Wires, cranes, and one flying ARRIFLEX 235 were very simple tools used to shoot fairly sophisticated sequences of flying actors. Here’re some more details on the awards-winning commercial —Burberry – Open Spaces.
Outstanding cinematography
We wrote before about this (read: Watch: Absolutely Stunning Commercial Shot by ‘Flying’ DP With an ARRIFLEX 235 and Master Prime 14mm). But, recently Kodak has published some more details about this award-winning commercial titled Burberry – Open Spaces. As the commercial is being granted more and more awards regarding its outstanding cinematography, let’s explore what can be learned from this. This special project was shot by cinematographer Justin Brown with a goal to shoot the acrobats’ phenomenal choreography using a combination of wire work, practical helicopter shots, Russian Arm, Steadicam, and Technocrane, and without green screens (apart from the end scene).
Huge cranes, and cables
Yeah, that’s it. It’s amazing what can be achieved (cinematography-wise) from tall cranes and wires. “This meant we really felt that motion because I kept the same distance from the actors throughout the whole shoot,” Brown said in an interview with Kodak. “It was almost as if there was a drone flying near them”. It appears that in order to master the technique before the shoot, the directors spent three days in a studio, finalizing the choreography with the acrobats. The crane was then installed, and its weight limit was determined during rehearsals. “I had to carry the camera, batteries, and film, so we needed to work out the total weight the wire could carry,” said Brown. “To make the shoot achievable in terms of physics, I was positioned nearest to the arc. Once we had perfected the camera position, we spent three further rehearsal days figuring out the shots. The actors’ movement feels very free and fluid, but to create that feeling, especially between the different locations, required a lot of rehearsal” he added.
Tech spec: ARRIFLEX 235, and 50-foot Technocrane
The shots that you see in the cornfield in Coulsdon and the Surrey airfield were captured using a rotating crane and a mixture of Russian Arm, 50-foot Technocrane, Steadicam operated by Richard Lewis, and handheld, with an aim to feel as free as possible. The film stock was Kodak Vision 3 500T 5219 using an ARRIFLEX 235 paired with 14mm and 16mm ARRI Master Primes. Furthermore, the commercial was framed for a 3:2 ratio as it was considered “a more photographic aspect ratio” and enabled Brown to “keep some of the vertical height of the 4:3” he was shooting 4-perf on the ARRIFLEX 235. Check this amazing BTS:
An ideal mission for the ARRIFLEX 235
The ARRIFLEX 235 is an extremely lightweight and very well-balanced film camera, that was aimed for these missions. The majority of the commercial was captured handheld. The cinematographer was holding the camera tight using handles, and a monitor to accurately frame the shot. The framing was complicated since the cinematographer was attached to cables, flying at high speed. Imagine that you are wired with a camera, flying, and capturing flying acrobats. Amazing!
The mental barrier of shooting film
In the interview, Brown elaborated that he was delighted the directors pushed to shoot on film as “often with commercials, it’s difficult for the production company to push that through to the agency because a lot of new creatives haven’t worked on film. So, it can be seen as a bit of a risk because from a viewing perspective there are no HD taps, even though in reality it is not a risk”. Indeed, commercials shot on film are (unfortunately) rare animals these days. However, it’s worth it, and this spot constitutes the perfect reference for that. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out below:
