When friend and longtime client Tom Perry of White Stone Oyster Company approached me about putting together an instructional oyster shucking video with him I'll admit I was a little wary. I consider myself a still photographer first and foremost and, while I love well crafted video done right, I've always felt that in a perfect world photographers take pictures and production companies make videos. That said, the lines do seem to blur more and more each year.
There are multiple moving parts to a motion project, any of which has the potential to ruin the intended impact of the final piece. Visually we have the same core elements as with stills - composition, color, lighting, depth, shape - but we're also bringing audio into the equation. We might be writing copy, adding music, and using edits between multiple camera angles to tell our story. Things get complex quickly. Get the visuals right but screw up the audio mix? No good. Good copy, tight edit, but the client won't pony up for good music? Ruined. So many things can go wrong - a cheesy font or weak graphics, insincere talent, continuity problems - the list is long and can seem pretty daunting.
BUT... when proper plans are made, planets align, and maybe a little luck happens along the way, you can end up with something quite compelling. I had forgotten that until we made this little video. 'How to shuck an oyster' sounds pretty mundane at first blush but I think we managed to bring some fun and excitement to it here.
We shot on the patio at Longoven. James Moffitt of Trailhead Creative made sure the copy was tight and Tom's delivery succinct. I flew an 8x8' silk to tame sunlight and had to fight passing clouds a bit. Tom's audio was captured with a RØDE wireless system and I boomed a shotgun mic overhead for backup. I filmed with three Canon DSLR's on tripods and put the edit together in Premiere Pro. The music is Ma Baker licensed from the Musicbed.
Have a look... and let's make some work together.