We can also shoot events, using as many cameras as required at conferences, presentations or a live music event (certain licenses may be applicable to allow distribution of video recordings). This will also involve the sound going through the mixing desk, used at the event, to achieve the best quality possible whilst recording (either fixed to one of the cameras or using a DAT recorder).
Interviewees are an important part of most corporate videos, if recording an event or conference it can be very useful to capture the views of the attendees/delegates to include in your programme.
Choosing the right format?
We shoot everything on digital video ( DV ) format, either using the more robust DVCAM or miniDV. Both formats are broadcast quality only DVCAM is a better option if intended for broadcast, since the resolution is slightly higher. If the client decides the video will be shown on television at a later date, then miniDV is still an acceptable format only the broadcaster may need the tape transferred to BetaSP of DigiBeta - we can do this for you.
Post Production
In the edit suite we can not just add titles, voice-overs, music (licenses may be applicable) but we can also add animated effects, speed action up /slow it down. Roving graphics can move over the top of the footage. Colour-correction: this can be used to highlight a certain part of the action, i.e. you can change the colour of a moving object to make it stand out. Various filters can be used to enhance the mood of a scene, soft-focus/glow-effect if a dream sequence.
Format Delivery
DVD
The DVD format has become the most popular choice in not just the home but at work, too, with most computers now fitted with DVD-ROM drives, which will play DVD-Videos. Because the picture quality of DVD-Video is far superior than VHS and much more robust, we recommend that your programme is distributed using this format.
DVD SpecialFeatures
With customised menus we can include your own corporate logo, your own images (copyright clearance may be applicable) or let us choose for you. We can even have animated menus, either using only graphics or actual video footage, which play in the background. Other options include Video Intros, which can be played once the DVD is inserted, playing the video once before moving onto the Main Menu. A major benefit when playing DVD with several programmes on the disc is that you are not forced to play or fast-forward through other material like you are with videotape. You can also include chapters within each programme: this allows the viewer to skip to specific parts much more quickly than the ‘fast-forward’ button.
Programmes can be made to either follow each other if one-button is pressed, or be played separately, always returning to the last menu, or a specified new one. You may have seen this option in a ‘Deleted Scenes’ section of a DVD movie, where you can either play a specific deleted scene highlighted or you can press the self-explanatory ‘Play All’ using an alternative button at the bottom of the screen.
Additional audio tracks: an audio commentary can be included, if you feel there is more information that you want to get across. Another audio track is ideal if the video programme is to be targeted in another country, i.e. the narration can be in English and French. Any interviews included can have an interpreter dubbed over the top, or alternatively use subtitles below. Which leads us to Subtitles, these can be used instead, or as well as, an audio track. You can have up to eight audio tracks (disc-space permitting) and thirty-two subtitle tracks. Subtitles take up less space than audio-tracks on a disc. That is why sometimes subtitles are used rather than an alternative language track if disc-capacity is low.
Packaging can be from a pvc sleeve with a printed disc, or a full-colour printed cardboard sleeve, to an Amaray case with a full-colour printed sleeve. We can arrange for the duplication, from as little as ten copies to thousands.
Other Digital Discs
CD-ROM is another option. This can only be played using a computer. The interface can include video, text and animation. Although the much more restricted capacity means less space for video than DVD, hence DVD-ROM is another option if there is demand for more than 650mb. Web links can be included to signpost the user to the most up-to-date information. With the advent of broadband this means the CD-ROM can be simply a ‘springboard’ for the user to access contents on the disc and then move onto the materials on your website.
VHS
Despite this analogue format being over twenty years old it is still going strong and is usually offered as an alternative, due to VCRs still popular in places of work as well as at home. We still offer this format and advise that if you are making a corporate video, i.e. an instructional programme, you may want to have at least a small number of copies available for purchase/distribution. We can arrange for the duplication, offering a number of options for the packaging from Amaray covers to cardboard sleeves with windows for the cassette's label.
The Web
There are three main software video players, which are used on computers, there are Microsoft Media Player (supplied with Microsoft Windows 98 SE and above), Apple Quicktime (Supplied with Apple Mac computers) and RealPlayer (can be freely downloaded online). That is why we can supply the video in any of these formats. Video Streaming has become very popular, this allows video to be accessed direct from a server, rather than download the whole video file into the cache, or actually on the hard-drive, of your computer. This is extremely useful if the video’s duration is longer than a couple of minutes. Quality can also be much higher. You may want to consider 56k modem users who might not be able to play the Streamed Video. Multiple versions of the video programme may be the solution if you are wanting to hit an audience who do not necessarily possess broadband (rural communities or simply the masses). With compression technology advancing all the time this means DVD quality video programmes can be accessed through the web.
