Your guide to how we move your brand with video.

We care deeply about producing stunning motion visuals that deliver, be it video, animation, 3D renders or immersive experiences. With each of these disciplines comes techniques, technologies and technical terminology all of which allows us to navigate our specialism in moving image acquisition. We don't want these to be a barrier to our customers so these guides aim to showcase the services and technologies we use to provide top tier visuals and experiences for your brand and your customers.

Video Production

Starting with the most familiar, our video productions range from shooting broadcast adverts for TV and social media, right through to creating 15 second YouTube pre-roll ads and optimised social content. So what does this all mean? Let's take a look:

Broadcast Adverts

Produced and shot meticulously and edited to a set time frame our adverts meet broadcast standards and are delivered to specifications required for media outlets. These require a slate on the introduction which is added in the edit which provides all the details of the advert to the broadcaster when cueing their adverts.

YouTube Pre-Roll and social adverts

10, 15, 30 second long adverts designed for social platforms and delivered in specific aspect ratios as required for that platform. Although these are very short they can often be more time consuming to plan and edit than longer form video as the execution needs to be well crafted in order to ensure the message and CTA is clear.

Optimised social content

Social content comes in many shapes and sizes so in order to maximise the end user experience and for your content to look as good as it can we can produce edits of your videos tailored to each social media platform. This ensure whatever device or platform your audience is using your video and brand is showcased in optimum conditions.

Pre-production

Depending on the type of video shoot and desired results, it can be time consuming to prepare, set up and ensure a safe and smooth production. You might hear us talking about 'location recce' and 'prep time' which are essential parts of the pre-production process and ideally (again depending on the requirement) happen for each and every shoot. Drone operations for example can require clearance from nearby airports or airbases and on land shoots always benefit from a location recce to shed light on production challenges ahead of time such as background noise, access to power, building access and lighting conditions.

Moodboards, storyboards and shot lists

All of these documents all us and you to be aligned on the creative requirements of each production. If you've seen specific shots you like from film, TV or other content it's great to see these combined into a mood board or links so we can understand the technical and creative requirements to deliver those visuals.

Storyboard from B&G ZeusSR video shoot.

Video Production (the shoot)

The equipment required to effectively capture a video shoot can be extremely broad covering cameras, interchangeable lenses, drones, sound recording equipment, production design gear, lighting, grip gear and rigging (used to support the camera and video equipment such as tripods or gimbals) or it could comprise as little as a mobile phone. Everything comes down to the requirement for the shoot.

In terms of 'high end' or 'cinematic' video production (terms you'll hear us use a lot) we are looking at cameras that capture cinema ready visuals which comprise of RAW format video, 10 bit or better (allowing for over a billions shades of colour when grading), higher frame rate options (allowing for smooth slow motion footage if needed) and generally larger sensors that allow for a more shallow depth of field giving that classic film look.

Sound recording and design

And although we are motion focused, we of course make a great deal of time for sound, which is hugely important in achieving that cinematic feel. Depending on requirement we will often capture wild tracks and foley on location in order to build a unique sound design for each of our video productions. This provides a true sensory experience for your customers when watching your videos.

Alex in 'Zen mode' capturing sound design elements on the water.

Post Production

The shoot is wrapped (finished) and we're back in the edit suite. This is where the magic happens as all the shots collated from the shoot come together to fully realise that seed of an idea that started as notes, grew into a storyboard and is now blossoming as a stunning video production.

Post production comprises of us logging all the footage, assembling a rough cut (or first assembly edit) which we then bounce to you for review and feedback. We then jump back into the edit and refine it, adding music changes, a grade (making the video colours pop - that's why cameras shooting 10-bit or more is good) add the sound design, composited 2D and 3D visuals or animation elements, voiceover and bounce it back for another review and any final tweaks to the fine cut. At this point it's usually just very minor tweaks. Once the video is signed off we send over all the agreed video deliverables (video files) via our secure Wetransfer account where your videos a stored online and accessible for download for 12 months.

Should you require translations or subtitles within your videos (most do require subtitles for accessibility) we produce these during the edit phase and provide as .srt files or can burn this into the video as well if required.

So there it is, a whistle stop tour of our video production process. Keep your eyes peeled for our next guide to our animation process and technologies. If you liked the insights shared here and would like to stay upto date with the latest industry trends on all things motion related subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

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