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A Detroit Film and Video Production Company

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Canvas Watch Company Kickstarter Video

Client: Canvas Watch Co.
Producer/director: Jamie Honce and Sarah Graziosi
DP: Jamie Honce
Lighting/grip: Jamie Honce
Video editor: Sarah Graziosi
PA’s Sarah Graziosi and Lindsay El-Yussif

We believe a successful Kickstarter video needs one essential element, and that’s authenticity. And for the Canvas Watch Company, this meant the owner sharing his story. Ultimately it was Shaun’s passion for creating watches that drove the story and sold the Kickstarter community.

Because of his background in supply chain management, Shaun took the process of high-quality watch design, production, and distribution down from months to weeks. And on top of that, Canvas watches aren’t designed by him, they’re designed by you! Each watch face is designed by a different artist, and the designs that go into production are chosen by customers.

Needless to say, we were eager to begin producing this one! We began scripting and storyboarding the perfect copy to pitch these watches to the Kickstarter community, but after multiple pre-production meetings, we came to the realization that it wasn’t a well-crafted sales pitch that was going to get this idea to take off. It was passion.

We started out by filming our supporting footage. TechShop in Allen Park was where Shaun first started to learn the craft of watchmaking, so we knew we wanted to film there to show the preciseness and care that goes into the creation of a watch. We also met up with one of the designers of Canvas’s first watches, Sean Franks, at dc3 in Detroit. We used the unique creative workspace as a backdrop to capture Shaun and Sean collaborating on designs, as well as some shots of Sean sketching his own design. Next came the quest for the perfect location for Shaun’s interview section. We knew this had to capture the style of the Canvas brand perfectly, and we scouted several not-quite-right locations before we settled on the casual and industrial vibe of the Rochester Mills in downtown Rochester.

Although we ended up going with a “less-produced” feel to this piece, there was a lot more pre-production involved than meets the eye. The time we spent developing outlines, scripts, storyboards, scouting locations, scrapping locations, and countless other tasks, was invaluable. The things we ultimately ended up nixing gave us a clearer idea of what was essential to creating a film that represented Shaun and Canvas Watch Co.

We think it turned out pretty darn well, and we might have purchased a watch or two in the process (and you should too!!)

You can check out the Kickstarter campaign here.

College Park Customer Testimonial Video “Jen’s Story”

College Park helps amputees gain back their mobility and freedom through innovative technology that restores maximum function for amputees of all ages and activity levels. Jen’s Story is a customer testimonial video sharing her challenges as a new amputee and how College Park’s products help her live a fuller life than she ever thought was possible. Our approach with customer testimonial videos is to focus on the story of the people first and then show how the product or service meets their needs and improves their quality of life.

Skipstone Product Launch Video

Client: Skipstone
Producer/director: Jamie Honce
Creative director: Evan West
DP: Jamie Honce
Lighting/grip: John Miller

I’ve always had a passion for creating…anything.  It’s the challenge of figuring out what needs to be done and then doing it.  This is the unique thrill that comes from working with a start-up.  It’s a whole bunch of people working together to figure out how to bring their product to life.  These are the kinds of projects where you can get your hands dirty because the client is right there with you, and when our client is successful we are successful.

So what is Skipstone?

Skipstone is an interactive video platform that enables efficient and collaborative investigation of goods and services. Skipstone empowers both consumers and retailers to connect in a new dynamic way. Learn more about Skipstone at goskipstone.com

The key to the success of the Skipstone video is collaboration.  Building the right team was essential for the product launch video so we invited creative director Evan Jones from Schok Creative on to the project.  His experience with branding campaigns for national companies was the edge Skipstone needed.

After weeks of working through scripting, talent auditions and fine tuning logistics, the pre-production was complete. Filming took place over two days in Flint and Ann Arbor and then posted  in house at Clearview Media in Rochester.

If you’re a start-up and need help with your product launch video give  us a call.  We’d love to help you succeed.

—

Clearview Media is a video production company located north of Detroit in Downtown Rochester.

KUKA Robotics Case Study Video | Albertsons Dairy

This video case study was filmed for KUKA Robotics showing how their robot was used in IMP’s custom packaging line with a robot palletizer. This is a unique integration because the robot can quickly change the end of arm tooling based on which product it is palletizing. Our approach for this case study was to explore why Albertsons moved to a robot palletizing system and the impact it had the employees.

Meet Joebot. The robot barista.

We’ve filmed some pretty cool robot demos, but who knew there was a robot who made coffee?  FOCUS Integration partnered with KUKA Robotics to create this fun integration and we were there to video it.

While the Joebot was a fun project, the folks at FOCUS Integration create custom solutions for conveyor systems, palletizing systems, packaging equipment, custom material handling, automated control systems, and complete project management. Check out their website to see their real wold integrations. http://focusintegration.com

 

Choosing the Right Camera for Your Video Production

When approaching a new project, there are many factors that go into determining the proper feel for the video production. Choosing the right type of camera can make a world of difference, but don’t worry, your cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) will take the lead on this important decision.

Let’s take a look at the three main camera types, Video, DSLR and Cinema, to see which one would work best for your project.  This is a high-level comparison and largely subjective.  Usually the final decision comes down to budget and what your DOP is comfortable using.

Video

Video cameras are great for documentary style productions, news and athletic events. They offer strong optical zoom (unlike DSLR and Cinema cameras that use interchangeable lenses) to easily follow a moving subject without stopping to change lenses. The zoom reflex is button operated, making for a more smooth, controlled zoom when compared to other cameras. Video cameras also come with manual audio level control to easily monitor audio internally and can record for hours without stopping.

Unfortunately, if you’re going for more of a “film look” the video camera is not for you. It typically offers less aperture flexibility to achieve that shallow depth of field than cameras that use fixed focal length lenses.

DSLR

Digital Single Lense Reflex (DSLR) cameras can give you that “film look” you want at a fraction of the price. They are relatively cheap when compared to full fledged cinema cameras and use interchangeable, fixed focal length lenses with a wide aperture range to achieve the desired depth of field. DSLRs also have bigger sensors than many video cameras, making them significantly better under low light conditions. They do have the ability to zoom when using a specific zoom lense, however these lenses have a limited range and are manually controlled, making it more difficult to create that slow, smooth zoom without external accessories.

Also, many DSLR’s have limited recording time of approximately 30 minutes and bad internal audio with little to no manual control. External audio is usually used with the DSLR in professional productions.

Cinema

Cinema cameras are another beast when it comes to shooting a professional production. Like their name suggests, cinema cameras are the absolute best for film and television. They offer extended recording times, greater dynamic range (are more forgiving with exposure), and a sharper image quality than DSLRs.

There are two categories of cinema camera to choose from based on your needs and budget. The first is a pro-grade, interchangeable lense camera for the independent filmmaker or small business. Canon C100 and C300 cameras are good examples used by Clearview Media. They offer comparable high resolution and high definition (HD) capture in an ultra-compact body similar to a DSLR. With built in ND filters and a cinema color grade, these cameras were created specifically for professional productions with modest budgets.

The second category of cinema camera is built for professional productions of the highest caliber, including studio cinematic films and TV. Cameras like the RED series fall into this category. Even better than their little brothers, these cameras shoot in the highest 4-8K resolution. Many can maintain this resolution shooting up to 120 frames per second and are still compact enough to configure your rig for every production type, including gimbal, run-and-gun or studio environment.

Keep in mind, these cameras are very expensive and usually only necessary for the highest level productions and cinematic distribution. Most TVs on the market today only project in HD 1080p, the resolution produced by a DSLR.

This is a basic rundown of the differences between Video, DSLR and Cinema Cameras. Each offer their own unique attributes for different project types. Take some time to research exact camera models to find out which is best for your specific project.

Cody Stauber
Clearview Media

Reference List
http://www.raindance.org/5-things-you-should-know-about-dslr-film-making/
http://www.videomaker.com/videonews/2012/07/benefits-and-limitations-of-dslrs-vs-camcorders
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Canon-Lenses/Zoom-Vs-Prime-Lens.aspx
http://www.red.com/products/weapon-dragon
http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/product/cinema_eos/canon_eos_c100.do

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