Location Sound: The Basics and Beyond

Sam Prigg's Tips on Starting a Video Production Company
Sam Prigg, the "Head Wabbit" at White Rabbit Productions in Salt Lake City (http://www.whiterabbitproductions.com) has never taken himself too seriously. That hasn't stopped him from creating one of Utah's most successful video production houses. His client list and "statues," as he puts it, make that clear. He's worked for all the major networks, plus Disney, Apple, Intel, and many other big-name clients. During the 2002 Winter Olympics, he had eight crews working full-time for folks such as Jay Leno, David Letterman, and MTV. His "statues" include Emmys, ADDYs, Tellys, DuPonts, and "Most Improved" in bowling.

Sam Prigg is one of the good guys. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him in the mid-1980s during my 4-year stint at KSL-TV in Salt Lake City. He has a degree in broadcast journalism and a minor in cinematography. For the first half of his 27-year TV and film career, he thought he was going to live and die working for a TV station. But then the business changed and so did he.

Local news operations cut staff while adding news shows (news is relatively inexpensive programming), and TV networks found it was cheaper to make layoffs and hire local freelance crews instead. Sam began shooting on the side and soon started making more money working on weekends and vacations than he was in his day job.
Since he also was becoming disenchanted with that TV news job, he knew it was time to leave. How hard could it be, he thought, to do freelance full time and make a killing? He soon found out, and along the way, acquired a few tips that others might use to not make the same mistakes. Here's what he has to say:

Learning about business is essential to survival. I have a degree in communications and lots of worldly experiences, but the business world is a whole different animal. You'll need to learn about insurance, taxes, bonding, business plans, advertising, equipment purchases or leases, office space, phones, faxes, furniture, marketing, pricing, invoicing, bad debts, good demo reels, production schedules, contracts, the IRS, accounting, hiring freelance workers, firing freelance workers, security, and credit. It's no surprise that most small startups fail after a few years.
Working with a partner...or not. I started our company with a partner, thinking our skills complemented each other. Turns out we had conflicting ideas about how to run a business, and I ended up buying him out. Dissolving a partnership can be like getting a divorce. Partner up if you must, but be aware of the ramifications. Put your expectations in writing. Spell out the roles each partner will take, where the money will go, and be prepared to review the contract frequently.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket. When I started my business, I had one client that accounted for most of my work. It was great. I traveled around the United States, shot all kinds of neat stuff, edited to my heart's content, and enjoyed life in the freelance world. Two years later, the client's company got sold and everything stopped. I forgot to broaden my base and to do that marketing thing. I had to scramble to find some new clients. It took a couple of years until I felt comfortable again, but I learned a few things. One is that eggs-in-one-basket rule, and the other is that the time to do your marketing is when you're busy with the project that you're currently working on.
Figure out what kind of video production company you are. When I started out, I was going to offer to do anything at the highest possible level. I planned to shoot, write, and edit commercials, news, documentaries, corporate videos, sports, accident re-creations, school plays, weddings...well, no weddings, but just about anything else. My market was the world. And I could do it on film or video—I thought. It took a long time to discover who I was, but now I can say our mission statement in one sentence: We shoot high-end video for television networks, news magazine shows, and corporations, and we specialize in making people look good. After we figured that out, it was easier to focus our marketing and purchase the right equipment.
Create a demo reel. Your demo reel represents who and what you are. It is your most valuable marketing tool. There are plenty of views about what makes a good reel. My take is that you may have only 30 seconds to make a favorable impression. Why? I know of TV news directors who view aspiring reporters' demo reels—chock full of stories, on-camera stand-ups, and clever on-set repartee—for all of 30 seconds. That's all the time they need to make such important decisions. Make sure that you gear your reel for your target audience and have it quickly demonstrate your core values. Our reel has a fast-paced introduction with several shots of well-lit people, well- composed shots of a variety of subjects, and lively music. It includes a few graphics-laden segments and ends with contact information. It runs about seven and a half minutes. I like to watch it. And it has helped us get lots of jobs.
Educate your clients. When I meet a new client for the first time, I usually have to educate them about the steps involved with producing an effective video. It starts with identifying the audience members—their ages, educations, and preconceived attitudes about the subject. I then outline the dozen or so steps involved with most productions—concept, writing, storyboarding, casting, location scouting, crew, equipment, production shoot, narration, editing, graphics, and music.
Don't burn a client. If you make a mistake with some clients—bad lighting, poor composition, arriving late, faulty equipment, dead batteries—they might forgive you once. TV networks are less forgiving. One mistake and they won't come back.
Adapt to change because things will change. I try to stay up on the newest trends in equipment and technology, such as new recording formats and delivery systems. It's important to understand why they have been developed and how they change the way we do business. Many clients now ask about having their video streamed or converted to DVDs or CD-ROMs. High-definition formats are now being offered at the high-end and low-end. New recording formats include hard drives, memory sticks, and re- recordable DVDs. As a means to stay current, subscribe to technology magazines and join an industry organization such as the International Television Association for its conferences and seminars. View the work of others to see what kind of competition you might be facing and what kind of markets you might be missing.
Deciding what to charge. For the high end of the video production market, it's easier to determine what to charge because TV networks, union contracts, and a universal fee schedule set the parameters for what the market will pay. In the television news, news magazine, and corporate worlds, using broadcast Betacam SP cameras, professional audio equipment, extensive lighting, and grip equipment and being backed by 15 to 20 years of experience, a two-person crew, consisting of a camera person and audio tech, can get between $1,200 to $1,500 for a 10-hour day. You can charge additional fees for the use of a wide-angle lens, matte box with filters, HMI or daylight-balanced lighting, and other production tools. Beginning photographers can usually charge $200 to $350 a day plus $150 to $200 for a mini-DV camera, a small lighting package, and a selection of microphones.
Consider working for someone else. It's easier and much less expensive to work for the kind of company you would like to become. Get your experience with another production company that has its own equipment and clients. Perfect your techniques and broaden your knowledge by working for someone else. Then, as you understand the market and maybe find your niche, you can branch off on your own with a better understanding of the business and where your market might be. Our company is always looking for a photographer with a good eye as well as audio techs, gaffers, grips, teleprompter operators, writers, producers, and just about anyone else who can help make us look good.

Adjusting The Back Focus of a Lens
In most cases, changing a lens will not require adjusting the back focus. But when a lens does not hold focus at both ends of the zoom range, you may need to adjust the back focus. By adjusting the back focus, you are changing the distance of between the pick-up device and the rear element of the lens. Technically, it's the distance from the vertex of the rearmost element of the lens to the focal plane, but we'll keep it simple. Note that not all lenses have a back focus adjustment.
The Steps
Before starting, put the camera on a tripod and adjust your camera's viewfinder so it is in sharp focus. Ideally, you'd want a test pattern chart (looks like a dart board) to be at least 75 feet from the camera. Otherwise, as far as possible. If you don't have a test chart, Use a page from a magazine.

When it is focused, tighten the back focus ring retaining knob to secure the ring.
Note: Most lenses are at their sharpest focus at about a middle iris position like F5.6.

Movement
The trick is to keep the vertical movement as steady as possible and to set your viewfinder before you start shooting. If you're working with a camcorder that has a flip-out LCD screen, by all means use it. Try to position the screen so that you can keep the framing in sight throughout the entire shot. If, for example, you're shooting a person's foot and moving up the body to end on the face, here's how to approach it. Frame up a nicely composed shot to start and check for clear focus. Since you're starting at almost ground level in this example, begin from a bended knee position with the camera directly in front of you, elbows resting just above your knees. Slowly lift the camera with your arms and then begin to stand as you rise up through the shot. Keep your elbows tucked in as close to your body as is possible and practical, to help keep things steady until you reach your end position.

This move could be great at a wedding to reveal a bride's dress. An example of linking subjects with this move might be starting on a full-screen shot of a house For Sale sign and then doing a pedestal up to reveal the home behind it.

In a trucking move, you, the tripod and the camera pick up and move to the left or right. This move is great for following or creating a stronger sense of action. Let's say you're shooting someone jogging. If you just pan the camera to follow the runner, you'd need to be on a pretty wide shot, and there would be a pretty significant change in the backgrounds and perspective as you follow the subject left or right. It also isn't as dramatic. Set up a trucking shot, and you'll see the difference. Choose a distance from the runner, let's say you want to keep him full-body throughout the shot, and set up alongside of him with good focus. Unless you've rented or purchased a Steadicam or some other kind of stabilizing gear, if you actually jog beside the subject yourself, the video will likely be unusable. You need some wheels! Without going to great expense, you can use an automobile, a wheelchair or a child's wagon to provide your motion. Whatever you choose, be sure you have a partner to get you moving and keep you safe and stable while you're shooting. If possible, start moving the camera first, then cue your subject to start running. Settle on a comfortable speed and nice framing. Lead room is important in trucking shots. Give the subject some space between his or her nose and the edge of your frame so it looks like you're leading them and not trying to play catch-up. If you don't like the profile you get from trucking right alongside the subject, pick up some speed and get ahead a bit. This allows you to see more of the runner's face and changes up the background for some interest.

The flying camera move gives you an opportunity to take your viewer on a ride. Think of this as taking on the point of view of an insect moving in and around subjects. I started using this type of move when my oldest child was a toddler. Fly around at kid-level to make the viewer more an active part of the child's world. Of course, it works for shooting adults, too.

Let's say you want to capture some treasured moments of a child eating in a highchair. You might hold your camera at your waist with arms tucked into your stomach for stability. Begin the shot from behind the child, showing someone feeding the little one, then arc around the chair to the front. For more action, you could begin with the camera held high, coming down and around the chair. The opportunities with this one are endless. Picture a table with a great spread of food. The camera starts high, taking in most of the table from above, then sweeps camera down and runs the length of the table, flying past all of the treats. For a smooth move and good focus throughout the move, it works best with the lens zoomed out wide.

Guud Eeevening: The Hitchcock Zoom
This move is one of the most dramatic, and it requires a bit of practice. Alfred Hitchcock made use of this camera move, and the film Jaws used a similar version of it. When done well, this move gives the appearance that the main subject is stationary as the background crashes in or flies away. Set the shot up by framing the subject with the lens zoomed out wide. Begin to dolly away from the subject as you simultaneously zoom in to keep the subject the same size in the frame. The optics of the lens provide a unique look. Timing is important here in matching the dolly speed with the zoom, but when it all works it leaves a very dramatic impression with a viewer. Try the reverse, as well, by dollying in while zooming out. Great moves with powerful results.

This is a favorite of mine because it's easy to execute and adds zip to a normally dry shot. Rather than a static shot of your subjects walking, move with them. For a shot of two people passing by from behind, hold your camera about waist-level with a wide lens and begin to walk ahead of your subjects. Cue your subjects to start walking and overtake you, entering the frame from behind, one on either side, and continue walking away. The reverse of this would be for you to begin walking backwards, cueing your subjects to walk toward you, passing you on either side as they exit your shot. You can give this last one an even more interesting perspective by zooming out as you walk backward.