Here at the studio and on location, we do so much more than just still photography. You may or may not know that we are also a full service video production company with a focus on helping businesses and non profits, make videos that tell their stories in an engaging and informative way. In addition to video production, we have the unique ability to provide you with a full suite of commercial photography capabilities (not to mention our amazing facilities), as well as video marketing productions, live productions, and even live streaming events.
When all is said and done, we distribute our clients messages in any of the social media platforms of the world, all the way up to broadcast television and most anything in-between. A proven and trusted partner to help make your next video project be as successful as possible. Please call us today to set an appointment to chat about your next project. We’d love to help!
Ok … enough of the sale pitch … let’s expand now on the BTS and making SOLID work!
Lighting for motion content
As a filmmaker, especially as a cinematographer and gaffer, one can’t overstate the importance and benefit of great lighting. Just like any craft, the more experience you have, the easier it’ll be when you’re on set in a new situation. When it comes to lighting, the more faces that you work with over time, will inevitably result in a broader skill set while developing a go-to, tried and true method of lighting your set. Let’s talk a bit more about the video below.
Screen grab from one of our shots in the commercial
How we lit the above shot
The goal for this project was to produce a consistent set of shots that had certain cinematic and eye catching visuals, along with a solid narrative feel. The approach we took here was to remove the fill light completely and let the dark side of the face fall into shadow by placing our key light overhead on a boom. This simulates the way the room is lit naturally (with their overhead florescent fixtures) but with much more feel. The wall behind our subjects is a muted greenish color and to keep our key light from contaminating the rest of our scene, we flagged off any spill by gridding off the head, and placing some negative fill, camera left.
We then placed two Quasar Science 4’ tubes on either side of the conference table near the ground, to light the book shelf, and to create separation on the backs of our talent, on both sides of the frame. This gave us a nice aesthetic overhead lighting look, while keeping the focus on our most experienced attorney in the scene.
Lights Used
Key light: LiteCloth LC-120 through standard diffusion, and fabric grid
Additional light: Quasar Science Rainbow 4’ Tubes, 2x
Dana Dolly and Tilta Nucleus worked like a charm!
Tony was my go-to 1st AC on this job and did great pulling focus and helping on camera
Gear switch, and more about lighting for cinema
Lighting A Cyc Wall …
can be tricky, or you can make it simple and clean without over complicating everything. While the sample shown above isn’t exactly a three point lighting setup, it’s nearly the same concept. Let’s dig in more.
The interview lighting shown above, is fairly straightforward but with a few minor tweaks from a traditional three point setup. My approach uses the bones of that concept but with a couple small adjustments on the hair light (in this scenario it’s often referred to as an edge or scratch) used mainly for creating separation on the talent’s hair and/or shoulders. The other departure is a slight tweak on the key light and flexible fill options I explain below.
The key light in this setup was our trusty Arri Skypanel S-60 WORKHORSE at 3200k directly through the built in diffusion panel, and then Chimera, and lastly a 6x6 full grid which looked great on the talents face. A side benefit of having that amount of diffusion, softening, spread, and proximity to the back wall, is it also gave me some nice lift in the background, keeping the cyc wall a nice light grey with a center hot spot provided by the Sola-6 fresnel.
The fill light on the interviews was super simple. Just like I like it. Keep it simple stupid is always a good thing to fall back on when you’re crunched and under pressure. This fill setup was a very simple 4x8 white v-flat that could easily be moved in or out for more or less fill light. To expand the flexibility options a bit further - when I felt like I needed a bit more shape on the face, I also had (at the ready) a small Matthews double net on a c-stand that I would walk in or out to knock down the fill. Almost a negative fill technique but a bit more nuanced. Seemed to work well, and gave me tons of flexibility on the fill side of the equation.
Lights Used
Key light: Arri Skypanel S-60 with Chimera through a 6x6 Full Grid
Fill light: White V-Flat Bounce with an optional net for selective reduction
Scratch light: Arri Skypanel S-60 with a 40 degree snap grid
Background: Litepanel Sola-6 Fresnel with 1/4 CTO
iPhone shot of our setup for this commercial video production
iPhone shot of our setup for this commercial video production
Camera settings, miscellaneous tools & some shout outs!
Nearly everything in the projects mentioned above were shot at 5K, 23.97 fps, REDCODE RAW 5:1 (RED's compressed RAW format). One of the two projects shown earlier was a 2-day shoot, in a variety of locations and then we also elected to incorporate some stock due to Covid restrictions and the production schedule. B-Roll footage was also captured over a 2 or 3 day block, but always worth the extra time spent. Even when shooting at 5:1 I’ve been easily able to cover 2+ days worth of filming no problem with only 2 of the 480GB RED mags. Our AMAZING voice over talent in the Law Firm spot was provided by Buzz Blackburn who nailed the exact feel we were after. Thanks again Buzz!!
Shown below, you’ll see some misc items including our digital slate app on the iPad which is nice for organizing shots and timecode, along side the Sekonic color meter (don’t leave the studio without it), a portable speaker for some sound, and the always available Germ-X while living and shooting in Covid times. Or just for being the good old germ-a-phobes we are! Good stuff.
Digital slate, Color Meter and the always important Germ-X!
RED DSMC2 modularity is the ticket
We decided to build out a rig to utilize the amazing Movi-Pro system which is what Tony is working on here.
Tony working up a new build on the RED. Look, he’s even sportin’ Red kicks!
Checking out the Movi build with an Easy Rig / Serene Arm Combo
Rails, sliders etc …
Like I’ve said in past posts, I’ve been totally happy with the size, weight, and form factor of this camera and it really works nicely on my old trusty Rhino slider, but the Dana Dolly was made for this size camera. (Just takes a bit more practice to nail down that shot)
Check it out below.
Looks right at home on the sled and those rails
Audio Flexibility
We’re now running with a new audio system powered exclusively by Sennheiser and Zoom. I love both of these companies and their vast line of products and I’ve been a Sennheiser guy since around 1991 or 92. Yep, showing my age again but hey, old guys can love too!?!? Anyway, I can’t say enough good things about the pairing of Sennheiser mics and the new Zoom F6. It’s like a great meal paired with the perfect wine! Or … a great recording artist paired with an amazing crowd and awesome venue! You get my point. I like to think I’m a decent audio guy, but the new F6 has taken a ton off of my plate with 32bit recording. Thank you ZOOM! Not even mentioning the great sound of the Sennheiser line of mics. I’m simply IN-LOVE with my 416 boom mic. Maybe even love it more than my dog Charlie. ;-)
Sennheiser 416 is legit!
Wrap up and final thoughts …
While video production is a MASSIVE TON of work … it is SO worth the effort. We love every day when we are fortunate enough to step on set for a client to create something that didn’t exist before we got involved. Lighting is ALWAYS super fun, and definitely separates the men from the boys. It’s super rewarding and beyond exciting to see a project come together in the edit and we are so grateful to have clients that come to us for this very service.
A special thanks to my A#1 go-to assistant camera man Tony. I couldn’t have pulled off any of this work without his help! Thanks man!! Also a big shout out to Don who always has our back and takes care of much of our BTS coverage. Thanks Mr. Sisson!
As always I hope you enjoyed looking behind the scenes at a day (or two) in our lives - on set, and thanks again for reading in this age of video and instant gratification!
TRAVIS DUNCAN | ADVERTISING PHOTOGRAPHER BASED IN THE MIDWEST. SPECIALIZING IN: PRODUCTS & ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY, and VIDEO PRODUCTIONS.
Travis Duncan Photography | Advertising • Corporate • Motion
Web - www.travisduncan.com
Studio - 573-893-9917