Good quality, professional, videos productions without fuss or outrageous pricing.
We do video production work for a variety of special events, some jobs will be done on an hourly charge; other jobs we can give a fixed price for, because we know the amount of work that will go into producing them, and we know the other expenses that will be involved.
There are several things that can be covered when filming a football match, for instance, and it's your choice as to how it's done: Filming pre-match pep talks, pre-match speeches or ceremonies, half-time entertainment, post-match ceremonies, award presentations, and commentating. (The same applies for other types of sporting events.) Alternatively, some clients want a simple wide-angle view of the entire team playing, to assess for coaching purposes. Please let us know ahead of time what you do and don't want.
It won't cost more to film more things while we're already there (speeches, presentations, etc.), unless there's so much of them that we need to use more tapes or discs, or we need to bring in extra equipment and/or crew. But bear in mind that it will make your video longer. It will involve more work (and more cost) to edit out any events that happened that you don't care to include, but were recorded. So if you don't want half-time entertainment, speeches, and whatnot filmed, then say so ahead of time.
If you want to commentate, we need to know ahead of time, to organise what we bring with us. Obviously that will include an extra microphone, but could also mean a headset, and possibly a video monitor (which may need mains power).
If you want to use the video for judging things during the game (video umpiring), this brings its own set of requirements into play. A camera, or cameras, will need placing where they're in useful positions for judging, which may not always be in the best positions for filming a match for aesthetic reasons. Also, it delays proceedings if players are waiting for a judgement before play continues.
It's most likely that you will need to get permission from all the players (both teams), and perhaps the umpires and venue, to film. And, if the game is under the control of a league, it's most likely that you'll have to ask their permission, too. They may have hired someone to film the match, already, with exclusive rights. And if the game is being played by youngsters, it's almost a dead cert that they will not let any filming without you seeking proper permissions, well ahead of the match date. You'll need to arrange this ahead of time, do not forget. Be sure to inform them of what will be filmed, and why. You can download a sample release form (a PDF file) from this website to give to parents or players, or you can write your own if it's not suitable for your needs.
We usually find that people will come up and ask us if they can get/buy a copy of the match, it nearly always happens. Let us know what to tell them, beforehand (whether we can take orders, or the contact details for who they should speak to, or if they will not be able to do so). If you have us take orders, let us know whether we should take names and give you a list, whether we should take money for such orders, whether you'll distribute the copies, or whether people will deal directly with us. If you're going to handle this on the day, make sure you that take what you need with you to organise that.
Some pricing details
Simple single camera coverage of a football match $280–350 (length and travelling time dependent; discounted, if you provide transportation)
Multiple camera coverage could include any of the following:
- Equipment loading, travelling, set-up and pack-up time.
- Mains power will be required.
- A rain-proof location for operating mains powered equipment (recorders, mixers, video monitors).
- Two or more cameras, and at least one camera operator. Crew and equipment costs will increase for each camera, though it is possible to use an unmanned camera for things like a widescreen shot of the full field, a camera aimed at the scoreboards, or in a commentating booth. At least one camera operator will be necessary unless you intend to cover an event with all cameras completely stationary (this really does not look good), and you can provide the camera crew (subject to my consent and training them).
- Vision mixer operator (not optional, the cameras don't switch between themselves, it's done remotely).
- Video recording equipment (needed, unless all you're doing is live video coverage around the site).
- Video monitors (needed for operating the vision mixer, and extra monitors can be used for showing the program around the site).
- Graphics computer (optional), for superimposing text and graphics over the screen (titles, results, et cetera).
- Commentator (optional, and you can provide this person).
- Transportation for everything that we need to bring in. You can supply the transportation, if you're able to. But you'd need a small courier van, or a large four-wheel-drive, to fit it all in. To give you an idea, you can see some of the equipment we'd use on the electronic field production kit page (other cameras, tripods, monitors are available, and only one of the wooden equipment racks may be needed).
NB: We offer the option of you providing crew, and/or transporation, as a means of reducing your costs, but be aware that: This must be arranged ahead of time. There will have to be some crew training before filming. I may reject some people as being unsuitable. And unskilled crew won't do as good a job as skilled crew, although unskilled crew can do reasonably good coverage when they're being directed.
Filming crew training is best done on an event, so ask a prior event if they don't mind you filming them for this purpose. Filming multiple events on one day can be a way of reducing your costs, too, if you can get several events to pay to be filmed, the daily hire cost can be spread amongst everyone.
Just some of our previous work
- Royal Adelaide Show, every year from around 1994, and still going. Providing multi-camera filming of events for judging purposes (slow motion playback for placegetting).
- Various suburban football matches (multiple camera coverage for the team wanting a recording, and single camera coverage for coaching assessment).
- Soccer matches for promoting a player to a talent scout.
- Sub-contracted to film Adelaide United FC (soccer) for coaching purposes.