If you’re like us, you’re just as keen to see what’s going on behind the lens as you are to see what’s in front. So, with that in mind, we’re going to take you behind the scenes of a recent shoot we did with Tilda Rice.
With the release of a new limited edition product, Tilda wanted our help to produce a set of videos for its marketing campaign which would be targeted across paid ads across multiple platforms.
The project included a collaboration between Tilda and restaurant chain The Alchemist and the content would follow The Alchemist’s chef of the year Tom as he made a dish using Tilda’s new rice product.
If you want to see how the final product turned out, head over to our YouTube here.
We had Tom stand behind a large workbench which we could dress with all of the ingredients and equipment he needed to cook with. There were multiple setups throughout the shoot so it was important that both talent and crew had easy access to the table. This setup not only worked for the content but it allowed us to have one setup for the shoot.
So, the setup. We shot on 3 cameras with 3 crew members.
A Cam
The A camera was a medium shot directly in front of Tom that he presented to as he cooked. The A cam was a Sony FX3 shooting in SLOG-2 at 28mm.
We shot at f/4 so could keep the wider set items sharp but add some focal depth to Tom as the subject. This camera was also running at 4k so we could reframe in post as necessary which worked really well as we were delivering at 1080p for all social platforms. Lastly, the A cam ran a teleprompter for Tom to ensure we stayed on script.
B Cam
The B camera was on a close up shot, 45 degrees to the left of Tom, focussing on the details such as chopping, cooking or product interaction.
The B-Cam was a BlackMagic Ursa G2 running at 105mm also at 4k in a flat profile. Despite mixing manufacturers, shooting in flat profiles across the board made matching colours in post straight forward.
C Cam
The C camera was an overhead angle from above Tom. This angle was great as it allowed us to follow the action but also cover cuts in post as we couldn’t see Tom speaking. Utilising two C-stands, we ran a Sony a6500 which was perfect for a few reasons.
Firstly, it’s small size didn’t put weight stress on the overhead rig. Secondly, it could shoot 4k in SLOG-2 at a high bit rate, allowing us to reframe in post and match both A and B cameras seamlessly. We ran 10 metre long power and HDMI cables from the camera to a monitor where the sound recordist on set could trigger recording and monitor the shot whilst performing their role.
So with the 3 cameras in place, let’s quickly run through some other key production choices that helped us to successfully pull off this shoot.
Lighting - We ran a 3 light setup. The key light was an Aputure 200d with a diffusion dome attached, the fill was an Aputure Lightstorm and the Back light was an Aputure 100d. The location provided a few challenges with lighting however thanks to the RECCE of the location we were able to control this. Most notably blocking out the natural light source from the large nearby windows and controlling the location lighting.
Crew - Due to a tight budget we ran this shoot with 3 crew members. There was a lot going on during recording and so it was important we were well briefed and planned in advance. Here is how we split responsibilities to successful pull off the shoot:
Crew Member 1 - Director, Quality Control & A cam monitor
Crew Member 2 - B Cam operator & Set Dresser
Crew Member 3 - Sound Recordist & C Cam monitor
That wraps up this post, hope you enjoyed seeing behind the production! We will try get some more of these out for different setups.
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