SONY ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE
Canon and Blackmagic – hiring in kit to test in real-life wedding scenarios. One major consideration, however, was our vast collection of Nikon glass, and this introduced me to the Sony offering. The Sony PXW-FS7 has a very shallow flange distance which basically meant that I could use Nikon glass in conjunction with a Metabones Speed Booster. With this in mind I hired the Sony for a Blenheimwedding and loved the ergonomics and functionality it offered. The hire price included a Sony 18-110mm f/4 G OSS PZ Cinema lens and through experiencing its incredible focusing and zoom system I never actually got to use any of my Nikon lenses on the day. Investing in a system I’d found my system. There are many things about the kit that impress me but I particularly enjoy filming in S-Log. This gives me far more control in post- production and I was blown away by the increase in dynamic range. This is an important element of how we work – both of us love high contrast scenarios and often shoot straight into the light or in low-light situations. I was finally able to deliver films that were truly cinematic and had the same look and feel as our photography. Both Kate and I shoot photography and video – assisting each other if we are only booked for a single discipline. This meant that I also needed to consider what system Kate or other second shooters should film on and, while I didn’t envisage this being another FS7, I didn’t want to be including footage shot on DSLRs when my own footage was much better quality and offered far more flexibility. Fast-forward to The Photography Show this year, when we explained to the Sony team that we needed to understand their Alpha Series better for our photography/ video education offering: Training byLumiere. They were happy to lend us two A7 III bodies and lenses and we both put them through their paces. It came to the point where we were due to send the kit back and neither of us wanted to.
“I’d foundmy system. There are many things about the kit that impressme, particularly S-Log”
What we promise is a ‘creative team that works completely in sync with each other and with our clients, providing a single approach to shooting and directing, light and location and of course the final results that are crafted with the same style and finish’. It’s so much easier when you have a singular vision and creative style – I understand what Kate is striving for in terms of light and exposure and we don’t even need to communicate on why we are directing in a certain way. Video post-production takes longer than stills - after all I have to watch the entire wedding again - and Kate tends to deliver before me. What we always love is the feedback after a couple see their film: they always say it is like watching their photographs come to life. I feel very happy with my current filming set up – having the benefit of a pro cinema set up as well as two additional Sony Alpha cameras and lenses which are highly capable and seriously deliver for the price point. It’s also worth noting that the A7 III is a fantastic camera for drone platforms and electronic gimbals. So we’re covered on all fronts and couldn’t be happier!
I asked for an extension because we were filming a wedding with Eddie Redmayne and I wanted my second shooter to be on the same platform. The A7 III has many colour profiles including S-Log so you can understand why I made the request. My second shooter turned up the night before and I told her that I wanted her to shoot Sony. There was a mild panic but after an hour her comment was ‘well this will be easy’. So now I had found my second shooter camera body. Luckily, Kate was having the same love affair with the Sony Alpha series in relation to stills, and this summer she’s switched. We now have two A9 and two A7 III bodies and a great range of G Master lenses, which we can use on the FS7 as well. We finally have the Holy Grail of a single system across both stills and video. People often ask us how Kate and I can live and work together, considering weddings are not the most relaxing of work environments and historically something of a war zone for photographers and cinematographers! When we are just shooting stills we occasionally have had difficult situations with video teams. Conflict can arise around such things as who gets pole position, while the use of flash can ruin footage. This is why we much prefer it when we are commissioned as a team to deliver both photography and cinematography. We fully understand both worlds and accept that there are times of compromise and patience – always putting the couple first.
More information
www.sony.co.uk www.katehopewellsmith.com www.bylumiere.co.uk
IMAGES Adopting Sony kit for all aspects of the business, byLumiere deliver stills and video with the same look and feel.
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AUTUMN 2018 PRO MOVIEMAKER
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