Filming my Ident

With a name like 'Schnauzer Studios' I only really had one option with my ident - the beautiful inspiration for the studio, my giant schnauzer Constance. However, with this decided, I didn't want my ident to be too cheesy as it leads into a serious genre of film so I decided to create an ident like the MGM lion only with Connie onscreen.

This idea came with a few difficulties, the main one being Connie's resistance to do what was necessary in order to create the effect; this problem was intensified by the fact that she never barks so getting her to open her mouth was a real challenge!

We needed to use a green screen to film against so we could add the studio name and background in post production. To get the best effect I needed good light on the scene so I chose to set up the screen in front of big windows we have in our living room which allowed the shot to have loads of natural light. As I was able to do this I had the white balance on the camera set to natural light to make sure the picture was the correct colour.

As Connie's fur is black she is often difficult to pick up on camera as she blends into the background so I used quite a low ISO in order to get a clearer picture. The high level of light also allowed me to use this.

Connie obviously didn't stay still so I used manual focus so the camera didn't adjust itself throughout the filming to ensure a clear, stable shot.

We used a tripod we had at home to make sure the picture was steady and make it look as professional as possible.

In the end we found waving a treat in front of Connie's face sometimes made her open her mouth however, as if she was being deliberately awkward, she never performed when the camera was rolling. It took us just over an hour (with several breaks for her) but we managed it! I am very happy with the end result and can't wait to see what it looks like when we add the after effects.