Home Remodeling

I got this project through Smart Shoot. They're sort of a referral service.  You apply to have an account with them and when jobs come up that they think you qualify for, they post them to a call board where you just click to claim them.  Not a bad way for a filmmaker starting out to get experience working with clients and finishing projects on a tight deadline.

This was a challenging video.  With a chef or a hair dresser, you can see what they do in an afternoon.  Things are a bit more involved with construction and home-remodeling services.  Their process can easily span over several weeks or months.  And because the assignment required me to wrap shooting in just a couple hours, I had to sit down with the client and get a little creative.

The client decided to focus on the small things to imply a bigger picture.  So I filmed them grabbing a saw blade, fixing an electrical panel, fixing the furnace in the basement and cutting lumber in the drive way.  And we performed the interview in the sun room next to a stack of ladders.  I'm not sure if the video conveys the entire scope of what these guys are capable of, but I am proud of how the individual shots came out.

The electrical panel scene posed particular challenges.  The room was small and dark.  I could boost the gain to achieve an exposed image, but I would sacrifice what little color the basement scene had to offer.  Also, the bare wood walls didn't offer much to keep the image very interesting.  Very flat and boring.  In bringing in a small work light and opening the door, we were able to save the shot

We had some similar issues with the furnace scene.  Just outside of frame is the work light.  You can see the guy's elbow in the background, holding the light.  I might have asked him to get out of the shot but his presence doesn't bother me.  He adds a little shape and interest to the background.