We are a Corporate Video Production Company in Bristol

This modern technology has allowed smaller productions achieve what was once a large budget helicopter shot. The popularity and advantages of drone cameras have opened up their own industry for aerial photography and film, working well for events such as festivals or weddings as well as for real estate and action sports. Due to their small size, drones can often squeeze into places humans cannot, opening up interesting new opportunities for camera angles and video edits.

Because the operational skills required greatly differ from those of a traditional cameraman, plus recently introduced licensing requirements, you need to source both the correct drone hardware as well as the right pilot for the job. BirdStone have partnered with 2 drone operators and are able to include aerial footage into any video edit or photography project without complication. Should you feel your production could benefit from these high flyers, then simply contact us to discuss your requirements.

Stock material refers to existing film, photography or music that is available to use within projects by purchasing the licensing rights. It is important to understand exactly when stock footage is beneficial and when it becomes a hindrance. Although continuously growing, the stock libraries will be limited and therefore sacrifices may be needed. However, using stock footage can be a very time and cost effective way to create video edits, and the footage is generally high quality and professionally captured.

There are many different websites offering stock materials, and therefore it can take some time to source what best suits the specific production requirements. These sites will let you download a watermarked copy of the image, footage or music, so that you can test it out in a rough cut before deciding to go ahead with any purchase. It should be noted that stock footage will be a compressed format, and will require some colour correction and editing work before it seamlessly fits into an edit, and, although unlikely, there is always a risk that viewers may recognise the footage from another production.

Audio is so often overlooked in video production, but plays such an important role in ensuring a well-polished product. However impressive the visuals, if the sound recording is poor the whole production is let down. The selection of background music can greatly alter the mood of a video, therefore if unsuitable may send the wrong message to those watching.

The skills required for editing and enhancing soundwaves differ from those needed for visual content. Larger productions will likely require access to our trusted partners sound studio, to make use of more specialised hardware. However, the majority of projects can be handled in-house thanks to our professional audio editing software, which performs high quality mixing, noise removal, synchronisation, balancing and de-sibilizing.

This process involves enhancing the colours within each shot, ensuring more powerful visuals. It is one of the most important processes to giving footage the correct impact and mood desired. It includes correcting the colours to better match adjoining shots in the edit, which can be especially noticeable when filmed using different camera equipment or at different times of the day.

The method to grading footage is not too dissimilar to digitally adjusting the colour balance, brightness or contrast of a photo, however because of the movement on screen and repeated camera cuts, attention must be paid to the colours throughout the timeline. Projects will generally require an overall grading to all shots taken at each location as well as a more individual approach to those key shots that require a greater level of manipulation to generate the right aesthetic style and finish.

Colours can only be pushed so far before they begin to cause noise or areas of unwanted artefacts. This is dependent on the colour information recorded by the camera, and often recorded footage will appear flat on purpose, because certain light and colour information has not been baked into the footage, allowing greater flexibility whilst colour grading. It is important to note that professional colour grading suites are most commonly used for high budget productions, such as TV and movies, due to the professional hardware setup costs. However, using a well calibrated monitor in a dark room, it is possible to achieve similar results from small studios such as ourselves.