A7s + Ronin Commercial Spot

S

svenzn

Member
Few things come between a man and his Doritos, in fact, nothing comes between a man and his Doritos.

Shot on the A7s with Tamron 24-70 2.8 between F4 - F5.6, ISO between 8000-10000, APS-C Mode 50P (except the very first image) using Kholis PP for SLOG with magentas turned down a little more and yellow raised one step. Mounted on the DJI RONIN with a Silencer trigger controlled follow focus. A nice surprise was that I didn't have to rebalance the Ronin when zooming to 70mm even though it extends :)

It was a really stressed shoot done in the very last second, and I really feel like it couldn't have been done without the A7s, which performed fantastically. It allowed us to use very few lights and spend our limited time on just getting the shots we needed. Once we did a first render I wouldv'e prefered to bring down the highlights a little more to get some more detail, but we didn't have the time to wait, and I'm probably more picky then 99% of the people who see it, so just uploaded as it was in order to make he deadline. Graded in filmconvert with default camera setting (didn't edit on my station and didn't have time to fix the profiles for a7s).

Please criticise, :) (and if you enjoy it, please vote)
One thing I'm taking with me from this is trying not to lose focus on the image to the numbing weight of using the Ronin for a full day, many shots are framed a little low in my opinion, which is largely due to the rig pulling me down... EasyRig or somthing like it would make life a lot simpler.

https://crashthesuperbowl.doritos.com/gallery/submission/5211?share=true?share=true
 
Spent a little time doing some color correction on the video today that shows more what I would have wanted to do if there had been more time before the deadline. Here's some stills from it for comparison. Graded with Film Convert.

http://filmitab.se/Bilder/MyOnlyLoveCC001-720.jpg

http://filmitab.se/Bilder/MyOnlyLoveCC002-720.jpg

http://filmitab.se/Bilder/MyOnlyLoveCC003-720.jpg

http://filmitab.se/Bilder/MyOnlyLoveCC004-720.jpg

http://filmitab.se/Bilder/MyOnlyLoveCC005-720.jpg

http://filmitab.se/Bilder/MyOnlyLoveCC006-720.jpg

http://filmitab.se/Bilder/MyOnlyLoveCC007-720.jpg
 
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I know brushless gimbals are all the rage right now but that spot would have been executed well with a steadicam. In fact most of those shots would have looked way smoother and more inventive using a Steadicam.

If you are tracking a camera going over a staircase from 2nd to 1st story a Ronin or a MoVI like device makes sense but almost all the stuff I see would be much easier to nail with a Steadicam.

Fortunately, we are now seeing Ronin's being attached to Steadcam arms and producers understanding what tool is better for different types of moving shots. Sometimes a dolly is better, sometimes a slider, sometimes a Steadicam and sometimes a brushless gimbal device. Choose the best tool for the job.
 
I agree completely that one must choose the best tool for the job, and yes, many shots would have been smoother with a steadicam which absorbs the steps as opposed to the gimbal. However the best tool for the job is very much a subject of circumstances as well as the shot you're aiming for. For this commercial our budget was nothing, we spent about 50$ on food and drinks for the extras and the meals presented in the video. We used only equipment we owned, we had free access to the restaurant for a very limited amount of time and we had the extras for an even more limited amount of time. This all means no messing around changing between dolly, tripod, steadicam, rebalancing steadicam when zooming in. And with these circumstances, the Ronin felt ideal, once setup with the 24-70 lens it allowed us to use the full range without rebalancing. I could easily put it away to quickly adjust light or work with actors, and I could feel safe in getting the fast moving shots stable enough and leveled, every take, which also saves time.

So yes, they are all the rage right now, and not always the perfect tool for the job, but for this particular job, I really feel like it was the perfec tool :)
 
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