On-location is actually VERY fun. It’s also VERY stressful. Inside the studio you must worry about your hair and makeup looking right and not having some loud audio interruptions from upstairs construction workers or outside landscapers, but other than that, there’s not too many factors that affect the video.
Outdoors? There are many more factors. With sweat dripping down my shirt from shooting outside in July in Florida at 1 pm, I learned that valuable lesson. What was I thinking? I wasn’t, obviously. I see everything as an experience, though, so the extra video editing I needed to do to attempt to fix the shadows on my face, and the tiredness I felt from biking and lugging my tripod with me to the shoot location, was still worthwhile so I know more for next time!
I loved the background that I chose with a green hedge behind me and a large expansive lot with numerous cars for a new client who was advertising his hail dent repair services. Should I have used a reflector and an assistant for redirecting the sunlight? Yes, and I will next time. Should I have filmed early in the morning or evening? YES!
Regardless of the time of day, the extra elements are still there. The breeze, which takes small pieces of your hair and whips it around in a distracting way; the person listening to a podcast in their car with the door open; the traffic on the street; people stopping to stare or walking into your frame; and the sweat beads forming on your upper lip, all while attempting to present a script in a natural, friendly way, makes for an interesting shoot.
The moral of the story? Shooting on-location gives you unique backgrounds, provides fun in getting outside of the studio, and is TOTALLY doable. That is if I plan better and don’t shoot during high sun.
However, is the studio easier? Yes, it is, and it will lead to a faster project completion. Good things to keep in mind when choosing your background of your next video! Where are we headed next?