Above All Productions

producing video for businesses, nonprofit organizations, web and print publishers.

Beginning with pre-production the Above All team puts their heads together to develop ideas and storyboards to illustrate the needs of our prospective clients. Once a project is confirmed based on our most cost conscious estimate the next steps are scheduling the shoot and editing time, based on the approved budget. Our aim is to provide the highest quality product without breaking the bank.

We have formed a strong relationship with a network of trustworthy and experienced producers, crewmembers and technicians.  They will treat your vision with passion and will help you deliver an effective message.

Following pre-production we are ready to start the production process, shooting and editing. Everything is done by the book and is well organized. We obtain the necessary permits, insurance certificates, all required equipment and crew in order to be sure the shoot will go smoothly. Technicians, crew and the Above All production team are always present so no time is wasted.  In this way we can do what we do best: to tell stories that motivate and provoke action.

Just bring us your ideas and we will develop and drive them through completion.

Our aim is to deliver videos that are professional and effective.

As we work to get projects finished the client is always kept updated through the use of “Mediasilo”, which can be accessed directly from our site. There, the client can review and make annotations on the footage and draft edits. Above all will work with you until you are completely satisfied with the result.

Alternately, the client can come to our offices or we can go to their’s so as to work together during the editing process over pizza, and enjoy the collaboration.  When we need to record voice-overs we set up a quiet environment with monitors and microphones.

“Mauricio is always a pleasure to work with. You can rely on him to get videos and edits done on time and looking great. I’d recommend him to work on any video project.” Marianne Magno (Fitness Magazine)

Above all works on Apple computers using legally licensed up to date software and hardware.  Until recently editing was done on Final Cut Pro but now we are in the process of adapting our workflow to Avid and Premiere.  For graphics After Effects, Photoshop and Motion are used.  For effects, the above-mentioned softwares are used together with plugins from Boris FX (Continuum Complete 7), Digieffects (Delirium), Noise Industries (Fx Factory), Red Giant (Magic Bullet Suite, Trapcode Suite, and Keying Suite), and many more.  For color correction we had been using Apple’s Color but more recently it’s been DaVinci Resolve. For encoding, Sorenson’s Squeeze, Telestream’s Episode, Apple’s Compressor are our choices and to speed up processing time we like to use Matrox Max.

When Above All cannot produce all the necessary components that make the video we select micro stock resources online.  For stock photos, illustrations, video footage, sound effects and music we like using fotolia.com, stockphoto.com, pond5.com, revostock.com, audiomicro.com, and you license.com

Whether you call it cinematography, videography or video photography, Above All loves doing it. We enjoy lighting and framing our subjects and are happy to do it with the upmost attention so we can capture the highest quality footage.

Our aesthetic sensibility and knowledge of technology are mixed to convey the messages in an artistic and effective way.  Input from our clients guide us to create a feeling, mood and tone.  We always aim to achieve those goals in a practical, economical and safe way.

We try to keep the production small and practical when possible and use our own equipment to minimize costs, however when the situation requires it, we will rent equipment and hire the necessary crew to operate it.  We are insured for rented equipment, making it possible to accommodate extra equipment requirements.

The lighting kit that we own is small but flexible and portable. It fits in the back of a hatchback car and can easily be rolled into any location.  It includes everything necessary to capture small scenes, such as interviews, product demonstrations, how-tos, fashion, beauty, fitness, and corporate videos. It is made up of power efficient Kino-flo Divas, Dedolight fresnels and soft lights.  Also in the kit are low power Chimera lights and soft boxes, Lowel floods and open faces that can safely be plugged into most house sockets.

Mauricio Soto, founder of Above All, has spent a great part of past 8 years working as a digital tech in many photo shoots, in studio and on location , for advertising and editorial.  Before that Mauricio worked as a video engineer /video playback / video assist in feature films, most specifically facilitating and providing monitors to the director and crew.  Mauricio is accustomed to working with directors, directors of photography, continuity supervisors, art directors, photo editors, photographers, directors and producers helping them achieve their creative visions.  The combination of this technical and creative experience in the print world and his experience as a video shooter / lighting cameraman makes Above All the ideal company to tech and shoot video for magazines, print and web publishers producing transmedia.

Our goal at Above All Productions is to be part of this experience by providing the techniques of Trans-Media story telling that need to be ready and at hand for the audience to unfold their own experience.

Trans-media is an ever-growing field in which Above All will be working hard to experiment, gain expertise and produce new ways of entertaining, educating, and communicating.  In the works are projects involving 360º video and photography, as well as cooking video apps for mobile devices.

We don’t pretend to be expert web designers or programmers, but we honestly make an effort to keep up with the times to be able to communicate with the experts. We keep abreast of the technologies used in interactive platforms, websites, social media networks, apps, games and mobile devices.  Our goal is to keep learning these technologies while experimenting with them and to be ready to communicate with programmers, techs, and designers to produce interactive content and grow our business into the future of communication.

As a web designer, Mauricio Soto has designed simple but effective websites for photographers, restaurants, blogs and individuals.