Case Study: CEO Message

The marketing department of a major regional technology company in the Midwest needed a cinematic video featuring the company's CEO.

And this is what happened next... 

We arrived at the client's headquarters facility ready to work in the relatively tight confines of the CEO's office. With a desk, credenza, work table, several office chairs in the office, there was very little space left for equipment set up. In addition, several member of the company's marketing and executive teams would be present in the office at the time of the shoot, as would personnel from the company's external marketing partner. Additionally, the orientation of the office meant that the CEO would be somewhat backlit with morning light streaming in from east-facing windows.

The Setup

We set up two cameras in the small space available, the XF300 as the main camera and the 5D mkIII as camera B. For audio, we were able to get our Rode NTG3 up on a boom. This left just enough room for two camera operators. Our lighting solution required only a single key light, as the natural light from the windows served well as a rim to set the CEO off from the background.

Key Considerations

With many people watching, and a CEO concerned with both his time, and delivering an effective message, the pressure was on to make sure that the technology side of the shoot was almost transparent. We rely on professional equipment from Canon and other vendors to perform flawlessly in a wide range of circumstances. In this case, the cameras and other technology delivered perfectly and enabled us to focus on putting the client CEO at ease and direct the look without being distracted by equipment issues.

The End Result

After getting the clips into the editing software, we found the clips from the 5D matched well with the clips from the XF300. We were able to deliver both camera angles to the client's external marketing partners for inclusion in corporate update presentation that was subsequently used to communicate the firm's yearly update to employees at locations the nation's midwestern states.

Technology Used On This Project

  • Canon XF300
  • Canon EOS 5D mkIII
  • Canon EF 24-105mm F4L lens
  • Rode Video Mic Pro
  • Rode NTG3
  • Linco Flora
  • 1 soft boxes
  • Final Cut Pro X