Shower seals, DIY vids and an editor upgrade...?

The New Video

I took Friday off work last week to do my first piece of official comissioned filming, shooting a basic how-to video for a company that sells shower seals. We filmed two simple videos, 3-4 minutes each, detailing DIY installation of the seals. I've done videos before, but mostly music videos or ones I have made purely for myself. So this project is a real first!

Andy from Syncrovise picked me up in the morning and drove me to the plumbing showroom where we would film the video, with a quick stop-off for breakfast (thanks Andy!). The showroom itself was fairly spacious so we were able to set up my new video lights and a mic near the shower where the quick installation would take place. Despite some noise from the car workshop next door which we managed to film around (more through luck than judgement, although Andy correctly identified the lunch hour lull that would be our prime time to tape) and a few people browsing the showroom, the whole thing went off pretty much without a hitch. Our video star and the man who commissioned the vid is (also called) Andy, owner of the Plumb-Fix plumbing/heating showroom and a most agreeable star (for clarity, Andy the plumber will be Andy C and Andy from Syncrovise will just appear as Andy). Andy C worked really hard to make sure we had what we needed, saved the day by finding a replacement power lead for a battery charger at short notice and did an assured performance in front of the camera, despite being nervous. He was great.

Quick screencap of the man at work

Being an instructional video, the shoot itself was dead simple. We captured Andy from a single angle as he ran through the entire seal fitting, then we took some close up footage to capture important parts in detail. Filming in the showroom gave us the room we needed try different lighting setups and to change camera location for the closeups. Andy was also able to get a good deal of still shots on his Nikon too. We shot a second video back at Andy C's house in the much smaller location of his upstairs bathroom, detailing the installation of a different kind of shower seal. The room was small but we were able to get all the gear in there. We set the camera up on a tripod at a low angle with the legs at minimum spread so that we could get the camera as far back as possible from Andy C so we could capture everything. It meant the camera was a little precarious as the tripod had a smaller base but I was standing over it watching through the viewfinder and my entire body was primed to catch it if anything happened. Oh boy was I primed. Andy C was up against the tub fitting the shower screen seal and our other Andy was outside monitoring the audio mix on his laptop - we captured a separate audio mix using a podcasting condensor mic to give us more options during the editing stage. Plus it was nice practice capturing un-synced sound.

As before we captured a single angle and then used close ups for the detail. This shoot was far quicker than the first. We wrapped up for the day once we captured everything and we discussed plans to get back together for one more instructional taping and possibly some more work -  just a small video of his plumbing and heating showroom for Andy C's website. It was a good day, I can honestly say I was never bored or nervous and I enjoyed every minute of it.

After the shoot Andy drove me home to pick up Dee and we went back to Andy's to meet his lovely wife Ellen, their cat Otis and to enjoy a slap up meal involving lots of white wine and many fajitas tacos and nachos, as well as some impromptu bass guitar and a visit to Andy's studio, to see where the man spends his working days. Being your own boss and working from home... I know it's got it's downsides, and I know anyone that does it can give me a long list of bad things about it, but speaking to Andy, and imagining it for myself, I think this is something I could do. I really do. Maybe in a year or two I could actually begin to dream about it. Spending my days taping, drinking tea and editing footage, it feels like a dream.

Anyway, back to reality for a bit...

Over the weekend I edited the basics of the videos together and sent them to Andy to see about inserting a decent title page for the product before the video. The edit so far is pretty good, the close-up inserts work well, even when we haven't quite captured everything perfectly (my own mistakes, sometimes in the close ups I have Andy C holding things in the wrong hands) but I've been able to use what we got right and it all gels together. The videos aren't live yet, I'll put a link up here when they are, purely for the curious, or for those needing to get a seal for their shower screen door!

Final Cut Pro X

I've been using Final Cut Express for a while now. I'm comfortable with it and although I've certainly not mastered anything I can use it with relative ease and speed. I enjoy FCE. It's great! If you're not familiar with editing systems, Final Cut Express is the consumer program, Final Cut Pro is the professional program. Final Cut Pro and several add-ons are sold in one package, called Final Cut Studio. These are prohibitively expensive for someone like me. But Final Cut Express has everything I need in a video editing program and more.

But there are problems. One of the biggest bugbears I have with the program is a long-standing bug whereby it exports your video at an increased brightness because of a flaw with the way the program understands your display gamma. This has gone unfixed, by either Apple or by clever third party coders for a long time. It even gave me grief when putting together the shower seal videos, I had to finalise the video, change the gamma settings to all clips to make the whole video darker, then export it and let the gamma bug brighten everything up again. It's not an ideal way to work and it could be costing me a little video quality.

Last summer Apple released a brand new rebuilt Final Cut Pro. It's a biggie. It's not an update but a complete rebuild. In fact, they have rebuilt it in the image of iMovie, the free video editor that comes with your Mac OS. This caused big ripples and a lot of concern. The new Final Cut Pro is very swish, very functional, and possibly a bit more user friendly than previous Final Cuts. But many people had spent years with the previous incarnation of Final Cut and they feel that they are being sold out to the consumer market. But Apple are listening, at least a little, and are adding new features with each update, bringing this new Final Cut Pro more in line with what people want or need.

But why is this important? I use the (relatively) cheap Final Cut Express. Well, Apple have also retired any future editions of Final Cut Express. It's Pro, or it's back to iMovie. Or of course stick with Express but without support.

Luckily for me, this new, fancy edition of Final Cut Pro is a slice of the price of previous editions at £200. It's digital download only, you cannot buy it at a physical store. Some purists are up in arms about it, but to be honest, I've been reading up on it, and it still does everything I need, even if I just need to learn to do it in a slightly different way. Plus I'm sincerely hoping that this gamma shift problem has finally been fixed by a complete rebuild. From what I have read online, I am hopeful.

I think I might have to take the plunge. If doing some more videos with Andy for his clients leads to a little bit of money, then I can consider it an investment. Final Cut Express is going to fade into obscurity and if I can finally get a fix to this goddamned gamma shift.

Boppy the Cat Actor, The New Project and Looking Forward.

Last Friday

The day started ominously with a derailed train cancelling all trains to Watford, but one scandalously expensive cab ride later, Mark and I arrived at Frazer's with a car full of gear. After a slow start the ball was soon rolling and we managed to film half the entire film. We got pretty much everything in the bag that we planned to.

It was one of the better filming sessions I've ever had, it was relaxed, we had the house to ourselves, the street was quiet and we took our time with everything. It was a very collaborative day, with Mark Frazer and myself all pitching in ideas and coming up with new angles and ideas. Filming Frazer's cat Boppy was a lot of fun, he's a gorgeous, friendly ginger tom who enjoyed strutting his stuff around the house. It was nigh on impossible to get him to do specific things, but hey -  that's cats! We knew he wouldn't be learning any lines!

Line! Meow?

The whole shoot went smoothly but slowly, and was a very relaxed affair. We wrapped up as the evening was beginning to arrive in earnest, and arranged transport home. It wasn't until I got home that I realised we never actually stopped for food (a perfect opportunity was present when we watched back the footage but I was so focussed on the filming I wasn't thinking about stomachs) and we had subsisted the whole day on biscuits and jaffa cakes. I got home, nauseous as hell from the long car ride (which was unusual as I never get car sick) and I literally collapsed, mentally and physically exhausted. I hadn't felt the torpor hit me until I stopped moving. Dee had made a great curry which I gratefully devoured and then I went straight to bed, leaving lighting bags and suitcases where they fell (gently).

I've since got the footage on to the computer and I've started to put the pieces together. It certainly looks better than average, although of course I'm already seeing improvements I could have made on the day. This should help inform me when we shoot the second half of the short.. I've got the basic scene together from my current footage, it's quite underwhelming but I haven't really chopped away at it yet or tried to edit it into shape, so of course it will feel flabby and lacking any drive at the moment. I've got some background audio to add too, as well as some basic foley work which could be fun!

Lighting

So, Friday was the big debut of my new lights and it went great. It's been a long time since I've had control of powerful lighting and we were able to use a combination of the new lamps, natural light and household lighting to bring the scenes to life. Good lighting makes a world of difference, I look forward to getting more practice. At the moment I'm still a beginner, and I've noticed that it is very easy to overpower the camera with the lighting which can lead to scenes looking like they are taking place under floodlights. You can dial it back a little in the editing stage, but you can't perform miracles. I've picked up a great book called Painting With Light, by a famous cinematographer called John Alton who worked on a number of classic noir movies and was a pioneer of cinematic lighting.

 It is written from a different era, so there is a lot of information about studio lighting of old (olde?), but it's highly informative so far, I haven't felt the need to skip anything. The link above will take you to the amazon UK page if you want a look for yourself. I'm hoping the book will teach me a thing or two and I'm already excited to apply what I will learn. While I enjoy my cycle commute (most days!) I am sad that I no longer get to read on the train to work. My books are all going unread!

This Friday

This Friday I'm going with Andy from Syncrovise to shoot a product information video, my first "offical" venture. We're going to be filming a how-to about fitting bathroom seals, a nice simple shoot that shouldn't prove too taxing (best not speak too soon) and will end with a slap-up dinner at Andy's place. Sounds like a plan!

Sell to Live

I've been selling some of my Xbox 360 games this week. I've been a gamer for years and I've owned many many games, but a few years ago I had to start cannibalising my own collection in order to afford new games, so I never have any more than a few games at any one time. Although it feels good to get rid of the clutter, I still feel a pang of sadness when I sell a game on. Especially these last few. I am genuinely sad to see them go. Sliding them into their bubble wrap envelope, having one last look at the artwork, remembering the good times. It's unpacking a new game but in reverse. They were games I had been following for months before their release, I only bought them a few months ago, had loved playing, but I need to sell them on just to stay afloat. To be honest, they are games I probably wouldn't be revisiting any time soon, I have Skyrim now and that is literally the only game a human being needs. After that I've got Arkham City, the new Batman smack'em'up. I'm set for a good long way and won't be needing to retread past conquests. Selling them on is logical, but knowing I'll never play Saints Row The Third again leaves me sad. I make no apology. I love video games. Always have.

But on to bigger brighter things. Roll on Friday, roll on the food, and roll on the weekend!

Faster than a speeding bullet

It's all go this week. Sometimes I have trouble updating the blog because I have nothing to say, other times I just have no time to say everything.

Friday

Filming the "new project" finally on Friday. Don't know if we'll get it all done, but it would be nice to get halfway through! Heading straight out to Watford with Mark, where we'll meet Frazer and we'll get cracking with the filming. The day is falling fast upon us and I'm going over the script from lots of different angles trying to make sure I've got everything covered, that we'll have all the props, how each scene will be lit, where I will put the mic, the state of the house and the depth of beardyness we need Frazer to be rocking. I'm trying to make sure I really know it all inside out and that I can keep the whole thing feeling "together".  I'm glad we've already had the test run. We're in good stead. I've already made my inventory list for the day, so that we don't arrive at Watford only to discover we're missing our tapes or audio cables. I don't quite feel prepared, but then again, I don't think you ever feel ready. It's tough, combining the work required for these video shoots with a full time job, a long cycle commute (in the freezing fucking cold), spending quality time with Dee and the dog, not to mention a heavy compulsion to do nothing but play Skyrim and eat Shreddies for 72 hours in a row.

Saturday

It's a busy weekend, filming Friday, back at work for Saturday, then finally home for some relaxation on Sunday.  Both myself and Dee have been so busy and pre-occupied lately that we have forgotten that Saturday is our 8 year anniversary! And I'll be at work! Terrible timing. I'm hoping we can out for a meal together on Sunday, we don't get to do that sort of thing enough, and times are hard financially, as I'm sure many of you reading this will attest.

Next Friday

Next Friday I'm meeting Andy from Syncrovise to shoot my first product information video. We're doing it for one of his Syncrovise clients, I imagine we should get all the taping done in 5 or 6 hours.
I've also got a paid gig coming up with Andy filming a website segment for a company that erects estate agent signs. I can't thank Andy enough for the support he's shown in getting me started up with proper work. If all goes well perhaps Syncrovise will be able to offer basic video work as part of their website creation package and Andy can keep the odd video job coming my way. I'd be happy with that! My major goal is to create a short film that I can be proud of. It's what I've wanted to do ever since I started. But if I can get paid while earning experience working with a camera in different environments and bossing people about, as well as drinking tea while editing (biscuits optional but risky for the keyboard), then HECK YES sign me up.

The Mayor is Outside (but he'll never find me)


I'm at my day job right now and as I type this Boris Johnson is just outside my building getting ready to officially cut the ribbon on Exhibition Road, which has recently been rebuilt into a shared traffic/pedestrian space, a (quite nice actually) open paved area that reaches from South Kensington station all the way up to Hyde Park. I'd go and check it out if I wasn't trying to squeeze every industrious minute out of my tea break before I go back to work. Realistically, I don't even have time to write this blog entry!

I wonder if there will be acrobats and toffee apple stands? That's what happens at these things, right? Ah well, back to the grind, and I'll have more for you soon!

Bright Lights Big City

Well last week's burglary threw everything off kilter. Last Saturday's filming session for the new project was put back two weeks so Frazer's beard will continue to grow unchecked.

Some good news however. Andy at Syncrovise (who did the website for Bacalao Performance Company) has decided to bequeath humble little me with a continuous lighting softbox set! Two high powered lamps on telescopic light stands complete with reflective umbrellas, diffusers, and even storage bags. A gift!

Like this, only twice!

Anyone familiar with this blog will know that I've had a little trouble trying to find a solution to lighting problems, with professional level kit being so expensive, and lighting such an unsung hero of cinematography. Robert Rodriguez used table lamps and sunlight to light the scenes in El Mariachi. Lars Von Trier and the Dogme 95 guys put down a rule that special lighting (anything beyond the lighting existing in the scene plus one camera lamp) was not allowed in any of their Dogme films. People have worked around professional lighting in the past and with good results. But for me it was becoming a stumbling block that took up too much of my time during a shoot. Interiors are always so dark, especially for video. Any lights I put together from cheap kit were either fiercely bright or ineffective. Regular human living conditions are just not bright enough for Mother Video, who requires eye-straining brightness to bring life from the mud.

In a way, I'm happy that we hadn't already started filming our new project (although understandably less happy about the circumstances), as we can now use a professional grade lighting rig during filming (I should probably say "videoing" or "taping" but filming just sounds much cooler) and the whole project will look better. But don't get your hopes up, I'm still a fumbling amateur who can't walk and think at the same time. .

Andy is also looking for a video producer to help him shoot a couple of product information video for a business that he is building a website for, so he asked me if I would be interested. The answer is a resounding hell yes. So now I have two shoots lined up! Next weekend we are finally all-stations-go on the new project with Mark and Frazer, and the following weekend I will be filming three product information videos with Andy.

If it all goes well I will be happy to offer my services to Andy for any future projects. This could be the first step on a very interesting path. At the very least, I'm going to have some work for my portfolio, something I hadn't really given much thought to before now.

Andy was telling me that he would have had a difficult time getting his own company started if it wasn't for the generosity and support of his former employer, and he tries to keep that ethos in his own dealings with people and to offer the same support that has helped him get started. This is a principle I've tried hard to go by as well. When you are starting out, you have a big hill to climb. But meet people, help them out in their time of need, and a culture of reciprocation and support will go a long way especially when you don't have money or resources. When you find yourself stuck, you'll have a support network that will be there when you need them. That's a hell of a card to have.

This is what gets you places. A talentless person with contacts will get further than a talented one with none. We see it every day. If you can be both, then you'll have a bright future.