i wrote this up for our edu blog with the hopes that it might get me an extra couple hours of sleep every night in saved emails : )
right now we only have the list for the cinema side. hopefully the photo end will ante up soon and add their info.
you can read the full write-up of all of the gear we use, and why // here.
in the future, you can also find it as a permanent post on the side of our experience blog (blog.stillmotionexperience.com)
P.
our edu blog
we have some we are very excited to share. we have been working on an educational blog to go alongside our experience website so we could share more about our travels, workshops, and other educational events.
that new blog has launched and it can be accessed through our experience site our directly at http://blog.stillmotionexperience.com/
the first edu post there is about a ring shot. we wanted to share all that can go into making 3 seconds in the final piece. here is the clip itself, and you can see a full write-up on the edu blog.
P.
the ring shot has become quite the widespread phenomenon within our industry. i do believe it was our filipino friend jmag who first brought these into his films. they have certainly evolved over the years and have become quite the highlight within a wedding film. for us, as things become closer to a cliche, we try and move away from them. what that means now, is that while we still do ring shots, we don;t include them in every sde. we also try to go that extra step and make sure that the shot doesn’t just look awesome but it also ties into that couple’s unique story. another use of ring shots, for us, is to interact with the titles either at the beginning or end of the film.
with that, i bring you a little behind the scenes piece we shot that shows what can go into one ring shot. a good 10 minutes of production for 3 seconds of screen time.
what your seeing here is a couple boxes we found at the brides house being used to elevate the cinevate linear tracking system so we can mount it upside down. we then ran the 7d with a 24 f1.4 on the slider. why a 24? well we needed something wider to allow for then negative space needed for the titles. the 24 can focus super close and is also very shallow when you do so, so it seemed like the perfect fit. we also use a lazy susan we found on the table to wipe the rings and copy out.
P.
So you’ve always wanted to learn about cinema?… … What are you waiting for?
-MYW.
Week II / Day I — Dennis Wood came down from Thunder Bay to spend the day with us. He brought all kinds of equipment for everyone to try out, he was there to answer some questions, and as a bonus, he got to see all of his gear in action. He was a huge help, AND he did some shooting of his own. We’re looking forward to seeing his footage :) Here are a few behind the scenes shots of everyone hands-on at Palais Royale. Oh, and I’m going to steal some of the spotlight and post some of my fav images of Allie & Thomas and Stella & Chi (thanks for coming out guys!).
-Amina
Allie likes the Steadicam. How cool is that? Patrick like the 5D on the steadicam- all in 24P. More on that coming soon.
P.
James’ Day After Shoot // Behind the Scenes
On Saturday, Konrad and I along with John and Amina went out to Union Station for a little photo.cinema shoot with Angela and James. We were lucky enough to get to test out a prototype follow focus that was released by Cinevate recently. We thought this would be a perfect oppurtunity to shoot a little behind the scenes trailer so everybody could see a little more of the fun that goes into a shoot, as well as the new follow focus in action. Now, when you first view the clip your probably going get the impression that John doesn’t do to much on a shoot, or at least nothing productive. However, more than just comedic relief, he has been known to snap a photo or two, but that didn’t seem as exciting as what we put in here. For those with a keen eye, I did quite a bit of tilt/shift shooting for the film which gives it that interesting gradient of focus you see in some shots.
-P.
Angela + James Day After Shoot // Behind the Scenes from StillMotion on Vimeo.
‘the gear doesn’t matter’ is quite the cliche. while i think it is certainly true to a good extent, there is much to be said for having tools, understanding how to use them, and what they can add to your story. i think we cold do great thinks with an iphone, but i do think a MKII or 7d makes our stories that much better, or at the very least makes them that much more attractive so that more people watch and see your story. to me, it all matters.
content is king, but we couldn’t do what we do without the tools we use.
P.
While I\’m sure we\’ll all agree there\’s so much more to stillmotion than the gear, it\’s nice to be equipped with the right tools for the right shot. Your list has items that have been on my list for a long time and something tells me I\’ll be waiting for that FedEx truck next week :) Thanks for sharing P.
Just to be the devil\’s advocate, here\’s some good insight on gear- http://kenrockwell.com/tech/notcamera.htm Not to bash you Patrick- because I know you get it- but I wish more people understood what Ken is saying…