Pickerel Pie Entertainment

Some thoughts about film language and technique from everybody’s new favorite mollusk.

As corporate communications diversifies, what should the Voice of God sound like? And do we really believe that someone (anyone) can tell us the way the world works? In this episode of Corporate Film School, we address some of the issues confronting the use of voice-over - the (typically) unseen narration heard over images - that sets the tone and, to an unacknowledged degree, the authorial personality and background of a video. Who do we hear when your company speaks? Filmed By: Christian Carmody Edited By: Amos Damroth

In virtual space no one can hear you scream! More hard lessons from producing a large virtual event! Part two of our virtual events article!

Virtual events wont be going away!

In this fifth episode of Corporate Film School we look at an essential element of film language, particularly in documentary, that, despite its snappy name, gets very little attention: B-Roll. We propose that, in fact, B-Roll is so elemental to filmmaking and yet so invisible in the discourse around it, that it is the Dark Matter of the film universe, holding everything together and determining the shape and texture of every film and video we watch. We also get to use this phrase, like androids in some brightly-lit dystopia which we feel has also been too rarely deployed in connection with Corporate Video.

In our 4th installment of Corporate Film School (a series exploring elements of film language and production as they apply to corporate video) we look at the importance of Eyelines. Yes, I’m upset about how cavalierly many productions now treat this vital signifier - where is the person on camera looking - but, I’m not nearly as angry as Travis Bickle is about this issue so, count yourself lucky. In this episode of Corporate Film School, we pin down the meaning and importanc...e of eyelines. The thing is that eyelines are one of the MOST powerful aspects of a filmed presentation. It’s the difference in impact between shooting a bullseye or just shooting in the air. I get that directors and producers have become bored with the traditional straight-to-camera or just-off-camera eyelines and want to disrupt the status quo with radical angles on the person speaking - Wild! I’m seeing the side of her head while she ostensibly talks to me or the interviewer! How is that happening? Where am I? - but giving up the primal impact of direct eye contact or the feeling of being in an intimate conversation is a HUGE loss and rarely compensated for with unusual angles. Filmed By: Christian Carmody Edited By: Amos Damroth