Central London filmmaker
Working as a promotional filmmaker, I produce, film and edit promotional website videos. With over 15-years of experience I enjoy working with my clients to deliver their bespoke commissions. Promotional website videos help my clients to promote their skills, products or services to a far wider audience. Sharing videos online via social media, YouTube and websites also enable pay per click advertising and additional promotion if required. In this case example, I give a brief overview of the background behind the creation of an artists promotional video.
Pre-production
Glass Artist Bruno Romanelli was looking for a promotional film that explained how his glass artworks were created. At the start of the project, I visited his production studio location where he creates his art, a large light industrial unit in South London. Together we discussed the film project in more detail. Bruno explained to me the many complex processes involved in casting glass. The aim of the film was to show each of these complex processes to help explain how much is involved in the making of each piece.
Production
This film was filmed mainly in the available studio light, a mixture of daylight and artificial lighting. While filming I recorded the atmospheric sounds of the studio and the glass art production. This film was recorded on occasional days over a period of six weeks. Some process needed time before the next stage could be completed. One example of this was the final glass casting. The mould was filled with raw glass ingots that first needed to come up to a temperature in the kiln to melt the glass thereby filling the mould. Then, most importantly, the kiln temperature needed to cool down very slowly so as to not crack the glass. This cooling process took two weeks alone.
The final shots of the completed artwork were filmed with the completed artwork ‘Titan’ placed on a turntable with a black felt dressed set. These final artworks shots show how magnificently Bruno’s glass is transformed by the correct lighting. This is something Bruno is always keen to ensure when his works are displayed in exhibitions or galleries around the world.
Post-production
I worked with the many hours of filmed footage in the edit for several weeks. I spent some time looking at different ways to show as much of the footage as possible without the film becoming too long. In the end, I edited it down to the more essential shots which ensure the viewer can stay with each part of the process. The fast pace of the edits – generally around 2second / 50frame each – keep the film moving without any music. Just using the audio recordings of Bruno’s studio gives the film more atmosphere. An occasional visual mix helps some of the transitions.
Promotional website videos
Making this film for Bruno gave me a great insight into the care and detail that Bruno’s work demands. Working with glass is a complex process that Bruno Romanelli has well and truly mastered. The positive/negative processes and plaster/wax casting stages are more easily understood by actually seeing them take place. The Making of Titan is a great example of how video can convey a very complex lengthy process in an interesting and visual way. If you would like any help with your video production please get in touch.
