F5: Short inspirational doc on disabled high school student. ..and we used a Movi!! Lol

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Fotojorno

Well-known member
Hi guys, this is a short doc I filmed a couple months ago in a Brooklyn high school and was just released.

Tech details are:
All tripod work, moving & locked off is F5 in 4K XAVC burning in LC709A to S-Gamut-Cine/S-Log3. Nikon & Zeiss lenses with a SoftFX 1/2
All Movi footage is with Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera recording Log in ProRes HQ.

Some of the grading during the close ups in the classroom are not really to my taste but the two cameras were matched up pretty well and overall looks really nice.

All film stuff aside, it's a pretty inspiring story about a girl with cerebral palsy who has overcome a mountain of adversity. Hope you enjoy it..


Here's the Vimeo link if you'd like to see it a little bigger. https://vimeo.com/122927749

CREDITS
Director, Producer: Josh A. Kapusinski
Director of Photography: Bill Thomas
Original Music: John P. Tobey
Production Assistant: Richard Emery
Editor, VFX, Grading, Photography: Josh A. Kapusinski


From the Director:
"An inspiring short documentary about Brooklyn high school student Johileny Meran Almonte. To be used to as an educational resource tool to help kids overcome struggles with disabilities, bullying, self-confidence, and family problems."
 
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Hi Bill

This is awesome work.

This is the kind of result we should all hope for after the endless chatter about cameras, pixels, resolution, etc. That is, a human story captured beautifully with humour and sensitivity. I also appreciate, and I may be completely wrong here, the difficult circumstances in which you were working in terms of natural lighting like hard rays of sunlight splashing around, kids moving constantly, and so on. Were you able to light for this or did you just have to keep shooting?

I agree with your comment about the grade in the classroom. It lacks the warmth the girl exudes in the other scenes but the blue bias in the shadows overall makes for a rich grade.

Thanks

Michael
 
Hi Michael, thanks for the nice words.

No, we didnt do any lighting for it. Well we actually lit a whole sit-down interview but the directors goal was to try and not use any of it and let the b-roll tell the story under her VO. The light in the classroom was mixed but prob 80% fluorescent where the subject was sitting. Since I was burning in the LUT and could only pick from the three pre-set WB's, I picked 3200 and rolled on a gray card for a second to have something to correct off of in post. Yes, the hallway with the windows and severe light rays was a challenge. It was the only location we could control but also the only place with good available light. The subject was fantastic and she let us position her in strategic shadows so we could light her with fill from a reflector (kids, NEVER EVER leave home without one). On the camera praise side, it was a miracle the bright lockers along the wall didnt clip. I wish we could of done more takes with the Movi when following her through the crowded hallway with all of the other kids but in real documentary form, sometimes you only have one chance to get it.

The kids were fantastic actually, the class we filmed was full of advanced placement kids who were really focused on their work and paid no attention to us. The support of her teachers and the school made this film possible, they really wanted to tell her story and do whatever they can to help her towards college.
 
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