PureStretch Flexibility & Core Strength Classes

Flexibility and core strength training. They’re a bit like flossing your teeth. We all know that we should do it but, let’s be honest, who’s going to see the results of our efforts? Well it turns out that quite a lot of people will actually. Proper core stability and flexibility training (a quick 5 minute stretch at the beginning and end of a workout doesn’t count!) are vital in not just improving posture (sorry qwozy, no one fancies a hunchback) but also preventing injury. The problem is that a lot of people, us blokes especially, are put off by traditional flexibilty and core strength training. Yoga and pilates all seem a bit serious and…well…just a bit girly. PureStretch started in 2007 in Reading, Berkshire, with the aim of providing proper stretching and core strength training to everyone.

Ciaran Organ, the founder of PureStretch, wanted to make a short video for the PureStretch website (www.PureStretch.co.uk) showing what it is all about. The aim was to show just how accessible and useful the classes are to everyone from pensioners to prop forwards. We also wanted to get across the fun, informal and friendly atmosphere at PureStretch classes. I love to make videos that show the true nature of people and their business and, to do this, we used a very informal style of interview; basically just chatting about PureStretch while a camera happened to be there. There are no actors in the video so it was very important that everyone felt very comfortable and at ease while chatting away to allow their reactions and comments, all of which were genuine and completely unscripted, to shine through.

To help everyone feel comfortable, I used very high quality but physically very small cameras with everything being shot in full 1080p high-definition (hit the little cog logo in the bottom-right of the video player to change the playback quality). These large-sensor “hybrid DSLRs” are very small and nonthreatening but pack a serious punch when it comes to image quality, easily out-doing more traditional video cameras five times their size. In fact, the only problem that I sometimes have when using these cameras is that they’re sometimes TOO small. The more open-minded clients (PureStretch included!) are happy to let you loose with whatever you like as long as you deliver great videos but there will always be a few people that won’t take you seriously unless you’re rocking a huge camera, even if the footage from that monster would be lower quality and people would stutter through their interview in a mild state of terror! Bigger does not always mean better and I always plan shoots very carefully to make sure that I have the absolute best equipment for that specific job.

If you’ve got any questions about the video, drop a comment below this post. If you fancy having a video produced yourself, whether you’re based in the Reading, Berkshire area or further afield, head over to the CONTACT page or drop me an email on info@rossfairgrieve.com.

Ross Fairgrieve is a freelance video producer, videographer, cameraman, video editor, and photographer based in Reading, Berkshire. His clients range from start-up charities to large corporate businesses across Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, London and abroad. If you would like to enquire about his services, head over to the CONTACT page.