There is the excellent Driving section front page from the Sunday Times,  a couple of great sports portraits and even a proper news story or two!

Its been a ropey winter,  what with the weather and that awfull chest infection/flu which we all had in March,  so I was pleased that we had some nice images to put up!

Thursday May 30th.

Phew.

So,  what is a Green Screen Video,  and why should I be interested?

Well,  let’s start by showing you an example of one of the Green Screen Videos we did at April’s session.

Here’s how Ali West,  one of Nottinghamshire’s top personal trainers,  used his…

So,  as you can see it’s a simple video with someone telling your audience all about your business,  with some good graphics and images being used to illustrate what the presenter is talking about.

We call it a “Green Screen” video because the presenter is filmed in front of a green backdrop… just like Ewan McGregor did in the Star Wars films. (But please,  no light sabers or blasters on set.)

And why should I need a Green Screen Video?

Now,  Google and the gang are dead keen on Video content.  When Google brought in their “Panda” algorithm update in 2011 they made a dramatic shift towards valuing content,  and video is a big part of that.  Google knows that video provides great content,  and that people love watching video as it delivers information in a simple and effective manner that is relevant to them.

As a consequence,  having video on your website as part of your marketing strategy,  is now a very important tool to get good search results.  In fact not only do people stay on your site longer (Which Google loves…),  but its been shown to improve conversion rates as well.

But,  Video is expensive right?  

Well it can be that’s for sure,  and getting a quality video that makes your business look good and communicates a clear message can be difficult on a budget.

And that’s where our Green Screen Days can really help,  by bringing everyone together on one day,  at one location,  we can reduce the cost of these videos to £175 ex vat,  instead of the circa £450-650 it would cost on location.

What do I get for my money then?

Well let’s see… In the end you get a full HD video lasting about 1.5-2 minutes.  (We are fairly flexible… so it might be a bit longer if you would like… but it’s best to stick to this length or it can put folks off…)

Included in our package is everything we think that is needed to make your video…

… a full Broadcast radio mic setup, so the audio is perfect.

… an assistant to do a bit of anti-shine make-up, so you don’t!

… an auto-cue so you can look the viewer in the eye and talk with confidence.

… a fully customisable background,  so we can include all your graphics and pictures and company logos.

… opening and closing 2d graphics.

… royalty free music if needed.

… all the post production on our state of the art Mac based edit suites.

… script consultation and editing to help you get it right and tight!

… a one hour session,  so plenty of time to perfect your presentation.

… plus of course a great photographer complete with all the lighting and stuff needed to shoot your video!

So, what can I talk about on my video?

Well,  how long is a piece of string, you might want to do a general introduction to your business, or you could talk about a specific product or service you provide.  You might want to show a technique that you use,  or talk about an important issue in your industry.  You could use it to explain something technical to your customers… (How does insulation work?  What is an ISA and why should I have one?  Why is putting oil in your car important?)   or you just might want to make a video blog!

And Google and your customers and potential customers will love it.

OK,  What now?

Call Abi in our office on 0115 981 8880,  or email Abi@Pageonephotography.co.uk.

Thanks!

PS;  We can also come around to your location to make some great still images to go with your video from as little as £150.

PPS;  You can add in a Google virtual tour on top of the stills for as little as £75…   so for as little as £400 you get a green screen video,  a Google Business Photos Streetview  tour, and a selection of still images.

(Please note maximum 14 nodes on the tour and circa 12 still images including some mandated by Google.)

The work involved visiting all of their CHP sites across the UK and producing a range of images to illustrate that sites pages in the yearbook.

For those who don’t know,  a CHP facility is like a little mini power station that can provide Heat and Power to a particular site or range of customers,  such as a hospital.   In the case of one of the sites they actually provide cooling as well.

It’s a very interesting side of the energy industry which doesn’t get much exposure and most people are probably not even aware of!

The agenda on each site was a 2-4  hour visit,  during which we produced portraits of the staff,  as well as various images of the site itself.  (GV’s or “General Views” in the parlance.)

To do so we brought our range of portable lights to bring light into darkness,  as well as doing quite a bit of available light photography.   All of this needed to be done quickly with minimal disruption,  bearing in mind that the sites often have a small staff and there can be considerable Health and Safety issues as well.

In total several hundred images were produced, which has given E.on CHP a good library of images from their sites for use in the future.   This is one of the good spin-offs from a project like this,  you produce a range of images which you can continue to use for all sorts of internal and external communications for a long time to come.

Most of the photography was produced on our new Canon 5dmk3′s,  and the low noise from these cameras really shone through.   With the new cameras it was reassuring to know that we could easily match the available light to our portable lighting without having to worry about  noise.    This is probably for me the real advantage of the advances towards cleaner high ISO images that Canon have been making,  the ability to balance the available with the fill light in very low light situations.   This opens up the opportunities and speeds up the work on location,  as you don’t have to bring as much portable lighting to bear on a job.

Of course a job with a schedule like this is always a challenge.   You only have so much time to produce a large body of images from each location,  and you are dependent on weather,  people who have more important things to do,  and the situation at a location which you have never seen before.   Getting the balance right and driving each day to make sure we get the results we need in the time allowed is a key focus of the job.

On this job we were lucky,  despite the overall poor weather through the winter,  we only had a few rainy days on location,  plus,  even better still,  the staff at all of the sites could not have been more helpful!

Here is a small selection of the photography, which  was produced by both Dave and Doug.

Thanks to the CHP team at E.on for giving us the opportunity,  and thanks to all the guys at all the sites for taking the time to show us around and help us out!

Please note that all of the above images are fully copyright.  

Our new showreel gives a flavour of the type of work we have been doing recently, with material from work undertaken for clients including Grayling, Mira and e.on amongst others.

There is a bit of a flavour of the property work we have been doing, some greenscreen work, some location work from Sainsbury’s, aerials,  interviews, a few shots showing how great the dslrs are at night work, and some pretty pictures.

In fact a great mixed batch!

As well as putting up our new showreel, this month we have also brought into service our second edit suite in our Nottingham offices, which should make us a lot more efficient and quicker at turning projects around.  Keep your eyes open for some exciting new developments next month!

So,  if you have an idea for some video work that needs doing, or just want a general chat about how we can help you to tell your story, then get in touch at all the regular numbers!

Early in my career in Canada cold and snow was a big problem, and I killed several cameras by not being careful! Hopefully this bloke is being more careful..

Now that winter has arrived proper,  you need to be careful not to wreck your camera!

The big problem is moisture.   Moisture can get into your camera a couple of ways at this time of year….

1) Snow gets on the camera.   If you get snow onto your camera,  don’t try to blow it off!  This will partially melt it and drive the moisture into the camera.  It’s best to brush the snow off,  preferably before it melts!   If it has partially melted then soak the moisture up with a cloth or towel…  once again,  don’t be tempted to blow the snow or moisture off the camera! (Even if your camera is “Weathersealed” this can still be an issue….  never try to blow moisture off a camera.)

2) Warm moist air gets into the camera when you come in from out of doors.   This is the real killer,  you have been out all day taking pics,  and you bring your camera back into the house,  or into the pub,  and the warm moist air works its way into your camera,  and then condenses on the inside, causing untold damage that may not show up for some time.  The best way to prevent this is to seal your camera into a ziplock bag before bringing it indoors, and then allowing it to acclimatize before trying to use it.   This way all the moist indoor air stays off the camera until it is warm.

So,  if you’re going outside to do some pics this winter,  carry a small brush to get rid of any snow that might land on the camera,  and a ziplock bag to put the camera into before coming back indoors!

Batteries can also lose there zip when it gets really cold,  so it is sometimes a good idea to have a spare set in your warm pocket to swap out.

Film cameras also have a few more issues in extreme cold.    Film can get very brittle and breaks in the camera,  and internal mechanisms which need lubrication can be damaged when this lubrication solidifies in the extreme cold.  We used to overcome this by taping a chemical heat pad across the back of the camera.   But I doubt if this will be such a problem here in the UK!

Don’t let these problems put you off!   With a bit of care you can get out and make some great pictures!