From the outside looking in, the shoot was a huge success. In reality, however, I was seconds away from having to call the whole thing off..and maybe having a nervous breakdown. This was in the first two years of VidVictory. This was a major client we had wanted to work with for years, but it looked like I might have to tell them we had failed on our very first project together. How would I manage to make us look like a professional video production company if I couldn’t handle a simple shoot like this?
This is exactly where amateurs show their hand and true experts shine. Nearly every piece of equipment failed me in one way or another on that set. Yet, the shoot continued smoothly and the final results were spectacular. How did we pull it off? It all comes down to rigorous professional video production preparation.
Why Preparation and Professional Video Production go Hand in Hand
When I load up for a shoot I don’t assume that things are going to go perfectly. I have been on hundreds of shoots in all kinds of conditions. I have seen just about everything go wrong that can go wrong and I prepare accordingly. I have filmed in snow, rain, fog, wind and more. I have a lengthy checklist of gear that I always take with me so that when, not if, things fail I am prepared.
During this specific shoot, it felt like a domino effect of technical disasters:
- Audio Failures: My primary lavalier microphones died unexpectedly. Thankfully, I had a backup wireless set ready to go.
- Power Drain: All of my camera batteries died, despite being fully charged that morning. Because I brought wall adapters and extension cords, I was switched to AC power instantly.
- Storage Limits: My camera cards filled up faster than anticipated, and I couldn’t risk deleting anything. I had brought a high-speed external SSD to record directly to instead.
- Lighting Issues: My key light batteries began flashing red. Fortunately, I had brought the specific charging bricks to plug them in directly.
The list goes on. It was probably one of the worst shoots I’ve ever been on in terms of gear failures. But with preparation I was able to overcome every obstacle. The client never even realized that everything was going wrong and had a great time on the shoot!
Creating videos is a lot of work, and truly professional video production takes practice.
