By Dawson Mitchell, Mississippi State University, Agricultural Education, Leadership and Communications
The ability to watch quality video has become an ordinary occurrence in today’s world. With high definition phones, televisions, and computers it is easier than ever to get entertainment and news with the click of a button. What most people never realize is that those videos have been perfectly captured through a process that is not always as simple as it seems.
Electronic field production is simply video production that takes place outside of a studio. Many industry employees call this task field shooting.
Patrick Barkley, an Emmy winning video production specialist for Rhea + Kaiser, spoke about video production at the Ag Communicators Network Southeast Regional Workshop, November 14, 2017, in Montgomery, Ala. Barkley’s video production talents have been featured in prominent Chicago programs like 1st Look, Open House, Living Healthy Chicago and Your Money.
“Field shooting is a challenge, it’s all about telling one story and not leaving out the beginning, middle, or end,” Barkley said.
With his years of field shooting experience Barkley has found a couple of tricks that help him to be as efficient as possible when shooting video.
“For example, a Lavalier mic used for interviews to produce quality sound is commonly called a wind grabber because it picks up the sound of wind and it becomes louder than the words you want to hear, but if you put the mic under your shirt it blocks most of the outside noise” Barkley said.
This is just one of many tricks used by professionals who shoot video in the field. Using the correct lighting and having a steady tripod are also important aspects in capturing the perfect video.
According to Barkley, one of the first things you must do when shooting in the field is establish rapport with your interview subject.
“You have got to get to know who you are interviewing and make them comfortable, you have to show them that you are educated about the topic and that you care,” Barkley said.
“When filming for agriculture you have to deal with the natural elements and it can be difficult, but filming video has come such a long way in a short number of years and it will only get more complex with time,” Barkley said. Filming video is a tedious job. Whether it is with a $200 camera or a $10,000 camera, it takes all the right steps to make it look appealing to the average viewer.