Tips and Life-Hacks for Remote Shooting
Even though COVID restrictions are being eased in many parts of the world, remote shooting still remains a popular option for many production companies. In fact, one of the silver linings of the pandemic is that it forced a lot of studios to think outside the box and come up with new ways of shooting quality videos that can still be produced, despite certain stakeholders working remotely. Today we will share with you some tips and life-hacks you can use to take advantage of everything remote shooting has to offer.
Pre-production
There are certain fundamental things that you will need to have in place before the shooting can begin. The first thing you want to do is ensure the right communication. Will you be using Microsoft Teams, Zoom, a combination of many platforms? Then you need to think about remote access control for the people working remotely. A popular solution here is TeamViewer, which is remote control computer software that can connect computers, smartphones, servers, IoT devices, robots, and anything else you are using. However, we should warn you that while TeamViewer might be a cost-effective option, you will be limited in controlling audio and video from cameras on set. If your budget allows, it would be better to implement streaming controllers, multiple webcams or iPads on set, individual audio inputs, decimators, etc.
In addition to all of the technical aspects, you will also need to do a lot of planning in terms of having conversations with your talent ahead of time about what will happen during the shoot and setting the stage. You will need a backdrop with a lot of light and minimal clutter. If possible, ask someone to record a test shot on a mobile device or webcam of the setup they plan to use. We will go over how you can control this and other aspects of the shoot in the next section.
During Production
Now that you have set up and connected all of your devices, you still need to give the remote stakeholders the ability to oversee and control the shoot. One of the most widely used tools for this is Q-Take which is software that can log, capture, playback, edit, and process video output of any camera. It integrates every aspect of a modern video assist, including logging capabilities, rapid shot selections, and media import and export, and more to live stream with only a one-second delay. This means that video creators can monitor the workflow from anywhere in the world, playback and review video, browse through scenes, shot takes, and many other features.
We at Mighty Folks have worked extensively with Q-Take and would like to share one of our experiences while shooting a video for Huawei. We used Q-Take to broadcast playback to the screen of a laptop, phone, both Android and macOS. Minimal delays and in our case, the absence of any technical problems. The QTAKE solution is perfectly protected from hacking and viewing a remote playback by third-party users, it works with an email link and one-time links to streaming video. To ensure the stable operation of the system, you need a stable and high-quality Internet connection. To do this, in this case, we used satellite Internet from our partners, it is important to understand that when working with remote playback on a technical detour, it is necessary to test the quality/speed of the Internet at filming locations, check the possibility of a cable or satellite connection, WIFI or 4G / 3G by experience may stop working at the most critical time. For example, while filming in a restaurant, we planned to use the restaurant's Wifi, but during testing, it turned out that too many third-party subscribers were connected to it, so during the shooting we had to disconnect the public router and connect this cable to playback directly
Post-Production
Even though the shooting may have ended, your work is far from over. There is a lot more that you still need to oversee to get the right product. For example, the editor needs to share the video before they can have color graded and processed the audio. SproutVideo is a good option here since it offers protective settings allowing only a limited number of people to watch the video. In this way, you can also keep your footage secure, saving it from theft. However, when we zoom out and take a look at the big picture, we see that pretty much anything can be mixed, edited, or colored remotely.
Start Taking Advantage of Everything Remote Shooting Has to Offer
As we have seen from the information above, remote shooting has become a great solution for video creators in the new reality. It allows you to comply with all safety regulations without compromising on security. It is also a lot more cost-effective since organizing video shoots requires hours of planning and coordination, not to mention the travel time between shoots. Contact us today to get started on your next remote video shoot.