During a photo shoot with friends on Jekyll Island, GA the sun dropped behind these clouds perfectly over the Sidney Lanier Bridge in Brunswick, GA. I’m glad I was there to catch it.
Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1000) Aperture: f/18 Focal Length: 18 mm ISO Speed: 800 (mistake. grrr.)
This was a good session to help complete my understanding of printing and the process to get there. These guys did a great job showing us the start-to-finish plan for getting the best results in print. Here are my notes.
Session 4 Graphic Design for Print
by Mark Wells, Joe Dascenzo
Getting started
Know the final intent
Pick the right program
Start from file templates if possible. Make them if you would use them frequently.
Start with highest resolution file size or larger
While you’re working…
Save a version of your files for each time you present it. Not just raster but your working document.
Save often
Back it up
Use character styles
Use keyboard shortcuts
Revisions
Encourage clients to use a PDF workflow for edits/feedback
Get edits as a batch and not a ton of emails with little edits on each one
Get a sign-off on all presentations
Printing
Take advantage of gang-run goodness. Can you have things printed together?
Paper companies give away samples and even useful items demoing their products.
Befriend your printer and they will help you out.
Get new quotes often.
Buy large amounts of your own paper if possible or prepay printer for paper in large amaount.
Is there a house rate for printers?
Proofing
Have the client send pre-proofed content. it is not your job to fix a ton of bad gramamar and misspellings unless it IS your job to fix.
Check your files
Proof it all
Proof it again
Have proof team proof it!
Content is proofed by client, signed off, and all liability is on the client
Preflight
All images need to be 300 dpi
Color mode should be CMYK for color and Grayscale for b&W
Does it bleed?
Proof it again!
Production
Typically a vendor will want a print-ready PDF with all fonts outlined
Give printer actual print-outs - folded and cut - of your project for reference with any instructions on them
Proof the match print
Printing
What does the end user expect? What does our culture expect? Secular culture hands out full color for no good reason, so why are Christian pieces in Zerox B&W?
Breakout 3 was pretty good. Again, good to see how people who live this stuff every day and have been doing it forever do video so well. I learned a lot, so here are my notes.
Breakout 3 Video from Concept to Completion
by Bob Gustafson, Randy Warren
How many people does it take to make a video? It depends on the video, but you should NOT make videos alone!
The more pre-production work you do the more stable the video process. It’s like an iceberg - 90% you don’t see.
Your success in video will be directly proportional to the quality of your work in Pre-Production
The Process of Creating a Video
Pre-Production - All the planning, everything leading up to the actual shoot. Everything before you press “record”.
Initial Questions
Who’s the ___audience___? (Hit the target hard and if it bleeds over, all the better.
What’s the ___goal___? (the call to action or decision)
What’s the ___content___? (Not creative concept. What is the lesson - the meat - of the message?)
Brainstorming
Define the STYLE and STRUCTURE
Get around creative stuff!
Schedule “Think Time”
“A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is a visible labor and there is an invisible labor.” Victor Hugo
Production Time = Prod Time + Post Prod (2x Prod) + Pre Prod (2x Post-Prod)
Example: 2 days prod + 4 days post-prod + 12 days pre-prod = 20 days needed for creation
Develop a Treatment or Script
Plan for the Shoot
Creative Prep: Pre-visualize
Storyboards
Edit an “Animatic”
Shot List
TIP : In lieu of hand-drawing storyboards, compose and take reference pictures with a digital camera or get them from the internet to “pre-vis” the kinds of shots you want BEFORE the shoot.
Logistic Prep: Plan the details
Assign the roles
Location Scout
SCHEDULE - don’t run and gun
Your success in video will be directly proportional to the quality of your work in Pre-Production
Production - The video shoot – camera, audio and lighting disciplines
Lighting 101
Color Temp
Quality – hard/soft
Control: 3 point Lighting
Key light at 45 degree angle to camera on side they are facing
Fill light (or reflector) is not to fill the shadows, but control them
Back light directly across from key light
Study composition without audio so there are no distractions
Camera
Shooting Tips
Turn of Auto: Auto-Focus, Auto-Iris
Focus First: zoom in on the eyes
Compse Your Shots Using “The Rule of Thirds”
Record Extra Heads & Tails
Roll tape
Speed
Action
Cut
Stop tape
A Tripod is Your Friend
Interview Tips
Position interviewer at eye level, as close to the lens as possible
Dress mic cables
Vary composition between takes to avoid jumps in the position of the person.
Include a portion of the question in the answer, (forming a full sentence)
Audio
Use an External Mic: lav or boom, wireless vs. wired
Control levels: field mixer vs. cam controls (mixpre)
Use headphones!
Record ambient presence into same mics used on subjects with silence in the room. The ambient room noises will help to pad breaks and coverups.
Camera Buying Tips
Obtain a camera with jacks. (Input for an external microphone and a headphone jack).
Insist on manual controls, especially manual focus and manual iris.
Don’t be lured by special effects. (Effects are best applied during post-production).
When budgeting for video gear, plan for all THREE production components: Lights, Camera, and Audio!
Post-Production - The logging, editing, graphic creation, any animation, music scoring. Everything after the cameras are in the bags.
