Looking for a new home? Just kidding! However, TSM did get the opportunity to work on the Mattamy Homes Celebration Virtual Grand Opening project. We filmed in six different model homes along with several interviews set up. As always, when it comes to any production, being organized is key.
Let’s Get Organized
The first priority was to create a sequence with all the model home footage grouped by model type and labeled by premiere markers. Within each of these groups, the footage was organized by room. From there we determined which take was best from each room. This left us with the best shot selections and we added these to their own corresponding model home tour sequences. In order to get a feel of what we wanted this to represent. We took a step back for a moment and asked the question, “If I were looking to buy a home here, what would I want to see in their home tour video?” With all that said, we felt it would be best to guide the viewer as if they were actually walking through the entire house. We thoughtfully show every turn possible within the timeframe given so that the viewer ended the video seeing nearly every square foot of the house.
Shouldn’t Coloring Be Simple? News Flash…It Is Not.
One of the more time-consuming parts of the project was coloring each room. It took a lot of time. We couldn’t simply copy and paste the custom-made LUT/Lumetri color profile from shot to shot. Mostly because the wall colors drastically altered the look of each room. Ultimately, every room had its own custom coloring and it all needed a cohesive look. Using the comparison view feature in Premiere helped tremendously. This allowed us to view a shot that was colored next to another shot that was in the process of coloring. Allowing us to match the look closely. For instance, if a wall was painted white, we did our best to make it appear as a true white. Now, this doesn’t work for every shot. Because white walls and cabinets tend to soak up some of the surrounding colors.
Essentially, a white wall surrounded by warm-tone furniture, flooring, etc. will make the white appear orangish. We had to manually pull the warm tones from the white walls while maintaining the warm tones elsewhere. There are instances where a room just had an overall warm tone. So we could only pull so much without it losing its true appearance. Keeping in mind, the last thing we wanted to do is change the entire appearance that an interior designer worked so hard in creating in the first place. When you find the middle ground though, it just looks so clean and natural as if you were seeing it in person.
Music, Transition Shots, Audio Mixing & More Fun
The music was supplied by the client. Ultimately all we had to do was determine which fit each model home best. For transitions, we went with cuts that feature the same camera motion from one shot to the next. In one transition, we did create a matte look on a staircase railing. That moves across the foreground in one shot to reveal the upstairs shot in the background. We love finding a way to include those types of transitions and they are truly fun to do.
While the coloring portion was time-consuming, everything else was pretty standard within the project. That includes interviews and audio mixing, as well. Lastly, we provided 11 deliverables that showcased the wonderful developments by Mattamy Homes in Celebration. While providing prospective homebuyers a way to meet the Mattamy Team. Learn about their history, their process, and view their potential new home all from videos created by TSM. That’s one of the best things about what we do. The fact we get to help tell our client’s story, help highlight their products and/or mission, and better connect them with their clientele.