Once Upon a Time in the Gym.

Inspired by a number of Western themed viewings in the past month (namely Once Upon a Time in the West, and David Fincher's awesome Nike commercial "Fate"), i set the other week to shoot a short film/promo at The Powerhouse Gym and to give it a Western type feel. I started out with vague idea to shoot the gym as an expansive and desolate space with a sole figure working out, and to then have it evolve into an up tempo workout piece. While this idea remains at the core of the video, i found it hard to get wide enough lenses to create the expansive type feel i wanted. So instead the video is more about mid shots and close ups, this in retrospect probably helps more in conveying the uptempo and intensity of the workout.

Once again, my friend Adam Anderson was kind enough to volunteer himself and let me film his workouts at The Powerhouse, it was shot over two evenings after hours when the gym was empty. I'm very happy with the video and the overall look i've been able to achieve. Given more time i would like to tinker with the slow motion beginning more and smooth that out, maybe when i learn to use Shake better.

Hope you enjoy it:



Gear:

- Canon 7D, Nikkor 20-35 f2.8, Canon 70-200 IS L f2.8.
- Glidecam 2000
- Shot using Marvels Cine Gamma, and graded using Magic Bullet Looks.


thanks,

Luke

Grayson Gilmour Video Shoot

A few months back i had the oppourtunity to work as camera operator on the video for Grayson Gilmour's new song 'Oh, Stasis'. The shoot consisted of a number of passes on a miniature city with a motion controlled rig, along with some live action filming with an actor in a water tank. The shoot was a mammoth undertaking with a very small budget and was aided by some very talented people who work in the film industry here in Wellington. I hope to write more about the shoot and the video once it is released. We shot using two Canon 7D camera's which were perfect for many aspects of the shoot, but following focus with them for the motion control shots was near on impossible which made for some compromises focus wise. The footage looks excellent though, and below are some still photos from the shoot.


















The video is currently in post production and is expected to be released within the next 1-2 months.

Luke

short piece/test shots from the showreel

Here's a short video from my ongoing showreel. These are more test shots than anything, but i guess this gives an idea on the type of 'feel' that i'm trying to create with my piece on Wellington at night. Can't wait to have a few less projects on my plate so that i can go out and devote more time to this piece. It's fun watching all the pieces (shots) fall into place while i'm editing though.



thanks,

Luke

Dreams of Cheese: a concept short film.

What began as a simple dare for my friend Adam to consume an entire 56 slice box of processed cheese, turned into a must-be-filmed event, only to then evolve into a fully fledged concept short film. So last Wednesday, with the box of cheese in tow, and Adam horribly hungover, we set out to a place with some of the best views in Wellington; Brooklyn Hill, to set up for our shoot. Treated to a dead calm day and some stunning views of the city we got to work filming the piece. I wont spoil the viewing, but i will say that a lot of cheese was consumed, and plenty of silliness was captured on film ( er... CF card). 95% of the film was shot overcranked at 50fps and then slowed down in post. In fact, the only shots filmed in 1080/25p are the first and last shots of the film. Most of the shots were improvised and while i did have a general idea of what i wanted for the film, the final narrative was 'constructed' in the edit suite.

Ultimately though it was alot of fun to shoot, and it gave me a good chance to use a bunch of new film gear which i have picked up in the fast few months.

Tech Specs (for those interested):

- Canon 7D (lenses: Nikon 50mm 1.8, Nikon 20-35mm 2.8, Canon 70-200 IS 2.8L)
- Matte Box (with two 0.9 ND's in at most times)
- Zacuto Z-Finder for most handheld shots
- Canon TC80N3 remote (used for the timelapse section which was shot in stills mode)
- Glidecam 2000 (for the steadycam shots, using the 50mm)
- and finally, shot flat using Marvels Cine Gamma, and colour graded using Magic Bullet Looks.


thanks,

Luke

the ongoing showreel project

One thing that i have been working on for what seems like forever (so much so that i have shot it on two different camera's that i've owned) is a showreel type film shot around Wellington at night. It's just one of those things that i like to chip away at every now and then, going out and shooting for a night, lugging around my camera gear and seeing if something strikes me. I hope to put it together eventually, it is finally taking shape though. It started as a piece about isolation and the inner city at night, and it has kind of evolved into a piece more about movement and i want the tempo to build throughout the video. Now, how to do that.....

Another thing that i enjoy experimenting with is the contrast of different lighting sources, especially areas with white fluorescent light mixed with orange tungsten or sodium vapour street lamps, and an occurrence that is rather common in the central city at night. It's a look i've really been drawn to recently and i want to go further with it next time i go out shooting. In the meantime though, here are a few still shots from the footage i have already, the first two stills are actually from timelapse shots where the stars move across the sky, a very cool effect.












Luke

Live gig video

Here we go, from the footage i shot last saturday night, i've put together a rough edit of one of the songs (Ruby) from The Codebreaker's set. I didn't quite have enough cutaway footage to edit the whole song, so i've cut it up a little bit, just to give a feel of the night. Am still experimenting a bit with focus pulling and what works well, and considering all the footage was handheld, i am very satisfied with the quality. As i mentioned earlier though, the depth of field at f2.8 is very thin and i think to be safe i may try for f4 or 5.6 next time, just to give me that extra leeway for moving subjects. Still, it can be a very striking look, and the last shot of the video in particular is my favourite.

thanks,

Luke

Filming a live gig

On the weekend i had the opportunity to help a friend film a gig at Bodega for the band The Codebreakers. The footage will eventually be used for the bands debut music video, which my friend is making. I went along mainly to help collect cutaway footage, but also to put my new 70-200mm L 2.8 IS lens through its paces. It was an absolute joy to shoot with, shooting at f2.8 meant that the depth of field was razor thin though so continually focusing as i filmed was a must. So there were often times when the musicians would drift in and out of focus, in a harmonic/rhythmic sort of way. It's funny because it is a technique i have been seeing more and more recently, especially in mainstream music videos... is it intentional? or just poor focus pulling? haha

Still though, am very happy with the results and hope to post the footage in some sort of clip very shortly. in the meantime though here are a few screen shots from the footage.










Luke