So you're thinking of making a Video?

Thank you for considering us here at Epic Creative. We have years of experience in dealing with light entertainment and music, as well as broadcast and corporate programme-making; we look forward to working on your production.

Please note that we are a professional production company using expensive professional equipment. Please do not confuse us with others who may use semi-pro or domestic equipment. The difference may not look much until you see the loss of quality when duplicating tapes, etc..

Below are a few notes for guidance which may help answer some of your questions, especially if you have not made a video or performed on television before:

Creative Control

From the outset it is essential to decide who will have creative control. In most cases it will be appropriate to leave this with our director however, if this is to be the case, you must be willing to accept the director's interpretation and the final “director's cut”. Our director will also be responsible for completing your production within the allotted time/budget. Of course, your own ideas will be considered by the director as will any comments you wish to make during production, but control will rest with the director. Any subsequent changes will be chargeable as an extra.

If you decide to retain creative control, you will then be responsible for the pace of production, and for bringing your production in on time and within budget. We will still be there to offer you advice and guidance to help you to achieve this however you will have to suffer the consequences if you overrun your allotted time, exceed your budget or make production decisions that you later regret!

The Production Process

The making of any video or television programme can be divided into three distinct periods:

Pre-production: Design (sets, costumes, visuals, etc), storyboards, writing, selecting artistic content, arranging locations, casting, technical planning, copyright clearances, camera script, etc.

Production Days: Rehearsals, technical runs and/or actual shooting of the Video on set (or location).

Post-production: Viewing of tapes, preparation of EDL (edit decision list), capture of video and audio onto hard disk (off-line), editing with effects, titles, cgi, etc, re-capture of video/audio and rendering of final product (on-line), transfer back to video tape or CD-Rom, duplication of copies.

Pre-production

As soon as possible after formal agreement is reached for us to make your video, a planning meeting will be scheduled with our producer and/or nominated programme director, usually here at the studios.

At this meeting you can tell us what your objective is in making a video and also what you hope to include in your video; we can then advise you the most effective way of achieving this. Decisions will be taken together with you regarding the style of the video (‘the treatment'), the primary and any secondary locations, any special settings, your costumes, any choreography, etc. The producer and/or director will also consider the technical implications with regard to lighting, sound, special equipment, etc consulting with our facilities manager if required.

In the case of musical or spoken performances we will also discuss with you the most appropriate method of recording the sound. If your video features live music it may be that we use playback from one of your existing recordings or alternatively we may have to set aside some time on the production day to pre-record a music and/or vocal track onto mini-disk or DAT. We may also have to capture live sound whilst filming, particularly in the case of the interviews, items spoken to camera, etc where lip-sync is very important.

With more complex programmes the director may suggest bringing in a story-board artist, a designer, a lighting director and/or various other specialists to join the production team. Full-scale productions will also be managed by a producer.

It will be your responsibility to obtain the necessary clearances in respect of performing rights, dramatic rights, mcps and/or any other royalties or licences and to indemnify Epic Creative from any claims in this respect. We can give you further advice regarding how to go about this on request.

At this meeting a date will usually be set for the actual Production Day(s).

A Few Notes About Locations:

1. When shooting on private property permission must be granted by the owner. This includes interior and exterior locations and areas which we think of as ‘public' areas, e.g. shopping malls, airports, stations, etc. Some locations will ask for a location fee, however more co-operative alternatives can usually be found.

When shooting in the street permission should be sought from the police (and in some cases the local authority), well in advance. Consideration must also be given to parking of vehicles. If you wish to shoot in a public park then permission must be sought from the appropriate local authority. All permits must be confirmed in writing by the authorities prior to the shoot.

If you should decide to ignore this advice and if our personnel are willing to risk shooting without permission we will require you to indemnify Epic Creative from any claim or action.

2. Whatever the location, please consider the availability of sufficient power for cameras, lighting, sound, ancillary equipment, etc. Whilst we can hire generators if necessary, we do not recommend this on low budget productions, unless absolutely unavoidable, as this type of equipment can present problems of their own which can lead to delays, etc.

3. We do carry a portable lighting kit suitable for interviews or relatively tight shots, however wider shots may require additional lighting unless in reasonably good daylight. Shooting exterior scenes perceived to be at night requires special techniques which will be discussed at the planning meeting.

4. For performance video's we can suggest a variety of locations including a large nightclub with a substantial lighting rig, for a relatively small additional charge.

Production Days

The schedule for the Production days will vary depending on the content and style of the video and the production budget.

In general, rehearsal days will only usually be required for complex video's or full-scale productions therefore the object of the production day will be to actually record the programme onto video tape as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The day will inevitably start with a technical set-up and line-up when the lighting, sound, and camera/recording equipment will be set, adjusted and tested.

Whilst this is in progress many clients will be setting up their own (musical) equipment, props, etc. and taking time to groom themselves ready for the camera. Unless you have booked a professional TV make-up artiste, do remember to bring your own make-up, enough for all participants - of both sexes. We also recommend that you bring a selection of stage costumes in case any particular outfit does not look good on camera.

When the director is ready to start shooting it will be necessary for the participants to do their bit! Probably over and over again as the director compiles various ‘takes' shot from different angles many of which will inevitably end up ‘on the cutting room floor' after editing.

If you have opted to shoot in exterior locations it is a good idea to bring a ‘survival kit' including drinks for singers, coats and umbrella's, tissues, mirrors, a container of water, etc. The director may have suggested an alternative plan in the event of bad weather.

In most cases our production team will work on to complete all the scheduled shooting unless unforeseen circumstances cause major delays. Some projects wrap-up quite quickly in 5 or 6 hours, others may take 8 hours. Either way, counts as a day's shoot. 8 hours is usually the maximum working time in any one day; try to work any longer and standards start to drop due to exhaustion.

Post-production

Some clients may wish to sit in on the editing of their tape, however most clients prefer to leave it to the editor to compile the scenes into the final programme. This process can be quite tedious at times.

Epic Creative exclusively use (Matrox Digi-suite DTV and Speed Razor) non-linear editing which is now regarded as being the operating standard for the digital age.

The video and audio signals are digitalised, compressed and then transferred onto a massive computer hard disk. The editor then uses the computer to control the editing process before the final production is transferred back onto video tape or other media.

On arrival in the editing suite the first part of the process is the viewing of the VT (video tapes) to compile a list of the scenes together with the appropriate time code/references off the tape. Notes are kept to indicate which are the most useable scenes/takes and also to eliminate any sections with technical glitches, etc.

The next stage is the preparation of the Edit Decision List (known as the EDL) and this can be done either in advance or stage by stage whilst working through the programme. Once it has been decided which scenes and takes are to be used these have to be ‘captured' onto the hard disk recorder.

In order to speed up the editing process, the video and audio tracks may first be captured onto the hard disk ‘off-line' using a high compression rate (i.e. at lower quality) this simplified data can be viewed quickly and easily and the computer can be instructed where and when cuts, transitions, effects, titles etc are required. The computer can then be instructed to go back to the master video tape using the final EDL and by referring to the timecode on the tape, re-capture ‘on-line' all the required scenes at a lower compression rate (i.e. high quality) assembling them as appropriate and at the same time rendering the desired transitions, effects, etc.

If the programme includes any complex effects, transitions or animation it may be necessary to render the finished EDL on the computer. On completion of rendering, the initial few copies are also made directly from the hard disk; if required a sub-master tape can then be prepared (for a small additional charge) for the duplication of faster, cheaper copies.

We should be happy to provide a quotation for sub-masters, additional duplication, design and printing of packaging, etc., on request. Clients have the option to purchase their video master tapes; the tape used to record all the original footage can also be purchased if required. If any tapes are not purchased they may be wiped clean four weeks after completion of your production.

Please remember that on completion of your edit session you will need to be available immediately to approve and sign-off the finished programme (as we will need to wipe the data off our hard disks in order to start the next project - any delay on your part will result in substantial additional charges).

Budget Packages

Epic Creative offer a range of budget packages which can facilitate the production of a top quality video at an affordable fixed cost. As long as you keep within the times and resources allotted for the individual package then there should be very few extra charges, if any. Of course, any additional time, resources or facilities would be chargeable extra and these can mount up quickly! We have budget packages for:

In-performance video's Live shows and concerts

Conceptual music video's Promotional video/commercials

Mini-documentaries Corporate/training programmes

Actor/presenter showreels Agency/management rosters

Multi-Camera Shoots

Epic Creative also produce multi-camera shoots either as an OB on location or in one of the many independent studio facilities at our disposal.

Shooting on Film

Epic Creative are experienced in shooting on most film formats; we can also provide telecine and transfer facilities. We should be pleased to discuss your requirements in detail.

Any Questions?

Do not hesitate to give us a call now on 020 8954 3311