A good video crew gets the job done on time, in budget, without fuss and delivers great footage and audio. This sounds pretty obvious right? Well it's not as obvious as it should be. With the democratisation of video production, through cheaper gear, also comes the cheaper video crew. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for healthy competition but I'm not for the lowering of standards. Considering we live in what's essentially the "video age", it flummoxes me that sooo much bad video seems to be in the mix.
So what is responsible for this bad video? Is it the cheaper gear? NO (and that's a big fat no). The simple truth is that more and more people think the gear will do it for them. They buy into the manufacturer's hyperbole, watch the perfect marketing videos and buy the gear thinking that the creative ability comes with it for free. It doesn't! I've seen too many crews running around with Excalibur looking gear doing seriously ugly Mordrin things with it. The truth is what a good video crew is study, practice, dedication, natural talent, EQ, IQ and the gear to make that shine.
Charles Meadows is a Director, DoP and owner of Incubate Productions in Johannesburg, South Africa. He has produced, filmed and director corporate and broadcast productions throughout South Africa and Africa. He's prefers using his cameras to writing blogs.