We’re finally settled into our new offices in the lovely Josephine Butler Parks Center in NW Washington, DC. We wanted to be in a space that was historical, inspiring and energetic, and this building is all of that and more. It was built in the 1920s as a potential site for the Vice President’s home but now houses a multitude of local non-profits, creatives and community builders. Below are some photos of our office, which comprises two adjoining rooms. Please come and pay us a visit!
Blog
Eidolon’s DP Ben Crosbie Featured in Panasonic’s Blog
Eidolon’s own Ben Crosbie was recently featured in Panasonic’s blog. It details his work on Eidolon’s independent and client projects using the AG-AF100. Read it HERE!
Three Techniques To Building A Profile Video
Many of our clients like to highlight stories of major donors, committed volunteers and institution-builders. Such profile videos can serve to honor service to the organization as well as provide inspiration for others to emulate that service. The video below is one of two profiles we produced for Georgetown University, which used the video to honor committed members of the business community at a fundraising event aimed to raise scholarship money. Below the video are three techniques to building a successful short profile story:
5 Questions Non-Profits Should Ask Before Producing Video
We’re often approached by non-profit organizations who say they want to produce a video about their organization but they can’t seem to answer why. It’s the main reason why we’ve recently developed a questionnaire that we bring with us on all initial client meetings. It came as a bit of a surprise to one client we’ve had for several years who looked at it and joked, “what’s this, a personality survey?” And we responded, YES! It’s a personality survey for non-profits to try to get them to articulate who they are, what their story is, what they want to achieve, and why. Below are five of the most important questions non-profit organizations should ask themselves before commencing a video production:
On Love in Documentary
This Valentine’s Day Eve as my honey and I wait for the homemade pizza dough to rise for our casual romantic eve, I felt compelled to sit down and write about what inspires me about love in non-fiction film. Mostly because it’s the only kind of depiction of love that really inspires and moves me. Hollywood doesn’t have anything on docs when it comes to love. Their formula typically goes something like this: boy meets girl, flirtation ensues, they are confronted by forces out of their control, they break up, and in most cases they get back together for happily ever after. Documentary love is much more complicated, layered, and profound.
New in the New Year
With the New Year upon us, we thought we’d share the exciting new things we’ll be doing in 2012 at Eidolon Films:
2012 DCist Exposed Photography Show
We’re really excited to announce that our own Ben Crosbie’s photo “Dulles Sunset” was selected to be included at the 2012 DCist Exposed Photography Show at DC’s Long View Gallery from March 21-April 1. The photo is among 40 diverse depictions of DC-area life and locales that were selected from over 650 submissions. This is Ben’s second year in the DCist show. In 2011, his photo “Wharf Afternoon” was selected and exhibited. Thank you to the DCist for making this event possible and for providing local artists an opportunity to showcase their work. Check out the rest of this year’s winners at www.dcist.com.
Shooting Simple Black and White Interviews
For one of our clients, we were tasked with filming a series of interviews with a wide range of subjects all over the world. The goal was to keep the focus on the subject and their story. Guided by this goal, our visual approach was to film stripped down, simple close up interviews with as abstract a background as possible. We aimed for shooting locations that were simple and modern, sometimes even just a white wall or corner. This runs counter to the type of setting we usually request for interview shoots – something with character, natural light, architecture and a setting that provides visual context for the character or story.
Farewell 2011, it’s been a fantastic year
Yesterday we sat down with a notebook, a pen and a profit & loss comparison statement print-out from Quickbooks. With these tools, we evaluated our last year in business and in life, since they inevitably converge in the creative field. We first sat down and wrote down all the things that went well and why. The exercise served as both a pat on the back and an evaluation into what to continue to do in 2012. But the past year has been exhilarating.
Thinking differently about holiday gifts for clients
In our years of employment, we’ve seen our fair share of gifts sent by vendors to clients during the holiday season. One web design company sent branded Nalgenes filled with candy to every member of the communications team as a thank you for their contract. Another vendor sent hand-crafted chocolates in branded wood-burned boxes. Beautiful presents indeed.
But when it came time for us to think about sending a holiday “thank you” to our clients and the subjects in our independent films, we decided to go in a different direction: homemade. Eidolon Films is a small two-person company and our appeal to large clients is not our size and brand, but rather our quality of work, attention to detail, personalized service and passion for the mission more than the bill.
Colorado National Monument Side Trip
Sometimes traveling for work has its perks. In this case, we had to head out to Grand Junction, CO for an interview shoot. We had a few hours free after the shoot so we headed over to Colorado National Monument. It was a great side trip – totally empty, stunning scenery and a close encounter with long horn sheep. Enjoy the snaps.
Airline Travel Tips for Filmmakers
We’ve flown on nearly every major US airline in the last year, close to 100,000 miles. Not all of it has been for filmmaking, but we have done enough trips with all of our gear to get a solid lay of the land when it comes to flying with film equipment. Oversize baggage fees, media rates, waived fees, damaged equipment, delays, cranky agents, nice agents– we’ve seen it all. In the process we’ve learned a few tips that can greatly help you on your next flight with your gear. Which airline is far and away the best for flying with film-making gear? Read to the end to find out!