In order for Akullian Creative to tell your story, there are some initial steps that need to take place before any content is made. If the Aces are about to shoot video, then we’ve already met with the client, written and received approval on a script, made decisions on where this video will go (and the format of it as a result) and planned, packed and prepared all the gear we need.
There’s a lot to unpack about our pre-production process, both literally and figuratively. Right now, let’s focus on the literal unpacking. When you call on Akullian Creative for your video, animation or design project, you’re receiving years of experience that has lead to the equipment we use today.
Take a look at the production gear we use in our home base, Studio A, and out in the field along with some real examples of our tools in action. Some of our gear are industry terms, and some we have “invented” or created to make our production more efficient.
Dolly
A dolly is, in very simple terms, something that can move an entire camera and tripod to get a particular shot. Our dolly was built from scratch by one of our Aces, Andrew, and can be extended to move up to 20 feet.
We set up our dolly for a brand photo and video shoot for Milady, a company that specializes in the education aspect of the beauty school industry. Here is a shot of our dolly in-action in Studio A that got us to the finished product.
Gimbal and Easyrig
A gimbal is essential for any project Akullian Creative works on. We brought our setup to the Infinidat office in Massachusetts to capture content for their brand that included our Zhiyun Crane 2 and Easyrig.
They may not look like it, but cameras are heavy. Taking the weight out of the equation for a shot takes away the fatigue factor, allotting more energy to focus on being creative, aside from making every shot much easier to capture in general.
Here is a looped brand video from the Infinidat shoot where we used our gimbal and Easyrig.
DJI Drone
We knew going into Yaddo Gardens in Saratoga there was a lot of beautiful property, treetops and small bodies of water to capture that our gimbals aren’t quite tall enough for, which is why we brought the drone.
The Aces are always excited for a reason to get out our drone and see an area we are capturing from a different perspective. The footage we came back from the shoot at Yaddo shows the beauty of the vibrant colors on the property in the fall. See for yourself below:
POV Camera
The concept of POV cameras is not something we came up with, but the rig we’ve designed to execute the shot is another Akullian Creative invention. Remember when we said that cameras are heavy? When you’re using them as often as we are, this is not something you can forget. To counteract the weight of our Sony FX3, we made a helmet with small weights on the back to hold it for us.
Our POV camera and setup was used on our trip to Boston on a project at Acoustic for their sales kickoff. The final product was a Top Gun inspired video that built on company culture: Top Rep (this video is also a great example of our animation skills, but let’s focus on one thing at a time).
Sony FS5
If you’re interested in the nuts and bolts of this camera, there is plenty of literature on the internet that will tell you why the FS5 is so great. Right now, we’re focusing on how we use the crop sensor in our studio to get the best shots possible.
We have cameras with full-frame sensors (like the FX3) that we use all the time, but for an interview we captured in our very own Studio A, the FS5’s crop sensor allowed us to zoom in and have a great image without losing any quality. Craig Peterson, two-time Indoor Football League champion and current kicker for the Arizona Rattlers, came to our studio for the final interview in a film Akullian Creative has been working on: Craig the Leg.
Here’s the setup in the studio the Aces put together knowing the sensor on the FS5 would allow for:
The Jib
Other than being a fun word to say outloud, the jib is a great tool for getting creative shots in and out of the studio. In Studio A, we have the Kessler Pocket Jib Pro on a K-Pod Tripod and then put that setup on wheels.
There are only so many chairs one can stand on to get different perspectives for photos and videos. Putting a camera on the jib makes for a smooth, easy and creative shot to include in our projects.
Here is Andrew using our jib setup at the 2019 Public Employees Federation Convention.
Studio A Essentials
The Aces have gear that is used every time we bring out the cameras, whether it’s for photos or videos. Here are the things that we cannot go without for a production:
Lighting
Anytime we’re hired to capture video, we bring our professional lighting as well. Our lights are diverse in the brands we have represented on our light cart. Specifically, some of the lights in our studio are:
To get the lighting perfect, a site visit is something we make sure to schedule with clients before we can make a production schedule. Once we’ve visited, we can plan for lights and gear based on the time of the day we’re shooting and the lights that are already in the room, along with lenses.
Based on the lighting, we will need to bring our diffusers. Those big white squares help us to properly light the room to compliment the artistic choices we make with our gels and lights.
If a client has video needs in our studio, we still have planning to do, just with a lot less packing. Once we have a storyboard and vision for the project, we design a set in Studio A to make the final product look amazing.
External Recorders
Depending on the situation, we do record internally on our cameras, but most of the time we record externally. There are a number of benefits to using an external recorder, one of them being the heightened video quality. The recorder that’s right for our cameras is the Shogun Inferno.
Teradek’s Ace 500 is another tool we use in our studio that allows us to watch what our cameras are recording wirelessly without any delay, which always makes for a smoother shoot.
Audio Equipment
Ask any professional video producer and they will tell you how important it is to have professional audio. We have mics and equipment that is used to record our audio in Studio A, which you can read more about here.
For some projects, we bring our creative partner and local audio engineer, Julia Norelli, who you can see below at the PEF parade in Albany with the Sennheiser MKH 418. The Aces consult Julia on audio decisions, along with joining the production team to operate the audio equipment when necessary, like during the PEF Parade in Albany this year:
The Cart
Every production team has a cart that stores some of the smaller things they need. Here’s what you’ll find in our cart.
Sekonic L-758DR
This Sekonic instrument measures the amount of light in a room and gives settings for our cameras like ISO, Iris, and others. Having a professional light meter saves us time both in the setup for a shoot, and in the editing process. With less lighting to fix by having it correct from the start, the finished product can be rendered out sooner.
Similar to the L-758DR, our Spectromaster is another tool that saves us time during and after gathering footage. Rather than measuring the amount of light, this gadget tells us the color temperature of the light in the room. If that seems complicated, that’s because it is. Your main takeaway from this section should be that we’ve got you covered for any field shoot we do.
Check out more on our color meter at the link above.
Grip
To keep all of our sets together (literally), we use a lot of different grips. Once we have a sophisticated set design, grip needs to be included not only for safety, but to actually pull off the set we wanted. Sandbags, clamps, stands, you name it, we’ve got it and we’ve done this enough times to make sure everyone on set is safe.
Prime Lenses & Pelican Cases
We have a number of options to choose from when it comes to lenses, all of which are protected by Pelican cases on our cart. The studio and the field can have some very different needs and the Aces always come prepared. Some of the lenses and accessories we use are:
- Sony 18-110mm
- Rokinon 35mm
- Veydra 25mm & 50mm
- Zeiss 35mm
- Tiffen ND filters
- Magnus Tripods
