My interviews bore the snot out of me

M

mcbob

Veteran
That's the bulk of my paid work, and working one-man-band constantly, I'm in a rut. Usual job provides for maybe a 15 minute setup and requires me (alone) to haul all the lighting (and everything else), so spicing things up with bigger lighting setups isn't necessarily feasible... but clearly there's got to be more I can do with a rolling Pelican case full of stuff.

Here's my current "interview reel," mostly all AF100 (some GH2). Please suggest whatever, from camera settings to lighting positions to backgrounds, compositions, post your own samples, whatever. I'm open for anything.

https://vimeo.com/33314421



Thanks
 
Except the one with the white background (maybe not your decision), I think your interviews are a quite above the average stuff I see every day.
Your light is great and so is framing and lens choice.

Let's face it, there is only so much. one can do with a talking head.
Of course you could do some super stylized and dramatic shots, but that would be not appropriate to most of the programs.

Relax, you do a great job.

The only thing that comes to my mind, is maybe some movement with a jib arm or a slider, maybe a dolly.
But that's easily overdone, so you gotta be careful, when and why you move the camera.

my ct2, Frank
 
Agreed, it's above average stuff there.

Perhaps going tighter than is normally comfortable, Errol Morris-style. Let the faces and emotions be the extra you're seeking.
 
You could try to push the contrast and colors of your lighting setups a bit, but frankly I agree that most clients would be quite happy with what you're currently doing. Sometimes our work is art but most of the time it is commerce.
 
Very competent.

Now you must keep the client happy of course, so dont go bonkers..
Consider..
I would crop in tighter, not be afraid of a 'haircut'
I would unlock the tripod and operate the camera
Pull focus as the subject moves.. keeping them sharp
Try and make the shots breath

The larger key source the better
Become the king of bounce

Consider window light where duration (consistency) is not an issue

Become a portrait photographer for a while!

Come off the background to increase blur

Try and frame in the BG

I love shooting a talking head

S
 
yeah, im with everyone else... other than turning up the contrast on the subject by turning down the ambient room light. i dont see a lot id do any differently...
better than average work. leading with rumsfeld and howie didnt hurt your cred either ; )
 
yeah, im with everyone else... other than turning up the contrast on the subject by turning down the ambient room light (which may or may not be appropriate for the subject matter), or punching up the background with faux window / effects - i dont see a lot id do any differently...

better than average work.

leading with rumsfeld and howie didnt hurt your cred either ; )
 
Your interviews look fantastic! I think what you need is a small personal project that will reenergize you.
Maybe mess around with some post production tools like Colorista II and Looks. Adding some vignettes and such. Nothing crazy just trying to squeeze a little more out.
 
I uploaded this clip https://vimeo.com/47182821 password interview (please keep on the board)

Im 'breathing' with the subject, BTW the light is .. the window

Also the trees bring something - the background is alive

You might like it.. or not which is fine .. I hope it is food for thought

(btw its got a gamma shift on the conversion making too light)

S
 
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Your work looks very solid.

I shot an interview with Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon under the Bush administration. He looks so much older now. I guess we all do...
 
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Thanks... I wasn't fishing for complements, but it doesn't hurt to hear ;)

Postmaster: Yep, the white background was just the client's requested style. Doesn't hurt to show I can do it, I reckon... but was your issue with it more the style or the execution?

That was the only shot of the lot with any grading or finishing... the others were SOOC. By and large I don't edit what I shoot much these days (which is fine, because I take waaaay too long to finish it).

Surely there's a degree of client-specified blandness to them... as in, "locked down," or "flat even lighting" or "make room for our obtrusively animated bottom 3rd" requests... but surely some folks have found a slightly different approach.

Morgan, Erik... absolutely love your stuff. That's my next level of aspiration, and limitless thanks for your comments and suggestions.

Morgan, one extra question: what exactly do you mean "framing in the background?" Framing the subject in relation or making the background rather its own seperate stand-alone composition (or a bit of both)?
 
I also have several of these light breaks. These a great for when the room you got stuck in has no character. I have pinned them to a bar door of an Arri 350 with a warm orange or light blue gel to add a little interest to the BG. The farther back the bigger the pattern gets. This would have worked well with Rumsfeld interview.

http://www.lightbreak.com/index.php
 
mcbob said:
Morgan, one extra question: what exactly do you mean "framing in the background?" Framing the subject in relation or making the background rather its own seperate stand-alone composition (or a bit of both)?
Click to expand...

I dont know what I mean, consider the BG and find balance and subtle interplay between the elements.. pretentious garbage.. twoddle

what are the diagonals doing on the right? is the BG split on the rule of thirds in the horizontal, what about the left side.. and the salt, does it resonate and draw the subject in?

holly1.jpg

holly1.1.jpg
 
This image the bg is working really well to strengthen the frame, I think he has not got enough look space however, he is a little far right, thats where a subtle pan would help IMO, just take 25 nice photos every second!
int.jpg

These just dont quite balance, if your sticks had gon right three inches his head would be in that nice little frame
int2.jpg
Here the shelf uprights just again dont quite sing nor the white book which would take 1 second to move
int3.jpg
 
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Like McBob, I spend a great deal of my time shooting talking heads and these days more & more as a one man band - I know what he means about getting into a rut and wanting something 'more' out of the shot.
One of my favourite tools is a Dedolight with the projection attachment for adding breakups, highlights or colour to the background. I have 25 or so different gobos (only having a couple got boring & very repetitive very quickly). Lately I even started using two projection units, sometimes with two gobos in each.

I'll often shoot with both my cameras (wide locked off & tight) if time & budget allows.


Erik - thanks for the heads up on those LightBreaks. I think I'll be ordering a few of those in.
 
Yep, sometimes I will do the 2-cam trick (the glasses guy with the MED and CU was a dual AF/GH shot).

Sometimes if I get an extra 5 minutes, I'll create a cookie out of foamcore or blackwrap, but I can see the utility and time savings in just buying a few.

Other than that, I'm just starting to intentionally break "rules." For instance, long lenses. Pah. Dull. The surgeon shot was with a 20/1.7 plus a cheap 0.5x wide converter, right in his face. It doesn't completely suck, so I'm going to try more of that (different lens, though... I don't have the 20 anymore).

Most every one of those setups uses the same old RIFA55 key, reflector fill, and (sometimes) prolight back - going to have to mix that up a little.
 
Those Rifa lights are fast to setup right? I always use Chimera with Arri 650 or an Omni depending what else I might need to light.

I have always wanted Dedolight but they are so pricey and I know they worth it but just never pulled the trigger.
 
Erik Naso said:
Those Rifa lights are fast to setup right?
Click to expand...

Just like opening an umbrella and popping it on a stand. Easily portable, too (like a lot of Lowel gear). I fell in love... quickly.

If I had gripes, it would be that it's tungsten (thus hot), the diffuser screen has to be babied a bit or it tears (and is EXPENSIVE to replace), and egg crates for them are similarly pricey (although maybe not as much as for larger chimerae)

Take care to pop it open before plugging it in, though... the cord switch has a tendency to hot-strike, and when it does so while the reflector is collapsed, great billows of smoke will quickly fill your shooting space, greatly reducing your director/producer/talent's personal opinion of you and your work.
 
Your stuff looks nice, but I know the rut feeling too, and use a Rifa 55 (56k CFL) also.

First, look-wise, I would've said more grading (curves, contrast), but if you don't edit, maybe a punchier gamma? What do you use?

As far as the shots, for Rumsfeld I might've tried to place him more to the left so he's not in front of the frame, in less of a profile (I know he's moving a lot), and hit the bust in the corner with a little highlight (I like accents in the BG). And either flagged the light off the wall or used a cookie.

Nice match on the AF and GH at :41! Done in post, with settings or both?

White BG (Ameriprise? I did one of those), was that GH2? Looks punchier.

1:06 could you turn the room lights off?

1:18 dark skin, white coat- tough one! But as Sam (Morgan) said, remove the white book/name plate from behind him.
And Sam's rule of thirds and lines advice is spot on.

1:21 in the OR- bring the room lights down? Turn on surgery lights and light up the tables, so there's more darkness and dramatic pools of light?

Definitely cookies are great for adding texture.
Here's some by Chimera, there's a kit with frame available there, too:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=chimera+window+pattern&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma

Keep up the good work, but don't be afraid to mix it up a little more!
 
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