Corporate Video - Medical laser

[rob norton]

I shot this, I wish the opening day exterior shots were a little more polished but we needed to get this one out the door!

https://vimeo.com/585199620

Product shots/product in use/interviews were all done in the same location. To make it feel less like everything was done in the exact same space, I went cooler with the product shots/interviews and warmer with the practitioner/patient showing it in use.

NorBro watch at your own risk, video is longer than 15 seconds.

Canon C200/CRL, Canon 24-70, Sigma 18-35, Schneider Hollywood Black Magic 1/4 for every shot.

 

[NorBro]

I was actually really annoyed with this TikTok video I was watching the other day that was over a minute long (I'm serious).

I bookmarked yours...I'll get back to you.

 

[Doug Jensen]

Very nice shooting. I love the clean skintones and choice of the studio location for the clinical shots. The only thing I don't like is the handheld shots of the laser being used. Wobbly handheld does not convey precision medical device, in my opinion. Instead, I'd have coordinated some nice slider moves with the hands. But that is nit picking.

 

[Bassman2003]

Thanks for sharing. Very nice work. I bet the client was happy. I liked the color shift approach. These things are tough as I agree with Doug but sometimes, there are too many limitations to get things done to the ultimate levels.

 

[TheDingo]

Nice work. Not sure that I'm a fan of the cooler interview look. It would be interesting to see a version without this.

 

[rob norton]

Very nice shooting. I love the clean skintones and choice of the studio location for the clinical shots. The only thing I don't like is the handheld shots of the laser being used. Wobbly handheld does not convey precision medical device, in my opinion. Instead, I'd have coordinated some nice slider moves with the hands. But that is nit picking.

Thanks for the feedback. I agree with the handheld comment, this was more to make up lost time and move through a large number of positions. If only I had the flowtech/aktiv8 combo . Ideally we would have known which shots were likely to make the cut then concentrated on just those, with more intent.

I also just need to work on handheld skills in general, maybe I need to lower the heart rate with some breathing exercises.

Thanks for sharing. Very nice work. I bet the client was happy. I liked the color shift approach. These things are tough as I agree with Doug but sometimes, there are too many limitations to get things done to the ultimate levels.

Nice work. Not sure that I'm a fan of the cooler interview look. It would be interesting to see a version without this.

Thanks. I'll post a more neutral version soon.

 

[ahalpert]

Looks nice, Rob! What rig did you use on the b-roll of the stand unit? Testimonials have nice lighting, as always. What was the set-up like for that?

I can sort of see Doug's point about the handheld. Is that real time? Why not shoot it slow mo to smooth it out a bit?

 

[NorBro]

NorBro watch at your own risk, video is longer than 15 seconds.

I always liked your wider interviews.

Would you say that's kind of your style?

(I know that a lot of crews capture from various distances, but just wondering if a WS is something that you usually prefer with talking heads?)

 

[rob norton]

Looks nice, Rob! What rig did you use on the b-roll of the stand unit? Testimonials have nice lighting, as always. What was the set-up like for that?

I can sort of see Doug's point about the handheld. Is that real time? Why not shoot it slow mo to smooth it out a bit?

Thanks Abe. The product shots were dana dolly and a long valley equipment seven jib compact XL (rolls off the tongue). I'm still going strong avoiding the gimbal but I wouldn't mind putting one on the end of the jib.

Everything is 25 fps. I like trying to avoid any slow motion at all, I hate the "50-60p everything" briefs. But as far as slightly off speed to smooth things out, I need to experiment more. Is it as simple as shooting 30 fps for a 24 timeline?

For both interviews the key light was an m18 into 4x4 diffusion into 8x8 diffusion. Arri 575 PAR for fairly strong backlights. I added these more for the flare blobs in the corner of the frame than for the talent. For the male interview it is a pretty aggressive hard back light but I thought it looked OK and was a fair trade off for the corner flares.

Check out how the canon lens handles the flare if I pushed it any further, started going a pretty wacky purple. This was fine for this particular shoot being in corporate land but I imagine could get you into trouble quickly on a large commercial - "what the hell is that!?"

I also had to be careful for the lady's second angle, I was pretty much hiding behind her hair!

I always liked your wider interviews.

Would you say that's kind of your style?

(I know that a lot of crews capture from various distances, but just wondering if a WS is something that you usually prefer with talking heads?)

Thanks NorBro,

I guess it is my current style. But it mostly came from wider interviews in general blowing up over the last few years and adapting to the trend. I feel like at the moment centre framing is huge too.

For lighting, as well as liking the results more, I'd rather make the interview its own event, which gets taken seriously rather than an afterthought. If the talent does interviews all the time, they may judge the level of production by the set up they're about to enter and I believe their effort is matched accordingly. Similarly, someone who never does interviews still knows to take the conversation more seriously than an iphone in the street or a videographer using a single 1x1 panel. Of course there are fantastic, raw moments that can only be capture without any equipment at all. This is only a general rule in the corporate space but it's ready to be broken anytime.

Also, at the small-medium project level, it's such an obvious way to add production values with minimal crew - potential for high end looks but without really worrying about blocking, 1st AC, steadicam etc, a situation which seems like it would hardly exist in the dedicated narrative world. As the stakes get higher like on a commercial level with time-poor talent then it would be all hands on deck like a "regular set" but at the lower level, not having 1-2 extra crew members can mean the shoot goes ahead or it doesn't.

In terms of composition I want to do more talent looking into camera/interrotron style set ups.

 

[rob norton]

Nice work. Not sure that I'm a fan of the cooler interview look. It would be interesting to see a version without this.

Here you go, cooler vs. neutral.

 

[ahalpert]

.

Everything is 25 fps. I like trying to avoid any slow motion at all, I hate the "50-60p everything" briefs. But as far as slightly off speed to smooth things out, I need to experiment more. Is it as simple as shooting 30 fps for a 24 timeline?

Yes, just like 30 for 24. You can reinterpret the footage or just set it to the appropriate speed (40% for 60fps into 24fps timeline, etc) I agree that you wouldn't want to shoot all the b-roll that way, but if you know you'll need some extra stabilization, it can be a lifesaver. The only problem of course is that the action gets slowed down, so you have to be ok with that. But if you need to shoot too fast to use a tripod, it can be just the ticket.

Yes, the jib shots looked too precise to be a handheld gimbal. But I've been getting good results shooting detail shots on gimbal at 120fps. The handheld wavering is minimized and I can shoot quickly and freely. The object isn't moving anyway, so there's no noticeable slowing down of the action itself. And I speed up my camera move to achieve the desired shot speed in the end. It's so much fun/liberating and I'm happy with the results! Most of my slider shooting has been replaced by 120fps gimbal, at least where a static subject is concerned. I actually rarely use 120fps to slow down subject movement, because I don't shoot anything that moves that quickly. The occasional running dog perhaps

 

[ozmorphasis]

Here you go, cooler vs. neutral.

I really like your cooler look for the scene/BG, but not for the skin. I prefer the warmer frame skin. Love your framing and overall composition. Flare is great here too.

 

[markfpv]

Nice work Rob. Cheers on a job well done!
And always great to hear & see a bit of BTS about lighting set up & gear used on shoots from users who post samples. Always nice to read I'm not the only one who's constantly being hindered with time & budget constraints. The hand-held stuff throughout did not bother me.
You certainly get bonus points for figuring out a way to include an Apple box in a shot(s). Like the flare in the man's interview - but not as much on the side angle of the female. But that's nitpicking.

 

[rob norton]

I really like your cooler look for the scene/BG, but not for the skin. I prefer the warmer frame skin. Love your framing and overall composition. Flare is great here too.

Thanks!

Nice work Rob. Cheers on a job well done!
And always great to hear & see a bit of BTS about lighting set up & gear used on shoots from users who post samples. Always nice to read I'm not the only one who's constantly being hindered with time & budget constraints. The hand-held stuff throughout did not bother me.
You certainly get bonus points for figuring out a way to include an Apple box in a shot(s). Like the flare in the man's interview - but not as much on the side angle of the female. But that's nitpicking.

Thanks Mark. What happened to all of the sharing of the work!? Oh yeah, I forgot about the box cameo.

 

[Visunion]

Very cool! great work you have done! I normally don't like those typical commercial/promotional videos about products, but this is different and I started to enjoy it, by having more and more curiosity about the product itself I think the lightening you have used was well done. It invites the viewer

 

[rob norton]

Very cool! great work you have done! I normally don't like those typical commercial/promotional videos about products, but this is different and I started to enjoy it, by having more and more curiosity about the product itself I think the lightening you have used was well done. It invites the viewer

Thanks visunion.

 

[Noel Evans]

Nice work Rob. Did you want feedback, or just putting your work out there?

 

[rob norton]

Nice work Rob. Did you want feedback, or just putting your work out there?

Thanks Noel. And yes, all feedback welcome.