Savvy Production Blog Post Page
Combine a hurricane, a 23 piece orchestra, a shooting crew of 25, brand new surgical suites and you have the raw ingredients for a great TV spot for Shore Medical. As a co-creative and DP, this shoot was demanding, challenging, and entirely satisfying creatively.
Working with Gavin Advertising, we teamed up to create these broadcast spots promoting recycling with a down-to-earth delivery. Great talent, copy writing and pre-production made the shoot fun and efficient. Shot in the studio on green screen in 4k raw with our Ursa Mini, post production was a cinch. Recycling can be a hoot!
Still photographer Felicia Perretti chose to partner with Savvy to direct her first food film. Teaming up with food stylist, Harry McMann, it was decided that featuring making pasta as a slow food experiment would be our subject matter. Filming with the BMC Ursa Mini allowed for a rich and organic color palette. Harry followed an old school recipe to get just the right texture and shape for the pasta. Rustic Italian mandolin sound bed matches the quiet and deliberate unfolding of a beautiful food narrative. Slow food with Felicia at its best.
We used our handy drive-in white cyc studio to shoot the production; Allowing perfect white background and soft lighting for interior car shots. The script was written with very legal specifics which had to be followed very carefully during the action, always fun with children and babies. Post production was handled in-house using Premiere and After Effects.
A few days this fall the Savvy team had the pleasure of traveling to Pottstown, PA to visit and film at the Manatawny Still Works Distillery and Bar. The Manatawny team showed us how the distilling process worked and some tricks to making the perfect whiskey cocktail (hint: a giant ice ball). You can visit them for a tour, meet friends at the bar or buy their products at the Pottstown location. They distill rum, whiskey, vodka and gin which are available at a number of fine drinking establishments throughout the Philadelphia area and are also being sold in state stores across Pennsylvania.
"Manatawny" is a Lenape word which means 'The place we meet to drink' and this has driven the philosophy of the Manatawny Still Works brand:
“Our distillery is modern, but our practices are based on old world production with a reverent nod to the history of the region. From the Lenape Indians, whose name for the nearby creek we borrowed for our distillery to historical figures of importance, for whom we named some of our very first spirits. The spirit of Manatawny is focused on quality, but rooted in the past.”
We hope our film for them captures that brand essence and showcases what an amazing space the Manatawny Still Works distillery is, learn more about MSW here and watch our film above!
Introducing the newest addition to the Savvy team, the Blackmagic URSA Mini 4K EF Ultra HD Camcorder. We are so excited to try out the new capabilites this camera offers. It's compact design and 4K UHD shooting ability make it a perfect match for the Savvy team. Shooting stunning footage in varied environments is what the Blackmagic is known for and we can't wait to see all it can do for our clients. Check out some footage taken by others using this camera here:
http://nofilmschool.com/2015/12/collection-ursa-mini-4-6k-footage
Savvy prides itself on creating compelling stories for all of our clients. One way to ensure the videos we create have high production value, look and sound great is the use of a tele-prompter. While many may only be familiar with this tool as a standard for newscasters or presidential speeches it is actually commonly used for corporate video. Recently, Dallas Prompter blogged about the benefits of using a prompter for corporate video and we couldn't agree more. Check out what they said and request a prompter for your shoot with Savvy!
An executive is rehearsing with an on-camera prompter for his video debut. After the first read-through, he asks, “Where’s the camera?” The director smiles and explains, “You’ve been looking at it. It’s right behind the teleprompter mirror.”
That’s how a prompter lets you read a script and look into the camera at the same time. You know what to say, so you can focus on the way you say it.
The ability to engage a live audience doesn’t necessarily translate into a strong presence on camera. When you see your listeners, you can respond to their subtle reactions. You don’t get the same sort of feedback from the glassy eye of a video camera.
Most people struggle to ad-lib on camera. If they accomplish a good “take” (usually after several attempts), they don’t remember what they said, so they can’t repeat it when the director asks for a retake.
(And why do directors ask for a second good take? In the trade it’s called a ‘safety’—just in case there’s physical defect on the tape, or a verbal bobble nobody caught.)
A prompter’s very affordable, especially when you compare it to the cost of the entire video. And it can help your personal ROI, too: you’ll record more good takes while expending less time and energy.
Request a prompter for your next video project and make your on-camera appearance easier."
With the holidays fast approaching the onslaught of options for televisions can be overwhelming. We are savvy to the pros and cons of this rapidly improving technology and pride ourselves on being able to handle work in various formats. But what really is the difference in all these numbers thrown at you by manufacturers?
4K and 1080p refer to the number of pixels in the image, 4K has four times as many pixels as 1080p. UHD refers to footage shot in 4K and HD refers to footage shot in 1080p. Currently, most TV's are upscaling 1080p footage to play on a 4K screen. This can leave you underwhelmed as there is not a significantly perceivable improvement over the HD television most are used to watching. However, when 4K footage is shown on a 4K television the improvement is noticeable.
Cedric Demers does a great job of comparing the two formats in the link below. Check it out for more information.
http://www.rtings.com/tv/learn/4k-ultra-hd-uhd-vs-1080p-full-hd-tvs-and-upscaling-compared
The weather this December has been one for the record books. Here at Savvy we couldn't help but to be reminded of our work with ACEER, Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research, and the PSA we created featuring super bowl winning coach Dick Vermeil. The Amazon is the largest river in the world and the rainforest it sustains is the world's biggest. The biodiversity of the ecosystem and sheer volume of the river make the Amazon one of the main players in the discussion of climate change. And while we are thoroughly enjoying this mild December it is important to recognize the implications of deforestation on the global climate. Take minute to watch our video below to learn more about the great work ACEER is doing to maintain the Amazon and enjoy this mild weather while it lasts!
How do you stand out in an environment saturated with content? Create something unique.
Video can be a great way to help your brand, service or self stand out amongst the competition. Anish Patel with Ragan recently researched the ways video can improve marketing efforts. Drawing on Forbes and Business Insider research to support his argument that video is essential in today's marketplace for all businesses. Check out the link below to learn how video can increase sales, drive traffic and showcase your brand.
http://www.healthcarecommunication.com/Main/Articles/13736.aspx
