Lighting and stage set up for Filming Slo-mo Drop of Water using 7D??

C

colebennett

Active member
I've had a client request a close up shot of a drop of water splashing into a nearly full glass of water, slow motion, as an intro to a product and service video we're filming for his water filtration company. I shoot with the 5D mark II - but I have a buddy who is lending me his 7D to get this shot.

I have two small LED light panels.

My plan is to pick up some white foam-core from Wal-Mart to try and eliminate reflections etc.

Does anyone have suggestions for setting this up? I come from a photography background (although I rarely shoot product), so I have fundamental understanding of light. But... reflective transparent glass, holding transparent liquid... Oh, and the client is selling water filtration units that are stainless steel. I may have one in the background of the shot. So there's another reflective surface!

I will try and keep record of how I go about this, regardless of input from other DVX users (we shoot tonight), and I'll post my results!

Any suggestions are welcome!
 
i think you're going to be sorely disappointed trying to get that shot at 60 fps. My first recommendation would be to get something that can do a higher framerate.

That aside, lighting-wise... backlight. This shot screams backlight.
 
7D is not a good choice of filming water drop slowmo, especially for a paid job.

First 7D can do max 60fps (59.97), you have to set the shutter to something at least 1/2000, that would require tremendous amount of light to get the correct exposure, and usually lens wide open, very high ISO.

It would be easier if you film it outside in a particularly sunny day. Sun is your powerful light source.

So, you'd be better off renting a dedicated high speed camera like Phantom series, or IDT Redlake for a smaller budget. these cameras are capable of a few hundred to a few thousand frames per second and have very high base ISO.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys!

I was wondering about the 60fps - it's really the best thing I can get right now for slow motion. No budget for renting a serious camera (ever heard that before?) I'm going to do the best I can with what we have. It's for a basic intro to a web video of him talking about the products his company offers - if the slow mo looks crummy, we'll have to change up the intro.

Thanks again.
 
colebennett said:
Thanks for the feedback guys!

I was wondering about the 60fps - it's really the best thing I can get right now for slow motion. No budget for renting a serious camera (ever heard that before?) I'm going to do the best I can with what we have. It's for a basic intro to a web video of him talking about the products his company offers - if the slow mo looks crummy, we'll have to change up the intro.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

60fps + at least 1/2000 shutter + Twixtor can give you stunning results under right conditions, I recommend you do some test shots first. There are many amazing 7D/550D slowmo shots out there on Vimeo and Youtube which look like they were shot on Phantom!
 
If you don't have the resources to pull this off yourself, it might be a good time to look into stock footage. What you describe is a fairly generic shot, after all.
 
When I read this, Harold Eugene Edgerton came to mind (he was the E in EG&G). He created a huge number of famous photgraphs of moments in time. You might want to look at them for lighting ideas. One of his major tools was a strobe light.
 
Slow motion you really have to blast light, we once did a high speed shot of something breaking. 2x 1200w HMIs in spot mode! The LED light panels won't really work for backlight, and you REALLY need that for high speed or everything blends. Id say use the LEDs on the sides/front, and pick up a 1k and hit it from the back.

And everyone's right, 7d for this may not work... Ahem... WONT work. Unless you want to spend ages on twixtor, and even then no guarantee,. 60fps won't get you much slow motion, you'd really only be able to see things about 1/3 of speed.
Tell your client that its a tricky shot, and high speed costs money.
 
marvinhello said:
60fps + at least 1/2000 shutter + Twixtor can give you stunning results under right conditions, I recommend you do some test shots first. There are many amazing 7D/550D slowmo shots out there on Vimeo and Youtube which look like they were shot on Phantom!
Click to expand...


Trust me Twixtor will not work with liquid. Google it. You will see. I have tried thick liquid like shakes results are so so thin liquids...awful.
 
nothing said:
If you don't have the resources to pull this off yourself, it might be a good time to look into stock footage. What you describe is a fairly generic shot, after all.
Click to expand...

Ha, yes I already went browsing for that.

I talked to the client, who is a buddy of mine, and I told him the technical issues. We're going to try with the 7D, more for the sake of trying it. If the slow mo thing doesn't work, we'll create another intro that provides a nice "Drink our pure water" feel to it.
 
Thanks for all the responses guys!

We didn't end up shooting it the other night. I think I'm glad we didn't! Having heard this feedback, I may try it to see the affect we get, but more likely I'm going to pre visualize something that can be filmed with my 5D, and used as an intro for future videos. I'm thinking a relatively close shot of a person pouring cold water from a glass jug into a tall glass, with the water purification system in the background. A little less epic maybe, but will deliver the same message I think.

I've got a small crew of guys who sub contract under me on my video projects, but in the small town that I provide my services to I end up playing the creative director. So, if technicality stops the idea, we'll just have to creatively problem solve. As RickyC said, "High speed costs money". We don't have money for it, but we've got alternative ideas. Haha.

Thanks again!
 
came to suggest, and looks like you figured it out, that if you're just wanting an intro thing with the same feeling, having slo-mo of a stream of water being poured (even in CU) could be more effective at 60fps and still be the same general idea. still won't be as magnificent as you may hope, but it's at least worth a try.
 
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