Europe on a budget
When Beiersdorf (that’s Nivea to you and me) asked Ovation and Player to produce a short (and very low budget) video to introduce a series of Europe-wide meetings, the idea of personally visiting the 13 countries on their list with a camera was inviting, but out of the question. Obtaining stock video footage too was a non-starter due to budgetary and time constraints. Even with the internet, it can take a long time to locate, research, view, order and receive video to include in an edit, not to mention the prohibitive costs! So we appealed to the various tourist offices to give us some high quality stills to use. We were entirely up front with our intended usage and they were happy, I guess, that their city would be featured alongside crown-jewel cities like Vienna, Madrid and Birmingham. Viewing, selecting and usually downloading the large photo files over the net made the tight schedule a possibility. Everyone was very co-operative and together with some nifty editing a delighted client was delivered a master DVD ahead of schedule.
While on the subject… the late, not so great, Robert Maxwell once gave me a brilliant idea while shooting a video for the launch of a (soon to fail) newspaper called “The European”. Shocked on being asked to add into the existing programme vox pop comments in every European language on the layout of the proposed paper two days before the final edit, he gently pointed out that London, an international city par excellence, was bulging with tourists. Why didn’t I go out on that Sunday with my crew, find a person of each nationality and film them against a suitable non-London background? We did. Though the Finn took a while to track down. It worked and we were home for dinner. Genius.
London Fashion Week
Player was active during London Fashion Week at the Vauxhall Fashion Scout venue. We covered the first English Eccentrics show held for several years. We even papped interviews with guests Kate Magowan, Toyah and Kathy Lette. The edited show video shown here will be used as the basis for a branding video being made for the company to support its latest ventures into licensing.
Off Their Trollies
Player were called in to record an unusual PR event staged at the sale showrooms of designers English Eccentrics. For the amusement of its pre-Christmas sale customers, it was decided to stage a “tea trolley dance”, the brainchild of artist Sally Child. Bemused at first, customers were explained some basic dance moves before being unleashed on the array of fine trollies to try for themselves. Player shot, edited and released the video within a day. An original event showing the English at their eccentric best. A YouTube hit? We hope so.
How a video programme is polished and delivered
“We’ll tweak it in the edit”, is a famous cry when the producer wants to push on at the shoot. The power of a modern editing suite is considerable and many things can be corrected and enhanced there, sometimes at a price. Even more important than tweaking, is what happens to the programme when it enters post production (i.e. editing, dubbing, music etc… everything that is done to your video rushes). For a start, a good editor will try out new things, often unpredicted in the script or the director’s mind. This is the beauty of a new set of expert eyes seeing what’s been done to date and trying to improve on it rather than just slavishly joining the prescribed scenes together. Swapping scenes round, cutting shots out completely, adding some breathing space to the flow, removing chunks of voiceover. Sometimes the director’s favourite shot will end up on the proverbial cutting room floor (only its virtual and digital nowadays!) because despite their cries, closer analysis will prove that it unbalances the programme around it. How a programme works on the screen is the ultimate arbiter. As a central part of the process, you, the client, will see this as self evident. The edit is where the script comes to life.
At the end, the master tape you have in your hand marks the end of the production, but not the end of the project. In fact, its the beginning of all sorts of possibilities. You can have the programme put to use on many different platforms (DVD, interactive learning, streaming, television, mobile phone, YouTube, memory stick…), it can also be re-edited for other applications and occasions. And, above all, the material generated for this Player Communications production is the beginning of an archive investment which you add to, dip into and re-use for years to come.
Brighton Rock - the fashion video
New face, Georgia Steed, from the Storm Agency stars in Player Communication’s latest fashion video for designers English Eccentrics. Modelling outfits from the new “Brighton Rock” collection for Spring/Summer 2008, Georgia magically appears and disappears from screen. One moment she’s reading a copy of the Beano comic reclining in an English Eccentrics dancing deckchair, the next she’s pirouetting across screen in a silk puff ball dress. Then its munching a stick of genuine English Eccentrics rock or getting dangerously close to licking a highly artificial mashed potato “pistachio ice cream”. All the fun of the pier… yeah?
The production is finished off with an excellent soundtrack specially created by musician, James David.
The simple video was done with a locked off camera and each outfit took only a few minutes to capture on tape. Filming in parallel with a stills shoot, the extra cost was minimal - a very economic way for designers and retailers to get the most out of the opportunity of models + location + beautiful clothes to create something extra to play online or to press, staff and customers, alongside the publicity stills.