It's always good to be asked to shoot content for TV and this month we put our Inspire 2 drone to test with a range of shoots throughout Belfast for local TV station NVTV. We made the most of the beautiful weather we have been having to get some breathtaking images of Belfast's landmarks. We were also commissioned by Clifton House to produce 2 adverts to promote their tours they have available in Clifton House and Clifton Street Cemetery. These were interesting to film and we learned a lot about the history of Belfast in the process. From stories of  body snatchers in the cemetery to historic treaties and laws being created in the house, these tours are not to be missed.

This month we have spent sometime upgrading our kit for future productions. We have now added Blackmagic's URSA Mini Pro G2 camera to our kit allowing us to shoot mages that are superior to traditional broadcast video cameras. We can record  full sensor 4.6k images at 120fps and 300fps in 1080 HD allowing us to create amazing slow motion shots in a cinematic style. We have also upgraded our Inspire 2 drone allowing us to shoot ProRes raw and record 4k video from the air that can be graded to match any camera we shoot with on the ground.

This month we have had to pivot to keep our clients happy and to keep producing content for brands to share and maintain their presence online. With filming restrictions in place we have produced several videos for clients using stock footage and Voiceover rather the traditional filmed content we are used to creating. With access to a wide range of stock footage and our own unique drone video archive this month has seen us produce content for brands within the holistic sector, the hair and beauty industry and deliver stock archive to independent productions in need of Irish drone footage. It's good to do things differently from time to time and this month made us more aware of this than ever before.

With all that's currently going on at the minute we decided to take our video storytelling course online. There's no better time to touch up on your productions skills and let people know about the products and services you provide.

Here are our TOP 5 TIPS for using video during the lock-down:

1, ARCHIVE /STOCK FOOTAGE - Use with text, music (license free) or voice-over to tell your story.
2, PHONE or iPAD - If you don’t have access to any archive material use your phone or iPad to shoot and edit your videos.
3, SHOWCASE - Showcase a free service or competition you are currently running.
4, TESTIMONIALS - Use testimonials and edit them with music and product photos. If you don’t have any, ask previous clients to send you some.
5, IF NONE OF THE ABOVE - Just produce something. Let people know you’re still trading!

We’ve worked with many companies that produce their videos in-house and have trained them to make professional looking videos that appeal to their audience. They went from finding it difficult to produce videos to being confident and motivated to film and edit their own content.

If you know anyone that's keen to touch up on their productions skills or make their first online video please direct them to our facebook group for more info - https://www.facebook.com/groups/Lockdownisntshutdown

This month we produced a highlights video for Victim Support NI at their conference in the Dunsilly Hotel. We recorded speeches, Q+A and interviews with attendees to create a short video summarising the event. We were also asked to travel out to South Africa with Belfast to Blanco 2020 to document the work of the Belfast based charity as they brought a cross-community group of young people to work in townships there. We produced 6 short Video blogs on location documenting the life changing experiences of the young people involved. Along the way we also came across a very moving story that we are editing at the minute. More to come on that very soon!

We started 2020 with a busy few weeks delivering content for the Greater Shankill Partnership and their 'Ur Journey Ur Shankill' event. We produced a series of videos to be played at the event and documented throughout the two days with a next day edit for day two. We took this opportunity to update our Inspire 2 drone and have now added a Pro Res license allowing us to shoot up to 5.2k on to a hard drive to give us an even better video image.