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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

For a start, how often does it rain every single minute of a day in the UK? Once only (for me). I was shooting at Lord’s cricket ground for a client. By adjusting the day’s “shot list”, we swapped exterior scenes for interior scenes while it rained, re-wrote some scenes so they could take place inside, and popped out to catch our essential exteriors when the weather let up a bit. We avoided shooting upwards to miss the black sky and to prevent spots of rain getting on the lens; we also used the wide angle end of the lens so rain was less visible. A bit of colour tweaking in the edit and you could hardly tell. Again, this kind of issue really goes back to pre-production planning – if a production needs to be shot entirely outside or depends substantially on it not raining, then a contingency day(s) should be put into the budget and schedule early on. If “commercials-perfect” weather is demanded, then there’s always weather insurance (or shooting somewhere like South Africa), but it costs a bomb.

But what happens when your star fails to show? Once I was filming with Gabby Logan in Liverpool for the Royal and SunAlliance the day a hurricane hit the UK and all flights were grounded. Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t make it until Day 2 of the two day shoot. What to do? We changed the way we filmed her scenes that day so we could just about get away without her on camera and shot a little extra overtime the following day. No one could ever tell she hadn’t been there the whole time. In fact, it helped to create a really interesting look to the video and made what was supposed to be a straight presenter-to-camera show, something quirkier and more interesting.

What about equipment failure? Cameras and key equipment do occasionally break down. Often they are fixable temporarily on the spot. There are camera and sound hire companies all over the UK and in most large cities around the world where a replacement can be hurried in. If you’re going to be in a remote place, then it pays to bring a back-up camera or sound mixer with you.

“Blowing the budget” is really more the preserve of Hollywood prima donnas and cigar-chomping moguls. With a commissioned business programme, everything should be better controlled and more transparent (and usually less hysterical). The end cost might not be the same budget agreed at the beginning of the project, but the extra costs should have been flagged up, explained and agreed with the client along the way.

Similarly with “going off schedule”. The schedule is a co-operative affair between client and producer. Like the budget above, many a project has been delivered differently than first planned for, but in my experience this has always been mutually agreed in time with the client - maybe everyone realised the schedule was too ambitious to meet the original deadline so a shorter or more modest video was agreed instead or maybe the actual launch of the video put back; maybe a vital ingredient (a key interview or launch prototype) could not be made ready in time for inclusion in the video. Certainly, Player has never missed a deadline because the shoot overran or we were still editing the final programme while the curtain went up.

Generally, Player will try as hard as possible to avoid the hassle caused by introducing a new invoice to your account department unless absolutely necessary and then only after being agreed by you.

Script… RESEARCH – you would make available to Player Communications all expertise and relevant locations necessary for us to get up to speed with your subject matter. WRITING - we would deliver to you a draft script which would then be edited and re-jigged in conjunction with yourselves and then probably re-written a couple more times before being ready to proceed. The script could be just visual, without any spoken word, but it would still have a storyline that needs to be agreed on. SCRIPT APPROVAL – you are happy with the final draft which, after your written sign-off, becomes the “shooting script” and the basis for…

Pre-production… During this period, we research and plan all the locations we will film at, line up key contributors, cast any actors required, arrange for any artwork or props to be sourced, logistics sorted and crew and shooting equipment would be booked.

Production… THE SHOOT – a pre-agreed number of days and locations would be covered on the shooting format (High Def, DigiBeta, DVCam, 16mm film, MiniDV etc). You would have an empowered and knowledgeable representative on the shoot each day to advise on last minute details.

Post Production… The OFFLINE EDIT – shooting over, all the material is “digitised” into a specialised editing computer and put together frame-accurately, but at a lower image and sound quality for the sake of cost, into a complete impression of the final programme including music, any graphics or guide voiceover reading the script. This is a great part of the process where the script can be tweaked up to new heights and the whole project comes to life. Your input at this stage is crucial to the programme’s final success. DVD copies can be made of the edited programme for you to get the input of key colleagues. Once the “cut” is signed off, the ONLINE EDIT happens. This is a semi-automated regeneration of the approved picture and sound, but as a final, high quality version on an expensive edit suite hired by the hour. AUDIO - the approved voice script (if any) is then recorded by an agreed voiceover artist in a studio and SOUND MIXING takes place. The final master tape is created followed by any DVD copies and/or encoding done for streaming.

So you see, we don’t just disappear on day one with your brief, your money and emerge a few weeks later with our finished film. It should be a transparent and co-operative partnership throughout, resulting in a programme of which we’re both proud.

To a major extent, the final film should look like the script which will have been based solidly on the treatment which was grounded on the brief. So get that brief right and everything should follow smoothly. This means knowing precisely who your audience is, establishing exactly what the objectives of the video are and a sound idea of how the video will be used. The only surprises thereafter should be the extra colour which comes from magical moments in the creative process when text on the page becomes images and sounds on the screen.

In our experience, if there is trouble on a project it usually stems either from an ill-prepared initial brief or if, during the production, somebody new and possible senior to the agreed client contact takes a sudden and late interest in the project and wants to take it in a different direction. This should be managed quickly and carefully to avoid stalling the project.

Everyone accepts that sometimes a programme has to be based round a piece to camera by the MD or CEO. That’s fine, but be open to the alternatives first. Have a look at the Player Communications showreels for some ideas, perhaps.

In the draft scripts as they develop, try and not look just at the voiceover words in the script. Try and imagine the pictures being allotted to visualise them too. The usual script format is two parallel columns, one outlining visual action, the other voiceover or other verbal content.