Frequently Asked Questions
These are the top questions I get depending on the client, their experience producing videos, their passion for tech, etc. You may have other questions, so send them my way.
What do you teach your documentary filmmaking students?
I teach documentary filmmaking production (as opposed to film theory): interviewing, shooting, and editing. But most importantly, story structure. Today's video producers and filmmakers get a lot right, but videos that fall a little flat usually share one defining flaw: weak story structure.
You get bored. The shots are beautiful, the audio is pristine, the graphics are high-end but your mind starts to drift.
At its core, great storytelling – whether gazillion dollar Hollywood, well-funded corporate, or low-budget nonprofit – has to be about transformation or you've missed the assignment. That journey should come with character development, meaningful stakes, authentic blood/sweat/tears and triumph. What organizations get wrong the most: prioritizing marketing copy points over human values.
Learning to think and edit in story beats ensures audiences stay engaged in your message and invested in your brand. Every video I've made has benefited from even the simplest application of these story principles.
Of all the story structure models to study, one of the simpler and more powerful ones is Save The Cat. You'll never watch another movie the same way again. You'll also never be boring.
How do you produce videos "more cost-effectively" than others?
There are a few factors driving this, three of which are unique to my model of production:
- Team structure: I keep the teams lean. Because I have the experience, I can comfortably wear multiple hats on a shoot: Director and Director of Photography (DP), plus Audio Engineer if needed. For other shoots that are more complicated or demand slick commercial aesthetics, that's the last thing you want to do. In those cases, I tap into my best-in-the-biz peers: DPs, designers, etc.
- Authentic style: Authenticity can bring cost benefits too: making the best of locations rather than renting studios, prioritizing available light and supplementing with LEDs rather than spending hours faking it all; asking for a bit of help here and there from clients on set, which they usually find fun and always find less expensive; charging by the hour, not by the day to allow for greater agility in planning, etc.
- Edit speed: Recent edit advancements are crazy cool: I now use automatic transcribing, text-based editing, automated audio repair, and node-based color correction, which all save a ton of time.
- Evolving technology: Today's tools have come down in price over the years, which benefits everyone.
What if I'm a client just getting into video production for the first time?
Then my job is to make you an expert in the things that interest you. Some clients just want great videos and others come to love certain aspects of the process: production planning, writing, interviewing, story structure, editing, tech, you name it.
With all clients, I spend time upfront talking about the things that can go wrong and how to easily prevent them. I also believe in showing cuts to clients early and often, as a way to confirm I'm on the right track and getting your feedback now versus waiting until the end. So much success with new clients comes from over-communicating every step of the way.
What equipment do you use?
Red cameras because they have a look that blows the others away ... the new Canon lenses because of their high-end look and documentary-friendly size ... DJI gimbals and drones ... LED lighting (the norm these days) which is agile, cool to the touch, and won't blow circuits ... wireless self-recording mics to cover more of the action and eliminate the need for a boom operator at times ... editing and color correction in DaVinci Resolve because the tool grew up in Hollywood and is more reliable than Adobe Premiere ... and Adobe After Effects and Cinema 4D for graphics.