When it comes to video projects, my experience making student films and independent productions with virtually no money has truly come in handy. When it comes to figuring out creative ways to troubleshoot; “I have no money for my art,” I’m a pro. Over the years I’ve become really good at being victorious without a lot of resources. This has overlapped into my career in a way that I’m always so proud to look at my budget actuals at the end of every project I’m involved with.
The most recent job I produced was for the United States Olympic Committee. Six (which turned into twelve) short webisodes, each featuring a different Coca-Cola sponsored Olympic hopeful. Citizen was to have six shoots: Our main shoot was to interview each athlete at a Coca-Cola sponsored event in Chicago. Then: we would have a supporting five individual shoots to show all the athletes in action, other interviews with them, and random athlete b-roll.
Because the Olympics were only months -quickly creeping up on weeks- away, it was becoming impossible for the USOC to coordinate all the individual shoots with the athletes because many of them were busy training in other countries or skating at the World Championships.
After transcription of the initial interviews, the very first thing I did was start highlighting each story that unfolded in the interviews. I found that I could build an entire paper edit from this first interview, and if the USOC absolutely could not figure out our extra shoot dates, at the very least I could ask the USOC to send me supporting b-roll footage. Footage of past Olympic Ceremonies, past games, performances, and photos. Sure enough, the USOC could only coordinate two other shoots. But, as they say, sometimes you just have to make it work!
To get this project wrapped, it took a lot more producer time then anticipated. It required many footage/element request e-mails, countless tapes of athlete footage, lots of logging, and being completely prepared before walking into the edit. We needed to get a rough cut of a two minute webisode AND a thirty second cut down to a place for client approval/feedback by the end of the first edit day. We had a second day of edit to make changes, get picture lock, audio sweeten, color correct, and deliver. With a tight paper edit and a lightening fast, amazing editor (Mark Taras) each webisode ended up charming and exactly what the client had envisioned it to be. (Even without the extra 3 shoots we had planned!)
Britt Coleman
To view Coca-Cola Presents “Open Happiness,” please log onto
www.teamusa.org