We spoke with Mark Leialoha and Jonathan Luskin, videographer and producer/director, respectively, who are partners in San Francisco-based Flying Moose Pictures. For the past nine years the full-service production company has provided a range of services to a wide range of clients, from Bay Area performers and non-profits to large corporate clients such as Koehler Design and New Logic.

Videography: What kinds of projects does Flying Moose work on?
Leialoha: Our client base is split. We started working with theater people, dance companies, opera companies, and some musicians doing demo reels and integrating media with their live performances. And we've worked with funded non-profits such as the American Conservatory Theater, creating pieces like trailers for their upcoming shows. Those are our smaller clients, and we still have a lot of those. The other side is the corporate clients, and those are larger. We've done training material, corporate work, documentaries—a wide variety of projects that we can shoot, edit and deliver in whatever format is required.

Videography: Why the Bay Area?
Luskin: The area has some unique things. Many very creative people are here for the lifestyle, but it's not a robust film production environment like L.A. is. So there's a lot of capacity here. A lot of our crew comes from the theater and performing arts world, which is also where a significant portion of our customers come from. There are a lot of really skilled, talented people who can work freelance. We've got a great gaffer who earns his living gaffing and also working construction and landscaping. It works out for him and for us.

Videography: What equipment are you using to shoot and edit with these days?
Leialoha: We shoot a lot in DVCPRO HD with the Panasonic AG-HVX200. That's really our workhorse. Some projects still call for shooting in DV format. We covered some events with six cameras and live switching and the client couldn't afford the cameras and switcher that would have been required to do that in HD, so we'll still work in DV if we have to.

We edit in-house in our four edit suites all running Final Cut Pro and connected to big RAIDs. We bring freelance editors in as needed.

Videography: What's the most common way your material is shown?
Luskin: The Internet's the most common. Sometimes a client needs the security of something tangible and so we deliver DVDs. But starting really about year and a half ago, the request for DVDs has been waning. People found the Internet is more accessible and allows broader distribution. And it costs less than getting hundreds of DVDs.

Videography: Since most people are still seeing compressed, low-definition images on the Internet, why do you shoot and edit in HD?
Leialoha: We pitch my answer to clients all the time: Starting out with a higher-quality original benefits the client in many ways. It's not just about having more resolution to work with, but also color depth and dynamic range. Images look better. The highlights don't blow out. When you compress a higher-quality master, aspects of that quality travel all the way through.

It also helps give you an evergreen product that has many more options available for repurposing in the future. HD is definitely the best way to go for today, and it can open up a whole suite of options for the future.