Let's Talk About Video Pre-Production and Why It Matters!

We're nearing the end of 2020. A chaotic year that changed the way world around us worked. Almost overnight, the world seemed to go virtual... and with that video became a more prevalent medium in business plans all over the world.

However, the desire for video content isn't a new one. In fact, in 2018 HubSpot determined that 54% of consumers want to see more video content from a brand or business they support. Unfortunately, a lot of small business don't know where to begin.

I'm here to help! Recently, I filmed and edited a dance video that I also danced in. I've worked with many dancers, all of which have their own flavors and styles- similar to how a company would have its own branding. As I learned the choreography, I thought deeply about the feeling I wanted the video to invoke. I've added the video I will be referencing here, if you'd like to see before continuing.

Before picking up a camera and recording, my best advice is to think about how you want the end result to look. Are you trying to get your audience excited? Make sure to have an upbeat inflection in your voice, or use music with a slightly higher BPM. Opt for brighter, more interesting colors and settings to keep attention. Are you the focus of the video? Don't choose a background that is too distracting. On the contrary, if you are only planning on doing a voice over, you'll want your imagery to keep viewers focused.

For my cover of Black Mamba by Aespa, I knew several things:

- I wanted to accentuate the idea of being solo.

- I wanted it to have a more cinematic vibe, as opposed to a performance vibe.

How did I achieve this goal? Well, I didn't simply show up to a random location and hope for the best. It all started with research.

Setting

I had already known I was going to Nevada for work, and wanted to take the opportunity to film my cover there. I am not familiar at all with the area, which naturally made preparation much harder. As I started researching the landscape, I came across a few different aesthetic options. Artsy, urban, and natural landscape to name a few. Staying true to my desire of accentuating that I am alone, I chose setting that were vast and had no signs of life for hours- and where very few tourist or people would visit or interfere. However, I didn't just close my eyes and point my finger on a map and say - "huzzah. This is my filming location." I created a list of several, then watched many hours of Youtubers vlogging from these locations, or viewing photographers photos from the area. I checked what time the sun rose and sun set. Was I even legally allowed to go, or film for that matter? After all this research I eventually settled on Rhyolite Ghost Town and Jean Dry Lake Bed. Both locations were vast enough to make anyone feel small. They both seemed to have relatively low traffic. The only thing that I did not prepare for, which if you can I highly recommend you try your best to if you're a dancer, is know what you're dancing on. Fun fact, the dry lake bed is not dry. It was more like clay and took some time to get adjusted to. It also stained my outfit, so I was grateful that I chose to wear all black. Attire

Speaking of clothing, I didn't just randomly choose outfits. In fact, about 90% of what I wore was purchased specifically for this project. If you're not doing an athletic video, comfort may not be as important for your attire but it was critical for my choices.

My best tip is to determine what functionality, if any you need from your attire. I'm just saying... Wonder Woman had the right idea when she started practicing kicks as she was dress shopping. She knew what she needed.

Anyway, if you're wanting to establish yourself as a professional in your industry - choose an outfit that does just that. If you're showing off something in the background, choose more neutral tones as to not distract attention from that. However, if you're background is a little dull- go for something more visually interesting!

I chose neutral tones because I wanted to feel small in my surroundings. I mean they were beautiful. I didn't want to stand out in my location. I wanted to feel almost as if I was lost or trapped in it. I chose a more sporty outfit for the ghost town, and I chose a flowy outfit for the flat lands of the dry lake bed. I chose the dress specifically because I wanted to follow the commonly used imagery of a woman walking in a dessert for miles. There is nothing but sand or dirt, and the wind blows her flowy clothes and hair around. Shot Preparation & Story Boarding

The imagery of me alone in a desert is something I knew I wanted to attain early on. As I listened to the music, it practically called to me. So, as I story boarded I kept that in mind.

For those unware- story boarding is essentially your roadmap from moving your idea out of your head and into your final product. You're essentially correlating different parts of your video with how you would like it to look. Is the intro shot a close up? Do you cut away to b-roll of city hall? Should the videographer follow one particular person? A lot of important questions get answered here.

As a videographer for dancers, this is usually how I develop my "camera man choreo" for the project. As a dancer myself, I'm no stranger to memorizing an 8 count. So I take the time needed to memorize my "choreo" to ensure I am focusing on the correct dancer, at the preferred angle and the preferred time. In the case of my Black Mamba cover, since it was a cinematic style video, there was little need for "camera-man choreo." There was a need for me determine what shots I needed from what location.

As I storyboarded, I determined that I wanted the intro to reveal me in the dry lake bed. That was going to be the vaster location of the two, so it would really help establish that feeling that "no one is around for miles" very quickly. I specifically planned a few drone shots at this location to accentuate that feeling. With the drone, I can showcase more landscape and make my frame appear even smaller.

I also knew I only wanted to use the drone for the establishing shots, and for the bridge where the tone of the song changes. Because of this, we were able to film the shots we were going to use, then move on. The same goes for the other parts of the song. I knew that I wasn't going to showcase any dancing in the dry lake bed until the bridge and after. So there was no need to film the verse and first chorus there. It saved a lot a time, and kept the project progressing forward. Which by the way if you're curious, production took place over the course of two days. This was again planned and budgeted into our schedule. Although there are a lot of other factors to consider in pre-production stages, these were some of the bigger ones that I considered for my personal cover. If you're a dancer or business owner, I'd love to help bring your video to life. Feel free to reach out so I can help you through your pre-production process! What was your biggest take away from my pre-production process?