We were asked to shoot and edit an overview video for the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium earlier this year. Primary filming took place during one of their quarterly meetings in Portland, OR. Despite this being a very busy week for the hotel (all the rooms were sold out, so we had to stay at another hotel several blocks away), we got a great rate for this small conference room. It was just big enough to set up our green screen backdrop and lights. The interviewer is barely out of frame and had to be careful not to move during while the camera was rolling.
While a decent green screen shoot requires a lot more gear and time to set up, the effort pays back dividends in the edit suite where we have greater flexibility and creative opportunities to include supporting visual content like photos, graphics and b-roll. A green screen shoot lets us set up in an otherwise unattractive location. The conference room wasn't ugly, but it also was not a particularly inspiring scene. Also, setting up near the meeting rooms, we had better access to the interviewees - the easier we could make it for the interviewees, the better our chances of maximizing participation. Having the right tools made this possible.
While our mobile studio is relatively compact, it did require some logistical planning and additional costs to pull off properly. Our main lighting case was just under 100 lbs. So, we planned for excess baggage fees in advance. Pricing out rental equipment in the area (plus the cost of renting a car to transport it), bringing our own gear was still the most cost effective option.