Behind the Scenes of Needcraft You Tube Video Shoot

Filming our You Tube lampshade videos is easily one of our favourite days of the year and our recent filming in September was no different - especially as we decided to freshen up the look, feel, venue and even camera angles of our You Tube videos to support our US Lampshade Making Kit range.

In this post we take you behind the scenes and show you what happens behind the camera, as well as in front of it and introduce you to the 2021 filming crew!

9.00 am

After a few hours of unloading plenty of lampshade making kits, made up lampshades, filming equipment and props the day before, the filming team arrived at our new filming venue - an office on the top floor of a Victorian building in Manchester’s Northern Quarter - early on a Sunday morning ready to start the day.

Even with part of the set-up done, there was still much, much more to do for the team - Sam Dannells Demonstrator, Monica, Dannells Marketing Manager, Ruben, Dannells Sales Manager, Vicky, Professional Videographer and Beth, Sound Assistant (who sadly missed the group photoshoot!)

10.00am

Vicky (@estellessister), who’s been filming Dannells and Needcraft videos since 2016, and Monica had a few new ideas on how we might capture more essential lampshade making details for our customers, including a new overhead camera, which took time to get exactly right.

Working hard before the filming even started, Vicky and Beth rigged up three cameras, set up and tweaked the lighting, tested angles and shots and even blocked out a window using a children’s travel blackout blind. Vicky also found a large screen TV somewhere in the office complex, so the rest of the team could view the filming on a big screen!

Getting the visuals on the set right was critical to achieving the new look and feel for our YouTube videos and Monica, Ruben and Sam fine-tuned the background with lampshades, boxed kits, plants and extra ornaments. Monica’s talent for design (she’s also behind all of the Dannells branding) helped ensure the set felt warm and homely, with just enough interest for the viewer to tell a story. In advance we'd printed bespoke canvasses using our sister company Need-a-banner, to cover a mosaic on the wall, putting the Dannells and Needcraft brands front and centre of each video.

11.00am

ACTION! After a flurry of morning activity, the whole team was happy that everything was perfect and the cameras started to roll. Sam practised every video at least twice the day before, talking to an imaginary camera at home! Apart from using some basic notes as prompts for the start and end of each video, her lampshade making is all committed to memory and is now second nature after many years of practise.

The first video is always the trickiest to shoot, as it takes a little time for Sam to ‘warm -up’ and we usually start with the longest video, in this case our US Lampshade Making Kits, which allowed Sam to find her natural flow. After each video, we shot a few extra close ups, so Vicky has wide range of footage for the final edits. Vicky’s three cameras cover every angle – wide, close up and overhead, but we always air on the side of caution!

12.30am

With the three US videos done, talk of lunch starts and we opt for all things cheesy from Northern Soul Grilled Cheese. While we waited for it to arrive, we changed tack with the set and switched the branding to the Dannells and getting read for filming our new Pleated Lampshade Sleeve, which we filmed straight after lunch.

1.00pm

Lunchtime! The sound of silence hit the studio for the first time in the day as we devoured our cheesy lunch – filming is pretty hungry work! It doesn’t last long though as the team exchanged reviews on favourite TV shows from lockdown and we all came away with a few new ‘must watch’ recommendations.

2.00pm

The afternoon flies by as we filmed one of our most popular Lampshade Kit #Hacks from the blog – the Folded Seam. It’s been great to gauge reactions from our customers to our 'how to' blog posts and then support them even more with a You Tube video version.

3.30pm

It’s was all hands on deck as we broke down the set, which luckily never takes as much time as it does to set up! After a really long day we swiftly move everything out and put the office back to its original layout, like it never really happened!

The day was a huge success and although we filmed in a 'not fit for purpose' space could have proved a big challenge, but with lots of planning, team work and dedication, we all breathed a sigh of relief that we did a great job making the videos as professional, informative and visually creative as possible.

The Edit

Making our youTube videos never finishes at the end of the day and the hard work then starts for Vicky who then carefully edits each film using footage from each camera. Monica and Sam then check each film to make sure that the edit covers everything that from a technical and visual point of view before they can go live on our You Tube channel.

Take a look for yourself

If you haven't already you can find all of the videos that we made on our You Tube Channel below.

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