3.15.2017
A Newly Published Work produced in January. Shown here.
Karen Roy Talks About the Ottobock OBSS Chair Back from Kirk Tuck on Vimeo.
On a cold, clear day in January Ben and I had the opportunity to do an interview with Karen Roy for our client, Ottobock. I'll have Karen tell her story in the video.
Ben and I got up early and packed the car for the half hour trip to Georgetown, Texas where we would set up and be ready for a short interview in a private home. My focus early on was to set up and light for lots of b-roll (most of which we ended up not using...). Ben was on the second camera and he was getting details (which we did end up using...).
The main interview footage was done with a Sony a6300 camera recording 1080p. The interview was lit with three Aputure LightStorm LED panels and the audio was provided by an Audio Technica AT835b microphone.
We picked up additional video in a nearby park and at the offices of our client.
Since the day was bright and sunny I was happy I had thought to bring variable neutral density filters for both cameras/lenses.
While it might seem that Karen is miraculously delivering a perfectly crafted statement her interview is actually made up of audio (and video) from about nine or ten different clips. And some of the clips are interwoven in a different order than which they were recorded.
Ben handled the editing for the project. It was the last one he worked on before heading to Seoul, S. Korea for his long semester abroad.
For the kinds of projects I do I think the perfect crew size (including myself) is three. A first camera, a second camera and a sound person. That gives us plenty of hands for moving gear around as well as lighting in the minimalist tradition. More crew makes for more logistical moving parts. I like to shoot and move a lot in a day and I love a very small crew who can move with me without having to give them detailed instructions.
I'm sure that on bigger projects every crew member adds to the efficiency but on smaller, more intimate jobs, a larger crew is just more friction.
This is the last of the videos I'll share for a while as every video shared seems to drop readership of the blog by about 25%. At the rate we're going we'll be into negative numbers by the next three shares.
I guess I'll just go back to the old "Nikon Versus Canon!!!" & "DSLR Versus Mirrorless" routines. People never seem to get enough of that. Or maybe I'll explain how to use fill flash in sunlight for the thousandth time. That seems like a mystery that never gets solved....oh well.
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21 comments:
I avoid watching videos like trying to avoid the plague. I can speed read and feel I have control of the material I am consuming. Most videos are way way way too slow to maintain my interest and I hate watching say a 5 min video to be bored most of the time.
There are times when a video clip is ideal, but for the vast majority of blogs, news reports, etc I avoid posts with video content.
Having said that, I compliment your blog and your approach.
The video chat is interesting to me, though stills are my chosen medium. Storytelling, composition, lighting, etc. are common to both. Very useful.
Well, I'm among the viewers who are not particularly interested in video.
But I do find your results interesting. I think it's testament to your
advancing skill that the story captures me and the mechanics of the video
production just disappear.
It's also interesting to hear how a successful professional is adapting
his practice to the needs of his customers. As an amateur I don't have
those needs, but I do know some pros who are also having to adapt what
they are doing.
Just don't abandon your portraits!
Best edited interview ever. There is no hint (until stated in your post) that this is anything other than a slightly condensed version of a single, free-flowing statement. The subject is so articulate and engaged that the video holds my attention for its full length. Even someone who has no experience with wheelchairs can be fascinated by the number of features offered. The decision to use limited moves on stll shots rather than re-shooting in motion makes for greater impact, more clear communication. I don't think you could possibly improve on this.
I'm in the, "Hey, write about whatever you want," camp. It's almost (hey, nobody's perfect) always interesting, and I get to learn new things while you do. The only drawback is that I start thinking, "Hmmmm....yeah....that might be interesting to try...", which in turn launches the "So, I'll Need..." program. And, of course, that's always bad.
Don't give up with posting the video!
As with all early adopters, it takes time.
I don't use video in my work or in my personal life........yet, but it's going to come for the young engineers I deal with in my daily work, as they're happier with NOT having to read. They want the 3-minute soundbite/segment, as they have less and less time to do more and more work.
In the Good Ol' Days, we sat and chatted over coffee; now, I'm lucky if I can get 5 minutes of their time. Hence, "send me content which I can easily review".
I want to learn the How-To of video and by following your lead and reading of your experiences, I can get to the endpoint faster; I don't need to re-invent the wheel, as often I don't have time.
Very selfish and arrogant of me, I know, but I've yet to find a better teacher where photography is concerned.
"Nikon versus Canon" used to have merit when we discussed the merits of their respective rangefinders versus SLRs, but that was back in the Stone Age.
Hang in there, Kirk; some of us will keep the faith and the tide will begin to turn; however, if I knew WHEN that would be, I'd also be buying Lottery tickets!
Regards,
David
I do not object, in any way, to the posting of video on this blog. I will still come back. I am re-acting to Kirk's comment about "every video shared seems to drop readership of the blog by about 25%." Just I generally avoid looking at video, and if I reference the post via rss then I may avoid the post completely.
I am, in no way, interested in doing video. I am 70 and have been a still photographer since I was 23, professionally for 20 years. So I would seem like the very reader you would lose when you post video shares. Well, I'm not. I love to read about new cameras, like most people. Because of you I got a Sony a6000 on closeout and added three Sigma sense s, for a very inexpensive, high quality still kit.
I have learned, through the years, that you can learn something about your art/craft from all other forms of creativity. Your video posts make me look at seeing a whole different way. I may never shoot video but I appreciate it and what you have learned and applied in a very short time. Thank you for all of your posts.
Since I am getting into video in a big way I am VERY interested in your video posts. I also enjoy your adventures with different cameras as your take is from a professionals perspective rather than a click bait shill. My primary decision model for whether I buy a new camera or not is whether it will make me more money than the one I am currently using. There are scads of shill sites around for the gear hounds, please PLEASE don't base your content on garnering views. The signal to noise ratio here is very good, lets keep it that way.
Thanks,
Eric
i am THRILLED when the blog has video production references.
i am THRILLED because you sir, have a unique voice that i appreciate reading, learning and enjoying.
be well.
rob
smalltalk.productions
As another everyday reader of your posts, and re-reader when that is necessary, I find your shifting focus to video increasingly interesting. Your posts are starting to draw me increasingly in that direction. And, as another of your 70 year old readers, in this case, who started taking photos with a new Sawyer 120 when I was 12, videos are still rather a whole different thing for me. Yet, storytelling with photos is not. So, seeing how you often mix stills and videos to tell the story better is starting me thinking, perhaps I am not too old to learn new tricks. So, please keep mixing it up. Your posts from and several years back, and those from another blogger, helped to convince me to try m4/3s, so I bought a discounted Lumix G1. Now the eighth in my series of m4/3 cameras is on order. Also, like you, all of these cameras, and their lenses, have been used or at deep discount, easy to do when steps between camera upgrades are typically pretty small, except for including often features mostly not particularly a benefit to a raw shooter of mostly things that don't move much. Plus, I have set others onto the m4/3s route. Now, you are moving me closer to trying interesting video more, not just Super 8 style of home movies. At least this is one reader of your blog who is sticking with you on whatever you feel at the moment is worth sharing with the rest of us, including swimming! Thank you for all the effort your put into this blog!!!
I listen intently. No one else gets into the nitty-gritty as well.
Kirk,
I have followed many photography blogs (and unsubscribed to most). I also consume a lot of video production paid and free education resources as that is the skill I'm most interested in developing right now.
I've probably learned the most from your blog as you explain not only the technical process, but also the client interactions and the actual logistics of traveling to and setting up a shoot. You also tell it all, mistakes and successes as you improve with each client delivery.
Even if you were to stop writing about video, which I hope you don't, I've got more from lurking here than most workshops and seminars that I've consumed.
Thank you.
While I am primarily a still photographer who shoots as a hobby, and I only shoot 2 weekends of video, I do like following your journey into video production.
Wow. WOW! Absolutely stunning, Kirk. Beautiful technically, but even more so emotionally.
PS: Can you tell us about the music?
Just post what You find interesting. That makes it interesting to me :)
Hey Kirk,
Keep it up just throw in a click bait title... Like why the Sony A6300 can beat any DSLR in an arm wrestle all while shooting better video.
I enjoy seeing your videos, and your write ups which talk to more than just the gear element (and there is so much about gear out there).
In fact I have enjoyed this series very much as I was lucky enough to see you work, and getting to see the finished product is a great bonus.
I read your blog on my phone....I 'm usually out of 4g data by day 3 of the month...so I save watching your video clips until I get to a hotspot...or a computer.....hope this hasn't messed up your blog numbers too much..
Please don't stop the video coverage. I like the video presentations you post, as well as your descriptions of how you created the presentations. I was just editing a new video project earlier today. I noticed in your post that you decided not to use many of the clips you had shot. I similarly decided to not use about half of the clips I had on hand, plus most of the remaining clips are edited down to less than half of their length. Ditto for putting clips out of chronological sequence. When you do decide to make another video-related post I would be interested to read about your process for deciding on what clips to keep, and in what order to place them. I suppose it ultimately boils down to what story you need to tell, and how to pace the story.
"Nikon Versus Canon" and "DSLR Versus Mirrorless" posts? Let less-meaningful sites deal with those.
I guess I'm one of the 75% who stay to read. Usually, I eschew videos, because I resent having an "outside" entity pacing me. But, your writing is engaging, I find myself drawn in, and learning this stuff is useful to a tyro like me.
Maybe if you used a title like "Canon sucks!" you'd keep some of that 25% ??
Hi Kirk, I like this video. Very well done. For the interview--did you have two cameras set up, as there are some different perspectives. If you do have two cameras set up, do you keep both going at the same time or switch between them?
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