My son-in-law works for a salvage company, and he invited me to watch the team load a few thousand tons of scrap metal onto a barge destined for the USA for recycling, from the docks of my home town here in Canada. Being around the corner, and always up for an adventure, I said yes.

Being a licensed drone pilot, I donned hard hat, high vis jacket, and exhausted three drone batteries. Shot entirely in 4K, I took the footage into Premiere Pro for editing. Drones don't record audio, so I recorded a separate sound track, along with a pounding music track that fit the pace I wanted. A few hours of wading through footage choosing the best cuts and angles, some colour grading, titles, a company logo, and done. For production value I camera tracked several unwanted competitor logos and digitally removed them, which went over very well with the client.

The business owner decided he liked it so much he wanted to use it for promotion. We worked out a deal, and I recut to a commercial level so he could use it for advertising.

I made four versions: A four minute full cut for the client with his company branding. A fun six minute cut for myself, with mine. Add to this a 30 second spot ad for the company web site, and a 30 second vertical just to round off the package. The three commercial versions are linked below. The 30 second ads feature much tighter cuts, matching the frantic pace of work. Very dynamic and a lot punchier. Personally, I like them best. 

With the project delivered, as I was leaving I was asked "Oh, can we use this on our Facebook cover?" No, wrong size and shape. But I can make one to suit. And I did.

To work with 4K footage, I implemented a proxy workflow that allowed me to iterate rapidly through many creative variations, almost in real time. It's fun exploring different edits, aspect ratios, layouts, soundtracks and pacing. I learned how to rapidly create multiple exports from raw materials to suit any need. Recycling, you could say. But I wouldn't.

This project ends as a showcase for commercial video production services. It began as something my son-in-law could show his kids when they ask what daddy does for a living. It will be a 'show and tell' moment for school. My wife, a very proud and happy mother, tells me this is worth many, many points in the 'Marriage Bank'.

Bonus.

Commercial Full Length Version

30 second advert version

Vertical for mobile phones and Instagram