gimbal

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.

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.


Don’t use video? You’re missing out.


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.


Don’t use video? You’re missing out.


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.

Epsom Bus Awards-9658.jpg

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.


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.


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


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!

The Making Of 'The Great Outdoors' For Manfrotto

Get behind the scenes with our production for Manfrotto's 'The Great Outdoors' campaign, featuring ZEISS Milvus Super Speed prime lenses and the DJI Mavic Air.

Spring is here, and so are Manfrotto's new backpacks in the form of the Pro Light Cinematic Expand, and Pro Light Cinematic Balance. They are larger than the original Pro Light range which makes them ideal for carrying a plethora of filmmaking gear, in this case the ZEISS Milvus Super Speed prime lenses, DJI Mavic Air and Zhiyun Tech Crane 2.

Checking out the views with the Manfrotto Pro Light Cinematic Expand backpack and ZEISS Milvus Super Speed 1.4/25.

Checking out the views with the Manfrotto Pro Light Cinematic Expand backpack and ZEISS Milvus Super Speed 1.4/25.

I headed out to the beautiful Surrey Hills to test out the new backpack and absorb the landscapes while out filming. Rich accompanied me to capture some awesome behind the scenes photos and video content too.

We spent a rainy day wandering around Holmbury St Mary and Leith Hill, recce'ing locations for filming that week. Luckily for us, the sun shone through the clouds for our 3 days filming!

Here is the kit list for the shoot:

  • Sony a7S II (with the SmallRig cage)

  • Sony a6500

  • Canon 5D III (BTS stills)

  • ZEISS Milvus Super Speed Primes (1.4/25, 1.4/35, 1.4/50, 1.4/85)

  • Zhiyun Crane 2

  • DJI Mavic Air

  • Canon 25-105mm F/4

  • Canon 17-40mm F/4

  • Samyang 35mm T/1.5

  • Manfrotto NITRO N8 video head and 535 MPRO tripod

All of the main filming kit fitted into the Manfrotto Pro Light Cinematic Expand.

The range of equipment used in The Great Outdoors filming. Inc Manfrotto NITRO N8, 535 MPRO, ZEISS Milvus Super Speed Primes

The range of equipment used in The Great Outdoors filming. Inc Manfrotto NITRO N8, 535 MPRO, ZEISS Milvus Super Speed Primes

Choosing The Surrey Hills Locations

We captured some fantastic shots around the hills, featuring well known beauty spots like Leith Hill. Going on an adventure around familiar and unfamiliar territory, capturing the environment and landscapes that surrounded us was a great way to test the kit.

To add to the narrative of the production, Scott from The Surrey Hills Adventure Company invited us to the lagoon where he instructs SUP (stand up paddleboarding) as well as bushcraft, to shoot some material there. The weather wasn't the best, but Scott headed out on the paddleboard which made for some great aerial shots.

The sharpness of the ZEISS Milvus Super Speed 85mm was ideal for getting shots of the boat house, which was deliberately framed like a Wes Anderson shot!

Scott from The Surrey Hills Adventure Company taking his SUP for a spin.

Scott from The Surrey Hills Adventure Company taking his SUP for a spin.

The ZEISS Milvus Super Speed Primes have a constant aperture of F/1.4 and can have the gear ring attached for use with a follow focus system. The lenses are of incredible visual quality (rendering 6K plus resolution images), and were ideal for filming on the Sony a7S II with the Sigma MC-11 adapter. I rigged up the camera and lens in the Small Rig cage, and attached the Manfrotto Follow Focus too, for precise focus pulling control at wide apertures.

The gear ring attached to the ZEISS Milvus 1.4/85 for a Manfrotto follow focus unit

The gear ring attached to the ZEISS Milvus 1.4/85 for a Manfrotto follow focus unit

For the silky smooth motion shots, the a7SII was rigged up with the Zhiyun Tech Crane 2, and even with the heavy ZEISS Milvus lenses, the gimbal performed very well (upon balancing correctly). The stabilised sensor aids greatly to reduce the up and down motion of walking, with the Crane 2 keeping everything else lovely and steady. As a handheld gimbal, I cannot recommend it enough.

Working With The DJI Mavic Air

I had the opportunity to shoot some lovely aerials around the area too on the DJI Mavic Air. This is my first little drone venture and is fantastic fun. The Fly More combo has enough batteries for between 45 minutes and 1 hours and comes with a nice carry bag too. I've managed to fit the drone, 3 batteries, controller and a set of Polar Pro ND filters in there too.

The DJI Mavic Air is a fantastic addition to the kit bag (Manfrotto Pro Light Cinematic Expand), and fits into the bag very well!

The DJI Mavic Air is a fantastic addition to the kit bag (Manfrotto Pro Light Cinematic Expand), and fits into the bag very well!

By the way, those Polar Pro ND filters are really needed to keep the shutter at 1/50 or 1/100 for slow mo. I've set the drone to Cinelike-D profile with reduced contrast, and then applying an S-like curve in post to bring back the colour and contrast. Shooting in 4K and 2.5K resolutions is great for post-production flexibility, when delivering a HD sequence.

Another technique to improve the colour richness, especially in the sky is to export the Mavic Air footage from your NLE as a PNG sequence, and then import it into Lightroom to apply the 'Dehaze' tool, which makes the colours more vibrant. It's a bit of a round-trip, but this effect/feature isn't available in Premiere Pro CC, yet.

One downside to the DJI Mavic Air is that the shadows are quite noisy, even when the image is exposed well, so keep an eye out for that. Below are some of the outtake drone shots of the Surrey Hills from the campaign.

The edit was where the story of 'The Great Outdoors' was to be built, and with some voice over recording and subtle soundtrack, the first part of the video began to come together. There was a lot to say about the shoot and the Pro Light Cinematic Expand backpack, in such a short amount of time. The visuals had to tell the story more than just what I was saying.

Rather than making the campaign video just a review, I chose to make the second part of the video different; changing the soundtrack and pace. This part was showing what you can do with the kit, what you can create and what stories you can tell.

I must say a massive thank you to Rich Tarr who accompanied myself on this production, capturing the BTS photos and video content. Without him, this couldn't have been possible! Also to Scott from The SHAC, if you're into outdoors, seriously check them out!

Rich Tarr, BTS producer

Rich Tarr, BTS producer

Rich getting back to basics

Rich getting back to basics

My verdict on the Pro Light Cinematic Expand? It's come with me for every shoot since this campaign. It's large and comfortable enough to carry a two camera setup with a set of 4/5 lenses and a telephoto. There is always extra room for mics and clamps, stands and the like by expanding the bag or making use of the quick access pockets. Try the bag out for yourself, it really suited my filming kit choice.

Overall, the campaign had a great reception and myself, Rich and Scott were really pleased with the result. To add to that, ZEISS will also be featuring a blog post and unique video about using the Milvus Super Speed prime lenses on their LENSPIRE website, so keep an eye out for that soon!

If you've got any questions about the Manfrotto Pro Light Cinematic Expand, filming with the ZEISS Milvus Super Speeds, flying with the DJI Mavic Air, then just get in touch!

Movement For Video: Sliders, Gimbals and More!

Movement For Video: Sliders, Gimbals and More!

To move or not to move? There are many reasons to use both motivated and unmotivated movement while filming, but how can you achieve it? A slider? A Gimbal?