This week, WeMakeVideos was happy to lend its video expertise to the Future Business Leaders of America National Conference. Nick and I were both selected as judges for the Digital Video Production category. The event was at the Opryland Hotel and we were grouped with other video professionals from around the country. For an entire afternoon, we watched State Champions present their video and explain their creative process. The subject was focused on a Going Green initiative and the students all focused on how to make a difference in their community and then beyond.
It is always great to listen to people’s creative process and then provide feedback on how they can continue to learn and grow in this industry. Everyone had their struggles but at a young age – they are leaps and bounds above where we were at that age! It was interesting to see most of the students have the same issues. Some people struggled with white balancing and lighting, some struggled with transitions but most had trouble getting themselves organized for their shoot. I’m sure the other judges were annoyed at me by the end of the day because I was always asking about the scripting and storyboarding process. “How did you know what you were going to shoot when you turned the camera on?” Most teams openly admitted that they had to shoot multiple times because they had forgotten a piece of their video. Some even admitted to cutting sections out of their message because they didn’t have anything to put on screen for it.
I wanted each and every one of them to come intern with us and watch how we do pre-production. We aren’t doing anything extraordinary or innovative. We are just REALLY, REALLY ORGANIZED! Yes, we have the advantage because my degree was in Organizational Leadership and Supervision from Purdue so I was trained in the art of organizing and logistics before I ever got into the production world. However, that doesn’t mean that everyone can’t be organized and run an efficient production. It is very rare for us to do a reshoot of something or have to go back for pick-up shots. On occasion, the client will change their mind or we’ll think of something we like better than the original idea but we are very strict with our storyboard and shot lists so that at the end of the day, the footage is complete and ready for the Edit Bay.
At the end of the day, it was great to see students anxious to make videos and make a difference in their community with their Green Initiatives. Thank you to FBLA for having Nick and I as judges and we look forward to seeing the next round of teams in 2015!
