As published in The Erin Advocate
For Steve Bergwerff, it’s the creative touches that really add value and give him satisfaction when working on a video project.
The Hillsburgh native is back in town, offering video services through Ironcloud Productions, and fulfilling a dream to operate his own business.
Ironcloud involves a group of professionals that Steve can call upon to help produce everything from corporate marketing to tourism promotions, music videos and documentaries. Samples of their work are available at www.ironcloudproductions.com.
Jobs often start with pre-production tasks like budget planning, script development and location scouting. Steve works with camera operator Don Coulombe on many projects, then does various editing phases and adds graphics to create a final product.
After high school, Steve initially studied art fundamentals at Sheridan College, but found he was more interested in TV and entertainment.
He got a job as a production assistant at a company that was doing ads for big brands like Honda and Orville Redenbacher’s, which provided valuable exposure to the business. Then he decided to go to Canadore College in North Bay, where he took the Television and Video Production program.
He has since worked in DVD design and production in Toronto, and in Barrie producing episodes for specialty shows such as Snowmobiler TV, Go Riding TV and PowerBoat TV.
More recently, he’s being doing projects for the County of Wellington, including videos on the Green Legacy tree planting program, the non-profit housing project in Fergus, the Museum and Archives and safety tips from the Ontario Provincial Police. He has moved back to Hillsburgh and operates Ironcloud from his home, boasting ten years of experience in the field.
“It’s been my dream to have this working,” he said.
Technically, he works with a collection of video shots, including interviews with people, plus audio or narrative that can play over various visuals. He combines static, pan and zoom shots, and chooses the timing to create an appealing rhythm for the work. Often, a good choice of background music will add valuable boost.
“I want to create a bit of a bullet,” he said. “I put artistic heart and soul into what I do – there’s no formula.”
By bringing some emotion to the job, he hopes viewers will not just see and hear, but feel the impact of the what his clients want to deliver. And even if a client wants to make changes after seeing the initial version, it’s still worth the effort to have made something special.
“Sometimes you have to take a risk,” he said.
