Adding Production Value to Your Video with Movement (V+G+M=PV)
By Greg Vass, Executive Producer
SolidLine Media
If you have ever watched a corporate promotional or training video you have probably noticed its lack of visual stimulation and overall effectiveness (referring to non-SolidLine produced videos of course). A video that does not have any feeling really is not doing anything for the company it’s representing…other than making the viewer think about how boring the production was, which adds up to nothing more than a direct negative effect on that company. These days, in order to effectively communicate to employees, customers, or pretty much anyone in the world, you need to create a message that these audiences will actually want to watch. Sounds like a no brainer, right? Well, let’s go back up a few lines and think again about all those corporate videos you have seen over the years that were just awful. Now are we on the same page, right? Good.
Here at SolidLine Media, we focus of the development and production of truly great high definition video production. Messages that are developed and executed specifically for the employees, members, customers, patients, or any other specific group that your business or organization needs to communicate to (effectively!). But in order to pull this off for each of our unique HD video productions, a few things need to happen in the equation to get the answer our client needs. First, we need to develop a great concept, one that your audience actually will want to watch. And second, we need to execute that concept with the highest level of production standards possible. I am not going to talk about concept development in this post, but I am going to talk about one of the most important factors to creating a great visual look…movement.
Art Director Mike Petrik 'moves' along in the SolidLine Production Bus...OK, not exactly the 'movement' we are talking about here...
Movement? In a video? What does that even mean? Let me break it down for you. When you watch ‘run-of-the-mill’ corporate videos what you end up seeing is a lot of ‘static’ visuals. Static camera shots, static graphics, static text. Add in a lengthy, lackluster script and you have the perfect formula for the newest sleep medication. At SolidLine Media, it has always been our mission to have viewers surprised after they watch one of our productions…surprised that they just, in fact, watched a corporate video. After all, aren’t all corporate videos supposed to be horrible?
Video + Graphics + Movement = Production Value
Movement is how everything comes ‘flows’ together nicely and neatly. And it comes in many varieties – from animated motion graphics and 3d animation sequences to tracking camera movements. But its not just movement for movements sake, there must be a method to your…movement. What it boils down to is all about flow and harmony – keeping the video flowing continuously by ensuring the video shots and graphics combine together in harmony. The end result is a well constructed video production masterpiece (too over the top with the whole ‘masterpiece’ thing? OK, well you get the point)…one with transitions, shifts, and sections. But the most important thing is that the viewer is engaged throughout because of the way the video was constructed…through a series of very structured movements.
Motion + Graphics = Motion Graphics
There is a great deal to get into when it comes to graphics, and you can learn a lot about SolidLine graphics and our unique process by reading one of Art Director Mike Petrik’s posts, including this one here: Helping You Realize Your Vision: Graphics. I just want to touch on a few things. To start, motion graphics. The name says it all here, but I feel the need to stress the importance of motion graphics. If done right, they can make all the difference between a dry, boring video and a fun, engaging one. It’s the difference between a static page of text on the screen versus a beautiful scene of moving graphics, animated text, and other associated visual imagery. At SolidLine, we take our graphics very seriously. Our Production, Post-Production, and Art departments work closely together to make sure all scenes are combining in harmony, and with the goals of the project and script in line at all times.
Charlie - Bravo = Alpha Transition Graphics
Another great way to keep a video moving is with smooth transitions between video and graphic sections of the video production. We call it the alpha transition. When going from full video to full graphic sequences and vice versa we add these transitions in to help keep the flow going. Most videos you see out there use just a simple Cut or Fade between sections. An alpha transition makes the transition feel much more natural – as if its all one cohesive piece. During an alpha transition a portion of the graphics are animated and superimposed with the video during the transition so it’s a nice smooth feel between scenes. Take a look at an example here as we move from one video shot to another using 2 alpha transitions in this production for ASUG:
X + Y + Z = Tracking Camera Shots
Finally, the last thing I want to discuss today is the tracking camera shot. I will write an entire post on this soon as it’s so important to us here at SolidLine Media, but here is the ‘skinny.’ Adding in tracking camera shots to videos makes the overall production just that much more engaging and enjoyable to watch. A tracking camera movement truly adds production value to any video production, quickly turning it into a Hollywood caliber video. So, what is a tracking camera? Well, it’s literally a camera that tracks. Tracks what? Well, this does not mean just panning or tilting the camera on a tripod. That is way too easy (and cheesy). The kind of camera tracking I am talking about actually moves the camera along the horizontal or vertical axis (X & Y)…or both at the same time (Z). And it can be done in a few different ways. At SolidLine Media, we love tracking camera shots. And we accomplish them usually with a jib and dolly system called a RocketPod. With this system the camera is secured onto the head of the RocketPod. We are then able to ‘dolly’ and/or ‘jib’ the camera back and forth, and up and down, for a variety of sweet, high end shots. We can dolly on the 4 rubber wheels, or switch out to 4 roller skates (called “hot buttons” in the biz) and roll down any length of Matthews stainless steel dolly track for a completely flawless shot. Simply doing this will take any shot to the next level, and will make any room or space look better just because of the added value the moving camera creates. We can also get a great tracking shot with a SteadiCam, but that is a more complex system we will talk about in another post.
Dolly & Jib in action filming for Air France
OK, we have heard about movement, now lets see it all in action. Check out this video for Gexpro Services which incorporates motion graphics with a variety of alpha transitions and tracking camera movements.
So, there you have it…the importance of movement. Remember, you can create a great and memorable HD video production for your organization or business. You just need to partner with creative people who know how to execute the right equation to engage your viewers. Here at SolidLine Media, we might not be real good at math, but we’ve got a few good answers up our sleeve…
GsV
You can contact Greg at gvass@solidlinemedia.com.
For more information about SolidLine Media, visit us online at www.solidlinemedia.com. Or call 312-939-8600.
Copyright 2009 SolidLine Media, a division of KV Media Group, Inc.
