HISTORY OF HORIZONTAL VIDEOS
From the beginning of motion pictures (1878 or 1888, depending on how you look at it) until a little over a decade ago, pretty much all video has been shot and viewed horizontally. This means that the aspect ratio, which is the “proportional relationship between an image's width and height,” would be something like 4:3 or 16:9, with the screen being wider than it is tall.
HERE COMES VERTICAL
With the advent of the smartphone and social media, the market for vertical video exploded out of nowhere. When posting videos on social media, clients now have to consider whether they want their videos to be shot and posted horizontally, shot horizontally but cropped vertically, or shot and posted vertically. This can be a difficult decision because usually you want to be able to use a video across multiple platforms…
The Fireplace Problem
We just finished a series of three videos for Stewards Advisory Services, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa.
One of the challenges with this project was the fireplace. The best location in the room reserved for our shoot was in front of the fireplace. However, the reflection of the cameras and interviewer was clearly visible in the frame of the video. The second problem is that the fireplace fan was extremely loud. The solution we chose was to shoot the interview with the fireplace off, then get shots of the fireplace on and edit them together. You can see the before and after of both angles below.
It is important to solve as many potential problems as possible when planning and shooting, but there are times when it is necessary to know how to fix things during the post-production process.
DENTISTS NEED GOOD TESTIMONIAL VIDEOS
As a personal consumer, I can’t think of any type of company that needs good testimonial videos more than dental offices. Sitting in a dentist's chair can be incredibly stressful, even terrifying, so whenever I do have to sit in one, I want to make sure I’m in good hands. Hearing stories of actual patients who can say why they trust a particular dentist’s office can absolutely make the difference between me booking an appointment there or not.
HIGH POINT DENTAL PARTNERS
The staff at High Point Dental Partners is incredibly kind, patient, professional, and capable. I was very impressed with their use of cutting-edge technology as well as their rapport with their patients…
BENEFITS OF USING MONITORS
External monitors provide a larger viewing screen than camera monitors
Monitors can be moved without moving the camera, allowing even the subjects to see the frame
There are several useful features that monitors have included in their software (false colors, focus peaking, zebras, LUT overlays, etc.)
THE MONITORS WE USE
WHY YOU NEED VIDEO FOR YOUR FURNITURE COMPANY
In an era where visual content reigns supreme, the significance of engaging videos cannot be overstated. Leveraging a skilled videographer can significantly enhance a company's presence and impact, both leading up to and during the High Point Furniture Market. At the Market, each company showcases its unique designs and concepts, aiming to captivate potential buyers and industry professionals. While traditional marketing methods hold much value, a well-crafted video can quickly and effectively showcase a brand in a way that other methods cannot.
WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU
Shelley Video offers a range of video services that could benefit your furniture company. Whether it's documenting engaging panel discussions, discreetly filming guests as they immerse themselves in your furniture offerings, or meticulously curating showroom videos, we ensure that every frame encapsulates the vibrancy and uniqueness of your brand…
30,000 FEET
Although most of our video shoots are in the Triad/Triangle areas of North Carolina, we are occasionally hired for projects that require us to fly to our shooting locations. Depending on the scope of the project, we may just fly to one location per video or to several locations all for one larger video.
MULTI-LOCATION PROJECTS (STEWARDS FOUNDATION)
The Stewards Foundation is an organization that provides low-interest loans to small non-denominational churches for building projects, then gives interest from those loans to full-time preachers and workers from those churches to help with health care. I traveled with either Allan Dunlap, who worked with marketing, or Doug Rice, the president, to several shooting locations all to make one large video, which you can watch HERE.
Creating THIS Visual Album
The Ones He Gave, an album about church hurt by Jonathan Solomon, was released on September 15, 2023. Back when he first started working on the album, we started planning the video. Over the next several months, we went back and forth with ideas, shot the interviews and footage for each song, and worked on turning it all into a full visual album. When it was finished, it was shown at two different listening parties where we got to watch it with over a hundred friends and supporters. It was very special….
Why AI Will Never Fully Replace Human Videographers
In a world where AI is making waves in every industry, some might question whether human videographers are still relevant. But here are some examples of how AI will never be able to replace the unique qualities and creativity brought by human videographers:
Artistic Vision and Creative Flair: AI can't match the artistic vision and creativity of humans. Human videographers have a natural eye for capturing moments, emotions, and stories that truly connect with audiences. They know how to frame shots, play with lighting, and compose visuals that leave a lasting impact.
Adaptability and Problem-Solving Skills:…
Every year we take a trip to the Outer Banks for the Island School of Dance recital weekend. These past couple of years, we have started going to their studio rehearsal on Wednesday, the youngest girls’ dress rehearsal on Thursday, the older girls’ dress rehearsal on Friday, and the recitals on Saturday. We make full recital videos as well as a “Backstage Pass” video that we deliver through MediaZilla. You can see it all by clicking the button below….
USING A TELEPROMPTER FOR INTERVIEWS
Most of the interviews we shoot do not require a teleprompter. When answering questions or telling stories, many people feel more comfortable and sound more natural simply talking from what they know and remember. However, in some instances, it is helpful to have an exact script and to use the teleprompter.
Pros of Using a Teleprompter:
Allows the Client to be very thoughtful and specific about what they want to be said in the interview
Takes less time both to shoot and to edit
Each take will be the same information
Less frequent “Umms”
Cons of Using a Teleprompter:
Requires exact scripts, which hinders storytelling
Some interviewees can sound robotic when reading from a script…
ABOUT EMERGE
The About Us page of Emerge Pediatric Therapy’s website says:
“No one can quite prepare you for all that will come your way as a parent. Obstacles and difficulties with your child’s development are sometimes unavoidable. Many of these obstacles you can handle on your own. But who do you turn to when you need help?
For over 20 years, Emerge Pediatric Therapy (formerly Emerge-A Child’s Place) has served the parents and children of the Triangle who have needed that extra support. So whether you need occupational, physical, or speech therapy, look no further than Emerge Pediatric Therapy.”
ADS FOR LOCAL TV AND WEBSITE
Emerge hired us to create several 30-second ads to be run on WRAL as well as a video for their About Us page…
WHY WE PURSUE REPEAT CLIENTS
Here is a list of reasons why we pursue repeat clients:
After working with a client, I already have banked footage, logos, and graphics already tailored and set aside to be used for future projects.
The client and I become familiar with each other and how the process works
It saves a lot of administrative time and effort when working with repeat clients. Agreeing on the pricing structure is so much easier. It takes fewer emails and phone calls to plan a second or third project compared to the first.
We are sometimes able to shoot more than one video at once, which saves the client time and money…..
The Lights We Use For Interviews
Lighting is one of the most important parts of videography. It affects the look of the image more than anything else. The best lighting setup varies for each location and project, but for our interview shoots, we usually consider Key, Fill, Hair, and Background lighting.
Key Light:
The key is the main light used the illuminate the subject. For our interviews, we use the APUTURE 300X for our key light with the SOFTBOX. If the subject is looking off-camera at an interviewer or teleprompter, we usually place the key light and the cameras on opposite sides of the subject’s line of sight. This allows the far side of the subject’s face to be lit by the key…
EFFICIENCY
When working on a budget, you want to get the most bang for your buck. With video projects, one of the best ways to do this is to plan to shoot footage for multiple videos during one shoot. Quite a bit of work goes into prepping for a shoot, traveling to and from the location, and setting up and tearing down the gear. If you only have to pay the video production company to do that once for a set of videos instead of several different times, you can end up with more videos for less money.
THE YMCA OF GREENSBORO
Lauren Bowers, the marketing director for the YMCA of Greensboro, is taking full advantage of this strategy. Every month or so, we schedule a day for me to shoot 4-6 videos at one of the Y locations in the Greater Greensboro area. Most of the videos are a couple of minutes long or less and we are able to shoot everything we need for all of those videos in just a few hours…
SETTING UP THE PROJECT
Guillermo Amaya, President and CEO of GAC Enterprises, LLC, reached out to me several months ago about creating a promotional video that they could use at an upcoming work fair. He shared his thoughts on what he was wanting from the project and shared some inspiration with me. I made some suggestions and we decided to move forward with our plan.
SHOOTING
On two separate days, I went out to several construction sites in and around Greensboro and shot footage of the crews working. I used my cameras to get most of the footage, but for some of the shots, I sent up my DJI Air 2s drone. My favorite shot in the video is when I flew the drone very close to the cable lasher as it was pulled quickly along the cable. Because of the wide angle of the drone’s camera, I had to fly it much closer than it looks. It was a bit nerve-wracking in the bright sun, but the end result was absolutely worth it.
POST-PRODUCTION
The post-production process was fairly straightforward…
PRUITT VIDEO
We recently created a video for some friends of ours from King’s Cross Church in Greensboro. They are planning to adopt from Colombia and are trying to raise money to help make that possible. They are a wonderful family and we are so excited for them to add one more to it.
SHOOTING
I went over one afternoon to film everything for the video. They started with lunch. Most of the shots of the kids smiling and laughing came from some games they were playing at the table. They took turns thinking of an animal from the Greensboro Science Center while everyone else asked questions to figure out what it was.
After lunch, they played in their backyard, colored on their porch with chalk, and took a short stroll down the street.
During naptime, we shot Eric and Bre’s interview.
“HE WASHED ME / HE TOUCHED ME”
Jonathan Solomon is a worship leader (King’s Cross Church) and songwriter living in Greensboro, NC. He recently recorded an album called “Now That I’ve Seen” and has just released a single from that album entitled “He Washed Me / He Touched Me”, which you can watch below! We were able to shoot the entire album, so you can watch those videos once the rest of the album is released.
GEAR SETUP
Our setup for this shoot consisted of several lights and four cameras. I ran the main angle camera (5D Mark IV) on a shoulder rig, Nathan Funderburg captured close-ups with his 5D Mark IV on a monopod, Max Wilmot stayed with the drumset with his handheld Blackmagic camera (as well as getting a few shots from the back of the set), and a 1DX Mark II sat on a tripod fixed on Jonathan.
ASPECT RATIO
I ended up using a 2:1 aspect ratio, which I felt best fits this particular project. It gives a bit of a wide cinematic look without having to sacrifice too much vertical space. (Watch this if you are interested in aspect ratios.)…
“THE JOURNEY CONTINUES”
We recently created a video for a wonderful ministry in central North Carolina named Mount Jubilee Ministries. I absolutely loved creating this video for a number of reasons: how important the ministry is, how endearing each interviewee is, and the style of the video. The ministry leaders gave me a lot of creative freedom with this project, which allowed me to bookend the video with several clips of the participants. Most organizations want every moment of their videos to be describing what they do and who they are, but I was allowed to use a full 37 seconds at the beginning of the video to just show some of these incredibly special people. I think it allows the audience to start getting to know some of the individuals and to care about them. It is my favorite opening of any video I have ever made, and I think you will see why.
A 100TH ANNIVERSARY FILM
The largest project we have completed to date, which was just released a few weeks ago, was for a missions-sending organization called Christian Missions in Many Lands, or CMML. Though Jim Elliot is probably the most famous CMML missionary, thousands of other CMML missionaries have served in over 150 countries. To celebrate their 100th anniversary this year, we were hired to work with Craig Fritchey to compile interviews and b-roll footage from many of these missionaries into one 20-minute film that would tell some of their stories. If you would like to read more about some of the details of my work on the film, keep reading.
WHAT IS SPOKEN
When shooting and editing wedding videos, countless decisions are made that affect how the story of the wedding day is told in the video. With each of our weddings, although we obviously focus on getting quality footage, we pay special attention to the audio we capture and use in the video. This is easy to overlook because we all want to see the bride’s dress, the groom’s smile, the beautiful venue, and the guests having a great time. But I would argue that what is spoken during the day (the vows, the officiant's words, the toasts, etc.) may actually be the most important thing to capture.
I spend a lot of time weaving the audio of the day throughout the video in a meaningful way. It would be much easier to use a song with lyrics and not think about the recorded audio, but we believe it makes for a much more impactful, memorable, and meaningful final product when the audio and video have been carefully weaved together.
RECURRING CLIENTS
My favorite type of client is a recurring client, someone who hires us multiple times for different projects. Not only is much easier after having worked together on previous projects, but it also means that the client was pleased with us enough to hire us again. For the past couple of years, I have been intentionally trying to build relationships with these types of organizations. One of my recurring clients is the YMCA of Greensboro.
NINE YMCA PROJECTS SO FAR
To date, we have completed nine video projects for the YMCA of Greensboro. Some of these only involved editing, but many of them involved shooting on location as well. Most of the videos are not up publically because they are specifically for donors or employees.
MY HISTORY AT MTYC
I have spent at least one week of every summer of my life (except one) at Mountain Top Youth Camp. It’s a Christian camp on the mountain beside Pilot Mountain in Pinnacle, NC. I transitioned from camper to staffer in 2010. In 2016, I started creating recap videos of each camp week to show on the last day.
I have loved doing this the last several years, getting to know the campers and staff each week, figuring out how to weave together my footage of the different activities in an interesting way, experimenting with different ideas I wouldn’t be able to try in most projects, and starting to outline the videos more and more with highlights of the preached messages.
2021 CHANGES
With the addition of a beautiful little girl to our family, it became clear…
ISOD DANCE RECITALS
Two years ago, we did our first dance recital video project for Island School of Dance in Kill Devil Hills, NC. After they took 2020 off because of COVID, we were so excited for this year’s recital!
ONLINE VIDEO COLLECTION DELIVERY
Most of our projects are delivered through Dropbox or Google Drive, uploaded straight to a streaming site, or sent through the actual mail on a flash drive. However, we occasionally have projects that are delivered a little bit differently, through a site called MediaZilla. The projects we deliver this way are basically like an online, higher-quality version of a DVD. There are menus to click through and multiple videos set up in the same collection. It can be accessed and viewed on a computer, smartphone, or smart TV.
OPEN TO NEW PROJECTS
I always want to continue learning and improving. During these first years of growing our video business, I have wanted to stay open to taking on new types of projects. I'm sure we will eventually settle into just a few of our favorites (more on that in our next post), but for now, I am enjoying the variety.
FAMILY PHOTOS
My sister-in-law recently suggested we add family photos to our list of services. I had considered it in the past but wanted to focus strictly on video at the time. When I looked on our fridge, I noticed that I had taken most of the photos used in our different families' recent Christmas cards. I remembered how much I enjoyed taking each of those photos, finding spots with good light, and trying to make the kids laugh.
9TH CENTURY BC
There is a story in the Old Testament Scriptures (1 Kings) about a widow from a place called Zarephath. In the story, the woman and her son were about to eat the very last of their food before they would be faced with starvation. During her preparations, a man approached her and asked her for a meal. She explained her situation and then listened as the stranger told her words that he claimed were from God: “The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.” …
2018-2019
In the Spring of 2018, after spending a couple of years growing Shelley Video “on the side” while teaching in a public elementary school, I left my teaching position…
WEDDING PACKAGES
We offer two different wedding video packages: Standard Video (the highlight video includes one background song, lasting 3-6 minutes) and Extended Video (the highlight video includes two songs, lasting 6-10 minutes). These highlight videos are the focus of what we offer as wedding videographers. In addition to these highlight videos, we also provide a list of optional add-ons that our clients may select as part of the wedding package…
FULL REAL-TIME CEREMONY VIDEOS
When couples order this add-on, the full ceremony video…
New Web Platform
Shelley Video has officially existed now for about two and a half years. To move into our next phase of business growth, we are switching web platforms. This has been a long time coming… I am finally switching over to Squarespace, an all-in-one web design platform that will be much easier to keep up with and will hopefully help my website to come up when someone like a business owner or a bride in the area Googles “videographer near me.”
First Launch of the Website - 5.20.17
Today we are launching the Shelley Video website…
Full Time Videography - 7.24.18
A few months ago, we moved from doing Shelley Video part-time to it being a full-time job!…
Added DVT - 12.26.18
We now offer Digital Video Transfer services!…
DIVERSITY INITIATIVES
Campus Outreach (also known as CO) is a campus ministry currently on 122 campuses in the US and around the world. The campuses in our area have several diversity initiatives to help reach staff and students of color. These initiatives are extremely important, as you can see in the video, and I was so thankful to be asked to make this video for them.
B-CAM SLIDER
This is the first interview I have ever shot using a slider for the second camera. As you can see in the image below, one camera is on a tripod and is shooting a wide angle and the second camera has a telephoto lens and is on a slider. As each person talked, I moved the camera back and forth and used it to create a subtle parallax effect…