2018 Has Been The Best Year For APVideo!

We’re celebrating! Not just because it’s Christmas, but because 2018 was our most successful year producing video content in Surrey and Internationally!

Let’s take a look back at what we’ve been up to… First up, CVP Pro Repairs.

Earlier this year we were very excited to release the three videos we produced for CVP, promoting their Pro Repairs department with a rebrand. We worked with the CVP engineers to capture the intricacy and details of deconstructing Cooke cinema prime lenses, stripping the Sony F55, and analyzing the optical performance of lenses in the testing room.

The video content was paramount to the marketing campaign which included showing the 30 second edit before and after every presentation at BSC 2018. We’re really proud of this production, and CVP love it!

The Jockey Club - Epsom Downs Racecourse

At the beginning of the year we also began working with The Jockey Club, in particular Epsom Downs Racecourse to produce a series of fashion based videos to support the Investec Derby campaign. The series featured local milliner, Jessica Rea. We also edited the videos in 16:9 and 1:1 aspect ratios so the videos can be published on a variety of social media platforms.

Preparing for the world class racing at Epsom Downs.

JVC Professional

We embarked on a large studio production for JVC Professional all about their professional video and broadcasting products. Based at South Essex College, we took over the theatrical space and shot the footage for 5 videos that will be used online and at trade shows across the world.

We also collaborated with Atomos, Shape, Bright Tangerine, SoftPanels and Manfrotto to bring the production to life.

Screen Subtitling Systems

We’ve worked with Screen Subtitling Systems for a number of years, producing bespoke animations for a range of their leading global subtitling products and solutions. The products are complex, so animation was the perfect medium to communicate what the products do, and why broadcasters need them.

Additionally, we produced a series of software walkthroughs to demonstrate how to use their ‘WinCaps’ software. The series is based upon screen recordings and voice overs that go through the software operations step by step.

Manfrotto - The Great Outdoors

As part of the global photography and filmmaking equipments Spring marketing strategy, we worked to produce an adventure based video about bushcraft and stand up paddleboarding while demonstrating the use of the new Pro Light Cinematic Expand Backpack.

You can check out the ‘making of’ blog here.

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Don’t use video? You’re missing out.

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ZEISS Lenspire

We also collaborated with ZEISS on this production, and reviewed the Milvus Super Speed prime lenses, as well as contributed to their Lenspire blog.

Sandown Park Racecourse - The Jump Finale 2018

We LOVE filming events, so it was really exciting when Sandown Park Racecourse approached us to create an after movie for The Jump Finale Raceday. It’s exhillerating filming live events like this, that’s why producing event video content is our speciality! (We do film conferences, presentations and award ceremonies too).

Shot on Sony a7SII, a6500, Manfotto grip year, Zhiyun Crane 2.

Sandown Park Racecourse - Brigadier Gerard, Apres, Promoting the Coral Eclipse Summer Festival with GB Ladies Hockey Players.

After the success of The Jump Finale 2018 video production, we returned to Sandown Park Racecourse to capture the Brigadier Gerard raceday and the Apres area. To promote the Coral Eclipse Summer Festival we also produced a series of videos with members of the GB Ladies Hockey Team! This was great fun, but a challenge to keep up with the ladies! DJ Reggie Yates gave a sterling set after the racing, he was great to film.

Epsom Downs Racecourse - Investec Derby and Summer Nights Live Music

Continuing our relationship with The Jockey Club, we were asked to film at the world famous Investec Derby 2018. This involved visiting the many areas and attractions of the racecourse and ‘The Hill’, capturing content for sponsorship purposes.

Later that month we also produced four videos to play on the racecourse CCTV and giant screens around the racecourse. This included using archive footage from Derby winners throughout the decades, and creating bespoke animations for iconic moments too.

Fennies - Promotion, Recruitment and the Day of Inspiration

In 2017 we began producing video content for Fennies, a leading nursery group based in the South of England. This summer we were invited back to produce a range of videos to promote the nurseries and it’s facilities, to show their staff in action, and to capture their staff ‘Day of Inpiration’. It’s great fun filming at the nurseries, all of the staff are extremely friendly and the results really work for the nursery group.

KIX18 - Surrey Scouts

Adam is a Scout leader and member of the Surrey Scouts media team. This Summer, Adam travelled with 500 Scouts and leaders to Kandersteg, Switzerland, and captured the journey and adventure all of the young people (and adults) had!

You can read the ‘Sense Of Belonging’ blog post by The Scouts here.

cinema5D - IBC (Amsterdam) and Photokina (Cologne) 2018

We’ve contribued to the worldwide online cinematography and filmmaking website, cinema5D.com for a number of years. Part of the role includes reporting all of the glorious tech news from global trade shows like IBC and Photokina. We produce fast turnaround video edits and articles during the trade shows to ensure cinema5D covers the news extensively and to the highest quality.

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Don’t use video? You’re missing out.

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Screen Subtitling Systems - Animations Galore!

As it’s written above, we work with Screen Subtitling Systems on a regular basis which includes updating their animations with new products. This animation is core to the global companies marketing and promotion at worldwide tradeshows.

Kempton Park Racecourse - 32Red Winter Festival Stingers

We were over the moon to expand our video productions for The Jockey Club into Kempton Park Racecourse. On Boxing Day and the 27th, Kempton Park Racecourse will play host to the infamous Winter Festival, sponsored by 32Red. We were tasked with producing a range of stings to count down to the festival. The shoot was challenging; a lovely sunny day when we really wanted cloud!

We adapted to meet the racecourses needs by grading the footage and applying effects to give the stings a wintery feel. This was accompanied by custom graphics, again, following the wintery theme.

Yosemite - On Top Of The World

In October we travelled to Yosemite National Park on a collaborative project between APVideo, Manfrotto, ZEISS, Sennheiser, GoPro and Zhiyun-Tech. We wanted to demonstrate how to capture incredible photos and video while having an adventure. We were priviliged in using one of the first ZEISS Batis 2/40 CF lenses available, as well as capturing 360 degree sound using the Sennheiser Ambeo Smart Headset. This project is currently in the post production stage.

APVideo Wins ‘Best Business For Design or Technology’

We are over the moon to have been recognised for our hard work at the business awards! We support both local and global businesses, organizations and events with bespoke video content, and getting the award brought home all of the hard work we put in for our fantastic clients.

The Ashley Centre - Christmas Light Switch On

For the last four years we’ve worked with The Ashley Centre, another local business in Epsom to capture the Christmas Light Switch On. It’s family fun at it’s best with entertainers, the pantomime cast and of course Santa! It’s wonderful to support another local business.

Fennies International - Multi Language Video Poduction

Fennies is expanding internationally, and with that they wanted a narrative based video production with multi language subtitles. From start to finish, we worked closely with the Fennies marketing team to develop the storyboard, narrative content and the creation of the subtitles in both English and Chinese. We provided a range of video delivery options including ‘burnt in’ subtitles in both languages, as well as the subtitle text files for use on online video platforms.

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To Review…

As you can see, APVideo has had an incredible year, and we can’t wait for 2019 to start so we can continue the filmmaking adventure. We’re looking to invest into more equipment, expand our team and continue to grow to be the most successful video production company in Surrey.

As well as all of those video productions (and more we can’t share just yet), we’ve also been very grateful to work with our filmmaking friends like Teralon, Warner Vision, JHWF and providing guest lectures and workshops at Kingston University. Collaboration is key in this industry, and we’re always looking to join new teams and crews to produce fantastic content.

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So, you’ve seen what we do, let’s work together to create something amazing.

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Behind The Scenes

We shoot in 4K, HD, in slow motion. We integrate with your teams, work together, collaborate and have adventures. We experiment, we create, we succeed. We are APVideo and love making video content. If you haven’t got yours, get in touch with us now!

Zhiyun-Tech Crane 2: The Best Hand Held Gimbal Out There?

Zhiyun-Tech has taken the indie film world by storm over the last year. Their products are affordable and produce results that can be easily compared to much more costly gimbal systems. I've been using the Crane 2 for months now, here is my experience of using it.

Note: I am a Sony shooter so won't be looking in depth at the capabilities of the Crane 2 with other manufacturers, I have done some follow focus tests with the Canon 5D III as an example.

Feature wise, the Zhiyun Tech Crane 2 packs much more into the gimbal than the Crane 1 and Crane v2 combined. It's increased payload means that shooters using Canon 5D's or Sony a7's with Metabones adapters can comfortably operate the gimbal with less stress on the motors. I've even seen Canon cinema cameras, RED cameras and Sony FS5's rigged on them!

Using the Zhiyun Crane 2 while filming for Manfrotto

A brand new feature is the follow focus, in which I've seen some great examples of Crane 2 operators pulling and tracking focus on moving subjects. Zhiyun Tech has since updated the gimbal firmware so that a number of the camera control features are now available when filming on Canon, Sony, Nikon and Panasonic cameras!

The biggest improvement for me has been using a Manfrotto standard quick release plate, that simply slides on and off the gimbal. It means you can go from filming on a tripod or monopod straight onto the Crane 2. No hassle, no screws to undo and then re-balance the gimbal. It's simple, and it works.

On a recent shoot, I swapped between filming with the Sony a7S II and Sony a6500 on the Crane 2, which was ideal!

Dual handles for the Crane 2 allow for more accessories such as a monitor or microphone to be added to the setup. There is also a follow focus unit now available too, that hooks up to the focus wheel on the handle. For more info about the gimbal and accessories, check out the product page here.

I use the Zhiyun Crane 2 on pretty much all of my video shoots, and combining it with 4K or slow motion really adds a level of production value that I hadn't been able to achieve before. Check out the next blog on the making of 'The Great Outdoors' for more gimbal action with the ZEISS Milvus Super Speed Primes!

Horton Golf Charity Night

Some photos of the bands performing at Horton Golf charity night, in Epsom & Ewell. Photos on the A7S and Tamron 24-70mm (no light).

First up was Josh McDonough - https://soundcloud.com/ustamusic

Next up was The Exit Strategy - https://soundcloud.com/the-exit-strategy-uk

Proud to share some client testimonials!

Thank you all for the feedback!

I've finally had a chance to whip up some of the testimonials I've received from past clients, it's always great to read what an impact your work has made!

Not a bad try at a cinemagraph/GIF of Golf!

I was 'cadam' (caddie Adam) for a round of golf at Horton Golf Club with Sam, Matt, Louis and Glen. I took some photos on my iPhone of the guys on the first tee in burst mode as I didn't want to take the A7S. Tried the cinemagraph look but is much more like a GIF!

Productive first month of 2015!

As it reads above, I have been very busy recently with pre-production for a number of up coming projects, one of which is with Screen Subtitling Systems!

Screen is creating new branding for sales and online, and to go with that I've been set the task of producing a number of animations for them. I've done plenty of research into Screen, and have a great relationship with the marketing team, which means we have very good communication.

Tip No.1: build relationships from the outset of meeting someone.

Since our last meeting, I've developed a number of mood boards and narrative/VO ideas of the script/dialogue and a storyboard to go with it to represent the animations on screen. After drawing a number of ideas and storyboards I managed to narrow down the content for the first animation, and the graphics as well. I've then worked this into an After Effects storyboard with still images for preparation for a presentation.

Tp No.2: preparation and planning what you are going to do, for when, any why is really important. In terms of the animations I'm working with, that means producing mood boards, storyboards, sketches and basic designs, building into digital mock ups. These can then be used as elements in the animations!

I've also been out with Glen, we had a walk around Leith Hill a couple of weekends ago, I took the 24-70 and 100mm L on the 5D mk III. The hill was so high up that we were in cloud, combined with a constant beautiful golden hour made for beautiful photos. Glen took his film camera with him, and captured some gorgeous shots. Here's some of mine..

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I'm still working on the videography business/investment post, it is a long one as you can imagine but it will be coming soon. I'll be going the the CVP Sony A7S event featuring Philip Bloom on the 11th which will be a great contributor to my knowledge. As well as narrowing down potential kit choices for this years video productions, I may be able to get some info from the CVP team about my potential kit choices and finance options.

“UPDATE (06/02/2015) Canon have now officially announced two new 5D model DSLR’s with a 50MP count, with a photography focus rather than video. This reinforces industry voices that Canon are pushing video pro’s up to their high end cinema cameras.. Sony for me I think!”

— http://www.newsshooter.com/2015/02/06/canon-launch-5ds-and-5ds-r-video-features-take-back-seat-to-high-res-stills/

Tip No.3: Never stop learning. Get yourself to BVE for FREE from the 24th-26th Feb for seminars on 4K, editing, lighting, broadcast and the great expo!

Lastly, back in the beginning of January I was out filming Sarah and Matt's wedding. I started with the preparations while Glen was at the venue capturing some shots of the location, Matt and the guests arriving. I had the Pro Media Gear Dual-arc slider on Manfrotto 055 Pro-B legs, with a range of lenses for shooting in potential low light (not knowing what the day or location might turn out like later on, and if the weather changes..)

Chosen equipment for filming a funky wedding - Canon 5D plus a range of fast zooms and primes. Not to forget audio!

I captured some of the days footage in 50fps slow mo, when the light was available for a little bit of luxury with moving shots. When in video mode on the 5D mk III the 50fps mode is only available in 720p, not 1080p. This does make the footage softer, but I've found using the Red Giant 'Instant 4K' plug-in works well to upscale the clips to 1080, and sharpen them a little.

Throughout the day I switched mainly between the Tamron 24-70 and Canon 100mm L for wide/standard framing and then more detail/close ups. I've found this works well as there is no 24-135 F/2.8.. If you are working with a Canon 60D, or an APS-C camera you get a lovely look when using an 85mm or 100mm (as the focal length is multiplied), with a pretty bokeh as well. For cool-perspective ultra wide angle, the Samyang 14mm T/3.1 works a treat, for skate videos and music videos where you want to warp reality a little!

There will be more on the wedding film production in an up coming Manfrotto Ambassador blog!

Tip No.4: tell a story through your video/film, narrative-speaking there is a beginning, middle and end set around key events. It may sound like redundant advice, but many videos I watch fail to build the narrative or story through the visuals. It provides an immersive experience for your viewers, getting them involved with what you've produced.

*Now following up a few days later, the meeting with Screen went very well, I traveled up to their Suffolk HQ, a beautiful old building in the country. Myself, the marketing dept and business development were present as I showed my basic concepts and ideas, and we discussed further the ideas and terminology.

Tip No.5: if you're working with clients in a different industry to yours, do your best to learn as much as you can about their business, products, services, strategies, and what their clients want.

This has been fantastic progress for the end of January, which is usually a slow month for productions. With the wedding film almost complete, and the design beginning for the Screen Systems project I am confident it's the beginning to a great year. Not to mention the potential of IABM event coverage too! I'm due to visit the IABM team next week to talk further about this years videography.

After the CVP event with PB I'm sure to have worked to some conclusion for the video business investment post, but it may have to wait until BVE.. We shall see!

Some macro photography going on in the background, little herbs going!

From a quick walk in the morning.. Kids in Epsom and Ewell leaving their childhood behind!

Keep an eye out for my new Manfrotto Ambassador blog about filming weddings with Manfrotto gear, and I'm going up to London tonight for some night photography so I'll share the results with you later!

Christmas Floral Decorations - Photoshoot for Madeleine Pink Floral Designer

On Wednesday I was working with Margaret from Madeleine Pink Floral Design to capture her beautiful Christmas decorations.

Using the Manfrotto 1x1FT LED light panels on the pro-light stands, I softly lit the decorations with the fine tuning bi-colour control; resulting in soft shadows!

Kit list: Canon 5D mkIII, Tamron 24-70, Sigma 70-200, Samyang 35mm, Canon 100mm L, Manfrotto Pro-Cx3 tripod and MHV500, Spectra 900FT LED light, Variable friction arm + super clamp.

"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose".

New summer post coming very soon!

It's been an extreme summer season! From epic weddings with drone flying to creating the videos for The IABM for IBC, it has been immense.

Now nearly 9 months since starting Adam Plowden Videography properly, I am over the moon with the great clients and people I've worked and am working with.

I still have a number of productions on the go, and I will be attending The IBC Show in September so there is much more great stuff to come!

Massive shout out to the team over at Manfrotto who have been a great help with sorting out equipment for my travels abroad!

Keep those creative juices flowing!

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/103717010]

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/75340958]

What a few months it has been!

Blimey, my last post was a while ago.. Honestly, since then work has got heavy and much of my time is either spent behind the camera or the screen. One exception was the Manfrotto Pro Backpack50 review, shot by Glen Symes for me where I actually appear in a video!

Some of the things I've been up to range from filming quite a few weddings [embed]https://vimeo.com/98328657[/embed] to filming and editing for a series of videos on health and wellbeing.

On the side, I've talked at EEHS about going through uni and starting a business, am preparing for my Manfrotto Tour videography seminar and other bits and bobs.. I'm sure if you follow me on twitter or facebook you'll have an idea of the things!

Going back a few weeks, my main projects have been the EEBC Health and Wellbeing video series, and an animation on Telecare. This is a predominantly piece to camera series, with additional b-roll shots to add to the videos messages which range from stopping smoking, to eating a healthy and balanced diet. The standard production of information videos ensued, editing down from around 45-50 minutes to a concise 2 minutes providing the relevant facts and summaries on prevention. Editing in Premiere Pro, I used the very good Luma Corrector tool for exposure changes and a simple RGB curves adjustment for the colour temperature.

I find the Luma Corrector better to work with, as by adjusting the Gamma control slightly, it removes the washed grey look to push out the prominent shadows and highlights meaning that it is very simple to correct/match shots; especially as I filmed using daylight as my key.

As per the clients request I have also added subtitles, which I created using the dynamic link into After Effects (noting at this point that if you're doing several stages of an edit, to duplicate the sequence you are working on before you start the next stage as Premiere and AE require you to save your work for updates to take place, meaning no Ctrl-Z/Command-Z to get back to a timeline with the clips rather than your 'replace in AE linked composition').

I was also out photographing flowers for a wedding, for the florist Madeleine Pink a few weeks ago too! Taken on a range of lenses with the Canon 5D mkIII (Tamron 24-70mm, Sigma 70-200mm, Samyang 14, 35, 85mm cine, and Nikkor 50mm).

Since then, I ventured into using Lightroom to edit the photos as well, still learning bits and bobs but found a range of fantastic presets here that create some great looks. I'd appreciate your thoughts on the photos and the looks as well, as it's mostly stab in the dark/emotive based :P

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A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of filming Dan and Kelly's wedding in Ashford + Foxhills where I met the awesome Ash; a unique wedding photographer! Check out the wedding film here [embed]https://vimeo.com/97953644[/embed], and definitely check out Ash's work over at Ash Darling Photography! Highly recommended by me :D and I believe I'll be working with Ash soon on an up coming wedding, really looking forward to it!

Believe it or not, I have been doing some videography too! In between editing the health and wellbeing videos, and on the pre-production sketches of the telecare animation I spent a couple of afternoons in The Woodland Garden in Bushy Park; one of my favorite places to go to switch off work mode, relax and shoot some video for personal projects. I've named this one 'Waterhouse', it's the name of the part of the garden where a balcony looks over a pond with a waterhouse to the left. It poses interesting thoughts to its original function, the bricks and foundations holding strong throughout years of use and bad weather. Virginia Creepers pursue to edge up its sides, gripping on to reach the sunlight through the tree canopy.

The edit is complete, but I am now working on a quirky hipster logo/title animation for the beginning of the video so as soon as it has been animated and comped into the footage I will upload!

The kit I used for the 'Waterhouse' video include; Manfrotto 755Cx-3 tripod, Edelkrone Slider+ v2, Canon 5D mkIII, Canon 100mm F/2.8 macro (hence why the shake on the slider is slightly more visible than without IS/OS, but I have used Warp Stabilizer where I can). Tamron 24-70mm, Sigma 70-200mm, Samyang 14, 35, 85mm cine, Nikkor 50mm. After using the Canon macro lens, I have totally decided to purchase the Sigma 105mm F/2.8 OS macro lens; firstly because of future video productions where a small minimum focus distance is necessary (product, people, detail shots), also it has optical stabilization which I found was needed when moving the camera and lens on the slider, and lastly its around £400.. Bargain!

Things I've learned so far from doing this kind of work;

• Shoot with a widespread histogram (unless I wish to isolate the subject from shadows behind).
• Lightroom is awesome, try playing with the presets I linked to work on the developer tools.
• Regardless if it has been a long day filming, if you want to talk to someone, always, always, always do it!
• I want a macro lens for intricate detailed shots, as my current range does not let me get close enough to the subject.
• Take some hand held lights for kicks and fills; the venue room where the table decorations were photographed was very dark. With a tripod and a couple of lights I would have had much more control over the lighting composition.
• Dabble in a variety of work types, to keep it interesting and different!
• I need a slider for cinematic moving shots; I have made my choice; not the Edelkrone! There will be a whole blog post on this coming soon.

Epsom Marketplace

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Behind the scenes of yesterdays Wellbeing videoshoot!

06:30 Kit bag, check.

Audio kit, check.

Lighting, check.

Brain, just about.

Yesterday I was out filming talking heads and some b-roll for a Wellbeing project on behalf of EEBC. Wellbeing is our general mental and physical health, but there are many factors in the way that we live that can affect our chances of developing serious health problems in the future. These include some sensitive subjects, that I was capturing to provide an information base for those in the community that may be suffering, or have friends and relatives of those diagnosed with; Cancer, Coronary Heart Disease, Dementia and Diabetes.

I was featuring nutritional expert Yvonne McMeel throughout the videos, so I began by planning my main piece to camera with her in the Wellbeing Centre.

This was a standard video shoot, so I packed my kit bag to be prepared with whatever the day would bring! This included;

Video - Canon 5D mkIII, Tamron 24-70 F/2.8 VC, Sigma 70-200 F/2.8 OS, Canon 60D.

Audio - Zoom H6, Roto-Mic, Sennheiser ENG-G3 100 wireless.

Grip - Manfrotto 755CX3 tripod + MVH500AH, Manfrotto 190Pro-B (old version) tripod, Super clamp and magic arm.

Lighting - Daylight balanced 85W studio light with soft umbrella.

Extras - Lilliput 1018 (I am currently testing out and reviewing this product).

I took along the Lilliput 1018; the new flagship 10 inch touch screen field monitor, which produced crisp pictures and well represented colours. I ran this on a F-970 battery with HDMI through from the 5D, so I could monitor both. This did however cause the camera to heat up quite quickly. However, the monitor has awesome features usually found on high end products which include; exposure and focus peaking, on screen waveform monitors, levels and much more, which came in very handy for assessing the quality of the picture. (More coming later regarding this product).

Char doing her make up thang!

I began setup at 9am, shortly followed by Char the make up artist who set up her bits. The location for filming was the Wellbeing Centre, which as a wonderfully bright open facade with big doors and windows. Luckily enough, blaring heat and sunshine poured through the windows, so that was my key light at slightly cooler than daylight colour balance at 5200k. This also matched the daylight light fixture I was using to add a fill and kick to the subject.

Why did I use a 2-point light setup?

I could have rocked up with the intention of using just the daylight and the incandescent lights in the centre with the mentality that it will illuminate my subject well, but there are risks you have to be willing to take if you approach lighting in a casual way. Some points to remember when thinking about lighting your subjects;

• Are they defined from the background?
• Do they have harsh shadows on their face?
• Moving sunlight will change throughout the day, in brightness, direction and colour.
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Now, when you haven't been to the location before it is difficult to judge the lighting conditions, so firstly if you can have a RECCE of the location. It is very beneficial as you can begin to compose the scene, judging the internal and external lighting, now noisy the environment is, whether you will need a backdrop instead of a plain background.. All points to consider before you turn up with the camera kit and begin filming.

Defining the subject from the background is what makes them look 3-dimensional and not flat, this is the same for the shadows too as it shows that features are visible on the face. With DSLR's it is possible to use depth of field to define your subject from the background, but lighting can also be used to 'pop' the subject out of the BG.

Harsh shadows are caused by strong direct light, and are unwanted as they mask features and don't represent the subject properly, unless this is the effect you are looking for. For piece to cameras and interviews having soft shadows around the nose show the features of the subject, again making them look real.

The sunlight is your best friend and worst enemy at the same time... As the Earth rotates, we move further away or closer to the sun which changes the lights direction; if you start filming in the morning with your subject lit from the front, by 12 noon the sun is over head and by the late afternoon the light will be behind you. To combat this, keep continuity by filming at the same times each day, or even simpler be aware of the suns direction and gradually rotate the subject and other lights to keep a constant illumination. For me, I was filming from 11am through to 15:00 with the sunlight to my left for the whole day which was very beneficial, but not every time will I be that lucky!

Watch out for clouds that can block the sunlight, and be aware of how the colour temperature of daylight changes throughout the day; cool in the morning and warm in the evening. For me, shooting in midday sun meant a constant temperature of 5200K for both cameras, matching the other light.

The use of a kicker or fill light, pushes out the shadows caused by the key light (the sun), and gives a halo effect to the hair of the subject making them stand out. The difference is subtle but effective.

Camera Setup and Composition

Once I had my lighting up and running, it was time to set up the cameras and audio equipment. I was going to shoot using the Samyang 35mm T/1.5 cine lens, but this would result in being intimately close to Yvonne, the subject, which would be quite off putting and may add shadows/interference such as me rustling papers to the recording. Instead, I used a telephoto lens as I can be a good distance away from the subject, and create a narrow field of view that frames up as an MCU (medium close up).

My main A camera was the 5D mkIII, and although the Sigma lens can open up its aperture to F/2.8 for shallow depth of field, this was not required for today. Instead, the camera was set to F/4.5 for a still shallow depth of field, but deep enough for the subject to move forward and backwards in the frame a little, and to de-focus the background. The ISO was set to 200, although when the Sun disappeared behind clouds I would ride the ISO to 250 or 320 depending. To stick to the 180 degree shutter rule, the electronic shutter remained locked at 1/50th.

The B camera was the Canon 60D, I paired this with the sharp Tamron 24-70 F/2.8 and shot wide open, again riding the ISO when required. I did this because this camera was capturing a wide shot of the subject, so depth of field was not noticeable. To keep continuity, both cameras were set to a white balance/colour temperature of 5200K, but it appears that the 60D picture is slightly yellow/green than the 5D picture.

Audio

The often forgotten partner to the pretty pictures you see, having top quality audio is just as important as having your subject in focus and exposed. I used the Zoom H6 as my recorder, with the XY mic attached to capture one stereo recording. I also used the Sennheiser ENG-G3 wireless mic kit, attaching a lav/lapel mic to the subject which would be my main audio source. As a back up I also used the Rotolight Roto-Mic plugged into the 5D just in case. Remember to take headphones so you can monitor the sound recording, just like you would use the cameras screen to compose the picture.

The filming went brilliantly. As a precaution I decided to use the 'record to multiple card' function in the 5D so I had a back up of the footage in case the cards got corrupted from such long recording times. As mentioned earlier with the lighting, as the light slowly changed, I also adjusted the position of the kick/fill to push back the shadows.

I was very impressed with the Lilliput 1018 field monitor too, and although it is larger than monitors I would usually use the touch screen control and diverse functions suited the shoot well, so I could keep a close eye on the changing light levels.

After the principal piece to camera filming was complete, I ventured out into Epsom and Ewell with Yvonne to film some b-roll pieces that would add to the information and dialogue about wellbeing and health. So, we visited Shadbolt Park outdoor gym, Ewell Court Library, Epsom's Derby Square, we were going to hit the market but by that time it was 17:30 and no chance of finding fresh fruit and veg to film.. We returned to the car to go to the last location, Epsom Downs, when this happened...

My car broke down. The filming day abruptly ended with a call to my insurers for recovery, while I also arranged a taxi for Yvonne to take her to the train station. That didn't put a dampener on the day though, I had captured great video and dialogue that I hope will help many people in the borough and wider community who may be suffering with cancer, heart disease, diabetes or dementia.

I then ingested the footage, and backed up a whopping 80Gb of footage and audio.. Lots to edit through, but thankfully those wonderful geniuses at Red Giant have a tool called Pluraleyes which can sync video with externally recorded video, so suddenly the issue to matching up the audio to the video disappeared, saving me potentially hours of work!

A bunch of un-synced video and audio clips gets transformed into this - 

Pluraleyes then allows you to export the sequence as an XML that I then imported into Adobe Premiere Pro to edit! It's ready to go!

Overall, very happy with the footage and the outcome of the first day! I need to get out and shoot some more cutaways/b-roll of healthy food, socializing and some more bits and bobs to add.

Working with the new Panasonic GH4

We had another toying test day yesterday, with new glass too; the Panasonic/Leica 25mm F/1.4 (equivalent to 50mm F/1.4) and the Panasonic 100-300mm F/2.8 (equivalent to 200-600mm F/2.8). We keep finding great features and little things that make this camera wow us!  

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We were out filming and testing out the capabilities of the camera at Epsom's Thai festival taster, we used the 14-140mm F/3.5-5.6 OIS lens recording in 4K. The video will be uploaded and shared soon!

Interview/Epsom Downs/Nutfield Priory Filming Sunday!

Sunday is always a hectic day for me, and yesterday encompassed helping Glen with his dissertation; he interviewed me about getting jobs in the broadcasting industry after university. He filmed it on the 5DmkIII, Samyang 85mm T1.5 Cine, Lilliput field monitor, Zoom H6 & Sennheiser ENG-100, Manfrotto 055CX and my new MODA RIG - in studio production mode.

It was a great opportunity for me to test out all of the new equipment on a video shoot together, and being on the other side of the camera was definitely interesting form me!

We then took a trip up to Epsom Downs, it was a really clear day so from the viewpoint I could see London on the horizon, with the Shard gleaming in the winter sunlight. This was taken on the 5D with the Sigma 70-200.

I got some pictures of the MODA rig in action, we were using it in two setups for the various shoots that day; the production mode for a large DSLR body and lens with cage and shoulder mount, as well as micro rig mode for a Canon 60D and cage. This shows how flexible the MODA rig really is in different shooting scenarios!

We then jetted off to Nutfield Priory near Redhill for the last video shoot of the day, for Steve from Partytime entertainment. He has an awesome new setup with white speakers, moving heads, star cloth, light up dance floor and now a dry ice machine!

Using the MODA rig with the Canon 5DmkIII, and a combination of lenses from Samyang 14mm T3.1 to Tamron 24-70 to a GoPro, myself and Glen captured the night. The dry ice was used for the couples first dance which looked great!

The footage from this shoot will go to John Harris Media, as part of a bigger project with Partytime, so I am looking forward to seeing the results!

I have also been working on the behind the scenes videos for the SWPP conference, showing how you can use Canon, Manfrotto and Elinchrom products to produce fantastic video on DSLR. I've been experimenting with beauty looks for one of the models...

Grading test for Canon/MF/Elinchrom BTS

There will be lots more coming over the next few days, I am currently buried under lots of post production work as well as developing Camsmarts new products too. Tonight I am out filming and taking photos for a new florist at Epsom RAC, so look forward to some new beauty snaps!

Happy New Year to you!

Manfrotto Shoot #2 "Backpack50"

Manfrotto's all new Backpack50. [gallery ids="557,558,559,560,561,562,563,564,565,566,567,568,569,570,571,572,573,574" orderby="rand"]

There will be much more later, its been a long day! I took the photos on my Canon 60D and Nikkor 50mm F/1.4 manual for a beautiful soft background to complement the autumn colour tone, landscape and chilly weather at Epsom Downs!