DP Rob Featherstone breaks down the shoot…

For our recent Big City Pictures shoot we were presented with a little challenge. The assignment was simply to shoot several “screen test” interviews of potential representatives who would appear on screen on behalf of Chevron. However, we simply felt that setting the subject against the standard out of focus plant or blurry window would do neither the subject nor our film making interests any justice. For example, this shot on the right which someone did for another Chevron project in the very same room with the subject in front of the window.

On the day of the scout we looked at several locations on the corporate campus. We were met once more with the disparity between what seems like a great location to shoot an interview and the reality of the demands of video shooting; namely the depth and breadth of the location that is required for interesting composition and lighting.

Today’s conference room has an enormous table that is hard wired for communications and cannot be moved. In addition, these particular conference rooms had windows but the windows had seams in them so they did not provide an unobstructed view of the outside. While these affects are perfect for a conference they are an obstruction to composing a frame for an interview.

So wondering what to do we noticed there was one wall that was translucent in nature and took on an unusual appearance when we put lights upon it. We determined that shooting into this glass wall would provide a more compelling backdrop than either the potted plant option or the outside view.

The frosted, glass wall from the outside looking in.

As the final project is to be projected on an enormous screen, we wanted high definition video. George loves slow motion so also wanted a camera that could shoot at variable frame rates. The camera that met our demands and was available was the Panasonic HPX 500. We also wanted to work with selective focus so the standard zoom onto the 2/3 inch chip was out of the question. We added the PS Technik Pro 35 adapter and a set of Arri ultra primes to the order. We rented this equipment from Chater Camera in Berkeley, California.

Here’s the 85mm Arri Zeiss Ultra Prime:

And this is the 135mm Arri Zeiss Ultra Prime:

Achieving the look of the background proved a little tricky as the key light was highlighting the seals between pieces of glass in the wall creating two, bright white vertical lines on either side of the subject’s head. We needed to blend the values of the background and key so that they would match and blow out into white. Also, we needed to carefully position the camera and set our stop to create just the right amount of shallow depth of field so that the vertical lines would disappear into blur.
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Our lighting package consisted of small hmi’s that can be plugged into house power and a couple of kino flos. We left the lights and camera day light balanced as there was a fair amount of ambient light (especially with regards to the translucent wall).

The key light was a joker bug 800 with a medium chimera with 2 layers of diffusion and an egg crate. We supplemented this with a 2 foot four bank kino flo from below the lens. For fill we used a 4 x 4 bead board and the back edge was a 4 foot four bank kino flo.

To create the effect on the back ground wall our gaffer, Darrel Flowers did an amazing job of finding the prefect spot for the Arri 1200 watt par plus and cutting the light down to just the right shape.

The Joker Bug 800 on the opposite side of the conference table.

Key Grip Jimmy Stewart rigs the showcard gag.

Camera Tech & Sound Jay Farrington sits in as the background effect is tweaked for camera.

For a little motion on the b-roll shots, we used our Hollywood Microdolly with straight track. Here’s a little push in shot at 60 fps:

Chevron Shanghai Expo Team BCP

McGarryBowen Agency

George Spyros, Executive Producer / Director

Rob Featherstone, Director of Photography

Darrel Flowers, Gaffer

Jay Farrington, Camera Tech

Jimmy Stewart, Key Grip

Jenny Zielon, Hair & Make-up

Ryan Velasquez, Editor

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Chevron Shanghai Expo 2010

The Joker Bug 800 represents a natural step for K5600, an extension of its line of HMI daylight fixtures. After the enormous popularity of the 200 and the 400, the full f-Stop increment seemed logical. Another determining factor for the creation of this particular fixture size is the main power limitations associated with the location shooting.

The next size up (1200W) monopolizes a full circuit where as the Joker Bug 800 will allow for another source such as a 400 while delivering twice the output of that 400. The Joker Bug 800 is comparable to a 3200/4000 quartz fixture but with a power draw of only 12.5 Amps. In the Bug-Lite mode (no optics) the main application is in traditional Lightbanks as well as Lanterns where it uses the sides as a large reflector, collecting the maximum output of the lamp and filling the front screen very evenly.

It is very powerful in daylight interiors and can operate in any position including pointing down. The BEAMER optical accessory turns the BUG-LITE into a Joker Bug, a directional PAR unit offering various beam patterns through quick lens changes. The Joker Bug 800 offers the most flexible optical configuration for location lighting by achieving Spot to Flood ratios 55 to 1 with beam angles from as narrow as 5 degrees to as wide as 45 degrees.

The Joker Bug 800 is delivered with a Clear Glass Beaker when reaching for full intensity is important, and a Frosted Glass Beaker when light quality is the prime concern. The 800W lamp was specified with UV Stop Quartz. The Amount of energy dissipated would not allow for completely closed Glass Beaker design. The lamp with its G22 base remains very compact and easily transportable. The small, quiet ballast can be hidden anywhere and plugs in any circuit without risk of overloading.

Features

	Aluminum casting, high temperature black. Striker compartment is made of aluminum in light gray finish
	Solid one piece machined aluminum beamer housing
	800 Watt MSR/SE lamp

Specifications

The PRO35 2/3“ converter is used for all 2/3” camcorders from Sony, Panasonic, Thomson, etc. with a standard B4 camera mount. Different lens mounts for the PRO35, easy to interchange, make available hundreds of 35mm lenses, film or still photography available for use. The MKII upgrade enhanced the results of the PRO35 when shooting with HD cameras and higher shutter speeds.

Read more at P+S Technik

The AG-HPX500 P2 HD shoulder-mount camcorder delivers a unique combination of high-end features never offered in a camcorder in this genre, including production-quality 2/3″ progressive 3-CCDs, DVCPRO HD quality, multi HD and SD formats, variable frame rates, and four independent audio channels. In addition, the HPX500 offers the outstanding benefits of P2 solid state recording including ultra-fast IT workflow and no-moving-parts reliability, which makes the camera ideal for use in harsh environments.

At only 8.2 pounds, the HPX500 features a high-performance digital signal processor (DSP) with 14-bit A/D conversion and 19-bit processing that handles HD/SD format conversion simultaneously — ensuring spectacular images in all video formats for applications ranging from news acquisition, independent filmmaking, corporate video, sports and much more. To give your productions tremendous flexibility, the HPX500 records in over 32 HD and SD formats. The camcorder records on re-usable, removable P2 cards. With Panasonic’s new 16GB P2 card and HPX500’s four P2 slots, the camera records for 68 minutes of DVCPRO HD; 136 minutes of DVCPRO 50; and 272 minutes of DVCPRO.

• Records in 1080/60i, 50i, 30p, 25p and 24p; in 720/60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, and 24p; and in DVCPRO50, DVCPRO and DV

• Excellent low-light performance and a high sensitivity of F10

• Equipped with eight gamma modes, including CineGamma, for different shooting situations

• Like the AJ-HDC27 VariCam camera, variable frame rates in 11 steps between 12p and 60p allows undercranking/overcranking for fast- or slow-motion effects

• Users have immediate access to P2 content with clip thumbnail view and advanced recording features including hot swapping, loop record, shot-marking, pre-record functions (three seconds in HD and seven seconds in SD), one-shot and interval.

• Key interfaces include IEEE 1394, USB 2.0, HD SDI/SDI, genlock, built-in SMPTE time code, independent TC-IN/TC-OUT terminals, composite video, analog component and four audio XLR inputs

• 4-position Neural Density filter

• Low power consumption of 22 watts (when 3.5″ LCD monitor and 1.5″ viewfinder are in use)

• 3.5″ color LCD screen (with image flip function) located at rear of the camera

• Chromatic Aberration Compensation function allows the camera to automatically compensate the registration error that is caused mainly by lens chromatic aberration and minimize the circumjacent blur.

• Remote controllable with AJ-RC10G (via 10-pin RCU terminal)

16mm T1.9 cf 9”

20mm T1.9 cf 12”

24mm T1.9 cf 12”

32mm T1.9 cf 15”

40mm T1.9 cf 18”

50mm T1.9 cf 2’

65mm T1.9 cf 2’3”

85mm T1.9 cf 3’

100mm T1.9 cf 3’3”

135mm T1.9 cf 5’

See the Arri Zeiss T1.9 Ultra Primes in action for BCP

Chevron at Shanghai Expo 2010

We Did It: Chevron Headquarters Shoot

BCP Tapped: Chevron Screentest Shoot

Clients & Partners: Chevron

Jimmy Stewart’s Work for Big City

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Chevron at Shanghai Expo 2010

We Did It: Chevron Headquarters Shoot

BCP Tapped: Chevron Screentest Shoot

Clients & Partners: Chevron

Jenny Zielon’s Work for Big City

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Chevron at Shanghai Expo 2010

We Did It: Chevron Headquarters Shoot

BCP Tapped: Chevron Screentest Shoot

Clients & Partners: Chevron

Jay Farrington’s Work for Big City

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Chevron at Shanghai Expo 2010

We Did It: Chevron Headquarters Shoot

BCP Tapped: Chevron Screentest Shoot

Clients & Partners: Chevron

Darrel Flowers’ Work for Big City

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Chevron at Shanghai Expo 2010

We Did It: Chevron Headquarters Shoot

BCP Tapped: Chevron Screentest Shoot

Clients & Partners: Chevron