Real’s Favorite Films of the Year
Each year, the team at Real Video collectively watches hundreds of films. Whether they be rewatches of favorites, first time watches of classics, or a stumble upon some strange gem, watching films is one of our favorite pastimes.
As everyone wraps up their “year-end-highlights” lists, we also decided to compile a shortlist of our favorite films released in 2022 for your scrolling pleasure.
Everyone at the office wrote down a list of their favorite films of the year with a blurb of why it’s worthy to be loved; resulting in 18 different films.
So, in no particular order, here is Real’s first annual Favorite Films of the Year List:
1. Turning Red
Genre: Comedy / Family
Where to Watch: Disney+
“Being the father of 3 teenage girls, this one was great. Not only did we have a good laugh but it opened up conversations about our emotions and finding our place in the world.”
– Kevin
2. The Batman
Genre: Action / Crime
Where to Watch: HBO Max
“Paul Dano as the riddler really stands next to Heath Ledger’s Joker as another fantastic villain in the batman movieverse. Having been a March release, I was fearful it would be lacking, but boy was I proven wrong. Great characters, great story, overall great time. Robert Pattenson plays a great Batman, and I can’t wait for more!”
– Evan
3. Everything Everywhere All at Once
Genre: Action / Comedy
Where to Watch: Showtime
“In the era of remakes, spinoffs, and spanning franchise universes, I always applaud films that march to their own beat— ones that try to say something in their own voice without trying to emulate others. While I haven’t seen every movie under the sun this year, this was one that shined for me and got passed around the Real office once it had its home video release. I think all of us agreed it was a top contender for best picture, and certainly the most creative movie that dropped this year. If you’re a fan of ‘mind bending’ movies, this one is an incredibly entertaining one that leaves you stewing on it for days.”
– Dan
“ One of my favorite films ever is Swiss Army Man. Since this film was directed by ‘Daniels’, I was excited to see this one. It’s very bold and fast paced. I loved this film for its editing style, for the art, and for the wardrobe department’s work.”
– Josh
“A movie about hot-dog fingers, chef raccoons, and everything bagels that made me cry. While I still don’t resonate with the film’s conclusion on life, ‘Daniels’ accomplishes a seemingly impossible feat of making ‘meaninglessness’ and ‘nothingness’ seem comforting in a movie that otherwise throws (literally) everything at its audience.”
– Ben
“This was probably one of the most unique films I have ever seen. When it wasn’t a total onslaught to my senses, the film offered a heartfelt story that felt very genuine and real. It’s mind boggling how the creators were able to keep track of every story element, but they did so, in style. Much like the title states, the film truly offered everything, everywhere, all at once.”
– Evan
“This movie was a trip. Refreshing storytelling with a wonderful blend of action & humor.”
– Kevin
4. RRR
Genre: Action / Adventure
Where to Watch: Netflix
“I started hearing whisperings about this movie earlier this year, and when it finally came to Netflix, I was able to give it a watch. I went in pretty blind, other than I knew the film community had been buzzing about this 3-hour epic Indian action film that was worth seeking out, so I had a higher expectation going into it based on that fact alone. Even without knowing the history of the characters, you quickly find yourself getting wrapped up in this spectacle of a movie, and cheering for these absurdly entertaining mythical characters and provides a purely entertaining ride all the way through.”
– Dan
5. Sonic 2
Genre: Action / Comedy
Where to Watch: Paramount+
“I like all of Jim Carrey’s movies. Was a huge sonic fan when I was young, and now that my kids like Sonic I get to enjoy watching with them.”
– Ryan
6. Father Stu
Genre: Drama
Where to Watch: Netflix
“A great story of how enduring the challenges of life puts you in place to speak wisdom and truth into others with honesty and authenticity.”
– Kevin
7. Top Gun: Maverick
Genre: Action
Where to Watch: Paramount+
“Like Miles Teller himself, this movie put jet fuel in my veins; an intense concoction of adrenaline and movie-stardon to the nth degree.”
– Ben
“Unfortunately, I did not make it to a theater screening of Top Gun. I think this one was meant to be seen in a theater. It does make it on my list though. I admire it for it’s technical achievements in cinematography. How they got those Sony’s into those jets is nuts. For a sequel, this could’ve gone way differently. Although I was pleasantly surprised. Americana in it’s best form. God Bless the USA.”
– Josh
Has anyone not watched this one? The first one was great, and this one did not disappoint.”
– Ryan
“When I heard they were making a Top Gun sequel, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. I expected some ham-handed telling of an older Maverick character, and a rinse-and-repeat of the same story beats of its predecessor. Boy, was I wrong. This was pure entertainment. I had it sitting on my shelf for a few months before I finally had gotten around to watching it and it was just the most fun I’ve had watching a movie in years. I couldn’t get enough watching it.”
– Dan
8. Jurassic World Dominion
Genre: Action / Adventure
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
“Have been a fan of all the Jurassic Park movies. This one was fun and entertaining to watch with the whole family.”
– Ryan
9. Nope
Genre: Horror / Sci-Fi
Where to Watch: Peacock
“Yup. This movie was great. Jordan Peele has been so fun to watch as a director. Some of the technical BTS of this movie is pretty cutting edge as well.”
– Kevin
10. Bullet Train
Genre: Action / Comedy
Where to Watch: Netflix
“I enjoyed the action and the comedy mixed together. Great cast.”
– Ryan
11. Barbarian
Genre: Horror
Where to Watch: HBO Max
“A simple mix up ends up spiraling out of control leaving you horrified about breastfeeding.”
– Kevin
“I knew almost nothing about this movie going into it, which was the best way to see it. Horror is my favorite genre, and I was more-or-less anticipating a fun-flick with a few good jumpscares and decent acting. Instead, I sat down in the theater (alone) and watched one of the most terrifying movies of recent memory. The performances are great, the script veers in exciting ways, and the satisfaction I felt leaving the theater makes it my highest horror recommendation of the year amongst a crowded selection.”
– Ben
“I was reluctant to dive into Barbarian. I’ll be one of the first to say; I’m not into horror films. This was a little more of a suspense thriller, which I can get down with. I was able to get my wife to join me in watching this one. I thought the plot was interesting, engaging and relevant due to its modern subject matter. Over the top at times and it didn’t take itself too seriously. Ultimately, Barbarian had me entertained all the way through. Reminded me a lot of the movie “Drag Me to Hell”… also, Justin Long. ;)”
– Josh
12. Tár
Genre: Drama
Where to Watch: Theaters / VOD
“Between Cate Blanchett’s performance, the writing, the blocking, cinematography, and sound design, everything works so well together to make this one of the most cinematically rich and engaging movies I’ve seen in a long time. It’s a beautiful exercise in the language of film and worth studying with close scrutiny. Everything about Tár aids in a journey to appreciating the fine art of concert music and treats the audience as an intelligent and intuitive viewer who is given a crash course in orchestral conducting without patronizing you or exuding pretension (which always seems to be a pitfall of a story about the arts). Without using the word lightly, it’s truly masterful and does a great job immersing you in an unfamiliar world with a complex character and puts you in Cate Blanchett’s shoes— still rooting for her as she descends into madness. I may even go so far as to say this might be my favorite film, or at least in the top 3 for me this year, and I can see this one making its way into the Criterion collection eventually as the years reveal a greater audience appreciation for this one.”
– Dan
13. The Banshees of Inisherin
Genre: Drama / Comedy
Where to Watch: HBO Max
“I didn’t know too much about this film before I watched it. It’s shot beautifully in a remote village in Ireland. The cinematography drew me in. I enjoyed the premise and am still trying to fully understand the ending. It’s a great film, though.”
– Josh
“Initially, this film made me want to get a pet donkey. However, as the award-worthy performances and gorgeous cinematography slowly progressed to create an environment of tension and heartbreak amongst an otherwise laugh-out-loud funny folk tale, I can conclude that I no longer want a pet donkey.”
– Ben
14. The Fabelmans
Genre: Drama
Where to Watch: Theaters / VOD
“No “Top 2022” list for a video production company like ours would be complete without The Fablemans. This semi-biographical telling of Spielberg’s early years leaves you feeling a plethora of emotions. It’s fun, bittersweet, full of wonder, and centers around a young man falling in love with film while trying to grow up in a difficult situation. The movie bottles the magic of filmmaking, and leaves you inspired to create.”
– Dan
“Bound to be one of my favorites of the year from the start due to the subject of becoming a filmmaker. During the first act, I had a hard time connecting with some of the characters, but by the end of the film I loved it. The pure nostalgia of the film and the familiar emotions of what it’s like screening your work to an audience is why this film is on my list.”
– Josh
“I went into this film already with a love for Spielberg and his work. However I was not expecting this movie to hit home as many times as it did. While watching, I was struck with reflections of my own filmmaking experiences. Seeing how Sammy Fableman (the main character) made all his films in this movie made me think back to how I used to do the same thing and how much fun those experiences were. Overall this film was a lot of fun, and there were even a few surprise cameos that I wasn’t expecting!”
– Evan
15. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Genre: Action
Where to Watch: Theaters
“This did not feel like a Marvel movie. This was a colorful and fantastic story that I thought offered a new approach to the superhero genre. It introduced a slew of new characters that I can’t wait to see in later MCU films!”
– Evan
16. Bones and All
Genre: Drama / Horror
Where to Watch: Theaters / VOD
“Not a recommendation if you’re queasy, but this film pulls the best parts of road trip, romance, and avant garde cinema and cooks it all up in a unique love story with (mostly) charismatic characters that the audience can empathize with despite their unusual appetite; Luca Guadagnino’s best film yet. “
-Ben
17. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Genre: Mystery
Where to Watch: Netflix
“Where do I begin? The original Knives Out made me a huge fan of “whodunit” films, and this film turned that love up to an 11. Great story, great characters, humorous, and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I could go on and on about how great this movie is. Please, see it ASAP.”
– Evan
18. Triangle of Sadness
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Where to Watch: VOD
“This Palme d’Or winning film isn’t going to be for everyone. It contains some pretty grotesque scenes that are difficult to watch, but if you can stomach it, the overt satire and commentary on the despair of economic class divide make those scenes incredibly cathartic to watch unfold. As the stakes heighten, the film takes twists and turns that leave you guessing what will happen next and make it a joy to experience. Watch the trailer to see if this might be up your alley, but we advise to try and go into this one as blind and uninformed as possible about this story.”
– Dan
And there you have it.
We hope you’ll consider our recommendations, and we wish you a happy new year of movie viewing!
Year in preview
This past year has been awesome for Real Video. We had the opportunity to collaborate with some amazing people, brands, schools, nonprofit organizations and businesses. One of the best things about working with a wide range of clients is getting to pull back the curtain and really educate ourselves in industries we don’t really think about in everyday circumstances.
It got us thinking, we should pull back our curtain a bit on timelines for quality video productions. This might get current and potential clients’ wheels spinning on what they have coming down the line. So we looked back at all the projects we worked on this past year, who we worked with, and analyzed successes with the project as well as sticking points.
One thing was clear on making a production run smooth, clear communication and realistic timelines. At Real Video we work on a wide variety of videos. Everything from social media content to longer form educational videos. One thing we noticed as we looked back was that the average timeline for a larger production could be up to three months from the initial phone call from the client to a final deliverable. It was because of that, that we decided to look at the year in four quarters and offer suggestions as to what you should be thinking about if quality video content is something you’re looking to do.
One thing was clear on making a production run smooth, clear communication and realistic timelines.
Q1: January, February and March
If you’re in the midwest this is the time when the weather is garbage. In Chicagoland, everything is frozen and dead. Visually, this is not the best time to shoot outside. The unpredictable weather also can make it really difficult for planning and scheduling. The good news is that it doesn’t last! So in industries where outdoor footage plays a major role in your video concept (eg. construction or landscaping) now is the perfect time to start planning and scheduling your project. That way as soon as spring has sprung, we’re out shooting the project, not talking about it.
We also work with a lot of churches and religious organizations. Next to Christmas, Easter is a very important holiday. This time of reflection on the death and resurrection of Christ lends itself to testimonies of life change and celebration. Q1 is the time to start working on elements for your church services because unfortunately you can’t push back the deadline of Easter.
Speaking of testimonies, even if you are not a church, this can be a great way to spread the word about your products or services you provide. Case studies on why your offerings make a difference is a great way to boost awareness for your company. And the great thing is they can be shot inside away from the cold depressing tundra we call home.
We also find ourselves collaborating with HR departments. Q1 seems to be a great time to work on those training and educational videos. The start of a new year is a great time to pump up morale, update protocols, and inform employees about new happenings in the organization.
Q2: April, May and June
There is nothing quite like that first sunny 55 degree day after a long gray winter. Sleeves rolled up, windows rolled down and your favorite classic rock album cranked to eleven. If you’re from the midwest you know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s this feeling that triggers action within the world of marketing and promotion.
If you work in the education field, especially marketing and recruitment. This is your season to dive into the production of your material. Why? You have a nice chunk of time to gather creative content that showcases your beautiful campus while having students involved. In fact, we advise capturing more than you think during this time so you have enough content to get you through summer when the campus is a ghost town.
Municipalities tend to ramp up during this time as well. Memorial Day seems to be the official end of hibernation and suddenly your community comes back to life with pools opening, the smell of grills and the start of a lot of events. We suggest making a list of all the things you want to highlight and get it in the schedule.
One thing to take note of is that once June hits and school lets out, a ton of people head out on vacation. This is great for your mental health but sucks for communication. So many people drop off the face of the earth for a week at a time. If you’re in the preproduction stage of your project in June this can make lining things up a nightmare. Just something to think about and plan for.
Q3: July, August and September
Ahhh, summertime. Make sure that if your project requires outdoor shots you’re getting them now. We highly recommend getting them “in the can” by mid September. In our experience, mid September is when the weather begins to get unpredictable and can really start to mess with outdoor production schedules.
Do you work for a nonprofit? Fundraising season is right around the corner. Q3 is the time to capture compelling stories from your organization to share with potential donors in the fall.
For those of you who are in retail and have a product to sell, fall is the time to have your marketing material ready to go. Q3 is the time you should be building all your creative assets so you are ready to push it out by Thanksgiving to capitalize on holiday shopping.
Trade shows have also become a great place to showcase a video highlighting your company and can lead to a lot of awareness to a very focused audience. This is a great season to be working on unique videos that capture the attention of those passing by your booth.
Q4: October, November and December
And just like that, the warmth slowly slips away. Although sad, there is something about rediscovering your favorite hoodie in the back of your closet and the smell of falling leaves. We see a trend of two scenarios play out in this season. One, a mad rush to accomplish all the creative elements we have on our list for the year. Two, regret that it wasn’t in the budget we put together last year for all the creative elements we needed for this year.
We see the “mad rush” scenario mainly in two industries, churches and retail.
For churches, Christmas time is huge. Lots of churches go big with creative elements, music videos, promotions and testimonies. Typically these elements tend to be needed right after Thanksgiving. This is also primetime for marketing pushes for retail. In our experience, if you’re not shooting this stuff by October, you should be sweating.
Maybe you’re feeling more like the second scenario and you wish you would have budgeted a little better for what you needed to accomplish throughout the year.
Talking about the budget isn’t the most exciting part of the process, but still is something that is important. We mentioned it before, but we work with a wide variety of clients. With that, we work with a wide variety of budgets. Our goal is to do the best work we can with what we are given. So don’t hesitate in reaching out to kick around a few ideas and get a plan together as you slide into next year.
In conclusion, we hope this blog got you thinking about your future video and photo content needs. We would love to collaborate with you, so feel free to reach out and lets make some magic!
Frame.io problem solving for an international client.
One of the agencies we work with out of Chicago came to us with an international client who had been going through a major acquisition period and needed a messaging campaign that helped welcome and unite the core values with all of their offices around the world.
We were tasked with producing a series of testimonial videos that highlighted various employees speaking on a specific core value of the company. Each month, they would release several of them speaking to that month’s specific value.
After producing the first batch for the Chicago headquarters, we then built a best practices document that could be shared with the various video teams gathering materials from every major international office.
Meanwhile, our production team was flown out to LA and Tijuana to capture additional sets of videos, as well as some supplemental material for videos to be produced later this year.
While every production presents a set of challenges and problems to overcome, our LA jaunt provided a particularly interesting problem for post production to tackle.
We sat down with our post production manager, Daniel Skubal, for a quick interview about some of the details of this project…
RVP: Dan, what challenges arose while working on this edit?
Dan: The greatest challenge we faced was the turnaround time for the next set of videos. The client needed final master files in-hand at least a day before the end of the month, and with the Real production team being gone an entire week on this shoot, we would only have a few days with the footage before final files were due.
Depending on the scope of the job, we typically allocate one to two rounds of revisions before final delivery into our schedule, which meant an edit would have to be turned around within 24 hours of the hard drive hitting our desk to keep the projects on track.
The team went back and forth on ways to tackle the project and deliver everything on time. We discussed everything from overnighting a hard drive, to renting some additional hardware and working with Camera to Cloud (C2C) dailies, to pre-building the project on-site with all the assistant editor work virtually completed by the time it was backed up to our server.
The solution we landed on involved a remote proxy workflow utilizing Frame.io. While we hadn’t ever worked this way before, but after some internal testing, we felt confident that we could pull this off.
Frame.io really integrates perfectly with our workflow, and our clients love it.
RVP: What is Frame.io?
Dan: Frame.io is a media review platform with an intuitive timecode-based commenting system. Frame.io really integrates perfectly with our workflow, and our clients love it. We have been using the platform since it was in beta testing, and is our preferred way of sharing edits with clients to get comments and criticism as we are shaping the final product.
RVP: How were you able to use Frame.io to help solve the challenges you faced during this edit?
Dan: There were three things we aimed to accomplished:
1. We knew we wanted to generate proxies (compressed, easy-to-play files that can be re-synced with the full raw footage later on).
2. Because time was precious, and the production team needed to stay focused on the shoot, we wanted the actual process of creating those proxies to be automated and easy as possible without having to babysit each file conversion.
3. We needed a way to automatically upload those proxy files to a designated project on Frame.io the same day the interviews were conducted so the edit team could pull the files immediately and begin building the spine of the story for each of these video pieces.
We had hit a bit of a dead end, and while we began looking at other options, I dug a little deeper with Frame.io
Dan: We knew any one of these 3 objectives could be accomplished with an on-set DIT, offloading and managing the media, but given the parameters of the project, we needed a solution that could be done by our immediate team in as few clicks as possible in-between interview setups.
After doing some research, it didn’t appear that the standalone Frame.io app, nor the integration plugin for Premiere would let us export individual clips directly to the platform— only a single timeline file at a time. We had hit a bit of a dead end, and while we began looking at other options, I dug a little deeper with Frame.io.
6-7 years ago, when I was beta testing Frame.io, we were constantly in communication with the support team, putting in feature requests— and nearly every suggestion would quickly be rolled into the next release of the platform, so I knew reaching out to them about this specific need would be examined by their team and taken seriously.
I quickly heard back from their team, and received confirmation that our proposed workflow wasn’t possible yet with their platform but would be shared with their development team for a future release— and a possible solution would be setting up a dynamic “Watch Folder” in the standalone Frame.io desktop app, and running the batch process through Adobe Media Encoder, pointing all files to the designated watch folder.
With only a few hours before the team had to pack up and leave, we ran a quick test of this workflow and it worked flawlessly. Within a few seconds of a clip transcoding in Media Encoder, the media would appear in the Frame.io portal, and be able to easily scrub and play the clip instantly.
While this wasn’t quite a one-click solution, it removed several steps to the process and could be performed relatively quickly and painlessly to get us the interviews quickly without much interruption of the actual production.
Real Video just delivered the final edits on-time and without any issues.
RVP: So did you make the deadline?
Dan: I’m happy to say, we pulled it off. This all went on behind the scenes, and the client had no idea we went to these lengths to ensure delivery of the videos. For them to receive the first cut so quickly was a big feat for us, but for the client, it just happened with no worries on their end— Real Video just delivered the final edits on-time and without any issues. That was our goal from the start.
RVP: How will Frame.io help REAL in the future?
Dan: Man, I think Frame.io is only headed upward. They’re rockstars at what they do, and now that Adobe has acquired the platform, they are already rolling out some amazing integrations into the Adobe suite.
I’m particularly excited about C2C aka “Camera to Cloud”— their new turnkey solution for remote video production, which allows you to privately stream a production to team members anywhere in the world using only a couple pieces of hardware, or to instantly generate proxies directly from the camera to pull down and begin editing while the production is taking place.
Everyone wins with a solution like that. There is more global collaboration with team members who can help solve problems while they are happening on set, and post production can begin immediately, which could definitely help in instances like ours with tight turnaround times.
For Real Video to be able to offer a painless workflow like that to our national or international clients, particularly in the agency space, is an exciting prospect and could be a really valuable tool to our clients.
We are definitely ready to use C2C as a regular practice within our productions.
RVP: Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to chat with us about this project.
Dan: Of course, it’s always exciting when we can find solutions like this that make everyones’ life easier.
Room Tone Recap
On August 25, 2022 Real Video hosted a networking event for videographers and photographers. This event had a little bit of a twist to it because we decided to include a guided discussion throughout the evening. The overarching topic for this event was VALUE.
The first thing we want to say about the first Room Tone event was that we were blown away by the talent in the room. People whose work we admire kept flooding through the door. I was also impressed with how many brave, new people came out ready to network and engage in the conversation with complete strangers. It was our hope that this event would be applicable for videographers and photographers, no matter how far along they are in their professional journey. There is just some sort of magic that happens when passionate, talented, creative people get in a room together.
We felt it.
We also felt overwhelmed with gratitude. All the guests jumped right into it with positive energy. We feared it would be “clicky” and introverts would hide in the shadows. But when the discussions started, it was like a rocket went off. Everyone seemed really engaged and excited to be there. Even our sponsors, Kessler and Rusthead, were genuinely glad to be asked to participate and walked away excited by the connections they made throughout the evening.
We know people’s time is valuable and we are thankful for everyone who came out to this event and spent their time sharing their experiences, being open and building into this community.
Thank you.
If you were unable to attend the event, or need a reminder, here is a little recap of what was talked about:
How do you value yourself?
We thought of this in terms of creating an hourly rate for your services. To do so, we took four factors into consideration.
- Experience. How long have you been doing what you do professionally?
- Education. Have you invested in further education that applies to your field?
- Location. Where do you do a majority of your work?
- Specialty skills. What can you offer that makes you unique in the industry?
After we pondered these four questions we broke off into small groups. Each person told the others where they were at with these four areas. With that information, the others in the group said what they thought that person’s hourly rate should be.
We asked the room if they felt suggested rates were high, low or on point. A majority of the room responded that they were on point.
It was also stated that a quick, generic Google search was done on what the average yearly salary for a videographer in the USA. ZipRecruiter said $44k, Payscale was $47k and Glassdoor was $48k. There are many sites where you can dial in your details to get a more accurate estimate but thought this was a good baseline to compare where individuals may fall on the scale.
We also discussed the importance of doing a post mortem project review to see how you actually did on a job. Remembering that minimum wage in Indiana is $7.25. If you’re walking away from a project close to that, you may have an issue.
The next segment that was up for discussion was how to value a project. Here are six things that you should consider when working up an estimate for a project:
- Your hourly rate
- Translate this into a day rate. (8-10hr day)
- Estimated time to do the project
- The more projects you have under your belt, the easier it gets to do this
- The gear it takes to pull the project off
- Take into account ALL the gear needed (camera, lights, grip…)
- Any additional outgoing costs
- Meetings, Pre-production, Location, Crew, Wardrobe, Food, Travel Expenses, Talent, Music licenses, Stock footage / graphics, Props, Vehicle rentals, Lodging…
- Your overhead
- Rent, Vehicle, Internet, Software, Hardware, Licenses (drone), Loans, Marketing Efforts, Website, Phone, Staff (payroll), Taxes, Insurance…
We asked where a majority of people felt like they were losing money. Travel and pre-production meeting time rose to the top.
Once our brains were spinning with everything it actually takes to make an amazing video, we broke out into new small groups and talked about where we thought we lost out on the most money when pricing a job and what steps we should take to make up for it.
Once we came back together as a large group, we asked where a majority of people felt like they were losing money. Travel and pre-production meeting time rose to the top.
After that, as a large group, we started talking about the third section on the topic of value. How can you educate your client on the value of what you are offering? Here were six points to consider:
- Don’t be afraid to talk about the budget in the first meeting.
- If the client doesn’t have a budget for the project, ask if $X amount scares them. (Make sure $X is a little higher than what you think you need for the project because it’s easier to go down then up.) Your client’s reaction to this question will give you a lot of information on where you need to be.
- Think about the clients R.O.I.
- We used an example of a hotel that charges $500 dollars a night having an issue with paying $1,500 for a video. Putting that into perspective by saying the video pays for itself if 3 people make a decision to stay at the hotel because of the video.
- Be honest with your estimates and be able to defend every line item.
- Clients may not know the cost of things that are out of your control like music licensing, actors, hair & makeup…seeing it as a line item and the cost that goes with those services can be enlightening.
- Have the client put skin in the game.
- If they cut something out of the proposal to save money. Make that their responsibility to cover. Your job should not be harder because they want to save them money.
- Hold them accountable.
- Again, if your client is taking on responsibility to cut costs, they need to meet expected deadlines. Their lack of organization should not be your problem.
- Don’t be soft.
- Remember, they asked you into the room because you have something they want.
When we got back together as a large group we asked what are the dream clients? The room responded with: Clients that are trustworthy, that show up on time and that pay.
After this large group discussion we broke off into new small groups one last time. In those we described our dream client and what steps could be taken to work with them.
When we got back together as a large group we asked what are the dream clients? The room responded with: Clients that are trustworthy, that show up on time and that pay.
In closing, it is our hope that this community continues to grow and the idea that everyone in this tribe makes a point to make the people around them successful.
“A rising tide lifts all boats” – John F. Kennedy
Ben Wiersema joins the Real Video family.
Back in 2016 we were working on a little comedy short. (I’ll never forget this shoot because one of our Arri 1K lights exploded during production!) We invited a few kids on set who had expressed some interest in video production. One of those kids was 15 year old Ben Wiersema.
Ben had been acting in school plays and was curious about the video production process. As sparks flew from our lighting rig, I guess a spark ignited in Ben as well. Ben continued acting and went on to Columbia College to study screenwriting and video production.
Fast forward to 2021. Real Video was putting together a commercial and was looking for some actors. Ben came to mind and we cast him for one of the roles. While sipping LaCroix and snacking on Welch’s fruit snacks in between takes, Ben mentioned he was looking for an internship as he entered his senior year at Columbia.
We brought Ben on as an intern and he crushed it! The whole team at Real was blown away by his creativity, organization and his hunger to continually learn and grow. We decided to offer Ben a part-time position as our Associate Producer before his internship was over.
We couldn’t be more excited to have Ben on staff at Real while he finishes his degree and we look forward to what the future holds.
As with all new employees, we sat down with Ben for an interview…
RVP: First off, welcome aboard, and thanks for taking the time to tell people about yourself. So starting off— what are 3 things I should know about you in order to understand you better?
BW:
- It’s hard for me to put into words how much I love movies. Making movies. Watching movies. All of it. At 10 years old, I would bike around my neighborhood with an iPod 5 and a broken tripod to make random short “films.” Most, if not all, of those masterpieces will never see the light of the day. I’ll make sure of that.
- I’m always looking to improve myself.
- I have a sticker of the Queen of England on the back window of my Toyota RAV-4. If you ever spot one of us, feel free to ask how she got there.
RVP: So what’s inspiring you right now?
BW: This has been a pretty dope movie year in my opinion.
Films like Everything Everywhere All at Once, Top Gun: Maverick, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, and Mad God have all blown me away.
It’s hard for me to turn off my critic brain sometimes, but never have I ever seen so many movies in a year that I can’t help but just ogle at.
I’m extremely grateful. It’s all new and exciting to me, and I hope that feeling sticks with me for a long time.
RVP: What excites you most about being an associate producer?
BW: I’m only 21 years old, so being able to help write scripts, prep shoots, work on sets, and give feedback on edits for a production company is something I’m still wrapping my head around.
I’m extremely grateful. It’s all new and exciting to me, and I hope that feeling sticks with me for a long time.
RVP: What excites you most about joining the Real Video team?
BW: The endless supply of LaCroix in the fridge…
Oh, and working with some amazingly creative peeps; a few that I’ve known for a long time and others that I met only a few months ago.
There’s plenty of opportunity for me to grow creatively and professionally here at Real, and the community here makes it a blast. I dig it.
RVP: What is some free advice you have to give?
BW: We create because there is Someone who created us. The gifts and talents you have are completely intentional.
Look Ma, No Stands: A Simple Solution to Hang Light Modifiers on Your Next Shoot
The entire front of our studio is glass. For some projects, the natural light that pours into our space is a blessing. However, for other projects we find it’s best to control our own light. As requests for product videography grew alongside the increase of clients using the studio for interviews we started to look into a better way to black out our glass storefront.
“We’re a group of problem solvers”
After measuring the space, we started submitting quotes for a track and curtain system. Prices started to come back between $12,000 and $14,000. Well, it’s a good thing we’re a group of problem solvers, because spending that kind of money on curtains just isn’t in our blood.
“The last thing we want to do is burn our studio to the ground”
We called around to some fabric stores and started explaining our needs. First, we needed to blackout out as much light as possible. Second, the fabric pieces needed to be large. The largest piece had to be 9×30’ preferably without any seams. Third, we wanted our fabric to have a bit of a knap. This means it has a fuzzy or velvety feel to it. This is helpful for absorbing sound. Last of all, it needed to be flame retardant. This fabric was going to be around a lot of hot lights, and the last thing we want to do is burn our studio to the ground.
After doing some research and calling around, we found a fabric warehouse in the heart of Chicago who had exactly what we were looking for. They offered reams of Commando Cloth/Duvetyne that could be cut to our desired length. So we hopped in the van and took a trip into the city to pick it up.
When we got it, the fabric was exactly what we were looking for, however, it looked like they cut it with a potato. The edges were crooked and fraying like crazy. Lucky for us, one of our wives owns a little sewing studio around the block from our studio. She graciously walked over, sewing machine in-hand and hemmed roughly 140’ of fabric for us. She even made color-coded tags on each curtain with size on it.
Next, we had to figure out how to hang this much fabric from our drop ceiling. The solution we came up with was relatively simple. We created something we call “Mag Clips”— we found tarp clips, and coupled them with small carabiners, and powerful neodymium magnets with a metal eyelet to allow some articulation and flex to each clip. The tarp clips use either a notched collar, or a tightening lever to clamp down on the fabric and can be hung to any metal surface.
When clipped onto the fabric (roughly every two feet), the clips are strong enough to hold the weight to the grid of the drop ceiling. Now, we are able to create a 20×30’ black box to shoot in, and it only cost us around $800.
Additionally, we are able to hang other materials such as muslin, or diffusion material like Grid Cloth or silk to bounce or shoot lights through, all without using any additional c-stands or rigging. No matter the material, it can all easily be taken down and transported and we have this flexibility no matter where we are shooting.
“Mag Clips… have quickly become one of those must-have items in our kit”
Mag Clips were built out of necessity to solve a small problem, but they have quickly become one of those must-have items in our kit that travel with us on location for every shoot. Heading blindly into a corporate shoot, having these clips and some rags on hand provide a quick way to throw up some negative fill or bounce light in confined spaces, maintaining a small footprint when you can’t necessarily afford wheeling in combo stands, t-bars, or speedrail to rig your light modifiers.
If you’re interested in creating your own ceiling clips, the material list can be found here:
Evan Frystak joins the Real Family
We met Evan back in 2016 on a local job. He was working as a jib operator on a gig we were directing. Although Evan had mad jib skills, as we got to know him, we fell in love with his passion for editing.
We quickly realized that this guy could sculpt a massive pile of footage into a compelling and emotional story. Evan began moonlighting for us on a regular basis. Finally, we decided enough was enough and thought of the famous words of Beyoncé,”If you liked it then you should’ve put a ring on it.” So that’s what we did. We asked Evan to join the Real Video Production family as a full time, in-house editor.
Now that Evan has been here a few weeks and gotten settled, we sat down with him to get to know him a little better.
Interview with Evan:
RVP: First off, welcome aboard, and thanks for taking the time to tell people about yourself. So starting off— what are 3 things I should know about you in order to understand you better?
EF:
1: I’m a total nerd. I love all things Star Wars, Lego, and Video games. I’m also a total film nut.
2: I enjoy collaborating with other creative people and learning and creating cool things.
3: I love to travel with my significant other and experience a lot of new things.
RVP: We’re a bunch of nerds ourselves, so you’re in good company. So what’s inspiring you right now?
EF: The world around me, the people I get the privilege to create with, and the hope for awesome success with those people.
RVP: Great answer! And what excites you most about being an editor?
EF: Being able to work on great content, and then seeing that content have a huge impact on the person or business we made it for.
RVP: There is definitely something satisfying about seeing your work out in the wild, isn’t there? What are you most excited about joining the Real Video team?
EF: The people and work environment are out of this world. It’s a privilege to be able to collaborate with such a friendly, creative, and dedicated team on a daily basis. Not to mention the content stands out as the best in Indiana, if not the best in the Chicagoland area.
RVP: Well we’re very happy to finally have you on board. Now, last question— what is some free advice you have to give?
“When you create something, you’re putting part of yourself out into the world”
EF: Just keep going. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.
When you create something, no matter what it is, you’re putting part of yourself out into the world for others to critique. This can be either positive or negative. For the longest time I was afraid that work I released to the public would be badly criticized. Oftentimes this fear would put me in a state where I didn’t want to create anything at all. Eventually I did get over this fear. It was solved by just taking a deep breath, and casting the line out to sea.
RVP: There’s something to be said about making work that is a little controversial— work that does provoke criticism. If you’re pleasing everyone, you’re pleasing no one, you know?
EF: Exactly.
RVP: Well thank you again Evan, for taking the time to sit down with us and introduce yourself to the world. This has been a real treat, and we are very excited to have you part of the team.
“I’m excited and ready to get to work.”
EF: No, thank you guys. I’m excited and ready to get to work.
A fresh perspective on video production
The format for this particular blog is a little different and because of that I feel it lends itself to an introduction.
Real Video Production Co. will sporadically open up the studio for “happy hour.” It’s usually a late Friday afternoon and is a time where anyone can stop by and mingle.
I noticed a young guy come in by himself and looked as if he was waiting for someone. I walked over and introduced myself. His name was Louie and he had a passion for photography. He told me he was interested in learning more about video production and his buddy suggested he meet him at our event. His buddy never showed up, but Louie and I swapped social media and contact info.
Later that night I jumped on his Instagram and was pretty impressed. We stayed in touch and even grabbed coffee a couple of times. Right before the last time we sat down at Café Fresco, Real Video was blessed with a new job that required producing a couple broadcast commercials for a past client.
When Louie and I were discussing the project, he had a lot of questions and was really interested in the process. He asked if he could join us on production day and shoot some behind-the-scenes photos & video. I thought back on how my passion grew for this line of work and really it was just getting my hands dirty and jumping into it, so we added him to the call sheet as a production assistant.
It was a busy, fast-paced day, but Louie came along for the ride and rolled with the punches. He ended up being very helpful, as well as created some great BTS content for us.
After the shoot, we all hung out around our table in the studio and we asked Louie what his thoughts were about being on set— I felt like his fresh perspective was interesting and I asked him if we could do an interview for the blog and showcase the video and photos he took that day.
That’s the backstory behind this post. Enjoy.
Interview with Louie Pastore:
What are 3 things I need to know about you to understand who you are better?
- I am an 18 year old Eagle Scout, currently in my senior year of high school and am homeschooled.
2. I’ve been doing photography for the last 5 to 6 years, shooting everything from product photography in my home studio (my garage) to Photojournalism in the mountains of New Mexico.
3. Along with photography and filmmaking, I also spend time playing jazz drums, learning new skills and running my own small landscaping business.
"I wanted to be a part of a team that created professional level cinematic results"
What was your reason for wanting to join Real Video on a production?
I needed a place where I could work alongside industry professionals and like-minded creatives, in the hope of further developing my skill set, but at the same time contribute to a team.
After coming across their website and browsing through their work, the level of cinematic quality and attention to detail were my main reasons for wanting to be a part of Real Video’s creative process. I wanted to be a part of a team that created professional level cinematic results, and it didn’t take long for me to realize that this was it.
"Watching the high level of efficiency was incredible"
What were 3 things you learned about video production while observing a broadcast commercial being shot?
- Lighting & Setups
I had a basic understanding of how a production would operate, although one of the first things that caught me off guard was the amount of time spent setting up the scene and each individual shot.
The lighting and setup for this commercial was especially intricate, and was a huge contrast to the kind of run-and-gun photography/filmmaking that I’m used to. I’ll definitely never look at a commercial the same way again, knowing how long each shot most likely took to set up and how many takes were needed to get it right.
2. Organization
Next, was the amount of organization that goes into a production. As an Eagle Scout and someone who has managed small landscaping projects, it’s safe to say that I had a pretty good idea of how organization and proper planning works.
However, seeing it put into action in this setting gets wildly more complex. Coordinating talent, scene setups, lens changes, and making every asset play into the finished product was a solid learning point for me to hopefully be running my own creative projects in the future.
3. Operation
Finally, I was able to learn how a professional production crew operates. When everyone knows their role and what they need to do to contribute to the finished project, watching the high-level of efficiency was incredible. Nailing shot after shot, perfectly on schedule and seeing how little time is wasted shows how just with anything, a solid, like-minded team with the proper tools can achieve just about anything.
"I was amazed at how similar the rendered product was to the original vision"
After watching a production in process, is there a specific area that peaked your interest that you would like to learn more about?
There are 2 areas that really peaked my interest.
First, is the post production. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had an interest in post production. After becoming obsessed with VFX breakdown videos on YouTube at a young age, I began to dive deeper into editing, sound design, and color grading.
Throughout the entire shoot, I couldn’t help but imagine how the piece would be edited together, and will be excited to learn more about the decision making process when editing at the professional level.
Second, was the creative side of the planning process. Looking over the script/shot list and hearing descriptions of how the piece was planned to turn out, I was amazed at how similar the rendered product was to the original vision.
This is something that I hope to pick up on, and gain more insight towards the creative planning side of things.
Where can people learn more about you and your work?
- Website
- Instagram (where I post my work most frequently)
- Philmont article (written by me along with all of the photos)
All photos below were taken & edited by Louie Pastore.
Interview on Daily Ad Brief
Creative Director, Kevin Bruinsma was invited to be a guest speaker on the Daily Ad Brief online show called Marketing Champions. Each week Marketing Champions host, Howard Wolpoff, speaks with marketing professionals around the country to discuss the newest marketing trends.
Howard:
So why don’t you share with us how you get started in marketing in general?
Kevin:
Yeah, sure. I got started in the nonprofit world and did full campaigns for a good 15 years. Then branched out and started working at an advertising agency in Chicago. Then in 2020, me and a couple of other guys decided to start Real Video Production Co. and that’s what I’m currently doing.
Howard:
Well, timing is everything. I’m sure that your start was not as smooth as you wanted if you started in 2020. How much of a challenge did you have with COVID to start a video production company?
“Being a COVID startup was probably the dumbest/best thing that we ever did.”
Kevin:
Yeah, being a COVID startup was probably the dumbest/best thing that we ever did. Thankfully, we have a product, video, that has been used quite a bit since COVID. So that was a saving grace. But yeah, things have been great actually. Surprisingly, very, very busy.
Howard:
We always love hearing great success stories from any of our guests. So when you’re onboarding someone, what is the conversation? What is it that they’re looking to get out of video and what is it that you’re trying to share with them that you can really develop their story through video?
Kevin:
When we’re onboarding a client, a lot of times they’re coming to us with a problem that they need to solve. Whether it’s something very basic, like they just need people to know who they are. Sometimes they need to hire more people or to sell more of a product or something like that. So really getting down to what the problem is that they’re trying to solve, and first and foremost, is video the solution to that problem?
Howard:
Video gets used a lot of different ways, whether it’s on someone’s website, an ad, or it’s us on social media, where is it that you see video going as marketing moves over the next couple of years? And are there specific platforms you see really playing a strong role and getting a message out there?
“I think one of the things that we’re going to start seeing is an uptick in quality to cut through that noise a little bit.”
Kevin:
I think big business has known that video was a major player in marketing for a while and now you’re seeing it trickle down into medium and smaller businesses. Video is becoming a very noisy landscape, just due to the nature of it. I think moving forward we’re going to see a lot more videos especially with social media and everything else. I think one of the things that we’re going to start seeing is an uptick in quality to cut through that noise a little bit. I think too, with medium and small businesses, they’re starting to grasp the idea of putting ad dollars behind the videos that they’re producing and pushing them out on social media. So we’ll see a lot more of that.
Howard:
Well, it’s important that you have the right video messages getting out there and the right people who are directing you in the right way because you have a lot of companies that will just grab their phone and put anything up there. And it’s really not just about anything, it’s about the right thing. What tells your story? What really creates the right visual for you? So we really thank you for joining us today to share what you’re doing, how you’re doing it and all the great things you’re doing for your clients.
Kevin:
Thank you so much for having me.
The Manifest Names Real Video Production Co. as Chicago’s Most Recommended Video Production Company for 2022
For over 20 years, Real Video Production has been providing world-class filming and storytelling services to brands from all walks of life. Whether it’s web commercials, testimonial videos, brand identity videos, or even corporate photography, our team is ready to go the extra mile for you.
To start off this exciting new year, the entire Real Video Production Co. team is excited to announce wonderful news to you. Just recently, The Manifest named our team as one of the most recommended and reviewed video production companies this 2022!
Since our inception, we’ve always made it our mission to build long-lasting relationships with our clients. We want to empower them through our simple, transparent, and collaborative services. Led by our three passionate founders, Kevin Bruinsma, Josh Roeda, and Ryan Roeda, our team strives to deliver excellence and efficiency.
Throughout the years, we’ve had the massive honor of working with amazing clients like Fellowes, Homewood Disposal, Ozinga, The Village of South Holland, and more. Our generous clients helped us earn this recognition from The Manifest reviewing our notable projects.