Eiger Safety promotional DVD nears completion

With Oyster Card in hand and lightweight shooting kit on my back I was off to film one of the final locations of the Eiger Safety promotional DVD today.  This time I was heading towards the Hilton London Metropolitan in Edgeware Road.  Being up at the crack of dawn for a 6:45 rendezvous at Marble Arch was no fun – but at least I wasn’t suffering on my own.  Everyone on the tube at this time of the morning (and more so at this time of year) rarely look like they want to be there – so I snapped it on Instagram.

Apart from signalling the nearing of the end of this year-long promotional DVD filming schedule, the subject of the day’s shoot was vital in telling the story of Eiger Safety as we were capturing their guys performing two of their most frequently performed tasks – namely eye-bolt installation and testing.

Eye-bolts going in at the Hilton
Eye-bolts going in at the Hilton

Health & Safety regulations touch us all these days and one of the major areas is height safety systems and procedures.  Eiger Safety cover pretty much everything within this sphere.  These eye-bolts provide a safe tethering point for those working near to height hazards.  Whilst they are installed in many different locations and for different height risks, the ones I filmed today were being installed in hotel rooms to enable the staff and contractors to safely clean, inspect and maintain windows and openings.

Apart from installing thousands of these anchor points each year they all have an annual re-testing requirement too.  It was therefore important to get a fair bit of the guys doing the final test on the newly installed eye-bolts.  It might not have been as exciting as some of the other locations and activities I’ve filmed for them (Clifton Suspension Bridge was my favourite) – but nonetheless the film would be incomplete and almost pointless promotional DVD without it.

Eye bolt test
The all-important testing stage for the promotional DVD

The next location shoot will be the last (mind you – they’ve said that before) and will cover the installation of handrail systems – another huge part of Eiger Safety’s work.  These are pretty much all outside locations so I’m praying for the weather to warm up for that day.  After that it’ll be some studio work in filming an interview with the MD to use as a narrative for a longer form version I’m producing for them. This is in addition to the original brief of creating a short 3-min piece set to music that will form the opening part of a PowerPoint sales presentation.  I love it when jobs expand! : )

New Year – New Edit Suite

After a year producing some amazing films for some amazing clients, I thought it was about time to give Video Artisan a little New Year treat in the form of a nice shiny new edit suite from those ever so knowledgeable chaps at DVC.  Even though my current 4.6 based Edius edit suite has turned out the work without a hitch the workload that looks like it’s going to be landing on my desk this year calls for something that packs a little more punch.  That said, the old edit suite is not being put out to grass quite yet as it’s going to be doing some of the lighter work that seems to pile up at the busier times.

Our Edius Broadcast video production facilities in Loughton
Our Edius Broadcast video production facilities in Loughton

Why chose an Edius edit suite?

I am a Grass Valley Edius man through and through these days – albeit that I’ve had varying levels of experience with just about every editing system out there.  My first entry into non-linear editing was way back with a Fast AV Master capture card running alongside a very early version of Adobe Premier (I think it was 1.2).  However, before that I honed my editing skills on a three machine UMatic edit suite with a load of other electronic gizmos that were needed to perform basic shot transitions and effects.  Oh how times have changed!  So too have the costs as that UMatic edit suite set us back about £20k which was an awful lot of money back in 1986!

UMatic Edit Suite
UMatic Edit Suite in full swing – driven by the delectable Tiffany

Though I could have coped with staying with the old edit suite for a few more months I really longed for a few of the benefits of the latest version of Edius software and a beefier computer to house it in.  For instance, the old system was a little lumpy (understatement) when dealing with the Full HD MOV files created by the Canon 5DMkII.  To overcome this I would convert all camera files to the Canopus HQ for editing.  Whilst these files were easy to handle the process of having to codec convert the files did slow down the editing process somewhat.  It also resulted in using up much more HD space than was needed. The new system will be able to cope with four or five layers of Full HD – in real time.  Yum yum!  It should also speed up the online delivery encoding process which is another thing that seems to have taken up quite a bit of my 2012.

There are plenty of new tools that I’m going to enjoy playing with too in Edius 6.5 – and probably the most notable over my old software is the new layout tool. But there’s a whole host of improvements that will make the editing process quicker and easier…

  • Colour correction tool supports 10-bit colour depth
  • Export sequence with alpha channel
  • Native RED (.R3D) support*
  • Improved XDCAM/ P2 data transfer
  • 3D (stereoscopic) editing
  • AVCHD 2.0 support
  • AVCHD 3D export support
  • EOS movie support (ALL-I (I-only), IPB)
  • Camera RAW format support
  • Filmstrip view in Timeline
  • Built-in loudness meter
  • Built-in shake stabilizer
  • 720p Blu-ray authoring support
  • Flash F4V export
  • QuickTime HQ/HQX codec (Windows/Mac)

The PC system is based on an Intel® Core™ i7-3770K Processor 3.5GHz with Hyperthreading (8M Cache, up to 3.90 GHz) running the Windows 7 Pro 64 bit operating system.  With 8GB of RAM, 8TB of SATA HD storage and a 128GB SSD system drive – the beast should fly and chew it’s way through the kind of video production work I’m attracting.

Edius 6.5
The new edit suite based on Edius 6.5

Why choose DVC for building my new edit suite?

I did weigh up the options and various sources for getting the new edit suite built – and even considered building the thing myself.  To be honest, the latter choice went in and out of my mind quicker than lightening.  Whilst I’m pretty sure I could put something together after watching a few YouTube videos and reading up on the subject – I’m a great believer in leaving things to those who really know what they are doing.  I also value the benefit of having someone to go back to if the thing didn’t work (a distinct possibility with home-build systems). I also really value the kind of support that an experienced NLE system builder can provide ‘post sale’ – and there are very few that have as much experience as the folk at DVC.  They also happen to produce some pretty comprehensive user guides with their systems which will no doubt be handy in the first few months of use.

The new system is now in the process of being built and it should be with me within the next 10-days.  I’ll be giving you updates on this and a little more background on my choice of system as soon as I’ve got it installed in the edit suite.  In the meantime, I’m gagging to get my hands on it and start using it on my next corporate film.

IOV Award winning video moment

The IOV has just released the videos filmed at their 2012 awards night – with ‘Supadance – Shoes for Dance’ being announced as the award winning video in the Best Open Category.  I also picked up second place in the Best Documentary Category too.

IOV Awards 2012 – Best Open Category from Institute Of Videography on Vimeo.

It’s not the best coverage of the awards I know but they were struggling with the light sensitivity on the cameras and a dimly lit room.  Still – it’s a nice reminder of the moment when I discovered I’d produced an award winning video.

I went into a kind of PR frenzy in the weeks that followed to make everyone aware of my award winning video. I’ve blogged, Facebooked, Tweeted, LinkedIn’d, updated my website, updated my email signatures, shared the news with my clients, sent out numerous standard press releases, amended title sequences for video, taken publicity stills and (I kid you not!) designed some new ‘Award Winning Videography’ polo shirts.

IOV Award Winning Video
Kevin Cook Celebrating his IOV Award Winning Video

A couple of local media have since published my news story – including ‘West Essex Life‘ magazine (on page 7) and it’s also been on the ‘Everything Epping Forest’ website.  I’m very grateful to these companies for sharing this info – and any other magazine or website that has also spread the word which I’m not yet aware of.  I do keep looking!

Guess I’m going to have to start thinking about the 2013 IOV Awards and how I can better this year’s haul.  There’s really no magic formula to creating an award winning video – other than always trying to make your next production your best production.  Standard practice really : )

Facilities & Services

Video Facilities and Services

Look no further for Video Production Facilities in East London and Essex

We offer clients and other video production companies a comprehensive shooting and editing service on all video formats from our video production facilities studio in Loughton, Essex.  We benefit from excellent road links to Central London, the M25 and Britain’s motorway network and from having Loughton Underground station only minutes away and Stansted Airport within 30-minutes.

Editing Suite

Our Edius editing system is fully HD and 4K capable with both DVD and BluRay authoring and duplication. We can ingest all tape, card and HD formats and export and encode to almost anything. We also have voice over recording facilities in-house.

Please call for daily, half-day, hourly and weekend rates.

Format Conversions & Copying Services

We provide a comprehensive range of digital media conversion and copying services to businesses and members of the public. This includes converting PowerPoint and Slides to DVD, stills to DVD, video encoding and file format conversions. We also have data recovery systems for extracting images and video from corrupted media.

Our Edius Broadcast video production facilities in Loughton
Our Edius Broadcast video production facilities in Loughton

Shooting Services

We have fully kitted out JVC GY-LS300  Super 35 sensor 4K camera with a range of lenses – plus DSLR shooting kits running Magic Lantern – along with JVC GY-HM650 camera with Vinten/Sachtler Tripods, Sliders, Hood & Rails, Action Cameras, Mini Dolly, Steady-cam, various lenses and accessories.  Available on a wet-hire basis only – with full-day and half-day rates.  CLICK HERE to see our Freelance section.

Video to DVD

See our new dedicated information page on our popular VHS to DVD conversion services – CLICK HERE.

Drop-in and collect by appointment to our edit suite which is located off Clays Lane, Loughton.  30-minutes from Central London and Stansted Airport – 5-minutes from Britain’s Motorway Network – 1-minute from the beauty of Epping Forest.

Corporate Video production for All

corporate video production

Get your next corporate video on-line, on-cue and on-budget!

Thank you for your interest in our corporate video and business-based media production services.  We specialise in the creation and delivery of effective company video communications to businesses and organisations of all sizes.  Our aim is to help our clients to benefit from incorporating video content into their day-to-day business communications. Video Artisan has a wealth of experience and the creative talents to match any business film requirement.

Why commission a corporate video?

A well produced video is the best way to engage with your audience.  It delivers a consistent message in an easy to consume and adaptable format.  You only have to look at the rising prevalence of YouTube and Vimeo to see just how important online video has become in SEO.  Today, a website without a properly indexed and relevant video will rank lower than one that does – full stop!

There are probably many more reasons to commission a video but the most common goals are that you want to:

  • create wealth for your business
  • offer a more cost effective means of achieving a goal
  • and/or augment your brand and raise its profile.

Why Video Artisan?

Above everything else, we understand that your video is a business tool that has one of the above objectives to meet.

With our in-depth understanding of the technology, coupled with our creative approach to developing innovative ways of engaging your audience, Video Artisan can offer a complete script-to-screen service at very competitive prices.

Want to know how much a corporate video production will cost? Click here to read our useful article.

Are you ready to find out more?

For a no-obligation consultation please feel free to contact us today.  We would be more than happy to discuss your ideas and requirements and come up with a proposal which fits your needs, desires and budget.

Please call 020 3602 3356 or 0777 153 5692  – or Email: kevin@video-artisan.com

A bit more about Kevin Cook and Video Artisan

Kevin Cook first started in corporate video in 1985 and has helped many companies and organisations develop their video content for training, promotional, online and branding purposes. Kevin has also written many articles and papers on the subject, as well as giving presentations throughout the UK and Ireland on corporate video.

With contacts throughout the film, tv and creative-freelance community, Kevin is able to pool together and manage large creative teams on more demanding projects.

Corporate video montage copy
Choose the right partner to produce your next corporate video

Services include
Concept Development, Script Writing and Storyboard Design
Freelance Producer/Director, Videographer, Editor
Web encoding and video SEO
File format conversions and duplication

Client & Production Credit List include
Haynes Data, Trinity Catholic School, Air Products, Cimar, CAT Publications, TATA Communications, Anibas, Robertson & Co., JVC Professional, AKM Music, Crown Media, The MOD, Galliard Homes, Smiths of Loughton, Stylfile, Hyper Recruitment Solutions, Supadance International, Beaver84, Eiger Safety, Sony Broadcast & Professional, N2 Visual Communications, Robert Dyas, Hanover Foundation, Picco Dolly, Hills Pet Foods, Maspalomas Princes Hotel, Marley, LaRoche, Olympus HiSpeed Tests, Distillers MG, Fernaux Avionics, Tolmink, Waltham Forest Social Services, SelClene, Europa Logistics, Ultimate Animates