San Diego's Award-Winning Video Production Company for 35 Years
For the Animal Planet program Dogs 101, Powderhouse Productions of Cambridge Massachusetts came to San Diego to shoot a segment about “Murphy the Surfing Dog”. Director of Photography, Bob Sloan shot the feature in high definition using Sloan’s Panasonic Varicam package and lenses. The shoot consisted of interviews and B-roll and was produced by Tom Draudt.
Colors
• Avoid the color white if possible.
• Bright pastels, especially yellow should also be avoided if possible.
• Black is not optimal, but better than white. Mid to dark tones are better.
BEST – deeper cool solids that contrast skin color: blues, greens, purples.
Coat and Tie- A medium blue shirt is vastly better than white a shirt w/ dark jacket.
Very dark skin – Stick with darker colors, ie dark blues.
When deciding on coat & shirt colors, it’s best to keep contrast minimized by choosing darks & mediums, or mediums and lights. Try to to avoid mixing darks & lights.
Patterns
• Avoid busy, uniform patterns; herringbone, tight stripes.
• Wider stripes are ok.
Other
• Wearing glasses usually OK, but best if can be removed, especially if lighting reflects back and creates glare.
• Remove trade show badges.
An optimal room size is 25’ x 40’, and empty. Not that smaller quarters can’t be worked with, it’ just easier for all with a larger room.
In hotels, conference rooms work better than guest rooms without a the large conference table in the middle. Large suites are much more workable than a single room. In a conference room, the background for the interview is a consideration as there are usually no furnishings to work with. We have boxes of props that we carry for this case.
Easy access for equipment dropoff is a consideration. We work off of wheeled carts. Having to move equipment up or down stairs should be avoided.
Windows can make controlling light difficult. It is best that they have shades/blinds that can block the incoming light and darken the room. No windows is usually best but natural light from windows can also be worked with as an asset if the interview setting allows.
A quiet area, ie away from hotel front entry, convention noise, etc.
Be aware of any other constant ambient noises like flight paths, railroad, traffic, etc: try to get on the opposite side of the property or building to minimize interruptions.
Have location provide, if possible:
Four 6’ folding tables
12 folding or stackable chairs
Refreshments – waters, Diet Coke, soft drinks, coffee – all day
Snacks – fruit, muffins, nuts, granola bars, etc.
For ESPN’s critcally acclaimed program E:60 we shoot specifically for slow motion effects using the Panasonic Varicam’s ability to shoot at 60 frames per second. In this photo, Olympic hopeful, and amputee Jeff Skiba clears the bar for our camera for a story called “Bionics”.
Somebody’s got to do it! In the push to publicize Microsoft’s Guitar Hero 3 video game for the Christmas season we covered a cross country duel between Carmen Electra in Los Angeles and Tony Romo in Dallas for Kenny Mayne’s Mayne Event. Produced by Tom McCollum.
Antonio Gates of the San Diego Chargers hams it up for the camera and ESPN producer Martin Khodabakhshian during production of elements for ESPN‘s weekly Countdown show and a feature about “Fear in the NFL”. See a sample of our sports production work in the screening room.
