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How we film our videos
8 April 2021
Matthew Doyle
Digital & Tech
After years of filming, I have never explained how I make my videos until now. Here at Friend and Grant a lot of the content we produce is one person speaking to a camera, so I thought this would be a good place to start.
Set up
Firstly we will start with the equipment. I use:
- 2 DSLR camera’s
- 50mm lens
- 85mm lens
- 2 tripods
- Autocue
- Ipad
- 3 LED light panels
- 3 light stands
- 1 shotgun microphone
- 1 wireless lav mic and receiver
Filming Videos
When filming somewhere new for the first time, I look for a clean background and determine if the video will need text. If so then I will need to leave negative space in the background to put text on the video clearly. In this example, I use a white wall and place the subject using the rule of thirds.
When not using text then I can be a little more creative with a background such as this example, where I used a computer screen saver. Both of these examples are in the same room.
For the next part of the setup I look at the lighting. I always start by looking at the natural light in the room; could I use it to my advantage or completely take it out of the equation? In this example, I use 3 LED panels to get the effect I want.
After the first two steps are completed, I then set up the cameras and autocue system. This includes getting both cameras set up the same, using the main camera with the autocue, wireless microphone, and 50mm lens. The second camera is with a shotgun mic and an 85mm lens. The sound is very important, levels have to be accurate and without an echo.
Editing
The final part is to edit the raw footage from both cameras, I find Adobe Premiere Pro is the best overall software for editing. Once the files have been imported from the camera, they need to be named and placed in the correct folders. Once the files are in Premiere Pro cameras 1 and 2 need to synchronise, and if you have good sound levels then this should be fairly straightforward.
To see the final results please check our YouTube channel.
The content in this blog is correct as at 08/04/2021. See terms and conditions.
