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San Diego Video Production
San Diego a Perfect “Set”
for Ford shoot
Inland San Diego County became a perfect backdrop for a series of recent Ford shoots. Every year Ford calls on Solana for this HD video production. It involves finding the right background to match Ford’s marketing goals for the vehicle. That’s complicated with the requirement for complete secrecy.
The cars arrive on an unmarked tractor-trailer rig. They’re rolled off disguised with custom-made canvas covers. There are cutouts for the windows so the driver can see out but the entire exterior is concealed.
Shooting the cars presents a series of complications. We usually start shooting static shots of the cars parked at interesting angles. Every time it’s moved the handlers tape over all identifying badging that is not visible to the camera. It’s a long process but it’s designed to prevent anyone from getting photos of the vehicles before they’re revealed to the public.
The real fun begins with shooting the car-to-car video. To keep the location secret we try not to pull permits or close streets. It’s a challenge to find stretches of road long enough to get the cars up to speed and capture the shots. But having spent nearly twenty years cruising around Southern California for various video productions we’ve gotten to know the area well.
We’ve also perfected a system of coordinating the cars and shooting out of the back of vans. It’s a little unorthodox, and tends to raise eyebrows with the California Highway Patrol, but it produces great shots. And the officers are generally more interested in the latest car designs than writing us tickets!
This year’s video was shot with the Sony XDHD camera. The disc based system offers some huge advantages in the field. We could play back scenes and return to recording in seconds. The HD video production was edited into short programs and distributed to local television stations around the country.
Los Angeles Video Production
Solana Wins with 'Biggest Loser' Trainer
Solana Productions captured all the drama as Jillian Michaels, fitness trainer on TV's "The Biggest Loser," invaded a former Hollywood star's home for a complete diet and fitness makeover. ...more
Client Testimonials
"Thanks again for the remarkable video production services provided for our series "Animal Miracles with Alan Thicke." Each time we are more and more impressed with your team when we shoot at various locations throughout the western United States."
Client Video Production experiences...
The "Amazing" Hidden-Camera Proposal
March 4, 2010
That was our San Diego video crew rolling on the surprise, hidden-camera engagement of "The Amazing Race" winners Cheyne Whitney and Meghan Rickey! It happened at dusk last Sunday on a hill overlooking scenic Lake Murray, where the childhood sweethearts grew up. With the HD video crew and yours truly hiding behind a cactus grove, Cheyne brought his blindfolded ladylove to their special place for the surprise -- popping the question and presenting her with a dazzling 1.5-carat Princess cut diamond. After recording the special moments, we emerged from our hiding place to congratulate and interview the newly engaged couple. Our San Diego video production aired on Thursday night's "Entertainment Tonight." Only problem -- I've been pulling cactus needles out of my jeans and boots all week long!
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San Diego Webcast Video Production
San Diego webcast video productions come in all shapes and sizes. We began webcasting five years ago with Hewlett-Packard. Their printing division is based in San Diego. The CEO of this billion dollar business decided to address his employees world-wide on a quarterly basis.
Using four cameras and a portable production studio, this has grown into a very complex and professional-looking show. Each one is different. We’ve had live questions from China, presenters from Germany and India and web content from all over the world.
Our crews are responsible for the live production for an audience of hundreds, an overflow room with separate projector, screen and additional plasmas and the feed to the web. It usually involves a crew of about 30 and several days of production.
At the other end of the spectrum is the live San Diego webcast we recently did for “Entertainment Tonight” at the 2009 Comic-Con convention. With just one person and a laptop, we fed the “Twilight: New Moon” press conference live to the ET website.
As you can see, webcasts can be as big and complicated as a live sports production or as simple as one person and a laptop. Both put an image on the web and they both send very different messages.
Whatever your message is, you can count on Solana Productions to deliver it.