Corporate film: The surveying service provider ARC-GREENLAB

Corporate film for a Berlin-based surveying and software company

ARC-Greenlab offers modern software solutions and consulting services with a focus on surveying, geographic information systems (GIS), forestry and the environment, and Building Information Modelling (BIM)

When the surveying service provider ARC-Greenlab approached us with the wish to have a corporate film produced, we had no idea how extensive the company's portfolio was and how many exciting areas of work it included. But it quickly became clear that there are the surveyors in the “field”, i.e. those who use total stations, laser scanners and drones to record survey data and measure buildings, roads, building land, farmland and forests. They make this data available to the software developers, data engineers, CAD, GIS and BIM specialists in the office. They evaluate the data, process it further and create 3D models, plans and maps for the customers. The different fields of work are closely interlinked.

We were commissioned to produce a three-minute corporate film, which ARC-Greenlab wanted to present on a digital trade fair to show the extensive range of services they offer. For this, our camera team filmed one day in the offices at the company headquarters in Berlin-Treptow and another on a current construction site. We also went to other surveying sites because we wanted to see the different surveying tools in use.

The client decided to work with actors and actresses instead of the company's employees to portray the various activities. This meant that we had to explain to our actors in detail all the fields of activity on the highly complex surveying equipment and the operation of the in-house software. We were supported by a very committed team of ARC-Greenlab employees, who were also very patient (we had a lot of questions). And not only the actors and actresses, but also the director and the cameraman needed appropriate instruction in the work processes, because at the end we had to judge whether the actions on the construction site and the operation of the technical equipment were carried out correctly. For both sides, these were two very eventful and learning-intensive days on the subject of surveying.

The clients come from the construction industry, telecommunication companies, traffic and transport and from federal, state and local authorities

On the second day of filming, our camera team filmed on a real construction site, the extension of the A100 in Berlin-Neukoelln. Here the laser scanner and the total station were used and the surveying specialists from ARC-Greenlab accompanied our filming. The actors and actresses learned how to operate the technical equipment, but also how large a survey mark should be.

ARC-Greenlab offers two software solutions which their engineers developed. One, gl-survey, is mainly used by users from engineering, cadastral and railway surveying. To show this software in the film, we used the processed digital survey data that was created on the A100 construction site. The second proprietary software is called gl-forest. This is used in forestry, hunting and environmental management. To illustrate the possible uses of this software platform, we filmed in the Königsheide in Berlin. Very impressive pictures were taken here, as we used our drone to observe ARC-Greenlab's surveying drone collecting survey data.

All shooting for the corporate film with the new Sony FX6

Shortly before, after an unusually long waiting period, the new Sony FX6 had finally arrived at our office. So we decided to shoot the entire project with the new camera and put it through its paces. We used the two new Sony fixed focal lengths SEL FE 50mm/f2.5 G and the SEL FE 24mm/f2.8 G as lenses. We were also supported by the PZ 28-135 mm F4 G OSS from Sony, which we use for some time, but which scored really well here on the FX6 full-frame camcorder.

Thanks to the FX6's variable ND filter, we were able to make good use of the advantages of a shallow depth of field with fast fixed focal lengths, even though the sharpness increased considerably as soon as the aperture was stopped down a little. I found the face and eye autofocus to be quickly irritated and to leave the face and eyes briefly every now and then. Fortunately, there were no interviews in this film where we would have relied on the automatic focus tracking of an unmanned second or third camera. But perhaps there are still some things to learn and observe in the settings of the focus menu in the camera, for which there is time now, after our shooting.