Producer, Camera Operator, Editor
Before the summer, I was fortunate enough to join the iMAG team in Farnborough and film them building a curved LED screen with a roof for a feature film.
To make sure that I put my best foot forward filming this BTS type of project, I started by researching elements of what makes iMAG so different in their LED delivery for their clients. This, along with some of my knowledge of LED screens gave me a rough structure to the video and a series of questions that I could ask Alex, iMAG's MD, on the day of production.
As building LED has a lot of moving parts, teams of people rigging and tight spaces, I wanted to make sure that my filming was compact to fit around the team at work without getting in their way. I also wanted to have a lot of smooth and dynamic movements throughout the piece as the team plug cables in, do up screws and place panels on top of each other. To make these things happen, I used my Sony A7S3 along with my DJI RS3 Pro.
On the build day, I set about filming the team in action and was delighted with how the gimbal was able to capture some lovely shots and allowed me to where in and around the set as it built up. I also brought along my Sony A7R3 and 14mm lens to grab some time-lapse footage too.
At the end of the day, just before we all headed off, I was able to grab a quick interview with Alex. I setup my Sony A7S3 on a tripod next to me with the lovely Sigma 50mm allowing me to get a separation from Alex to the wall. I then used my Rode Go II and a lav mic for sound. I was then able to ask Alex the questions off to the side of the camera, monitoring the framing and audio levels on my Atomos monitor. It's hard filming an interview on your own and making sure the levels and framing stay within a comfortable range, but it can be done. Thankfully, Alex was a true professional in front of the camera and was able to give me some really strong soundbites and information for the edit.
For the delivery of this project, I assembled a 2 minute main video, 3 sound bite social clips and 4 montage social clips and a hand full of stills, all taken from the main edit. This gives iMAG a lot of content to be able to post out from one day of filming. We even have more sound bites we could create from the interview that we
haven't used yet.
This really gives value to this type of production and delivery process as it can help to feed the ever hungry social media algorithm, more and more content.
When iMAG released the video, it was a joy to see it do so well for them on LinkedIn reaching thousands of accounts and getting their followers to engage with the post.
It was a pleasure getting to work with such a fun, professional and talented team and I look forward to getting stuck into editing the next project with them...BTS at Victorious Festival!
