As DLSR video becomes the norm, regular photographers like me are called upon to generate video content for clients. While there can be some cross-over in the equipment used to make videos and still photos, I found myself having 2 sets of specialized gear including cold and hot video lights, high-end audio capture gear, and even a teleprompter. Skimping on any of those items can result in a less than professional looking (and sounding) video.
I was asked by Munich Re to create an interview style video to explain the complex nature of breast cancer, how treatments have changed over time and mortality rates. This is not a typical company promo… and it is also proprietary information so I cannot share the final product.
However, I can show stills pulled from the video to show the lighting and composition. We decided to use multiple camera angles to add interest to the 30 minute video. I recorded the host, James Swinton, asking questions in a wide angle view first. Then I repeated the question set as closeup footage. This gave me the option of changing viewpoint during post-production.
Afterwards, the expert guest was given several takes to explain his complex medical data. Dr. Lund is a master of medical-speak taking high-level medical and insurance terminology and blending them seamlessly into an easy-to-understand info-dose. Complex charts and graphs were used to explain the key topics and were composited during post production.
I told Dr. Lund that I would not want to play Scrabble with him since every word would be at least 10 letters long.
