- Hi, this is JP Morgan. Today on the Slanted Lens, we're here at SKB Case
factory. We're going to show you the things you can do to make shooting in a
working factory a lot easier. So let's get started and see what we can do.
- So here are ten tips on shooting video in a working factory. Number one,
scout the location. You've got to go out ahead of time and see what's there, see
what's going on, get an idea of the process. See where you can put your camera
and look for angles. Really get a good idea of what's at the location. Have the
person who's working with you just walk you around the factory and see the
different things that are going on there, when there's breaks on the machine, how
they change the machine, things that they do will help you to know when you can
shoot and what you can get. Be willing to watch the process once then setup a shoot
on the next round. Look at it, get a good idea, then set your lights, then set your
cameras, then shoot away. Jerry at SKB was great. He walked me around, we got to see
exactly what the process was. I saw exactly what was going to happen. I was
prepared when we came back the day of the shoot.
Number two, make a list of the process you're going to shoot. Even if you don't
understand it, now you can go to that process and say, "We were at step one, now
let's go to step two." It gives you a road map so you'll be able to get footage
of each step to be able to accomplish the overall video. Now, not all industrial
videos have a process. Some of them might just be a looking at the different aspects
of a factory, but a lot of times there's some kind of a process. Something that
comes in and something that goes out. The guys at SKB were fabulous because they
took and gave me a list. Here's the exact process for making an SKB case, A, B, C, D
Made it very easy for me to know the process, know what to shoot.
Number three, look for interesting angles. High overhead angles which we used our
crane to get one when we're out of SKB which was fabulous. That crane up and
high, and looking down, get down low on the floor.
So you're looking at things from a worm's eye view. Then of course the POV shots.
Go Pro, Go Pro, Go Pro. You cannot get enough shots with a Go Pro.
You know, somebody carrying a case with a Go Pro
in their chests. So I Go Pro on the conveyor belt as runs along.
Seeing people put things up, I mean just look for POV shots.
Actually in some ways, I started to use a super clamp or a bowden clamp, put the A7S
on that bowden clamp and put that in a lot of the same place you can get a Go Pro but
you're going to need much higher quality image. Look for those interesting angles
with Go Pros or with the A7S clamped onto the different parts of machinery.
Number four, move the camera. A crane shot, a slider shot, a dolly shot.
Anything where the camera's moving is going to create greater, interesting depth
in the machinery and the things that are going on with the people. So look for ways
to move the cameras, going to make this much more interesting than just a stagnant
locked off shot. Even the thing that you're shooting is really spectacular to
watch. A little slider move will dress it up even that much more
and make it look fabulous.
Number five, use your ambient light for fill, and then create highlights with your
light source. So we've got this NorthStar lights or a great LED, we're going to set
the ambient light as our fill light. We're going to bring our exposure up to where
that looks good but then we're going to put our highlights in with those NorthStar
lights. Using your light to make great highlights dresses up
the image and makes it look a lot nicer.
Number six, in boring industrial factories it's a great idea to add a little bit of
color as a back light or a rim light to give it a little bit of interest. In our
case we put a little bit of blue on our lights, our back lighter rim light, gave
a nice blue cast in a lot of the shots that we got. It dressed it up a lot.
Little bit of something on your lights will help you to separate it
and make it look very interesting.
Number seven, you may have to destroy some product to get great dramatic shots.
Sometimes you got to cut the bottom out of a case. You got to put the camera in a
potato chip bag. You know, be willing to cut and to make different types of
enclosure for the cameras to it feels like it's in the process, part of the process.
You know, they were ready at SKB to destroy anything we needed to, to get the
shots but we didn't have to. We're able to put our cameras inside a
case. It worked out just fine, but we would have done it if we needed to.
Number eight, bring clean shirts. We had workers there that just had terrible
shirts and you have to have clean uniforms or clean shirts. You can put people in
uniforms so that they look good and they look clean. But sometimes, you're going to
have to need to bring t-shirts or things to be able to change up because they got
logos on their shirts, because people don't come prepared with a great shirt
even if you tell them they don't. You know Will actually took the shirt right off his
back. We put it on one of the talents in there because we needed an SKB shirt.
So he was ready to give the shirt off his back to make it work.
Number nine, be pleasant and persistent. I need this shot.
Here's how I'm going to get it. It'll be fabulous.
Can we do this? Let's get you in there, we'll be able to see you in there.
Do things to get them excited about what you want to do. Help them to
share your vision. Have a desire to get the shot just as much as you do.
Eventually, you'll get them on the same page with you.
We were really blessed because they wanted us there
so they were excited about our process. They wanted us get great angles.
They were wiling to let us do whatever we needed to.
So I didn't have to be that persistent, they were just ready to make it happen.
Number 10, use more than one camera when you're going to do a process you only get
one shot at it. Think cinematically, we want a broad shot and an establishing type
shot, a medium shot, a tight shot. Don't set all three big cameras up, just on the
same lens, on different angles. Two more cameras with different lenses helps give
you a different perspective that's going to help the
production value of your video.
So there you have it. Tips on how to shoot in a working factory. We had a great day
here at SKB Case. So take those tips, apply it to your shoot. Hopefully to give
you some information and help make it easier for you to shoot
the next time you're going to go to a working factory.
- I enjoyed this experience a lot. It's fascinating. All this great big
machinery, all the things that went in to make in an SKB Case, so get out there.
I hope these tips will help lay a foundation so you can go out there
and feel confident shooting in a working factory.
So keep those cameras rolling, keep on clicking.
- Now that you finished this video and got great lighting instruction, just
click this little button. Push right here, it's not that hard. Just push, click.
There you go. You can do it. Yeah.