SUMMER ASSOCIATES INTERVIEWS

OBJECTIVE

Reproduce the look of the footage from a previous Summer Associates video that was produced for Fraser Stryker.

ASSUMPTIONS

Fraser Stryker will write all questions that are going to be asked and provide them to Midland Pictures at least 48 hrs in advance of the shoot.
Fraser Stryker will provide a shooting location within their offices that is quiet, has very little traffic from other office personnel, has lighting (windows and overhead lights) that can be blocked with shades/blinds or turned on/off, and has easy access to power outlets.
Fraser Stryker will provide TWO high speed, high capacity USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 solid state drives so Midland Pictures can copy all RAW footage as quickly as possible during and after the shoot. Drives should be at least 2TB in capacity and have a read/write speed of 500MB/s. If you’d rather we provide the drives, we can purchase them and include them on our invoice with a copy of the receipt.
All film crew will break for lunch for 1 hour no earlier than 11 am and no later than 1 pm. Midland Pictures will provide lunch for the crew only — Fraser Stryker will be responsible for providing lunch for the interviewees and any other associates participating in the film shoot.
The shoot day will take no longer than 10 hrs including 1 hr for lunch. If shooting surpasses 10 hrs due to circumstances beyond Midland Pictures control (interviewees are late, questions aren’t prepared, sound issues with shooting location requiring us to move), Fraser Stryker will be charged overages (see each price option for rates for overage charges).
Midland Pictures will provide basic craft services for the shoot day — beverages & snacks
Fraser Stryker will communicate with interviewees regarding the schedule of their interviews but coordinate with me as to how they are scheduled. To know how much time to allow for each interviewee’s interview, I’ll need to see the previous film as well as the questions that will be asked.

OPTION 1 | PREMIUM

Pre-Production: Midland Pictures will hire and coordinate all crew as well as communicate with Fraser Stryker as-needed about the shooting schedule, any special requirements for interviewees, clothing requirements for interviewees, crew parking, equipment load-in / load-out, deliverables requirements (file formats, etc. from your post-production team). Midland Pictures will also work with key crew members to have a prep day to ensure that all camera, lighting, and specialty equipment is ready for our shoot day. Midland Pictures will also arrange for lunch for the crew as well as craft services for all who attend the shoot.

Production:

Required Crew: 5

Producer / Director

DP / Cam Op

B-Cam Op

Sound Recordist

Set Assistant

CAMERA & SOUND

Two-Camera Interviews

Cinema Camera Package with 4K Internal 10-bit 4-2-2 Recording | Canon C300 MkII

Cinema Camera Package with 4K Internal 10-bit 4-2-2 Recording | Canon C70

Cinema Lenses

Sound Recordist | External Sound Recording using Timecode | Boom Mic + Lav Mic

Advantages: Two camera angles makes it significantly easier to edit out any stammers, “ums”, and pauses in the interviewee’s testimonial. Two camera angles also look much more impressive to the viewer - like something you’d see in a documentary film on Netflix. A dedicated sound recordist will ensure that we capture the best sound possible using specialty tools, recording techniques, and their sole focus will be on capturing quality sound. This provides the greatest assurance that all audio will sound exceptional.

Disadvantages: More expensive, more time to set up, more crew to manage

LIGHTING

Three-Point Lighting

Key Light with Softbox | Aputure 120D

Fill/Edge Light with Softbox | Aputure 120D

Hair Light | TBD

Advantages: Three-point lighting is much more pleasing to the eye to the viewer because it resembles what viewers have seen in high quality documentary films and news shows like 60 Minutes. It also helps to make the interviewee look their best.

Disadvantages: More expensive, more time to set up and get just right.

SAMPLE VIDEO OF A “PREMIUM” INTERVIEW

OPTION 2 | ADVANCED

Production:

Required Crew: 3

Producer / Director

DP / Cam Op / Sound

Set Assistant

CAMERA & SOUND

Single Camera Interviews

Cinema Camera Package with 4K Internal 10-bit 4-2-2 Recording | Canon C300 MkII

Photography Zoom Lenses

Synced Sound Recording Package | C300 MkII + Boom Mic & External Lav Mic

Advantages: 4K resolution allows for adjusting the frame without quality loss, sound will be synced to picture in-camera, an external lav mic will provide additional audio for a richer sound mix (this lav’s audio will have to by synced to picture though)

Disadvantages: The camera operator will monitor both camera and sound - the camera operator’s expertise is with camera not sound. They’ll be able to monitor sound for any major issues (static, hiss, other issues) but they are not a sound recording professional.

LIGHTING

Key Light with Softbox | Aputure 120D

Fill/Edge Light with Softbox | Aputure 120D

Advantages: Less contrast on the interviewee, more dynamic

Disadvantages: More time to set up and dial in to get it looking just right, more expensive

OPTION 3 | BASIC

Production:

Required Crew: 3

Producer / Director

DP / Cam Op / Sound

Set Assistant

CAMERA & SOUND

Single Camera Interviews

Mirrorless Camera Package with 1080p External 10-bit 4-2-2 Recording | Canon EOS R + Atomos NinjaV

Photography Zoom Lenses

External Sound Recording Package | Tascam DR60D MkII + Boom Mic

Advantages: Less expensive, less equipment to set up

Disadvantages: Sound will have to by manually synced to picture in post-production using audio analysis or by manually syncing using the slate / clapper. The camera operator will monitor both camera and sound - the camera operator’s expertise is with camera not sound. They’ll be able to monitor sound for any major issues: static, hiss, other issues.

LIGHTING

Single Key Light with Softbox | Aputure 120D

Advantages: Less expensive, quick & easy setup

Disadvantages: Lighting will be one-dimensional and there may be more contrast on the interviewee’s face which can create a more dramatic tone.

PRICING

Option 1 is $15,000

Overage charges for shooting beyond 10 hrs | $1,500/hr billed in 15 min increments

Option 2 is $12,500

Overage charges for shooting beyond 10 hrs | $1,250/hr billed in 15 min increments

Option 3 is $10,000

Overage charges for shooting beyond 10 hrs | $1,000/hr billed in 15 min increments

PREMIUM UPGRADES

Tech Scout | If Fraser Stryker is concerned about selecting a location within their offices that is noise and foot traffic-free, has controllable lighting, and plenty of outlets, we can perform a tech scout in the days before the shoot to select a shooting location that meets our criteria and ensures our shoot won’t have any location-based issues that may delay filming.

+$1,000 to the price of the above option you choose

Hair & Makeup | Midland Pictures will hire a dedicated hair/makeup professional to make sure hair is looking good for camera (interviewees won’t have their hair styled or dressed by the on-set stylist) and makeup will be used to ensure that each interviewees skin looks vibrant and blemish-free.

+$1,500 to the price of the above option you choose

On-Set Post Processing | After the shoot Midland Pictures will sync picture and sound as well as apply a base color correction and grade to the raw footage. We will then export that footage with audio and color grade so that your post-production team can edit with synced and color-accurate footage. We will provide the raw footage and audio in addition to the post-processed footage on the hard drives you provide.

+$2,000 to the price of the above option you choose

NEXT STEP

Please let us know which option you’d like to purchase.

These prices are valid for 30 days.

100% of price must be paid before work commences.

Payment can be made via check, ACH, or wire transfer.

We’ll follow up on Monday, June 13th if we haven’t heard from you.

Please contact Matthew if you have any questions about these price options: matthew@midlandpictures.com | 402.979.7094

WHY MIDLAND PICTURES?

We think our work speaks for itself. Check out a few videos we’ve produced for our satisfied clients below.

You will undoubtedly get some quotes that are significantly lower than ours - we pride ourselves on embracing the intricate and collaborative nature of film production. I’m a graduate of Florida State University’s Film School and have been working in the performing arts since attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to study Acting / Theatre. Film production requires talented and skilled crew members who pay attention to the details in their work, are sensitive to the needs of the client and interviewees, and care greatly about the overall safety of everyone on set. Filmmaking is a process, and I’ve seen far too many production companies or “one-man-band” operations take shortcuts or bypass tried and true processes which introduces far too much risk into a film shoot. Something to keep in mind.

GENERAL DODGE

This video was produced for The Historic General Dodge House in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Written & Directed by Kate Ryan Brewer. Produced & Edited by Matthew O’Brien. Cinematography by Michael Hennings.

Please feel free to contact Tom Emmett, Executive Director at The General Dodge House, to learn more about his experience working with me (Matthew O’Brien) and Midland Pictures.

Tom Emmett | tomemmett@dodgehouse.org

MANUEL’S STORY

This video was produced for Brookside Church in Omaha, Nebraska. Brookside was launching a new Spanish-language service on Sundays and wanted to promote it during Sunday services in advance of the launch.

Produced, Directed & Edited by Matthew O’Brien. Cinematography by Cody Jones.

YOUTUBE

In addition to client work, I also run my own YouTube channel that has gained over 18,000 subscribers. I make videos about Apple tech, filmmaking, and Final Cut Pro. Check out this video where I give a tour of my video editing and post-production desk setup.