Today my colleague Ben and I set out to film another video for our Reformation Generation Seminar. It was short notice- we just realized last night that this would be our last chance to get footage for him to edit before he leaves town for a couple weeks. If we waited, our production timeline would be way behind. So this morning we pulled ourselves together (you know those days- the ones that feel long when its still only 9am) and set to work.
This video was a less artistic effort than the last, but is meant as a concise and informative explanation for what we are doing here this summer. Ben had to switch to the other side of the camera and be onscreen this time- and I shot the footage. It was simple enough- basic focusing and directing composition...in short, a no brainer.
Our greatest challenge was lighting. To have good quality images and sound was priority...and not that simple to achieve under the circumstances. But we gathered all the lamps we could find, made diffusers from notecards, and used a white fitted sheet as a reflector. It was probably an hour of trial and error in set up. Then came sound- in the absence of a grip (assistant to hold the mike outside of the shot) we suspended the boom microphone using a length of pvc, a stack of chairs and some packing tape. It was a studio set up that would do MacGyver proud.
So after several hours on the project we called it good and broke down our slightly ridiculous (and totally awesome) makeshift studio set. I can only hope everything works out as Ben goes into the editing process. In the meantime, I will be working primarily on planning logistics for the seminar while he continues to take the lead in our promotional initiatives.
So another video shoot down, and another day's work done... just in time for the weekend.
