London Videographer

Dan Sherratt ~ Creative Director

What is a Videographer?

The term ‘videographer’ was first used in the 1980’s to describe “a person who works in the field of Videography, recording moving images and sound”. Our very own London Videographer, Dan Sherratt, does exactly this with his own filmmaker flair.

Despite being around for decades, the terms is arguably used more today than ever before due to the availability of cheaper camera technology and the resultant flood of aspiring camera operators into the industry. However, there is an interesting distinction to be made here. While videographer may have been used in the past to referred to the camera operators on TV and film sets, today the term describes a very different individual. Camera operators on TV and film sets only have to worry about the camera. There are DoPs and grips to worry about the lighting and sound engineers to worry about the audio. However, on smaller productions, there is often no budget to bring in this additional crew. As camera technology became more accessible and the demand for online video grew, a whole new role emerged; that of the modern day videographer.

shorefront-films-videographer-london-dan-sherratt-silhouette

A videographer is a high versatile individual. While he/she can operate as a camera op and work seamlessly with lighting and sound departments, they can also facilitate smaller productions by fulfilling all these roles themselves. A one man/woman band, so to speak. In single op projects, the videographer is the producer and project manager, ensuring the client is happy at all times. They are the camera operator, ensuring the footage captured is of the highest quality. They are the audio engineer, making sure the sound is recorded cleanly and clearly. They are the cinemaphotographer and filmmaker, responsible for lighting and all visual aspects of the shoot. And they are the director, ensuring every aspect of the shoot goes off without a hitch. When you think about everything that goes into being a successful London videographer, it is a wonder their heads don’t explode!

Dan Sherratt is the creative director and leading London Videographer at Shorefront Films. His years of media production experience coupled with his raw talent have allowed him to develop a keen eye and so naturally Dan took the helm at the creative end of the business. He oversees all our projects, regardless of size, from 30 vox pops to feature length docs. Dan is the final stage of quality control.

When Dan isn’t reviewing the final stage of our output, he’s out there doing what he loves; being a videographer. As a videographer in London, he has to consider many aspects of a project simultaneously and this is quite a challenge. Engaging both sides of your brain at the same time would give most of us a splitting headache and sure enough, he does look a little worn at the end of a 10 hour session! However, with enough coffee, he breaks through this physical barrier and performs on a superhuman level.

Dan’s abilities as a videographer are unparalleled. He would happily admit he is the world’s biggest geek and luckily for his clients, that feeds into his videographer work. He is a huge fan of vintage lenses and has a formidable collection. These lenses allow him to apply eye-watering colours, tones and effects, turning even the dullest corporate video into a joy to watch by giving it that cinematic feel. On the less creative side, Dan still brings a level of mastery to his role as a videographer. His easy going manner, sense of humour and professionalism allow him to manage our London based clients and projects with great ease, while also maintaining an enjoyable working environment.

Online Commercial

“Briefs for online commercials are always so varied. Just look at the number of different adverts you see on TV, the online sphere is no different. One thing they all have in common is the need to be ‘on message’. Everything about these videos has to be geared towards promoting the brand message, from visual content to audio, even down to the fonts used. For a videographer in London, these are really front end heavy projects; a lot of time needs to be spent in pre-production nailing down the exact plan, frame by frame.”

– Dan Sherratt

Brand Film

“I love working on brand films. As a London videographer, they are some of the most engaging and challenging productions. A brand films is all about brand values. It’s about the brand showing the viewer that they share the same values as they do and strengthening that bond between them. I always approach brand films from an emotional perspective. Viewers don’t want to be told what they should and shouldn’t do, they want to hear about experiences they might share or relate to. They want to hear stories. Content is so important in these videos. Sure, the lens choice and edit is important too but with this production, content is king.”

– Dan Sherratt

Project Profile

“Project profiles are a take on company profiles to a degree. They’re made up of the same parts, interviews and b-roll, but in this instance it’s all about a time limited entity, instead of a company that could be around for years. To that end, it’s essential to capture the essence of the project; what makes it exciting? What makes it unique? What makes it ground-breaking? Depending on the client’s needs, there a numerous ways to shoot these videos to portray professionalism, energy or lightheartedness.”

– Dan Sherratt

Event Highlight

“One of the most common types of video we do, event highlights are essential to modern day marketing. They’re the best tool for promoting future events and for showing delegates who couldn’t make it what they missed! I love working on these projects, they’re always so fast paced. While they are doable as a solo videographer, it’s been my experience that better end results are achieved when there’s a producers on the project to help manage the often hectic event schedule and ensure everything gets covers. B-roll, interviews, vox pops, speaches, there’s a lot to cover and so little time to cover it all in!”

– Dan Sherratt

Company Profile

“In most instances, one-time London clients want a company profile. They are probably the most commonly associated use of online video for business because they’re ‘evergreen’, they have a huge shelf life so client’s get a lot of bang for their buck! Clients we’ve worked with 4 or 5 years ago have still got their company profiles on their home page today! They’re just so great for explaining to your clients who you are and what you do in a nutshell. Let’s be honest, most people would rather hit play and watch a video to get the info they need than read a bunch of copy and these are the perfect example!”

– Dan Sherratt

Interview

While not the most exciting of projects, there are still a lot of challenges with these videos. It’s relatively easy to make a good looking interview but it’s a real skill to make a great looking one! With so many variations, our clients often need a lot of guidance when it comes to interviews. Do they need a single camera or two or three? How many interviewees are there? Do they want corporate lighting or moody lighting? Again, these videos are easily acheiveable as a videographer but the best results come from having a producer on set, not just to manage the shoot but to ensure the interviewee is comfortable in order to get the best possible performance from them.”

– Dan Sherratt