Add "Zip" to Your Zoom Webinars

This Zoom session for client included 2 cameras, lights, green screen and boom mic

Whether you’re zoomin’, go-to-meetn’, skypen’, web-xn’, or google meetin’ up, the typical challenges to overcome are universal: tinny sound, poor video quality and connection, guests stepping on each others statements, screen shares that accidently appear with personal information not intended for group use, oh my ;) and many times, a webinar host or moderator that isn’t properly trained in the basics such as eye contact, pacing, fill lighting, etc.

Ok, we can shed a little light on the subject for you. Even if we have to come to your office and maintain safe social distancing procedures, it’s better to have a 2nd pair of hands to watch your back. Little things like, aiming the web camera properly, testing your mic and your speakers, adjusting levels if using virtual backgrounds, all come into play. You don’t have to be a video producer, and we don’t have to be experts in your subject matter, but together teamwork makes the dream work.

More professional tools like a video capture device to use a higher quality camera, some lighting, whether a beauty ring light or, just knowing how to use overhead lights or window light, how far to set yourself from your real or fake backdrop, come into play when your audience or colleagues are interacting with you and form their opinion of what they are seeing and hearing. Another great tool is an external USB mic, either sitting on your desk, clipped to your shirt, or held overhead by a little boom pole, the way you sound is maybe your most important component of your presentation.

Hope this helps, give us a call if you want to kick some things around as you prepare for the “virtual meeting landscape” future we all face.

Making the Brand | Rock N Roll Tequila

Agency art director and cameras roll behind the scene while prepping for the next shot

The "Behind the scenes" role can sometimes be as important as what's happening in front of the primary camera's lens. It's especially true when a company is unveiling a brand for the first time.

Making the brand involves telling your story in as many places as possible. So when your trying to build a little "buzz" you can get the word out through social media a little sooner than your primary advertising and marketing programs kick in.

Rock N Roll gave us the assignment to capture their agency creatives working with them on set as they positioned this new spirit coming to a store, club and restaurant near you.  Aside from the cool bottle that the various blends come in, the story behind the brand will be one that people will be intrigued to hear.

The Value Multi-Cam Approach Brings to Client Relationships

Source bins and project timeline for multi-cam production using Adobe Premiere CC 2017 editing workflow.

Every client is looking for value, and by adding additional camera angles, and initially including it as a special introductory offer could help to establish new business relationships.

You can be smart though; you don’t have to give away the store and incur more expense than you feel comfortable with.  Those cameras can be unmanned as long as you plan well. And the added coverage will take your interviewee or presenters’ stand ups to another level in post-production.

Remember, to save yourself time when you get to editing, make sure you do a sync clap, slate or lock timecode on set, at minimum, have all camera mics on in addition to your your lavalier mic or mixer feeds.

In the edit, creating multi-cam sequences is as easy as logging all your clips from all camera angles, audio sources like a zoom recorder and, then taking a methodical approach to scenes, subclips and segments.  Adobe Premiere does a great job of creating a fully synced sequence, which you can then open up in your timeline to do a live on-the-fly multi-cam edit, while also flexible in tools and techniques to adjust all facets of the video and audio tracks.

As content creators, adding value while working smarter, not harder should be your goal.  Offering clients solutions that meet their needs and, being willing to grow with them as their projects increase in complexity, concepts and budgets is all you can ask for.

Going Deep

Submarine simulator training at Triton Submarines in Vero Beach, FL.

No one understands the expression, “the deep ocean is no place for compromise,” like the executives at Triton Submarines in Vero Beach, Fl. Their top-of-the-line submersibles—used for research, exploration, and leisure--are designed, built, and tested to meet the most rigorous safety standards in the world.

Triton called on us to demonstrate the features, functions, and benefits of their products, and to reveal the simulation training facility they use to train new owners. Their visual media goals were to demonstrate the various uses of their submersibles (from being dropped off the back of a super yacht for fun, to measuring scientific data, capturing rare video footage, and assisting in archaeological explorations.

While our shoot was land-based, the footage and interviews we produced will be utilized by Triton for many years to come.

Thinking On Your Feet

The interview set when we arrived on the left. After on the right.

When looking for the right production company, you, of course, want to hire people with relevant experience and a track record of success…and you also want to hire people who can roll with the punches and think on their feet.

Such was the case, when we were recently hired to shoot what we were told was “just an hour or so…” of video interviews for an international law firm. This was in preparation for their annual summit, near our offices in Palm Beach. Although we participated in numerous calls in preparation for the shoot, our point person, an associate who was out of state, knew just a bit about the vision of her internal client. We arrived on location with our standard field package, including two cameras, lighting and sound gear.

When we walked our assigned conference room, we were shown all the props and set pieces (contained in the photo on the left…1 chair), but were quickly told that the real vision had not been properly relayed.

“Can we shoot interviews with a moderator and a guest, and if possible to make it look like a network news ‘talk show’?” the client asked.

Our team exchanged looks, smiled, and got to work.

The in-house catering manager and “destination management pro” on site kindly dropped everything to help us. Within ten next minutes, we pulled together potted plants, vases, and candles, reconfigured the set to make use of a corner, and found some framing elements, such as a portable wall. Within thirty minutes, we had our base-lighting scheme, props, and talent in place. Then it was just a matter of directing the talent through their interviews.

The take-away? Thinking on one’s feet is part of every producer’s job. Preparation is key, but we must always also be prepared for the unexpected, and, when it does, find creative solutions that work.

Every Business Has a Story to Share... But When?

Our studio is an interesting mix of video and film production with eye candy classic muscle car collection and memorabilia.

Promoting oneself or one’s company is tricky business. We all have a story to share and things that we’re proud of, but we never want to come across as… bragging. It’s a fine line, and South Florida Media Group knows how to tow it. We are successful at creating visual media that tells business stories which motivate, inspire, and impart valuable life lessons.

This is exactly what we are now doing for Scott C. from For Ever Green Landscape Services. Scott has entrusted us with his new initiative (which involves website development, video and audio production, and social media). He is an example of a business leader whose resilience and determination not only helped him create and build a successful company, but also, now enable him to share his influence and great success with others.

Scott is an outgoing, very personable man with a large staff that he likes to share the spotlight with. His Lake Worth, Fl business provides landscaping, design, and maintenance services to Home Owners Associations and Commercial Property Management properties throughout South Florida.

Scott’s interest in his business began developing when he was just a teenager, cutting neighborhood lawns. Even back then, he saw that a little bit of maintenance really enhanced the appearance of a property, and just made people feel better about where they lived. While today, Scott’s business has exploded and employs a full staff of technicians who make his clients’ properties immaculate, Scott also has a desire to help other parts of his community. So, in addition to servicing his loyal clients, he also donates his resources to maintain properties for his local YMCA and JCC, and provides a helping hand to less fortunate youth in his area.

The focus of our messaging will be to balance both aspects of For Ever Green’s mission, while providing a call to action to enhance Scott’s professional and personal goals. Shooting the founder on green screen at 4k will preserve our ability to brand his messaging in a way consistent with the look and feel of our social media efforts.

On Set with The Miami Dolphins International Cheerleaders

Cheerleaders representing eight countries across the Americas shared their stories in this 2-part TV Special. 

SFL Media Group partnered with the extremely talented in-house video team for the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. With host Kenny Walker, we looked back at the 2016 season through the eyes of the Dolphin’s International Cheerleader Squad. We captured stories of about these young women’s bonds, on and off the field.