Three Tech Tools that Will Take your Video to the Next Level

by Jeff Countess

Have you ever watched a film, music video or TV show and noticed all the little things? Do you want to stand high above all those iPhone videos dominating social media today?  Creating a video that captivates your business audience is a balance between good storytelling and good visuals.  There are a few tech tools that can help your video stand out in what is fast becoming a crowded field.
Aerial photography creates buzz and helps you rise high, literally.  Whether it’s a simple flyover that shows your physical office or a hovering shot of your storefront, it’s visually interesting.  We’ve even used a drone to hover over a giant Mack dump truck coming into the shop for repairs.  Drones offer a vantage point you can’t get from a tall ladder.  It’s a “bird’s eye view” of your business.  Only a few years ago, you had to pay for a high-priced helicopter to get those amazing shots (admittedly, we still do for certain things).   Eventually, TV stations purchased or leased helicopters to get views they simply couldn’t get from the ground.  Then the drones came and conquered!
Technically, a “drone” refers to any unmanned aerial vehicle that can be operated from the ground.  Ours navigates with the help of a GPS tracking system.  The one we use is called a Phantom and boasts an onboard 4K camera.  Video companies like ours need a license from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly it and sell our video for profit.  I had to take what amounts to a private pilot license exam to allow me to fly legally.  More and more companies in the Lehigh Valley are getting this remote pilot license (called a Part 107). Make sure you ask your video company if they have one before they fly on your behalf.
DJI makes the drone we fly.  They also created another smooth moving technology we love, their handheld Osmo.  Think about it for a minute, have you ever watched a movie where there is a shot of people walking and talking and it’s perfectly steady and smooth? Big movies use railroad-like tracks that allow the camera to roll smoothly while the subjects move.  A jib, with a camera that can move up and down, works too.   Our DJI Osmo handheld gimbal and camera allows me to walk right along with the action, while the gimbal corrects for my movements.  The Osmo makes it possible to capture motion without blur or bumps in the road.
Speaking of bumps in the road, there’s nothing better than capturing live action on a GoPro.  The small, digital point-of-view cameras have been the favorites of action seekers for years. It was created by a surfer, turned billionaire, who wanted to share his water-loving exploits with his friends.  A GoPro can be mounted to a helmet or handle bar of a bike (among other places), to get great footage.  We use our GoPro to capture action video in our tourism videos.  They’re also fantastic gadgets to capture time lapse footage.  We used one to capture the Good Friday crowd at Josh Early Candies (the busiest day of their year), and the results were spectacular.
While “a picture is worth a thousand words” may sound like a tired cliché, in the case of marketing, the concept is still very true.  Putting a high-tech spin on your business videos will help separate you from the rest.

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