Tips on shooting aerobic/strenght-training instructional videos

A

andybiz_2005

Well-known member
Hi,

I've been commissioned to shoot a very important instructional exercise/fitness video for a client soon.

She will be conducting an exercise class & I estimate the duration of the final DVD to be about 1 hour. That's what most of the exercise videos are.

How should I shoot this exercise video? It will be very similar to the exercise videos that Jane Fonda or Kathy Smith produce.

Since I'll only be using 1 DVX, should I shoot a variety of shots from different angles, a variety of wide-angles shots, medium shots & extremely close-up shots of the instructor focussing on 1 specific muscle for example? Then later composite the different angles into my NLE to make it look like multiple cameras were used for the same shot? I know that I will have to shoot the same session multiple times to get different angles of the same routine. I estimate in total, maybe 6-7 days of shooting for a 1 hour-long DVD.

Or should I just rent 2 more DVXs & position them on tripods at different angles in the hall. Then with my own DVX, I can do so some roaming shots? Would renting gear make better sense in terms of time savings & saving on shooting too many times?

How much should I charge the instructor for a day of shooting? How much should I charge for the editting, rendering & burning of the DVD? How about duplication costs?

When should I shoot on a tripod, & when should I shoot handheld shots?
Should I shoot in 25p or 50i? Would it be 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio? Should I use any Cinegamma curves to make the video more movie-like?

Currently, I have no idea of the venue, how many students will take part or the lighting. These will be ironed out soon.

Advice from anyone who has successfully shot & produced an exercise workout DVD would be very much appreciated.

Oh yeah, 1 more thing. The final DVD will be mainly for the US market, but will be exported to other regions. I have to shoot in PAL version because my DVX supports only PAL. How do I ensure that the DVD will be able to read in multiple regions without problems? My NLE is Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5.

Thank you very much in advance for your suggestions.

Andrew
 
Well----shooting with one camera is a royal pain in the neck---Renting other cameras makes sense if its in your budget. Pro exercise tapes seldom have hand held shots----they are smooth and often utilize jib arms.

The other issue you will find shooting (unless you do it in a studio where most high end exercise videos are shot) is lighting problems and sound issues. You had best scout your location way in advance.

I have shot a ton of these and if you need further advice feel free to ask.
 
No doubt, three cameras would the way to go. one cam on a small Jib arm, two on sticks. With three cams, you could cut your production time in half or do a better, more thorough job with the same days allotted.

I agree with Rextillion, hand-held would probably not work very well, it's not part of the established style of these types of videos, it's not what this audience would expect to see. Even on an MTV workout video I saw years ago, they did not use "MTV" type of camera movement, it was jib and two or three cams on sticks, maybe a Steadicam.

Some other issues, it would look more professional for your talent to be able to turn to address other camera angles, rather than always speaking to just one camera, but this would reqire careful direction and possibly aq tally system to let the talent know which camera would be their eyeline.

Sound will be very important, make sure you have a sound mixer and that he/she knows what you will be doing with the talent as far as movement. How are you handling music copyright issues?

I have used earpieces for talent for music/direction, then inserted the music in post. So all you would be recording is dialogue, no music. The music is inserted when you edit. I record a guide track from the output of the CD player as a timing reference track so that I can match the beats in post when we insert the music.

What kind of grip and lighting package will you have? You will need a LOT more lighting gear/grip gear in lighting for three cameras than you would have for a single camera.

Best,

Dan
 
Thanks Rextilleon & puredrifting for giving me very useful advice. Yes, I have to check if I have the budget to rent 2 cameras on top of my DVX. Well, I have to get in touch with this instructor in the US to get as much info on where she intends to shoot, etc. But the shoot is sometime in September or October, so I don't think she has much that is solidlly confirmed. I have to follow up with her on a constant basis until Sept arrives, so I know what are her preferences. As soon as I know more info, I'll share with you about it.

Thanks again.

Andrew
 
Hi, I'm back again. Well, thanks Rextilleon for offering your advice on this matter.
I sent e-mails to camera rental houses near my area, but still waiting for their reply. Basically, I asked them how much it would cost to rent a DVX102, a video light, a light-weight tripod & XLR external microphone for just one day. Hope they reply back soon.

The other things I plan to do is get in touch with this US fitness trainer, or at least find out her background as the person who referred me to her says that she travels internationally to conduct fitness classes & is a professional. Perhaps she already has a few exercise videos produced that I can purchase to see the quality of the shooting so I know what she will expect when I shoot her exercise class in September.

Right now is the preparatory stage where I find out as much info on the actual day shoot & the instructor's background plus venue, etc. I don't like surprises.

Originally, I quoted my referrer around $800-900 for the videoshooting + editing + burning to 1 DVD. But I told her that this is not the final quote as I need to know more information. Do you think $800-900 is too cheap for a multicam shoot like this? Rextilleon, in your experience, how much do you charge for videoshooting for 1 day, editing, rendering, burning & printing label design on DVD for? Like I said, she's a pro fitness instructor & can afford to pay more, but I also have to deliver a quality product worthy of the price I'm quoting her.

What did you do during the preparatory stages before the actual day of shoot? I am anxious to learn as much as this will be my first fitness training videoshoot. Thank you so much for your advice.

Andrew
 
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