OpenReel During the Pandemic
In March of 2020, as COVID reached the United States, many of us left our offices to work from home, thinking we would probably be back to business as usual in just 2 weeks. Little did we know that our lives would be upended for well over a year and like many companies, Beryllium Pictures needed to pivot and adapt our ways of doing things to meet our client’s needs in an uncertain landscape.
We serve a wide range of clients including many in the healthcare, financial, and robotics spaces and they still needed to produce video content to guide their employees, patients and customers through the ever-evolving situation. When filming in-person was not an option, we turned to a remote recording software called OpenReel to get the job done.
Using OpenReel was incredibly simple. The subject being filmed downloaded an app to their smartphone, while the clients overseeing the session simply opened a web browser tab to enter the studio space. In many ways, it felt similar to a Zoom call, but on our side of the screen, we had a mini control room at our disposal. We could adjust the exposure and focus of the image, choose video frame size and frame rate, and even had the option to use a teleprompter that would display the subject’s script on their screen, if necessary. We guided subjects on how to find the best lighting in the room they were in, stabilize their camera and to frame themselves in the shot for the most flattering image. Once we were happy with the look, we’d hit record and our clients would take over conducting the interviews while we monitored everything from a technical perspective.
Another huge benefit to using remote recording software was that when it came to the quality of the recording, you were not at the mercy of your subject’s internet connection. OpenReel stores the video files locally on the subject’s device and then uploads the content in its full resolution to us as the clips process. Once the recording session was finished, we proceeded to edit the content as usual, dressing it up with motion graphics, color correction and sound sweetening to make the end product as good as it could be.
During lockdown, we produced countless videos using the OpenReel platform and it was truly rewarding to be able to collaborate with our clients as we all navigated this new process together, rethinking the way our businesses operated. While we don’t rely on remote recording software as much as we did back then, many of our clients still take advantage of its benefits, and the technology has only improved since 2020.
We are so grateful that despite being on the other side of the city, country, or even the world from our clients, we were able to produce video content for them during the height of the pandemic.
Check out the “how-to” video we produced that sets our subjects up for success during their remote recordings.
