Dreamers Beware...Execution is the Key

This world is full of dreamers.  I'm one of them.  But there are not a lot of dreamers who execute.
So you have a great idea, invention, concept, patent idea, but you think it's crazy.  This blogpost
will be brief.  Just a note to encourage dreamers with crazy ideas.

Ideas that are crazy, sometimes become threatening.  After they pass through that stage, they become cutting edge.  After that stage they become popular, then the norm.  After that it's time to think ridiculous again.

You have a great idea, but can't imagine how to accomplish it.  It's like eating and elephant, just take one bite at a time.

As a cinematographer and visionary, I often come up with "great" ideas in my head, and they just sit there.  One idea I'm glad I didn't sit on was becoming a shutterstock video clip contributor.  It took me 6 months of thinking of video scenarios, filming them and uploading them to make my first sale.
I made $20! YESSSSSS......    Lets fast forward 4 years later.  I've made over $18,000 selling little 5 second clips on shutterstock.com and the rate is increasing exponentially.  I'll probably make an additional $10,000 this year on clips that I've already put the work into. 

I'm glad I didn't just dream about it...
Execute your dreams, you won't regret it.  

Understanding your Marketing Client means Listening and Observing.

A few years ago I got a call to do a marketing video for an ambulance company that was making a pitch to the Regional Medical Center.   They were pitching to be the first choice in ambulance service for the Medical Center and wanted to stage themselves above several other ambulance service providers locally.  The big problem.....I only had three weeks from pre-production to delivery.

I had to understand this client very very quickly, get as much knowledge about their method of doing business, technology and their vision.   This meant a lot of listening and perceiving.  Making a great marketing video is so much more than having a great camera, jib, lighting, editing suite, etc...   It all first comes down to; Can you understand your client and convey their mission and vision in a powerful way?

We sat down for lunch together, and I listened to what they wanted to share with the Medical Center,
"We care about people."  We treat our patients like family."  were sentences I heard over and over again.  In addition to this, I knew that I needed to raise the bar for their image as professionals.
It's one thing to be "caring" but are you  "caring professionals"?   I spent a lot of time on the phone with this client asking questions:  What is your average response time?  Why did you start this company?  What is your passion? Why do your EMT's work for you and not the other guy?
I also asked a lot of questions from the EMT's themselves.  These interviews opened up a lot of deep story to this company, very powerful stories.   You'll see in the video that one EMT actually became interested in becoming an EMT because much of her family was killed in a car accident and an EMT saved her sister's life in that accident.

All these questions and more helped WollwerthFilms make this short but powerful 3 minute pitch for the Medical Center.  In the end, the client wanted NO CHANGES or deviations from the video we created.  They saw that we understood their vision, and conveyed it powerfully, even making tears come to the eyes of the viewers.


After the presentation, people came up to the owners of this Ambulance Service and asked if they could use them as an example for their business model.....Wow, the power of a well told story!

But to tell someones story, you have to first listen to what they want to say.  
Looking back on this whirlwind marketing experience really makes us appreciate the fact that God gave us two ears to listen and only one mouth to speak.

So you own a Drone, BUT are you an aerial cinematographer?

WollwerthFilms Website

Let me give you a little background.  I built my first drone 5 years ago,  800 size helicopter, carrying a Canon 7d,  got me business almost immediately.  I was already a small video production company, but now I was going to incorporate aerials.  3 years later I was getting calls from the big dogs regularly.  I shot for Fox Sport EPIC commercial "Happy Days are Here Again".  Partnered with Mi6Films in Hollywood as an east coast representative for Drone Aerial Cinematography.
HSI Productions called for commercial shoots.   I also turned down some projects I thought would hurt my reputation, such as shooting aerials for a "Puff Daddy, King Louie" music video, or "Elephant Graveyard" another zombie flick.

Now that my background is covered lets talk about drones.  Everybody has one now, and everybody
wants to be an aerial videographer/cinematographer.  But does everybody have what it takes to create compelling works just because they have a tool.  I'll let you decide, but I will tell you what I know.

Capturing compelling images with a drone still requires the same elements as shooting anything on the ground with a camera.  These elements are as follows.
1. A subject:   hmmm.  You mean my aerial cinematography has to have a subject?  Well if you point
       a camera at nothing, and it's up in the air, does it become more interesting?  It's still nothing.
       So if you're flying a drone to create a video make sure you have a subject.
2. Proper lighting:   I've seen a lot of aerial video shot in the heat of the day with harsh looking           lighting.  And even if you have improper lighting a little post production and color grading might help a bit, but that's an art learned over years of experience.
I was really happy when we shot for the Fox Sports Ad "Happy Days are Here Again" that we were the first on set at 6am and had the privilege to shoot at around 7am with a nice warm light.
Here is a screen shot from that shoot.

  And here's the video.

3. Proper framing.  I know in photographs we talk about the rule of thirds, and it's not a staunch rule I follow, but when I look at the most compelling aerial shots I've done, somehow there's always that rule of thirds that seems to creep into the most pleasing aerial videos.  Below is an example: Painter in lower left, sun in upper right third, horizon not quite a third but close.  You can watch the video here. http://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-6899053-stock-footage-artist-painter-painting-a-beautiful-sunset-lanscape-wearing-a-long-dress-and-sunhat-cinematic.html?src=gallery:detail/jIWdjvQ7ivvL-b2Fqpc_aA:1:3

4.  Proper camera movement:  So much drone video floating around is herky jerky, no semblance of an actually thought through shot.  Too much panning, too many shifts in motion.  Think clearly through what you are shooting and what it is you're trying to accomplish.  In this video, the last shot
was well planned.  Coming out from the porch of the house, switch to drone shot, camera is reversed going away from couple, through the trees, then suddenly rises to 200 feet revealing the landscape of their home.

Other things to consider:  Is the shot rising or falling? Pacing something? Straight down rotation?
Good Aerial shots are mainly comprised of ONE good camera movement, not many movements.  See something in your mind then try to re-create that.  But that does mean you have to be a good drone pilot.   Even though these new drones with GPS, stabilization and return to home features are easy to fly you need to make sure you can make the drone go exactly where you want it to.

One final thing to consider is responsibility.
Recently we saw a drone pilot fly through fireworks on the 4th of July and the video went viral all over the internet.
My question is.  Did he have permission?  Maybe he did. Maybe he didn't 
But one week later, I flew my drone through fireworks at a City Festival in Beaufort SC, but I
had permission from every authority I could think of.  City, Chamber of Commerce, Festival coordinators.  Acting responsibly is one thing most new drone pilots lack.  The use of drones is becoming soured by irresponsible people doing dangerous things, flying into aircraft flight paths.

Have fun using your drones, and keep up with WollwerthFilms so you can learn how to create powerful video productions that don't crash and burn.

WollwerthFilms Website