Video Shooting & Other Involvements

I'll be honest. Video shooting people from various walks of life and capturing moments that highlight their interest level of being associated with a brand is quite a task.

While Day-1 of shooting the branding video, had excitement at its' peak, the second day was filled with challenges of a different variety. The aim behind shooting this video, as mentioned earlier was to cover all aspects of the Tata Technologies brand and showcase it to the external world.

Day -2 involved shooting at one of Tata Technologies' campuses housed within a sprawling IT park at Hinjawadi, Pune. I'm sure it sounds easy, but boy, were we in for some massive challenges.

Multiple security checks, camera equipment scans, high level security cameras hovering around; basically all the elements that could entangle anyone under multiple protocols and procedures. Thanks to some swift thinking last evening, the hassles involved were minimized through e-mails and some telephone calls.

Now, when you house close to a 1000 employees on 2 floors, within a section of the IT park, chances are all corridors and main passages will have people entering or exiting at any point of time during the day. Add to that 15 people of the camera crew and internal support staff. Can it get any worse? Well, maybe it can.

Jittery first time individuals having never faced the arc lights in their life and power supply issues, since the equipment being used requires high voltages. After cooling down the 'actors' and the 'support staff', the director finally yelled, Action!

Luckily, with some sincere impromptu and phase wise guidance, the first schedule went well and the 'actor' went on his way, quite relieved. The next 'actor' in question is a veteran in the engineering field and is perhaps one of the most well spoken and agile people one would encounter. Yet, like they say, the camera can make any person look normal.

In pursuit of keeping the shots lively and engaging, the 'actor' lifted up his performance and diligently followed instructions and added his flavor into the script. The end result turned out to be 'picture perfect'. 

Now comes the hard part, Filler Shots. Scheduling video sessions is one thing, but pulling in people to be a part of it, is an art in itself. Add to that shyness and the coyness involved in facing the camera and you definitely have a task at hand.

Thanks to some bright smiles (Marketing trait, anyone!), scampering around for pretty and handsome faces and in certain instances pushing the limits, by making people forcefully feature in the frame; the camera crew managed to get some good shots involving people brainstorming at strategic break-out locations, at the receptions, exit and entry areas and of course, the cafeterias. The giggles and excitement levels of all contributing members was a joy to watch.

With the IT park covered, what remains to be videographed as some senior leaders who can really walk the talk and sign off with a punch; which can add the necessary zing to the video. All the shots definitely look worthy of being incorporated, yet I'm sure the director will have varied creative ideas of his own.

The effort put in to bring out a quality product, in this case; a branding video is quite evident and everyone involved has already pinned high hopes on it. Over to the head honchos, to create an positive impact with their inspirational elements. 

Indulge. Immortalize. Inspire.