HL Commercial – Shooting a Low Budget Commerical on a Timeline

Introduction

I was recently hired by Studio 10 Productions to help shoot a commercial for a new development in Regina, Saskatchewan. We had a limited budget and only 5 hrs to shoot the commercial. We did a test shoot as well — which I have included below. My biggest word of advice is that pre-production is the most important part of the process. Even with a tight budget, do not cut back on pre-production. By being prepared, production and post-production will be much smoother.

One of the hardest things about low budget projects with a timeline is balancing the desire to try something new with the ability to finish the project itself. We decided to do a test video so we knew what to prepare for. By producing the test video, we were also able to see how long it would take in post to process all the images and assemble the shots.

Final Video

About the Film

For this film, we wanted to take a new approach and overall, I am happy with the piece. We had to have the piece processed and ready for air two days after shooting so I wasn’t able to polish as I wish I could have done. I wish the movements were a little smoother but time didn’t allow for it.

What I Learned

For this film, we also had trouble with the buffer on the cards (We were using 600x Transcend and Sandisk cards). Because I was shooting raw, I chose to use the 7D as the files were able to buffer faster as the frame size is smaller. We locked the shutter and fired stills. We found as the cards filled up, the cards read slower — leaving a larger gap between shots.

If I was to do the shoot again, I would not shoot full size raw images, rather, would shoot small raw files.

Location Scout – Harbour Landing 30 Second Spot BTS

HL Commercial – Stop Motion Test

Technical Specifications

Date: December 28th 2011
Location: Regina, Saskatchewan
Film By: Preston Kanak
Equipment: Canon 7D, 14mm 2.8, Glidecam HD4000.
Special Notes: Stop Motion