Results tagged “video” from Andrew Kornylak Photography Blog
Since I started doing "Stillmotion" pieces a couple years ago - creating video using short, high-speed bursts of still photographs - a lot of people ask me for a step-by-step roadmap to the technique so they can do it themselves.
Here are a couple of the more popular examples:
In Line from Andrew Kornylak on Vimeo.
The Beta - Six Feet Under from Andrew Kornylak on Vimeo.
You can see most of the ones I've done at my Stillmotion album on my Vimeo Page
It's something I've talked about in detail in a Guest Blog for Scott Kelby, on Robert Benson's blog, on the NikonRumors website, and as a speaker at the 2009 Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar, but I've never really put it all down step-by-step.
Recently Digital Photo Pro Magazine interviewed me about it, and they did just that, spelling out in gory detail exactly how to do it. So stop bugging me about it.
Seriously though, It looks like a ton of steps but really, its hella simple. You just need to make sure you have the right tools. I happen to use Nikon DLSRs for capture and sequence everything in Final Cut Pro.
One thing DPP did not ask was, "Why the hell would you do it?" It does look pretty cool, and it's novel. That's probably enough for me. But maybe the benefits versus video (extreme resolution, access to unique lighting and shutter effects) do not outweigh the pain-in-the-asses (difficult frame rates, extreme workflow challenges, no sound). It's a question I ask myself, especially given that there are so many amazing video capture tools out there today - most of which I use daily for other productions.
So here's something: I believe that in the future, there will be full motion-capture technology that is very similar physically to what I am doing with a high-speed still camera. I want to be first in line for that, and I'll know exactly what I'm doing.
Chew on that, try it out yourself, tell me if I am full of shit, and enjoy the article:
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Stillmotion Explained, Other Stuff Not Explained.
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Interview with Photographer Celin Serbo
for A Steady Drip Magazine
When its just you, a camera and a couple riggers keeping up with top climbers in the wild, it takes more than just camera skills. Celin earned his chops from a lifetime spent in the mountains, and more recently as a professional guide. This kind of shooting - especially done for top commercial clients - is rare these days, and I wanted to talk to Celin about this shoot because it speaks to what great adventure photography is all about.
I've known Celin for years as part of that "brotherhood" of climbing photographers that you run into/hear about/recognize over the years, and like most of those guys we are both part of the Aurora Photos agency's Outdoor Collection. Celin is based in Boulder, Colorado.
All images (c) Celin Serbo
TBM :Bio?
Serbo : I got introduced to photography when my stepfather gave me a fully manual medium format film camera in the early 90's. Long story short, I had a lot to learn and started by reading books, spending a fair bit of time in the dark room, and lots of trial and error. During that time I was pretty passionate about climbing, skiing, and biking so a camera was a natural additional piece of gear to bring along.
From 1997 thru 2004 I worked as mountain guide for the Colorado Mountain School, in areas such as RMNP, Eldorado Canyon, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru. I also guided for Jackson Hole Mountain Guides in for a couple seasons.This gave me incredible opportunities to meet high caliber athletes, travel, and shoot. I was encouraged by friends to submit some photos to Patagonia, and to my surprise, got published. I continued on the path of guiding and part time shooting until 2004 when I made the decision to pursue photography professionally.
I'd love to say, "that's when it all took off for me" but that's not the case. It's been a slow but steady process that is still evolving. I've had to work hard to expand my skills set and marketing strategies to reach a more varied clientele.
TBM : How did the Eddie Bauer shoot come about?
Serbo : I did a 3 day ice climbing shoot for them in Ouray, CO in March of 2009. That shoot was a success and it seemed we were on the same page with regards to their image needs. Their First Ascent line is a relatively new brand so the need for image content is pretty substantial. One of their athletes put in the trip proposal for Norway based on the incredible amount of unclimbed ice within the western fjord areas. Everything seemed to line up with schedules and budgets and I was asked to join the trip.
Due to budgets, I could not bring an assistant with me so I had to be as self sufficient as possible. It was mainly about documenting the climbs and keeping pace with the athletes. We did have two riggers, which was a huge help.
TBM : Your riggers were locals, I assume, who knew the area well?
Serbo : One of our riggers (Seth Hobby) is an American guide working and living in Norway. the other rigger (Adam George) was the husband of the one of the athletes and is a tremendous climber/guide in his own right. Seth knew the area fairly and steered in the right directions. Even with seth's help, that terrain is so big that there was alot of scouting involved.
(c) Celin Serbo
TBM: How did it compare with some other shoots you've done, keeping pace with the
athletes on the EB shoot?
Serbo : A lot of the work i have done has been with high level outdoor athletes so this shoot wasn't too much of a departure for me. however, it does present additional challenges. Fitness and a certain level of competence with regards to the activity/sport you are shooting is a must. Even though the athletes are well aware that they are involved in a photo shoot, they move fast. Keeping up and still creating compelling images can be challenging. I find that the athletes respect and appreciate it when you can display a reasonable level of competency in their environment and are much more willing to work with and for you.
(c) Celin Serbo. Click to watch Celin's behind-the-scenes video from the Norway trip:
TBM : What did you use to shoot the behind the scenes video? Was video a component in your contract for EB?
Serbo : I shot all the video and stills with the Nikon D300s. I was really impressed with cameras performance. It gives you an amazing amount of creative freedom to switch back and forth from stills to video. We had some pretty nasty weather as well and the D300s handled it with no issues. Video was a component in the Eddie Bauer contract. The primary focus was on stills with a secondary priority of video. They are very active in multimedia content for both their website and in-store flat screen displays. I am finding more and more of my clients embracing this trend.
TBM : Do you see doing more video in the future?
Serbo : I am planning on shooting more video. I think in the very near future, [video] will be an expected component to any commercial or editorial assignment. While the DSLR HD video is incredible it does have many limitations compared to dedicated high- end video. I think the crux will be understanding these limitations and finding the appropriate projects and platforms for this technology.
You can see Celin's work on his website at www.serbophoto.com.
Check out some reports from the trip on the Eddie Bauer First Ascent blog here.
This interview is for A Steady Drip Magazine, an experiment in distributed publishing. Click here to see the Table of Contents.
Constantin:
Great shots and great adventure!
It would be nice to share some tips about action sports photo and video editing. I would definitely be an avid reader. :-)
Cheers!
(04.29.10 @ 04:14 PM)
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Celin Serbo Shoots Eddie Bauer for First Ascent Line
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In January I was hired by Grassroots Outdoor Alliance to produce a video piece for their retail members. Grassroots Outdoor Alliance is a group of over 70 independent outdoor retailers around the US. Membership in Grassroots gives retailers a strong national voice to "protect and promote the experience of outdoor enthusiasts across the United States." Grassroots also provides resources to its member retailers to support their local activities such as recreational access and environmental initiatives.
The shoot was coordinated by Widgets & Stone, a Chattanooga, TN design studio that handles brand communications for Grassroots. We worked with Chattanooga-local GOA member Rock/Creek Outfitters as an example retailer and backdrop for the video. Grassroots wanted the video for the Outdoor Retailer Show, which was only a few days away once we finalized the project. The stakes were made higher by the fact that this video would be shown to all the top independent retailers in the country - Rock/Creek's main peer group.
It's a situation that happens all the time in this business. Things come together at the last minute and once you get the green light you might have half the time you initially planned for. You don't want to cut corners but maybe it just can't get done in time. What do you do? It's a lot like climbing. You plan carefully for a long climb, wait for good conditions, but maybe by then the window is too short. Do you go for it and pass that line of commitment? Or do you back off, hoping the opportunity will still be there later?
Luckily, having worked closely with Rock/Creek a lot in the past, we had a good game plan going in, and they trusted I could do great work under time pressure. We shot all the footage in an afternoon and the edit came together within 48 hours, just in time for the show. As Rock/Creek owner Dawson Wheeler said later, "Putting a video like this out in front of all the best independent shop owners in the industry made me nervous initially, but Andrew came through with a fantastic video that served the group's needs and went over very well with my peers."
We also produced a separate video that explains what the relationship between Grassroots and a retailer like Rock/Creek is fundamentally about: local ownership and activism, unique customer relationships, and a national platform to promote these ideals.
Grassroots Outdoor Alliance from Rock/Creek on Vimeo.
Some behind-the-scenes shots:
Below: Shooting Rock/Creek Marketing Director Mark McKnight with the Panasonic HMC40 on a Redrock Micro 35mm adapter. We combined daylight and a single Westcott Spiderlite fluorescent bank rear and left of Mark. (Rachel Tucker)
Below: We shot the landscape footage at Lula Lake Land Trust, a 4000-acre preserve established around the Rock Creek watershed in the mountains above Chattanooga. This was my first time at Lula, and it is absolutely spectacular. A great reminder of why I live in this part of the country! (Rachel Tucker)
Below: Hero Shot (Mark McKnight)
You can see more BTS stuff at Rock/Creek's Flickr page
I love working with organizations like Grassroots and Rock/Creek because I can get behind their brand message 100%. That is rare, especially in the commercial world. I believe creatives should be actively pursuing those kinds of clients for themselves, rather than just waiting for clients to come to them to help sell a message. In this case, everyone shared the same passions and ideals, and I think it and added to the quality of the final product. What's more, it made shooting it a lot of fun!
photographers, videographers, writers : I'd love to hear your examples of working for clients whose basic principles you also share!
Mark McKnight:
Thanks Andrew! Great working with you on this shoot. It was a bit nerve-wracking to work on that schedule but it turned out brilliantly. Lula Lake is such a great place too, it was amazing to see it frozen like that.
(02.25.10 @ 12:21 PM)
Jeff Hunter:
Thank you Andrew. And thank you Rock Creek for supporting conservation, trail development and access to climbing for Chattanoogans and all Americans. And especially, thank you VERY MUCH for supporting Tennessee Wild. You Rock!
(02.25.10 @ 07:14 PM)
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Committed To Grassroots
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Had a fun trip through Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia last weekend to shoot a couple video spots, one for eBay, and the other for Chattanooga, TN outfitter Rock/Creek, to promote their trail racing series.
Town Crier
Shooting BBs
On a journey for eBay in ol' Kentuck with the new Panasonic HMC40
My assistant Sharif Hassan and I also got to shoot with the new Olympus E-P1 camera for the week, which is a ton of fun. It sports interchangable lenses, mounts for a variety of different manufacturers including Nikon and Leica, RAW shooting, and a movie mode. We both wore out the "Art" modes. The retro design felt a lot more usable in my hands than most tiny point and shoot cameras, but the OIympus pancake lenses made it easy to slip this thing into a pocket.
Interviewing Patagonia rep and StumpJump founder Matt Simms, along with Mark McKnight, Marketing Director for Rock/Creek
Interviewing local favorite Jaclyn Greenhill
Rock Creek's trail race series kicked off with the StumpJump 50K, a technical course through some new sections of the Cumberland Trail System. Besides shooting the race, I had the pleasure of interviewing some of the sport's luminaries, including "Ultramarathon Man" Dean Karnazes, Krissy Moehl (Female winner of the Tour Du Mont Blanc and 2nd in the Western States 100 this year), and Stump Jump champ Josh Wheeler. The field was pretty sick.
Makes me want to start running ultras...
NAH!
Beefy checking out the scenery at Green Life in Chattanooga between long shooting days. It's hard work being a player.
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Road Trip for eBay and Rock/Creek Outfitters
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Thanks to NikonRumors.com for featuring my motion work with the Nikon D3.
I thought it was fun to point out what could be done with existing caveman technology, coming on the heels of an announcement about the new Nikon D3s, which supposedly adds video capabilities...
Besides being an extremely popular site for - what else - obsessing over the latest rumors about new Nikon products (and Leica stuff), it's also a fun place to see what's going on in the photo world in general.
Speaking of which, I'll be giving a workshop about mixed media production for photographers at the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar in December. I'll be doing a walkthrough of the stillmotion workflow on the D3, and maybe the new D3s if I can get one in my hands by then.
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Rumored
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Josh Fowler and I opened our documentary Heart of Stone with a chance encounter in Steele, Alabama.
Southeastern Climbers Coalition activist Brad McLeod walked a cliffline with a local landowner and a realtor, talked some turkey, and shook hands at the base of the access trail. The ball was rolling on access to a climbing that had been shut down since the early 80s, when, as the story goes, one too many climbers traipsed through another landowners tomato farm at the top.
In the few months since then, McLeod and the SCC sealed the deal on 25 acres of land, including 1400 linear feet of sandstone cliffs, an access trail, and even a trailer house at the base. Like all SCC purchases, this land will be multi-use, open to all, and preserved for future generations.
To really follow through, of course, the SCC needs to raise the money to pay off the note. That's where Chaco Sandals and Rock/Creek Outfitters come in. A long-time supporter of greenspace initiatives, Chaco is teaming up with Rock/Creek (SNEWS and Backpacker Magazine's 2009 Online Retailer of the Year) to raise $5000 toward the purchase, by donating a portion of ALL sandal sales for a period of time through Rock/Creek.
Go here to learn more.
Josh and I were tapped to create a promo for this partnership. You can see it in HD below:
Chaco and Rock/Creek - Summer of Steele from Andrew Kornylak on Vimeo.
Much more cliffline (some say the best) is still privately-owned at Steele, but this plot gives the climbing community a foothold in the region, and a strong position from which to negotiate with other landowners for access. We're neighbors now. Good neighbors. So don't screw it up!
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Summer of Steele
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Heart of Stone - HD from Andrew Kornylak on Vimeo.
This winter, Josh Fowler and
I produced a short documentary called Heart of Stone, about grassroots
activism to preserve and protect climbing areas in the Southeast US.
activism to preserve and protect climbing areas in the Southeast US.
We premiered the short film at the finals of the Triple Crown Bouldering Series, the world's largest outdoor climbing competition, to a standing-room-only crowd at Rock/Creek Outfitters in Chattanooga, TN. Great response. Since then, we have distributed HOS freely via the internet. In just a few weeks, it was rated one of the top 10 climbing videos of 2008. Not bad. Problem is, once it was distributed everywhere (Climbing, Marmot, TNF, UCTV, Rockclimbing.com, etc) some film tours decided it had already gotten too much play and decided to pull it from their lineup. Tell me if you want to put it in your tour, I'm all ears. Anyway, here's some buzz:
"...a masterpiece that will help climbers and access for years to come." - Dawson Wheeler, co-owner of Rock/Creek Outfitters
"The best climbing film I have seen yet!" - Kurt Smith
"...a great example of positive, constructive film-making and a clear indicator of where web-based climbing movies will be heading: high quality and large format." - Peter Beal, from Mountains and Water Blog
Our day with Brad McLeod of the Southeast Climbers Coalition was a great example of serendipity. Josh and I had hit the road with Brad one day to visit about a half-dozen closed crags around Alabama, just to get some far shots and chat with him about the project. While we set up a shot of the crags outside Steele, Alabama, Brad mentioned that a couple days ago he had chanced on a For Sale sign in a nearby yard. He had the realtor's number in his phone. I suggested we call her up, knowing full well that the landowners in these parts have been stonewalling against climbing here for years. Well, a miracle happened that day - the realtor came out with a friendly landowner who offered to show us some of the cliffs above his property. We rolled footage on the whole encounter - a classic look at how the Southern sausage is made. That is the scene that opens the film.
Heart of Stone also features some unusual techniques. Most of the footage came from a Sony XDCAM EX1 HS camera, with some b-roll with a Canon HV1. The film also contains stills and stillmotion clips, which are 4K "ultra-HD" moving pictures which I shot entirely on a Nikon D3 still camera. See more stillmotion examples at my Vimeo site. Suprisingly the stillmotion blended well with the HD video footage and stills. I edited everything using Final Cut Pro.
The film ends with a tantalizing look at a new climbing area being developed in Tennessee... Yet another jewel in the southern sandstone crown. Yeah!
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Inside the Heart of Stone
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Oh Boy oh boy!
Thanks!
I lack the tools but I'm always hungry fro video tutorials. :-)
Cheers!
(05.06.10 @ 12:35 PM)Hi Andrew
I have enjoyed my brief look at your work. I would like to understand where the benefit of high resolution fits in as with the exception of 4K projectors I can't see where I can view the clips in all their glory.
Kind Regards
Michael
(06.09.10 @ 08:12 PM)Hey Michael - thanks. There are some resolution benefits even with relatively low-resolution output. There is a lot more image information per frame to work with, and even when scaled, the difference is there (consider for example how large format photography looks on a postcard versus 35mm, or how cinema film looks better than standard definition even on a television) There is also the ability to crop and zoom. More interesting to me is that any frame could potentially be used in full (or nearly full-)resolution print.
(06.09.10 @ 09:04 PM)