Five Questions With Videographer Dave Park

We know where our strengths lie. We also know when and where we can bring in one of our expert partners who can help bring one of our strategies to life. When it comes to on-site video production, we often turn to Dave Park Productions Services to get the job done. He’s helped us with everything from seated interviews with senior executives to rural location shoots, capturing the sparks – literally – of employees working at a Virginia welding shop.

Join us as we catch up with Dave away from the lens about his work and the video industry.

Who are you, where do you work and what do you do?

I’m Dave Park and run Dave Park Productions Services, LLC. It’s just me providing video production needs. I run the business out of my home as 97 percent of all shooting is done on location these days. The time where folks would travel to a studio to shoot a corporate message or anything else are practically over. I shoot wherever the client takes me. I’ve been to India, Germany, France, England and all over the U.S. Still, the most I do is in the Old Dominion.

What services/products does your organization provide?

I’ve been a director of photography/videography for 30 years now. It’s still my main focus, but in the past five years or so, I’ve expanded into turnkey video, meaning I’ll shoot, edit and provide a final product. I’ve done commercials, documentaries, corporate communications, marketing communications…just about everything.

How long have you worked with or known The Hodges Partnership?

I’ve known Hodges for a while now. I started working with Hodges about eight years ago. Time has really flown since I went freelance 15 years ago.

What are some misconceptions about your industry and the work that you do?

Misconceptions, hmmm…well, I’ve mentored a couple of bright DPs along the way, and one of the best compliments one of them gave me was that because I enjoy the craft and can think fast, I can make lighting a scene look easy. It’s not!! I still come back from shoots thinking, “I should have placed a light here,” or “I should have tweaked the camera this way.” Really good equipment has become very affordable, so there’s a lot of folks that think if they get the right stuff, they can produce awesome video…not always the case. As a good audio friend of mine often says, “it’s not the arrows, it’s the archer.”

What trends are you seeing in your industry?

Check out the movie, “Max Headroom : 20 Minutes into the Future.” This is the original concept that eventually went into a TV series that was less dark and gritty. Max is a futuristic AI that is a talk show host. In the movie, there are these things called “blipverts.” These are 30-second commercials squeezed into three seconds. All of the information is there, it just attacks the viewer almost subliminally. It’s highly concentrated video information.

Well, we’re not there yet, but in the past five years, the typical type of video communication I’ve worked on is getting shorter and shorter….as mobile-device attention spans let it. [Editor’s note: Josh wrote a piece called “Six-Second PR” that’s similar to this notion.]

Think about it. When’s the last time you watched a video (not a movie/show or instructional) that was over four minutes? It seems like an eternity these days. Some of my clients get it, some don’t…. they still want the six- to eight-minute informational videos on new corporate policies. I think the shortening of length can be good. The viewer often only gets the meat – if they want to know more they are encouraged to engage in personal communication to find out the details. Remember that, talking to someone live? I often remind my now college-age son that he will get more answers if he picks up the phone and calls.

Casey Prentice

A self-proclaimed organizational junkie and data geek who confesses to a secret desire to be a professional organizer, Casey enjoys account management, writing, editing and digital content strategy. Her agency work has helped clients like Virginia’s Community Colleges, VCUarts and Swedish Match.

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