By: Bob Bekian, Digital Producer & Studio Owner
Los Angeles County has been a center for Entertainment Production, dating back to when the original Studio owners came from New York to sunny L.A. in the early 1900’s. Hollywood was established as the center for Film and Television production at this time because the studios could use the year round sun and weather to their advantage.
Fast-forward to today and Los Angeles remains a hub for content production and distribution. Santa Monica has been named “Silicon Beach” as a result of the large number of tech start-ups and digital content producers. The cost of producing digital content in Los Angeles can be very expensive, but if you follow these guidelines, you should greatly minimize your costs:
Choose the right location.
In order to legally shoot in Los Angeles, a permit must be obtained. Filming permits can be obtained through filmla.com. For a studio shoot, check out studios that offer as many services as possible. We designed Loyal Studios for producers to save time and money by offering a pre-lit sound stage and a functional technical design.
Hire the right crew.
Sounds easy right? Put an ad on craigslist and interview the candidates. Although this sometimes works, there are several factors which are important to consider. Is the crew member technically proficient with the chosen pieces of equipment? Check out their reels and samples of work. For most professionals, they will have some credits on IMDB which should be checked. The main objective is to put together a team that will be efficient, professional and capture excellent content.
Use the right equipment.
There are many choices of equipment which can be used for capturing your content but there is no coming back from bad video, lighting or sound. So match your photographer with the right camera. They should know how to master that tool which is essentially a computer with a lens on it. Proper lighting is also essential and should be appropriate for the shot.As far as sound goes, it is always important to user the proper microphones and mixer in order to capture a clean sound recording. The idea is to plan and obtain good footage with excellent sound quality for post production. By following these 3 simple rules, your project will benefit from these important essential production guidelines.
