Check out Brett Danton’s Canon C200 (with Teradek Bolt 3000) review on RedShark News here.
- 2x Canon C200 - one for MoVI on drone, one for shoulder & tripod.
- 2x Canon C700 BTS camera and backup
- Teradek Bolt 3000 wireless video
- Atomos Shogun monitor
- Canon CINE lenses
- Bright Tangerine follow focus
- Teradek Serv Pro for BTS / Canon commercial
- ARRI C200 grip package
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In the video spotlight this week is the brilliant production of Jaguar’s F-Pace commercial - the company’s first SUV and winner of World Car of the Year for 2017. To commemorate this special win, Jaguar’s advertising agency, Spark44, created a special highlight video with the car. Watch it here:
C200 JAGUAR F-PACE WORLD CAR AWARDS COMMERCIAL from B R E T T D A N T O N on Vimeo.
“Jaguar wanted to highlight how sleek and modern the F-Pace was, and the best way to do it visually is to capture those performance shots that car commercials are known for,” said Brett Danton, Director on the production. “Our goal was to do this within two days while making it look like the most stylish car you’ve ever seen.”
Lights, Camera, Wireless Video, Action
The Jaguar commercial is markedly the first major production to have been shot predominantly with Canon’s newest cinema camera, the C200. Since Danton filmed a Land Rover commercial earlier this year with the Canon C700, Jaguar Cars was more than eager to allow the camera crew to shoot on the C200.
For their first time shooting a high-profile project with the C200, Danton brought 2x C200 cameras and 2x C700 for extra insurance. One C200 was connected to a Bolt 3000 transmitter and mounted to a Freefly MoVI 15, which was strapped to his Alta 8 drone for cinematic performance shots (F-Pace driving and turning corners) and high-level aerials. The Bolt 3000 delivered a real-time video feed from the drone to Danton’s Canon 17-inch DPV1710, which allowed him and the crew to view and capture flawless aerial shots.
The other C200 was used for shoulder and tripod work, which included most of the B-roll and talent shots. Danton connected a 2nd Bolt 3000 transmitter to this which transported video to a 2nd DPV1710. They then used the live monitoring for remote follow focus with Bright Tangerine matte box. All images were shot in RAW.
But in addition to the Jaguar commercial, Danton worked with his colleague - cinematographer Andy Taylor ACS - to acquire BTS footage from the shoot, which Canon wanted as an official promo video or the C200. To shoot this, Taylor used the C700 camera connected to a Teradek Serv Pro. This enabled the crew to monitor wirelessly using iPads and iPhones, giving everyone who needed it a view of the shot without needing heavy field monitors.
Check out the stunning BTS video here:
C200 BTS JAGUAR F-PACE WORLD CAR AWARD COMMERCIAL from B R E T T D A N T O N on Vimeo.
Live Monitoring with Wireless is Key
With just 2 days to shoot in the snowy mountains of New Zealand, time was Danton’s biggest hurdle. In order to shoot in multiple locations and capture the best footage possible for Jaguar, they needed a solution that could not only ensure efficiency with acquisition, but also allow them to acquire the right shots with tricky drone maneuvers.
For this workflow, Danton knew that the Bolt 3000 was the answer. Shooting top-notch commercial video on a drone required him to see a live shot of the camera. Instead of shooting blindly and needing to do multiple takes, live wireless monitoring allowed the crew to see the exact shot every time, who could then make quick adjustments and finalize the aerial work with haste. This translated to saving time and cost in filming, as well as acquiring visually compelling content for big-name clients.
“Because we were shooting on a drone, we needed a very clear image of the shot and we needed it to be instant,” explained Danton. “That’s why it was so important to have the Bolt with us. We were shooting with a new camera, still uncertain of how it would operate in the extreme cold and fast-paced environment. The last thing we wanted to worry about was a monitoring system. I knew we could rely on Teradek to work flawlessly up there, and it performed flawlessly.”
On top of getting the right shots, being wireless also allowed Danton to be completely mobile with the camera. Because they wanted to do run-and-gun shooting in frigid temperatures and icy mountain terrain, cabling was out of the question. Bolt allowed them to capture the footage they needed and move to the next location effortlessly.
“I wanted to move quickly as we had to shoot in multiple locations over a two day period,” said Danton. “With wireless, I think the days of moving video village all over the place with cables is gone.”
See more of Brett Danton’s work on Instagram @brettdanton