Filming Training Videos For Ashley HomeStore

Hello everyone,

I'm back with another project-based blog. The entry for this project is a video series I produced, shot, and edited for Ashley HomeStore Canada. As a business, Videos by Josh has worked with Ashley HomeStore frequently over the years, collaborating on various projects. 

It's always something new working with Ashley HomeStore. Every new video is very different from the last.

Ashley HomeStore is one of Canada's largest home furniture brands. It sells a wide variety of furniture, mattresses, and accessories. The company also has its headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where it employs many staff members. 

So, what was I filming? It could be a commercial based on selling this year's hottest products. Or a recruitment advertisement to entice more people to apply for jobs in Ashley stores? 

It's not what you think.

The project I created for Ashley HomeStore was a human resources training video series on safe lifting.

Two actors lift a dresser off of a furniture dolly. Shot on the Sony FX3 Camera / F6.3 / ISO 12,800 / 70mm.

Corporate Training Videos

Providing the appropriate training to your staff is essential to your success as a business. Creating videos based on your training manuals is a great way to synthesize information, creating powerful bits of visual content which will resonate with employees.

At Videos by Josh, I produce, film, and edit a lot of training videos in a year. As a commercial video producer, training videos are one of the most common types of projects I produce, right up there with commercial and promotional videos.

Ashley HomeStore was looking for a way to translate its written employee safety manual into video form. In this blog, I will walk through the creation of this video series and show you how Videos by Josh successfully created engaging training videos for one of Canada's largest furniture companies.

An actor pushes a pallet of boxes using a pallet jack. Shot on the Sony FX3 Camera / F5.6 / ISO 12,800 / 30mm.

Video Concept

The concept for this video production was to create 12 videos, each roughly two minutes long. Each video placed our lead actor in a situation where he had to demonstrate a specific piece of important knowledge to move a piece of furniture from one place to another.

Throughout the videos, the lessons would become progressively more complicated. The video series started with the basic principles of safely lifting a small item without the assistance of any equipment. They quickly developed into using more complicated machinery like a pallet jack and a rolling ladder.

The video series aimed to modernize Ashley's employee training and provide visual, highly detailed examples of how to safely lift and move large pieces of furniture.

Some of the videos included a second actor who would assist in moving the furniture. Both actors received training on how to lift the furniture in the video safely, and we had an expert on set from Ashley HomeStore to supervise and respond to any questions.

The videos were filmed in two locations over a single day. The first location was an Ashley HomeStore retail location before it opened, and the second was Ashley HomeStore's distribution centre during operating hours.

An actor screws in a lightbulb while on a step ladder. Shot on the Sony FX3 Camera / F4.5 / ISO 12,800 / 70mm.

The Process of Filmmaking

We worked with a small crew on the day of the shoot. I was operating as the Director of Photography. We also had two Actors, a Director, a Production Assistant, a Safe Lifting Supervisor, and an Executive Producer from Ashley HomeStore.

We filmed most of the scenes with our camera on a rolling dolly in a blocked-off area of the store. After our PA blocked, the scenes were quickly filmed before moving to the next. Like clockwork, we moved from shot to shot, rarely stopping to modify the camera or lighting.

I keep a brisk pace when filming training videos, accomplished through well-coordinated preproduction.

This project was unique, primarily because we rarely used additional lighting. Because we wanted to fill the day with as many shots as possible, many of the scenes used natural light from the store or distribution centre windows—several times, we employed practical lights within the store to light our subjects. These included lamps on the show floor or large industrial overheads in the distribution centre.

Admittedly, this could have been better with more lights, but the Sony FX3 was able to make up for any shortcomings. Utilizing the camera's 2nd native ISO, we restored light to the scene and captured the processes in exceptional detail.

You may also notice that there are no microphones on our actors, nor did I mention anyone working with sound. During the preproduction stage, the team at Ashley decided they wanted the videos to be narrated after the fact so that they could modify them later should the processes depicted in the videos change.

An actor pushes a rolling ladder down a narrow hallway. Shot on the Sony FX3 Camera / F8.0 / ISO 12,800 / 50mm.

My Video Equipment

The project was filmed using equipment provided by Videos by Josh. I brought my base camera package, which includes a Sony FX3 Cinema Camera and a selection of the finest G Master lenses. It also includes various support options, everything from a gimbal to a shoulder rig, handheld rig, video tripod and even a crash camera.

I chose a mixture of the video tripod on wheels and a handheld rig.

One of the most important considerations to accomplishing all of our principal shooting in one day was how fast I could transition the camera between my handheld rig and a rolling tripod. I'm happy to report that this quick-release plate made by a small rig made this transition a breeze.

I also made great use of this pair of small rig handles. I found they mounted conveniently to the Nato rails on my mini Sony FX3 Camera kit to adapt to whichever configuration I wanted to create.

One piece of kit I never leave home without is a good director's monitor. To me, filmmaking is a collaborative process. That is why it is important to put the camera feed in as many hands as possible. It also helps to ensure everyone on set is aligned with what you are creating.

I set up a computer monitor in a small alcove inside the furniture store for this shoot. The monitor took in the camera's signal via a wireless HDMI system from Hollyland. The Executive Producer and the Director monitored this feed.

Over 8 hours, our small team accomplished every shot we set out to. We even found time to improvise some creative frames here and there.

The project was a success, and I have my team to thank for it.

Josh Diaz from Videos by Josh poses with his crew during a break in an Ashley HomeStore Canada video production.

That’s a Wrap!

I love when a small group of people come together to make a film. The collaboration and creativity on display when people from all walks of life team up to impart their collective vision on a product, is such a fun experience. 

I want to shout out to Ashley HomeStore for having me back to create their new training series. I love this type of filmmaking. It's the type of work I could do every day. 

Thank you for reading, and stay up to date by visiting VideosbyJosh.com or following me at the social media accounts below.

Josh Diaz is a filmmaker and video editor based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.