to you, but the less clutter the less chance there is for continuity errors or objects seeming to jump about in the edit the better. If it’s simple your audience will be less distracted, and after all your audience should be at the forefront of all your decisions within the frame.

Experienced camera crew are mindful of these rules of composition while keeping an eye on the focus and lighting, positioning of mics and sound issues, drinking tea, chatting to the interviewee to make them feel at ease, formatting discs for filming – not to mention listening to the responses from the interviewee!

If you just concentrate on simple framing for now you will see your work improve and your audience will at least watch the first 30seconds. What the interviewee is saying and if they can be heard with clarity is another topic we will cover later. For now just be mindful of composition and framing. If you want to look deeper in to the subject of composition and lighting, I highly recommend the brilliant documentary on cinematographer Jack Cardiff.

In the meantime, inspiration can be found anywhere from watching dialogue scenes from your favourite films, or even just try turning off the sound for a while and watch the pictures – it’s a great way to learn great composition.

So rule 1: Think composition and coverage first, and move on to creativity only once you have those two aspects nailed down.

Shoot it all on a tripod and no zooming! Just trust me on those last two points.

So good luck, take your time and if you need any help you know who to call!

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You will certainly recognise his work for the film posters and title sequences of such classics as Vertigo (1958),  North by Northwest (1959) and our favourite The Man With The Golden Arm (1955). He also created some very famous corporate logos. Today his legacy can be seen in film and TV from X-Men First Class to Mad Men.

Invoking the spirit of Saul by using jagged print objects and bold confident lines, illustrator Simon Farrow of Acerte has produced for us a fantastic collection of imagery.

So when you see the striking red and black business card from us friendly film makers you’ll know who to call. For more interesting examinations of title design visit this fascinating web site Art Of The Title…

..that’s Saul Folks!

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The Armed Forces Memorial at The NMA, Staffordshire.

MGL Media recently had the privilege of helping to create a short film for a new appeal at the National Arboretum in Staffordshire.

The National Memorial Arboretum is a beautifully designed site that was built to honour and remember those who have served our nation and includes over 200 memorials for members of the armed forces, police, fire service and many more.

The latest NMA appeal is aiming to raise £12m to make essential improvements to the site which will dramatically increase visitor numbers and ensure the memorial continues to be a worthy tribute for generations to come.

One of the many poignant memorials at the site.

Our simple film combines a direct appeal from Major General Patrick Cordingley with striking footage we shot around the site and it’s many memorials.

Please take a few minutes to watch the film and then visit the NMA website for more information on how you can support the appeal.

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Far Heath Studios in Northamptonshire

Far Heath Studios is set in the beautiful countryside of rural Northamptonshire, and has been home to artists ranging from The Specials and Toyah to The Fall and The Prodigy. It’s most recent visitors were the MGL production team, when we convened at the secluded location to create a film that captures the essence of what Far Heath is all about.

Despite the fact that Far Heath has been producing hit recordings for more than 24 years, it is still one of the industry’s best kept secrets. It has the perfect mix of state of the art facilities, experienced engineers and producers as well as idyllic surroundings.

Producer, Mike Bennett

The film has fascinating interviews with Far Heath owner and engineer, Angus Wallace and resident producer, Mike Bennett. Mike regaled us with numerous tales from his many years in the industry, both as a producer and as a member of The Fall. Although there was lots of his material we couldn’t include in this film, we would love the opportunity to work with Mike again in the future – his energy and enthusiasm are infectious.

Mike and Angus in a session with band, Stereo Influence.

Far Heath Studios is a terrific place and we really hope our film gives just a flavour of what you can expect if you visit in the future.

Take a look at the film and let us know what you think.

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Classic Loake Brogues

We were recently privileged enough to work with one of the icons of the British shoe industry, Loake Shoes.

Worn by everyone from Bill Nighy and Martin Freeman to Kevin Spacey and Madness, Loakes are famous for being hand crafted using many of the same traditional techniques as when their Kettering factory opened in 1880.

One of many hand-crafted shoe making processes.

We were commissioned to produce a film that, whilst showing some of the many processes involved in making a pair of shoes, also highlighted the craftsmanship and artistry of the shoemaker. This was achieved by allowing the craftsmen to tell their stories in their own words, before weaving this in to a meaningful narrative to accompany the stunning imagery of the Loake factory and it’s work force.

Burnisher, George, has worked for Loake since 1960.

It was a pleasure to speak to the skilled workers – many of whom have worked for Loake for most of their working lives. It was also great to be able to produce a film which documents one of our few remaining hand crafted industries.

We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it.

**UPDATE – LOAKE FILM PICKS UP 2 IVCA AWARDS! – Read more**

Watch Loake Shoes Film on Youtube.

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Ok, so you have now decided on the overall shape and content of your film. Now let’s look at how we can breathe life in to the narrative and lift your film to the next level.

Voiceover narration can also be added at this stage.

Music & Graphics

Often the icing on the cake of a film, these elements can really bring your story to life by emphasising a point in the narrative or adding emotional weight to an interview or montage sequence. Most corporate or internal communication pieces tend to use royalty-free music tracks chosen from one of the many libraries available. Royalty-free simply means that a one off payment entitles you to use the track for your project for live performance, and to make a number of copies as stated by the license that you purchase. Commercial tracks (songs you may have heard on the radio) can also be used, for a much larger fee, which is why they are often too cost-prohibitive for smaller projects.

Another option is to have a bespoke track composed for your film. This can add great value to your project, as it is much more cost effective and means that you can use the track for future projects. MGL Media works with a number of in-house composers that have created superb pieces of music that were written specifically for our films.

Craving Approval

The advent of faster internet speeds and better servers has meant that streaming video online has become the norm. We have taken advantage of these technical advances to enable us to improve our approval process. Even fairly recently, once a first draft was completed, the only options available for a client to view and approve a film was either for us to send them a DVD copy or for them to take time out of their business schedule to join us in the edit suite – both of which slowed down the process and caused inconvenience for the client.

We can now upload all of the approval versions to a secure website and send the link to the client, allowing them to view the film from their office, home or mobile phone.

Providing the film has been edited to a pre-approved script, amendments should be relatively minor and after a few tweaks here and there, the content of the film should be signed-off.

Which just leaves room for the final flourishes. . .

Finishing touches . . . Audio Sweetening and ‘The Grade’

After that warm glow of client approval wears off, it’s time to put the finishing touches to the film.

Audio Sweetening or ‘The Final Mix” is simply the process of tidying up all of the audio edits, balancing levels of music, interviews and location sound and applying any other EQ or effects necessary to make your production sound rich and polished. Sometimes this process is done by a third party audio production house, which can add to the amount of post production time needed and will also increase the budget. However, many production companies like our own have in-house audio facilities.

‘The Grade’ or ‘Colour Grade’ refers to the process of choosing a look for the final film, enhancing colours and ensuring the piece looks consistent throughout. Most feature films are quite heavily ‘graded’ to enhance a particular feeling or theme – ‘cold’ blues to reflect an emotionally detached character or environment, for example. Most TV drama and documentaries are graded in some way, so this is an important part of the process and can really help to give your film that polished, professional sheen.

And . . . relax.

And after all that, your film will be ready to unleash to the world – or just your sales conference in Barnsley. In reality, and depending on the size of the project, all of those little steps usually take place over just a few days and providing you have chosen the right production company, the only thing you will have to worry about is ensuring the content is correct.

Oh, and maybe spending all those extra brownie points you scored with the boss after they see all your hard work.

If you would like more detailed information or to find out more about other film and video terminology, you may want to check out this comprehensive Media glossary here.

As always, we would love to hear your thoughts. Maybe you are thinking about putting together a film for your company or organisation and would like some advice, or maybe you have worked on projects in the past and want to share your experiences.

Either way, we would love to hear from you. Drop us a line or feel free to comment below.

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This 2 part post is aimed at businesses and individuals who are either considering commissioning a video project or are already involved in working with a production company. It aims to take the uncertainty out of that seemingly magical part of the video process – Post Production, or ‘the edit’.

You will no doubt be familiar with the term ‘we’ll fix it in post’, which alludes to the part of the process that happens when your video footage has been shot and is ready to be assembled ‘in the edit’. You will also have noticed at least some mention of Post Production on the costings provided by the video production company you approached to produce your corporate video.

But what does ‘Post Production’ really mean?

For many clients, it’s an area that is somewhat shrouded in mystery – and this is often the way that many video production companies like to keep it. Companies will do their best to blind you with science, using terms such as ‘capturing the rushes’ or ‘audio sweetening’, without giving you a clear definition of what the process involves or how they are spending your investment. We don’t like to keep you in the dark and have tried to break down the process as much as possible.

Bear in mind that what follows can vary slightly depending on the size, budget and type of video being produced. We are basing the information around the post production of most small to medium sized corporate video projects.

Capturing the footage

Contrary to popular belief, we don’t use large nets and a pointy stick to capture the footage (that would be cruel). This actually refers to the ‘digitising’ of the footage, or in even broader terms – getting the footage from the camera or tapes, in to a computer ready to edit. Until fairly recently the main recording formats for this size of project were all tape based. Tape based formats are linear, which means that footage has to be captured in ‘real-time’ – if you have 6 hours worth of footage, it will take a minimum of 6 hours to digitise it.

However, our industry is now rapidly moving away from the medium of tape and almost all new cameras utilise tapeless systems such as P2 and SXS cards or Sony’s XDCAM format. These kind of systems do not need to be captured in real time which can speed up the digitising process. However, the footage will still need to be logged properly before the edit can begin in earnest. The term ‘logging’ simply refers to the organising of the raw content into relevant folders and labeling clips. Each editor or producer has their own way of doing things, but generally they will want to put the material in to some semblance of order to make the editing process a little easier.

The timeline in a typical edit suite.

The Rough Cut or First Draft

Here is where the process of assembling the content of your programme really begins. Each Editor will have their own way of working, but the principle will be the same: laying out the comments and shots to a pre-approved script or storyboard.

Comments will be shortened and tidied up (removing long pauses or stumbled words for example). The various interviewees may be intercut with each other to keep the video interesting and dynamic, as well as helping to reaffirm and emphasise the points being made.

Cutaway Shots

Once the main content is in place cutaway shots will need to be added to the programme. Cutaways are shots that not only help to keep the video visually engaging, but also ‘cover the cracks’. If, for example, you want to cut together 2 separate comments made by the same person to form one coherent comment, there will be a ‘jump’ in the picture. This is where a cutaway shot can be used, to hide the join and illustrate what the person is talking about.

In part 2, we will be looking at moving in to the latter stages of the edit – adding music and graphics to your film as well as giving a brief overview of the mystical ‘Grading’ process.

In the meantime, we would love to hear you thoughts on this post, or your suggestions for other areas of video production you would like us to look at. Drop us a line, give us a call or leave a comment below.

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