Client Collaboration

I mentioned in the last blog post that Expressions in Video has many creative partners. But there is one creative partner that I didn’t mention: the client. As an Austin video production company tasked with bringing ideas to life, we work with many talented people. These talented people include cinematographers, set designers, storyboard artists and many others. But the client is an important artistic collaborator as well. So, let’s discuss production and client collaboration.

Sometimes the client has simply a brushstroke of an idea, and sometimes the client has an entire script prepared. But more often than not, it’s somewhere in between both of those extremes. Either way, it is up to the team at Expressions in Video to take those ideas and translate them into images.

Our recent shoot at Dell Diamond, the home of The Round Rock Express, is a perfect example of this client collaboration.

Our task for this shoot was to create a high-energy sports commercial. Our first step, as always, was to meet with the client and discuss their ideas. In this case, the client had really done his homework. He knew his audience and he knew the type of commercial he wanted. It was our job to take the ideas in his head and turn them into beautiful shots and a compelling edit. Which leads us to step two. We knew we were going to shoot at Dell Diamond, so we met the client at the ballpark and walked through all of the possible locations, including the ball field, the locker room, the weight room and the batting cage. We discussed what time of day we would be shooting, the location of the sun and, in general, all of the logistics as well as the possible shots. Step three is to then have a detailed conversation with the client, asking him to describe the commercial, as he sees it. The bottom line is that we have to see that same commercial in our heads before we shoot.

Here is a small taste of some of the shots.

Finally, we allow the whole team to put in their input. In this case, I was co-producing and co-directing with my long time collaborator, Zane Rutledge. Zane and I talk over the shots and decide how we want to tackle them the day of the shoot. We then discuss the shot list with First Assistant Director, Merle Bertrand, and with Director of Photography, Andrew Barrera. They also give their input on schedule, style and execution.

I’m happy to say we shot an immense amount of wonderful footage and covered all of the needed shots in a variety of ways. We shot with two cameras – the Red Epic and the Red Scarlet. Shooting with the Red Epic gave us the ability to shoot at a variety of slow motion speeds.

When it was all said and done we created a fast-paced, high-energy commercial that we are all proud of. And one of our key collaborators… was the client. And that’s how it should be.

For more information on Austin video production contact us at info@expressionsinvideo.com.