Writing Center Commercial

The Writing Center at Shepherd University needs a commercial shot. The idea was pitched to a group of us, and it goes something like this:

There is a script that will be read by multiple actors. They will be shot individually with similar lighting and framing. Because the script is the same, we will be able to cut from person to person to show the faces of Shepherd University, talking about the writing center. (And answering the where, what, and how..) As of now, the actors will be facing off camera so that untrained actors (real members of the Writing Center) can avoid an attempt at making a teleprompter look natural.

An idea in class was to show a video of how to get to the writing center as some B-Roll footage. I proposed the idea of getting some actual B-Roll of people at the writing center. All of this B-Roll should happen after we shoot the A-Roll, so that we can see if there is anything else we need beFORE we go out to shoot. That way, we can grab anything else that we need while we're there.

It's funny that while this idea was being pitched, I was thinking of the project that I JUST shot and have yet to edit. It is a commercial that I am creating for MLT with my friend, Gabrielle. The idea is that there is one script and multiple people reading the same script. They will be cut to and away from mid sentence or in the middle of a thought to another person finishing that line of thought. The twist is that each person has a flag painted on their lips, which corresponds to the language that they will be speaking. The entire video will have English subtitles, while each person speaks their part in a different language.

I wanted to say something in class, but I wasn't sure how relevant it would be. I couldn't figure out a way that this could help the project, BUT maybe it can.

The technique that I am using to cut will be positioning the person as close as exactly in the same position as the person before them and cutting to the next person. We are using two framing options to cut back and forth between people. A further away shot and a close up of their lips (top of nose to just below the chin.) I don't think that fades will work unless the face is being morphed into the next face OR placement is perfect. A cut will work better. Below is one angle. The other is a head and shoulders shot. We have a third backup shot for each person that is a macro (closer than below) shot of their lips. We will probably not need to use that. This project is a little more dramatic than the Writing Center commercial, and the client has asked that the speakers be well lit (not dramatic). So, if we could think of a way to more seamlessly cut between people, I think that it would make the video turn out much better.



If I could shoot this commercial with no need of being in the studio, I would shoot it all on-location. We, unfortunately, cannot do this. However, getting B-Roll on location will definitely help the audience get an idea of what the Writing Center is all about.

Studio Experience

My favorite studio role has been working as a camera man. I really thought that I would enjoy some "bigger" positions, but being behind a camera (still or video) is so natural to me that I feel too comfortable to leave. I would assume that I would feel the same way about editing, but we're not there in our studio process, yet. Editing and camera work (along with lighting) are things that I really like to have control over. Yes, I'm that guy. Sound is so important, as well, but it's not my favorite place to be. I opt to be the sound person if nobody else can do it better or as well as me, but - in general - my favorite experiences are in the realms of working with light, the camera, and in post production.

As a camera man, I went through the standard white balance, back focusing, framing, and exposing. I noticed that the cameras don't seem to have a way to control ISO (ASA). It seems to only allow partial exposure control that is manual (which is a bit confusing when trying to match settings on multiple cameras), but the director should be able to match the two (because he/she can see the two images side by side).

Being a director is definitely harder than I imagined. When you have two camera operators thinking that they are camera one and they both have the same first name, it really leaves a first time director with a bad taste in his/her mouth. It was definitely a humorous experience. I think that I would have gotten the hang of it and enjoyed it more without all of the confusion. It is straightforward, but surprisingly difficult to set up a shot and gauge when a person will speak without the luxury of three or more cameras. (I can see and appreciate why our teacher wanted only two cameras. We will never be lazy in a production environment when we learn on a setup that requires constant movement of both cameras.)

I've been learning about the importance of communication and familiarity with a crew. I forgot the terminology for directing cameras and switchers, and I think that, if we all committed the standard set of terms, we could be much more efficient.

Why Use A CMS

In a world that changes so fast, the demand for web content to be changed quickly is higher than ever. The ability to change the look and feel of your site without any knowledge of CSS seems to be what everyone wants. (Why wouldn't they?) Not only do people want to be able to change the look of the site easily (and have everything work), but they also want to be able to edit, manage, and add to websites (without any knowledge of html or web experience at all).

In fact, even people with web experience want things to be easier. No designer wants to have to create new directories every time they need to add a page or content. Designers, along with everyone else, want things to be more quick and efficient.

A solution that has been helping solve these problems is content management systems. This means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but a CMS - for the purposes of this article - is a relatively user friendly website that does just what the name implies: it manages content for the user. It handles the creation of new directories, when you want to post something to your website or add a page. It saves everyone time.

Most of the serious web development companies have their own custom built CMS that they design, because it allows them to be more flexible than the popular free and paid CMSs.

From (http://www.spyridontech.com/cms/why-a-cms)

• Scalability - A CMS website is well-suited for a growing organization. Contents can be continuously added / edited and its inherent hierarchical structure keeps the content organized and easy to search and find.Rapid Development - A CMS provides the website organization infrastructure so a new website can be built very quickly. The focus of the work is on the content, not the navigation, layout, etc.Easy Maintenance - A CMS allows even the non-technical persons to easily update and add content. Built in permission structures allows the website to be updated and maintained by more than 1 administrator with different access levels.

• Live Update of Content - Content of a CMS website is stored in the database. So, updates can be live and immediately published online.

• Faster Learning Curve - Instead of learning html, css and other programming languages, you only need to understand how to use the CMS software application instead. There is no investment cost on web publishing software such as purchase of dreamweaver. Also, because this is Open Source, there are no licensing fees.

• Easy Addon of Components - New applications can be added onto the default installation easily with one click. This essentially means that your site can grow, along with introduction of latest web applications.

• Lower Maintenance Cost - Since the website can be maintained by you, there is no need for another web designer/programmer to update the site on your behalf. But don't worry, we will always be here if you need us for your custom programming needs.

From (http://ithemes.com/2008/06/11/5-reasons-to-use-a-content-management-system/)

• 1. Cheap or Free Using a CMS for your web site means you can use cheap or free software and save loads of money. Haven’t you heard? Stingy is in.

• 2. It’s That Easy If you’ve got any computer savvy, most CMS software is easy to use. If you can send an e-mail, use Microsoft Word or set up a Facebook account, then you can use a CMS. And in most cases normal use doesn’t run the risk of mucking up the design. It’s web site creation for non-techies.

• 3. Do It Yourself With a CMS you enter the Do-It-Yourself world. No more waiting for and paying a programmer to fix a tiny error, saving you time and money.

• 4. Many Users, Many Places Most CMS software is online and offers multiple users, which means you’re not the only one who can fix something in a pinch and you can access it from anywhere. Which means if you’ve got Internet access in Tahiti, you could work from there. That also means your important site is backed up on a secure server with multiple redundancies, not some high school kid’s laptop.

• 5. Climb the Search Results Most CMS software also makes it easier to optimize your search engine results. That means your site is more likely to land on the first page of Google results (check out our WordPress Optimization video tutorials), which means people are more likely to find you.