Overcoming Weather Challenges During a Non-profit Video Production

There are two things our crew really enjoys: traveling and a challenge. Lucky for us, a recent project with the Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina (CCF) provided both. While our production crew is based in Charleston, SC, we love the opportunity to travel to different cities, especially when it’s for a good cause. Back in March, our team traveled to Beaufort, SC, with CCF to capture interviews and b-roll highlighting one of their longest-standing funds, The Four County Fund, to celebrate its 25 years of impact in the region and relaunch the fund under its new name. 

Leading up to the travel production, our in-house producers worked with all locations to create a precise, down-to-the-minute filming schedule. This ensured we had enough time to capture everything we needed while allowing us to travel efficiently from one location to the next. We planned for beautiful interviews both indoors and outdoors, capturing picturesque locations throughout town. However, Mother Nature doesn’t always have the same plans we do.

Creating a Weather Plan for a Video Production

Our first planned interview in Beaufort was one the team was most excited about: an interview with the Executive Director of the Open Land Trust (OLT), an organization that conserves land and natural habitats across the Lowcountry. We were scheduled to film outside on a beautiful plot of land preserved by OLT, right along the marsh and beneath a breathtaking canopy of oak trees draped in Spanish moss. We couldn’t wait for the stunning backdrop… until we woke up to a gray sky filled with clouds and 30-mph winds.

Under normal circumstances, we probably would have rescheduled the entire day. However, our travel production schedule didn’t allow for a full reschedule, so we found a spot on the property that minimized the impact of the clouds and wind during the interview. Luckily, we intentionally built in buffer time at the start and end of each day in case we ran into a situation just like this, which allowed us to  return on our final morning to capture beauty shots of the property when the weather had improved.

Creating a Nonprofit Brand Film That Makes an Impact

Fighting the weather was a recurring theme throughout our trip, but our team continually overcame the challenges by staying flexible and shifting what we could, when we could. In the end, our first sunset and final sunrise of the trip gave us the breathtaking b-roll we were looking for.

The finished video debuted in front of hundreds of community members and received overwhelmingly positive feedback from both the client and attendees. Being part of nonprofit video productions is work that is deeply fulfilling for our team, and creating stories for organizations making a meaningful difference in their communities is something we’re proud to be a part of.

Curious what it was really like on the set of this production? Check out the full BTS video series here!

Not sure how to navigate unpredictable weather when planning an outdoor video shoot? Here’s how we account for challenging weather on every video production:

• Always have a backup plan. This could be a backup location indoors or a rain date, but be prepared either way.
• Talk with your client! Do they want to move forward regardless, or do they want to reschedule if the forecast isn’t looking sunny? Have those conversations early on in pre-production to set expectations and deadlines for weather-related decisions.  
• Build buffer time into your production schedule. This is a good rule of thumb for any production, but especially for a travel production. Make sure you have time baked in should you need to adjust your plans on the fly.

Ready to kickoff your next video production? Let’s chat!

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