How to create your corporate video?

How long gone are the days when the Internet offered only text and a few highly compressed images and the only multimedia pleasures we could indulge in were animated gifs and midi sounds. ADSL arrived and then very high speed lines and today we can watch a film in real time, download a CD in 3 minutes and consequently video has taken a privileged place in online media.

Youtube, Vimeo, Daylimotion and many other more or less specialized platforms offer you the possibility of hosting all your videos for free or for little money per month. It would therefore be a shame not to take advantage of this medium and make a change to your communication on the web.

Exploit it yes, but not in any way! Better not to do it than to make a video of the level of Uncle Fernand on holiday in the Basque Country. No, you have to do it well, it’s still communication and your videos must convey a good image of your organization.

We live in great times for all amateur filmmakers. In the past you had to borrow Uncle Fernand’s Super 8 camera, the film was expensive, as was the equipment, projection wasn’t always easy and the distribution circuits were inaccessible to mere mortals. All these barriers have fallen! Today there is a good chance that the cell phone you have in your jeans pocket will be able to film in HD, you will be able to film as much as your device’s memory allows (more than a reel of old film) and you will be able to share your work with the whole world through the YouTube door or not.

Film with what you have!

Remember, it’s not the camera that makes a good film, but the person behind it. Start with what you have on hand, you will evolve over time. Don’t wait until you have the equipment you dream of, go for it!

The short film above was shot on a Nokia N8 and clearly illustrates that creativity, the quality of your story and your plans take precedence over the means at your disposal. If your story is original, go for it!

Film with your camera

If your budget is larger or you are already equipped, then digital reflex cameras (or DSLRs) certainly represent the solution with the best quality/price ratio for obtaining an image worthy of adults. Canon has launched a real revolution by offering a video function on its 5D MkII. Did you imagine the success that would accompany it?

Vincent Laforêt is credited with the first HD video shot with this device, shown below:

Subsequently, a large number of devices have benefited from this functionality in the Canon (60D, 7D, etc.) and Nikon (D800, etc.) range.

What advantages do SLRs have over a normal consumer camera? First of all, the size of the sensor allows for a shallower depth of field, a typical element of the cinematographic image and which allows for incredible aesthetics if well managed. So you can change lenses, obviously depending on your budget, and go from 50mm to 24mm for a wide angle, film close-ups with an 85mm and so on. A whole field of possibilities available to you and your creativity!

The problem, both with the smartphone and the DSLR, is the lightness of the devices which hinders the stability of the image. As for SLRs, you can count on a whole range of equipment to help you gain control and facilitate your shooting (manual or electronic follow focus, remote screen, tracking shot and many other things). The only limit: your budget! All this is really very expensive unfortunately.

Entire episodes of Dr. House were shot with a 5D MkII, video clips, there were entire instances of them on the Avengers set, and most productions now have this type of equipment.

SLRs have come to bridge the gap between consumer cameras and professional cameras that are too expensive for the general public.

However, the world is not all rosy in DSLR land. The biggest criticism we can make is linked to the H264 compression, which is a bit excessive and which loses a good part of the dynamic range of the image and therefore reduces the possibilities for editing in post-production. However, software tools to recover uncompressed HDMI stream to RAW DNG are gradually released, such as Magic Lantern.

This remains, for the moment, in any case, the most convenient and highest quality semi-professional solution available. In my next article, I will explain how to set up your Canon SLR for video. Next, I’ll tell you about the equipment I use at my workplace for this type of work.