This is In Focus, by MarketScale. A podcast by video professionals for video professionals, putting in focus the topics, teachers and tips guiding the video industry today. With your host, MarketScale’s Sr. Director of Video Production, Josh Brummett.

This is In Focus, by MarketScale. A podcast by video professionals for video professionals, putting in focus the topics, teachers and tips guiding the video industry today. With your host, MarketScale’s Sr. Director of Video Production, Josh Brummett.

This is In Focus, by MarketScale. A podcast by video professionals for video professionals, putting in focus the topics, teachers and tips guiding the video industry today. With your host, MarketScale’s Sr. Director of Video Production, Josh Brummett.

The growth and opportunity of video production have fundamentally changed the concept of content. It’s a powerful marketing tool for business. Consumers spend, on average, six hours and 48 minutes a week watching online video. It’s a new frontier for business storytelling, and it works, with 93% of marketers that use it saying they gained new customers. A career videographer Jesper Sohof shared his thoughts on the evolution of business video and how he maintains a healthy career as a freelancer in Europe.

On this episode of In Focus by MarketScale, host and MarketScale Senior Director, Video Production Josh Brummett was joined by Panther City Media Owner Abigail Nelson. Fort Worth, Texas-based Panther City Media is “a group of local creatives … [whose] mission is to provide storytelling with the use of photography and cinematography efforts.” The group captures weddings, music videos, promotional content and more, all driven by that narrative focus.

On this episode of In Focus, host Josh Brummett, MarketScale Sr. Director, Video Production was joined by MarketScale Video Production Specialist Dylan Tidmore, who has vast experience in a key aspect of any successful video production – directing on set. In particular, Tidmore leverages his experience in film and video to get the most out of the talent and crew on any given production, which requires careful navigation and flexibility to adapt to each production’s unique conditions. Tidmore’s expertise is also informed by some history on the other side of the lens. Up until college, he was more of an actor than a filmmaker, giving him perspective into how to relate to both seasoned talent and those who’ve never been on camera before.

Josh Brummett, MarketScale Senior Director of Video Production, hosted Duncan Johnson to discuss how to become a master of lighting. Johnson is an experienced filmmaker with a well rounded background of photography, film, and video projects.  Johnson spoke to his background in the industry and his introduction to lighting and how it has shaped his career. “The principals are more important than the tools,” said Johnson.  He explained that understanding the fundamentals of lighting can lead to high quality productions even when budget limitations or remote locations can prevent the use of lighting equipment. Brummett asked how the approach to lighting changed for different production types.  Johnson spoke about the approach to lighting interview or document setups and how production quality can be increased greatly with access to more and more lighting equipment.  When it comes to narrative, “it’s a constant problem solving situation,” Johnson said.  He spoke to the challenges that present themselves when working in different environments and the opportunity to make something truly unique and incredible. The pair also dove into the change in lighting technology, especially the transition from tungsten lighting to LED.  The colors, functionality, and efficiency of LED lighting have revolutionized the industry, but tungsten lighting still has its place. Synergizing past and present technology can create unique views. Brummett and Johson wrapped up their discussion by talking about how to build a lighting kit on a shoestring budget and that utilizing nontraditional materials to create lighting that still looks professional.  They also discussed how to leverage online resources from lighting professionals for self-education.

For the first episode of In focus, Steve Palaia, Senior Creative Lead at MarketScale provided valuable insight into the latest camera technology from Sony and Canon, the future of movie theaters, and on the value of having a well-rounded background in the video industry. Palaia tackles a wide array of projects in his role at MarketScale, including but not limited to, video, 3D animation, VR, and AR. His wide breadth of expertise comes in part from his experience working at startups. “I started at very small companies, you know, scrappy startup types...Even if we didn't know exactly how we were going to execute it, never done it before, we were like, yes we can do that and we figured it out on the fly,” Palaia said. Developing a lot of different skills, such as learning about filmmaking, helped Palaia build a background in 3D animation, “You have to know stuff about special effects. You know, everything that applies in other professions in the industry, you have to know about cameras,” he explained. Having a background in engineering has also proved valuable in Palaia’s career, “That's really served me well in this industry, especially in the 3D side of things... Everyday we're problem solving, we’re engineering solutions on how to make something work and you know, it comes right back down to basic mechanics figuring out what's wrong, how to make it work,” Palaia explained. “Despite me going into the art field, I still have a lot of that engineering DNA in me and so there was always projects happening going on,” he said.