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Creative Camera Configuration to Support Every Workflow
Crews Control INC. represents hundreds of production companies and directors of photography who own cameras all over the world. Crews Control’s Founder and CEO Andrea Keating said, “I founded Crews Control over 25 years ago to give producers a cost savings option to traveling their local DP and crew for a location shoot. Our crews represent the very best talent in each city and are handpicked for each project based on their shooting style, areas of expertise, and equipment. We have grown to become the leader in the industry and now manage shoots for thousands of clients all over the world.”
Our clients are corporate in-house video departments, production companies, government agencies, educational institutions, non-profits, advertising agencies, public relations firms, and broadcasters. There are four significantly different workflows within our client base. All four groups are forced to make hard decisions balancing image, workflow, and budget.
Corporations, the government, and universities tend to own cameras and shoot a lot of content for themselves and their clients, citizens, and students. They need small files that integrate with their NLE and asset management software. Due to budgetary constraints they are often locked into workflows for a decade.
Agencies and PR firms work on a per project basis. Depending on the client and of course their budget, they are able to choose cameras based on the storyboard. Agencies are flexible with workflow and choose post houses that can ingest pretty much anything.
Then you have the broadcasters, this group is so visible that manufactures tailor cameras to their workflow then revise it later for everyone else.
Production companies and independent camera operators live and die by their gear, with camera selections as large as their wallets and patience will allow.
Long time Crews Control DP in Michigan, Larry Evey’s go-to camera is the Sony F3 with the Sony 18 -252mm zoom lens. He chose this lens because of the optical image stabilization that works well with Manfrotto’s Fig Rig camera stabilizer. “The camera is never on my shoulder, so the F3’s placement of viewfinder and monitor is ideal. The Nipros ST1 adapter plate on the camera secures to Sony’s quick-release tripod adapter. This allows for fast connections between my O’Connor tripod, Dana Dolly, and Fig Rig.” says Larry.
Corporate video productions almost always consist of interviews and B-roll. Crews Control’s marketing client working for one of the top oil refineries at a leading manufacturing facility requested the XDCAM EX format. Larry’s deliverable to the client was 35Mbps, MPEG-2 MP@HL files at 23.98p. He transferred the files from his SxS cards to a hard drive onsite with his Mac laptop using ShotPut Pro software from Imagine Products for file verification. This is a very typical workflow for most of Crews Control’s video shoots.
Crews Control’s represented DPs have multiple configurations for their camera packages to suite every client workflow. We have described three additional ways that Sony CineAlta cameras are being used in the article “CineAlta Cameras not just for Hollywood”.
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