Hannisdal Express Blog

This is part of a continuing guest entry from Todd VanSlyck. Use these links to read his previous entry or learn more about Todd. (Also, be sure to check out his awesome stock footage on istockphoto.com)

To me, lighting is one of the most difficult things to do effectively.  People dedicate their entire lives to the art of lighting.  For the sake of this article I’ll just say this:  You need to see what’s being shown.  You’re saying “well duh!”, but I can’t tell you how many local commercials I’ve seen that are not lit effectively.  All it would have taken is a couple of lights to change the whole shot.  On the other end of the spectrum, is the scene blown-out and are the shadows horrible or is the lighting diffused and pleasing to the eye?

Okay, let's touch on audio.  This is pretty straight forward.  Can you hear the talent or announcer?  Is the music at a correct level with the voiceover?  Is all the audio mixed together well?  Was the on-camera mic used to capture the speaking parts or a professional microphone?  It is simple but can influence so much.  I can stand watching a commercial with less-than-great video, but if the audio is awful, I change the channel immediately.

This is a Christmas commercial that we just finished for Crossroads Church of God in Lima, OH.

The theme of the commercial is “peace”.  We used some motion graphics and vector art to illustrate the idea of peace in the midst of the craziness that comes along with the season.

Pastor Randy Bargerstock gives a personal invitation to visit Crossroads during the Christmas Season.  You find more details on their website at limacrossroads.org.

We teamed up with sportstravel.com to produce two new stadium video ads that will play at Landshark Stadium in Miami, FL.

The videos will play on the giant screens at each end of the stadium and on various TV screens throughout the building. During Miami Dolphins games the "Fan Trivia" video will play. For any other events the "Historical Facts" video will play.

You can check out the videos on Premiere Global Sports You Tube channel.

This is part of a continuing guest entry from Todd VanSlyck. Use these links to read his previous entry or learn more about Todd. (Also, be sure to check out his awesome stock footage on istockphoto.com)

With the advent of digital video and the recent advances in technology it’s become easier and easier to produce great looking, high quality video.  Yet I see crummy looking video all the time.  Why?

Just because a person HAS a video camera doesn’t mean they know how to USE it.  A camera is a tool that when used correctly can be incredibly effective.  How are the shots framed?  Is it steady?  Does it look grainy or dark?  Is shallow depth of field used to isolate the subject?

I use an HD camera that cost about $6000 and puts out astounding images.  I also have a 35mm adapter that I can attach to the front and use 35mm film camera lenses to get very shallow depth of field.  (Shallow depth of field is when your subject is in focus and the background and/or foreground are out of focus; something that’s difficult to achieve with some digital video cameras).  It produces truly filmic images.

Recently Canon came out with the 5D Mark II Digital SLR Camera.  It shoots full frame still pictures and 1080 HD video and looks stunning.  People are shooting movies with a $3000 camera that you carry around in one hand. What’s my point?  There are HD cameras out there that cost $75-100,000 that can look terrible if not used correctly.  I’ve seen some pretty cool stuff shot with an iPhone because the person shooting knows how to use it.  Granted, you’re limited with an iPhone, but you get the point I’m trying to make.

In September 2009 we posted an entry recapping our experience of working on Ike | The Aftermath with Two20 Media.

We just found out that the video has received two awards (National & Regional) for the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.  This is exciting for us on many levels but primarily because the video was effective in accomplishing it's purpose - to raise awareness of the many needs resulting from Ike.

Here's a snippet from the TAC website...

"Ike Video Hits Hard - It was the third-costliest storm in United States history. Hurricane Ike stormed through Texas in September 2008, and one year and one month later, Hurricane Ike – the Aftermath stormed the entire UMAC video division. The compilation of testimonials and footage of what Ike left behind won first place in its class among annual conferences.

Additionally, the video claimed Best in Division. This means it not only excelled among peer annual conferences, but was deemed superior to video resources produced by denominational agencies as well."

Hannisdal Express has enjoyed teaming up with Two20 Media on several projects for the Texas Annual Conference in the past.  The TAC interviewed owner of Two20 Media about the experience, you can read the article here.