FX3

FE PZ 16-35mm F4 G | Capture versatile shots | Review by Park Insu

Harriman — Wed, 17 May 2023 06:29:07 +0000

FE PZ 16-35mm F4 G | Capture versatile shots | Review by Park Insu

Harriman Wed, 05/17/2023 - 11:59

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FX3

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FE PZ 16-35mm F4 G

Filming dance and choreography

I enjoy meeting people and telling their stories through videos. When I record, I like to think of a compelling message for the video, then convey it in a way that's interesting and memorable. This is especially true for dance videos, as the unique choreography makes each video unique and captivating in its own way.

A particularly memorable video series from my portfolio is “Paris Groove”, a collection of eight videos involving 11 artistes. Earlier, I had produced a series titled “Seoul Groove”, and I wanted to extend this concept to other countries.

Selecting the ideal camera and lens

When shooting commercial videos, I'm often a lone videographer – so equipment selection is very important. For the “Paris Groove” shoot, the FE PZ 16-35mm F4 G zoom lens was my first pick – followed by the FE 85mm F1.4 GM prime lens. The FE PZ 16-35mm F4 G zoom lens features an outstanding power zoom and inner zoom – and thanks to its versatility, allows me to get shots that usually require three or more people.

For cameras, I chose my FX9 and FX3. My plan was to use the FX9 to capture the entire landscape and subject. Meanwhile, the FX3 was mounted on a gimbal and used to shoot moving scenes. This was useful for low-angle shots.

Considerations for dance shoots

Be mindful of the noise you're creating

For dance videos, we often need to use speakers, and this can cause disturbances, especially in certain environments. For instance, one of the scenes was along a shopping arcade. As there were many stores in the arcade and it was an indoor space with a lot of echoing, I made sure to ask for everyone's understanding in advance.

Plan, plan, plan

In “Paris Groove”, it was essential that we captured the movement of the dancers perfectly – this meant checking out the areas and planning accordingly. I planned where to place the subject, checked if there was enough depth for the shot, made sure structures were either incorporated into the shot or framed out, and more.

I also had to plan my camera movements and vary what I did according to the space, the camera, and my lens. All this planning was necessary to ensure all elements came together seamlessly in the final videos.

Paris Groove: Deconstructing selected scenes

Dancing amidst vertical columns

An interesting element in this video, was a set of vertical structures in the background. To capture these structures and the sky appropriately, I used low angle shots. To ensure that the shots didn't look unreasonably low, I cut the shots around the height of the model's knee to belly area and filled the rest of the screen with the structures and sky. The result was an interesting harmony between all three key elements – the dancer, structures, and sky.

360 degrees of movement

To fully capture the depth of these environments, I filmed these scenes with a gimbal that allowed for a flowing 360 degrees of movement. The FE PZ 16-35mm F4 G's 16mm wide angle of view was used to decompress the space as much as possible, and the distance from the camera to the background perfectly conveyed the freedom of movement that the dancers were expressing with their bodies.

A dance tag team

This scene involved two dancers, which brought interesting challenges. Specifically, having to focus on both subjects as they interacted with one another – while also frequently shifting focus from one to the other, quickly and seamlessly. This is where the excellent autofocus and XD linear motors on the FE PZ 16-35mm F4 G stood out.

It was easy to shift focus between the dancers – swiftly and smoothly, making the audience feel like they are a part of the dance. When watching the performance on the monitor, I was absolutely mesmerised by the performance.

Advice for newcomers

If you're aspiring to shoot dance videos, whether as a hobby or professionally, I would advise collecting a lot of references. Whenever I watch a documentary, advertisement, or dance-related video, I archive the videos I feel are well-directed. Then, I analyse every cut, and think about the movements of the camera and other details.

I believe that it's always important to shoot videos with your own signature style – but sometimes, filming videos the way others do, can help you to think out of the box.

Looking ahead, I'm planning on producing “Seoul Groove 2”. I'm excited about creating more videos with the Alpha 1 and 8K series of cameras from Sony, and would like to hold my own exhibition one day.

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Ống kính Zoom góc rộng dòng G dành cho máy ảnh Full Frame

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Filmmaking

FE 12-24mm F2.8 GM | Shoot dynamic driving scenes | Review by Lee Jong Won

Harriman — Tue, 16 May 2023 10:57:06 +0000

FE 12-24mm F2.8 GM | Shoot dynamic driving scenes | Review by Lee Jong Won

Harriman Tue, 05/16/2023 - 16:27

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FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II

Igniting a nitrous-fuelled passion for cars and videography

For as long as I can remember, I have always been fascinated with cars – so it made perfect sense that when I embarked on my career, it would involve mixing my passion for cars with my videography skills. I particularly enjoy creating videos that feature dynamic driving scenes and high-performance sports cars.

In this showcase, we'll give you an inside look at how I shot one of my favourite videos using the zoom lens with Sony's FX3, FX6, and Alpha 1 cameras.

Choosing the FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II zoom lens

You may be wondering why I selected the FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II zoom lens as my only lens for the entire shoot, while using three different cameras. If you watch the video, you'll see how this shoot involved many angles and views – from wide angle to telephoto shots, and everything in-between.

In fast-paced automotive videos, wide angle views add speed and excitement to driving scenes, while telephoto ranges show off the details on the car and people's expressions. I feel that compared to a prime lens, the FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II zoom lens is an outstanding all-around performer in all these situations.

Preparing for the shoot

2 cars. 3 cameras. 1 high octane video.

This shoot was completed in one night – from late in the evening to early morning. The FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM IIFX3, and FX6 were mounted on two camera cars – a crane car (also known as the “Russian arm”) and a chase car (that was equipped with a speed rail).

There were also some indoor shots, and in these confined spaces, shooting was done with the Alpha 1.

I chose the cameras from Sony's Cinema series are they are relatively lightweight (for this category of cameras) and can be set up quickly. This was important as the site was small, and we needed to film with minimal staff on-site. The outstanding autofocus on these cameras allowed us to shoot more efficiently as it reduced the setting time, and the number of people needed for the shoot.

Meet the cast

Our models for this shoot were racer Kwon Bom and skateboarder Lee Younghee.

Precautions when shooting automobiles

When filming high-speed car chases and races, safety is always my number one priority. The size, speed and sheer mass of these vehicles means that any issues that come up, could result in serious accidents.

In these shoots, teamwork is crucial. Everyone involved with a scene – from the actors to drivers, camerapersons, crane operators, head technicians, and others – must have a good understanding of how all the shots are being filmed, and must have decided on the movements of all vehicles, equipment, and persons in advance. This is often done using simulations before the actual shoot.

Lights. Camera. Speed!

Benefits of shooting with the FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II

This is where the FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II came into its own. The lightweight and compact build of this zoom lens offered us additional portability and manoeuvrability while shooting scenes, which was a big benefit.

What's more, with an aperture value as bright as F2.8 across its entire angle of view range, this lens capture subjects – persons and vehicles alike – with detail and clarity. I found that compared to the conventional shooting method of swopping between different prime lens and shooting multiple times to achieve a variety of compositions, it was much more efficient to use the FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II for all our shots.

Achieving dynamic contrasts for a picturesque cityscape

The lens' high-resolution and contrast also made tiny details in the city's landscape really pop, with clear delineation between dark and bright areas. I was also very satisfied with how the lens portrayed shots, without any distortions in the image.

Putting the brakes on flaring and ghosting

Night-time driving scenes bring unique challenges to the set – with the biggest issue typically being a flaring or ghosting effect that is caused by bright headlights. Thankfully, the FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II has a Nano AR Coating II which suppresses ghosting significantly. I could clearly feel (and see) the difference when shooting front shots of the car at low angles.

Extreme closeups, incredible detail

It's not always easy (or possible) to get fantastic closeup shots of subjects in fast-moving vehicles, but we could do so with the FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II zoom lens and its minimum focus distance of 0.21m at 24mm, and 0.30m at 70mm. Check out this extreme closeup shot with beautiful G Master bokeh!

Fast, furious, stable

The precise autofocus and image stabilisation of this lens allowed our camera to pass over the speeding car and capture breathtaking, stable shots of this scene at a telephoto range of 70mm. Here, the focus was precisely tracking the subject during monitoring, resulting in an incredible – and incredibly focused – shot.

The most memorable scene: High-speed tunnel chase

We shot this tunnel chase scene using a zoom dolly, and had to change the zoom quickly from 24mm to 70mm to get the shot we planned. This is an incredibly challenging scene, and while I expected there to be unnatural movements or issues with focus, the shots were very smooth and stable. So much so, that we managed to get the perfect shot in just two takes!

Advice for videographers with a need for speed

Shooting automotive scenes, especially car chases and races, can be dangerous. Before embarking on a shoot of this nature, I recommend organising a team that you can trust, rely on, and work effectively with.

Always make safety your top priority when shooting, so you can create memorable automotive videos that people will enjoy for a long time!

FX3

FE PZ 16-35mm F4 G | Capture versatile shots | Review by Park Insu

FE PZ 16-35mm F4 G | Capture versatile shots | Review by Park Insu

Article Categories

Filming dance and choreography

Selecting the ideal camera and lens

Considerations for dance shoots

Be mindful of the noise you're creating

Plan, plan, plan

Paris Groove: Deconstructing selected scenes

Dancing amidst vertical columns

360 degrees of movement

A dance tag team

Advice for newcomers

Products

Featured

Dòng máy ảnh - Máy ảnh toàn khung hình thiết kế siêu nhỏ gọn và trọng lượng nhẹ

Ống kính Zoom góc rộng dòng G dành cho máy ảnh Full Frame

Micro shotgun

Micro không dây

Tay cầm chụp ảnh kèm bộ điều khiển không dây

FE 12-24mm F2.8 GM | Shoot dynamic driving scenes | Review by Lee Jong Won

FE 12-24mm F2.8 GM | Shoot dynamic driving scenes | Review by Lee Jong Won

Article Categories

Igniting a nitrous-fuelled passion for cars and videography

Choosing the FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II zoom lens

Preparing for the shoot

2 cars. 3 cameras. 1 high octane video.

Meet the cast

Precautions when shooting automobiles

Lights. Camera. Speed!

Benefits of shooting with the FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II

Achieving dynamic contrasts for a picturesque cityscape

Putting the brakes on flaring and ghosting

Extreme closeups, incredible detail

Fast, furious, stable

The most memorable scene: High-speed tunnel chase

Advice for videographers with a need for speed

Products

Featured

Dòng máy ảnh - Máy ảnh toàn khung hình thiết kế siêu nhỏ gọn và trọng lượng nhẹ

Ống kính Zoom tiêu chuẩn G Master dành cho máy ảnh Full frame

Micro không dây

Micro shotgun

Tay cầm chụp ảnh kèm bộ điều khiển không dây