DVC 22 Galeo by Andrew Bove

[Chris Barcellos]

Very "glassy" for sure. Nice subject pick and great imagery once again.

[Mat Thompson]

Hi Andrew

Wow, great shooting. This was a journey through shape, light and reflection! Really nicely shot and I found the journey an interesting one. As an idea to add more focus it might have been nice to add a character that was traveling through the building in some sort of function. That said it might have also detracted from your more architectural journey which was more abstract but interesting and impressively shot. Love that closing shot and the building you chose. It's also very cool to have so much variety in this film challenge!

Great work, thanks for sharing!
M

[Andrew Bove]

Originally Posted by Joseph Tran

As I traveled to the Detroit airport yesterday, I began to realize that I started to pay attention to the glass architecture of these modern airports more and more.

I echo what others have said about your shots. I also have to add that your moving shots are also beautiful! They're subtle, don't distract, and blend in with the other shots perfectly. I would love to know more about how you created some of those shots, and more importantly, how you chose some of those shots as well.

Your work on Galeo is more than I could have ever imagined myself, Andrew, and congrats on a job well done!

Thanks Joeseph, for the kind words! I really appreciate it!

At the risk of talking way too much, I'd be happy to share some info on creating the movement and shot selection for this film:

All but one of the moving shots was done using either a fluid tripod head or a glidecam stabilizer.

I handheld one shot, the one of the train with the focus pull. I was crouched down on a catwalk taking some shots of the building's lighting installation installed on the metal grid floor (lights are used to make it change colors at night- didn't make it into the film), and saw the train out of the corner of my eye. I turned quickly and had just one take on that shot, I'm lucky it worked!

All the walking shots, such as the ones from behind the glass looking out, were shot with the glidecam. The catwalk was windy, and a little scary. It was fun going out there, and provided a unique view that even people who see the building every day don't get to experience.

All the closeup slow camera moves of the exterior were shot with a telephoto lens on a fluid video head. There were a few gentle moves with a wide angle lens as well.

The interior shots were a mixture of the two pieces of gear- for a couple of the shots I was really trying to mimic the look of a slider or crane. I was inspired by an article Vincent LaForet published recently on his blog about just leaving gear at home, and making nice moves with what you have available. You have to be gentle, and sometimes you'll have to try it a few times before you get it. It's not the traditional use, but I've found that in a pinch, you can do very nice things while gently elevating a glidecam in the air.


I don't know if I do anything different than anyone else while editing, but as far as choosing the shots:
I first took a general look at what I had and selected the music. I needed to have the score in my head, so that I would select shots that could connect emotionally with the music. (I've done this the other direction many times while performing music, you think of an image or idea while playing and it will add quite a bit more emotional impact to your music rather than simply playing notes. It is an interesting exercise for me to do this in reverse.)

I listened to the piece (on repeat) the entire time I spent carefully selecting all the shots that would create the film. After many “rounds” of elimination, I had a nice selection of clips, and they flowed well with the music. I organized them into a logical progression that would take the viewer on a simple tour around the building. Something along the lines of: Outside, glass scales, back side of the glass scales, details of the rear edge, front; then the “bones”, shots from behind the glass and construction details; the flag leads us to the nice wide shot of the front (you can see the flag in this shot too), and the classy address typography leads us inside to the stunning conference room, wide shots first for scope, and then narrow for glass details (of course showing as much glass as possible, it is a contest after all!); the flower arrangement is used to transition back outside for the shots contrasting the motion of the trees and the solid glass; to wrap things up I continue the shot which opened the film.

I didn't want to be too obvious with the “script”, because I'm a fan of films with depth and repeat watch-ability, (especially for short films!) but I was hoping the subtle connection between shots would draw the viewer in for a meaningful experience.

[Mitchell Stookey]

Andrew! Such beautiful photography! The building / subject you chose is clearly beautiful too, but you did an excellent job in how you captured it. I love pieces that any still frame would make a nice photograph, and this is true of your piece. The only note I would have is that you have two VERY similar shots of the metal structure by the windows, at 1:09 and 1:21, so they are also close in time as well as content and composition. I would choose the best (or favorite) and only keep one. It was the only shot in the whole piece that seemed a little repetitive. And of course, that is about as minor as a quibble can get.

Also, thank you so much for that Moby resource! Very cool, I am sure it will be useful, and it makes me like Moby more! Thanks for sharing.

[Joseph Tran]

Just awesome. Thanks for the detailed explanation, Andrew! This is one of the best parts of the forum -- seeing how other people pulled their shots off, what was on their mind, etc. I totally thought you had a slider with you; but then I read that you worked alone on the project and I know how clunky that piece of gear is!

Thanks again for the insights, and again, great cinematography!

[Andrew Bove]

@Mitchell
Good eye! I agree. I wish I had just a shot or two more of the support structure, because it's a cool part of the story, but I didn't have a lot of time in the building and was moving really fast! I actually had another pair of shots that were similar, so I reversed one of them, playing it backwards, and that looks great.

@Joeseph
Without forums like this, who know where you would go to learn all these things! And yes, I'd love to own a slider someday- until then, I'll fake it. There are some gorgeous slider shots in the dialogue scenes of the show “Downton Abbey”, inspirational stuff!

[Joseph Tran]

Ah, yes, the filmmaker's endless quest for toys. I just saw one not too long ago that listed for $1,200. I've already plunked by budget (and then some!) into new camera and audio equipment, and new lenses. So, no slider for me.

However...

I just went on youtube and looked up the "Downtown Abbey" opening. Like you, I was so inspired by the opening, that I typed 'DIY slider' afterwards and found a ton of videos! So I'll make a pact with you (and anyone else interested):

Let's make a pact with each other to build a slider. Whoever finishes first gets to show the other (along with our board here) how they made it, the end result, along with some silky footage. Or better yet, we all finish and compare notes -- and silky footage -- at the end! Sound good? No, no... that sounds silky!

(apologies for the temporary thread hijack...)

[Andrew Bove]

Originally Posted by Joseph Tran

I just went on youtube and looked up the "Downtown Abbey" opening. Like you, I was so inspired by the opening, that I typed 'DIY slider' afterwards and found a ton of videos! So I'll make a pact with you (and anyone else interested):

Let's make a pact with each other to build a slider. Whoever finishes first gets to show the other (along with our board here) how they made it, the end result, along with some silky footage. Or better yet, we all finish and compare notes -- and silky footage -- at the end! Sound good? No, no... that sounds silky!

(apologies for the temporary thread hijack...)

Then all you need is a DIY Arri Alexa, a DIY castle, and the next dvc theme as "family", and you'd be good to go!

In all seriousness, I've read that these machined parts can work pretty well with a minimum of tinkering:

DryLin W1040-B Linear Motion System for Camera Sliders - mini pre-drilled version,ready to go: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

 

DryLin W1040-B Linear Motion System for Camera Sliders - mini pre-drilled version,ready to go: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

I'm not sure what you were looking at, but these metal ones probably last longer and would be more reliable than the pvc pipe versions out there.

You should also watch Downton Abbey if you get a chance, it's like a clinic on nice shots. The episodes stream for free with Amazon Prime, or you can buy them for a dollar or two. The cinematography, costumes and lighting are gorgeous.

[Joseph Tran]

Great -- I'll take a look at that slider tonight.

And WOW -- I just watched the first 15 minutes of Downton Abbey, and every shot is absolutely beautiful! Thanks for the recommendation... and I can definitely see some "Abbey-esque" shots in your piece!

[Mark Hartopp]

Those who love "Downtown Abbey" will be pleased to know 3rd series starts this weekend in the UK.

[Andrew Bove]

Originally Posted by Joseph Tran

Great -- I'll take a look at that slider tonight.

And WOW -- I just watched the first 15 minutes of Downton Abbey, and every shot is absolutely beautiful! Thanks for the recommendation... and I can definitely see some "Abbey-esque" shots in your piece!

This one looks interesting too, and not as much as the real pricey ones, although it's not available until Dec.

Rhino Slider for DSLR Cameras by Kyle Hart — Kickstarter

Originally Posted by Mark Hartopp

Those who love "Downtown Abbey" will be pleased to know 3rd series starts this weekend in the UK.

Excellent! I recently finished watching season 1, nice to know there is more coming. I assume the same team is shooting it?