Since the earlier post detailing the HDSLR rig we were using for the ABC Family commercials, my team has done several more tv commercials and along the way we have extensively refined the kit. The last setup was highly functional but a bit of a Frankenstein monster.

The new rig is more compact, cleaner and more functional, especially from the standpoint of pulling focus — which is kind of a big deal. You can see the new rig in the slideshow below. The major changes outlined underneath.

The major changes have been:

1. Viewfactor Cage with power routing – tighter, cleaner, more compact, better balanced, and better power routing.
2. Zeiss CP2 cinema lenses instead of Zeiss ZE still photography lenses – wider focus ring travel for more precision, geared, same size diameter on all lenses for faster lens switching with Matt Box, smoother focus ring.
3. Preston wireless follow-focus instead of Bartech – smoother, more precise and more reliable motor.

All of these changes were a big step forward toward dialing-in the system. This rig is solid.

The killer app for new video cameras is low light performance and high ISO capability.

Budgets are collapsing for advertising. They have been minimal for a long time in music videos, documentaries, and short films. Feature film production is dividing into studio mega-blockbuster special-effects spectacles on one side, and low budget character-driven films on the other — the middle is vanishing.

Working on a low budget film or video means finding ways to reduce shoot days and get more done in less time. Every hour or day of production time is burning money. One of the most time consuming parts of prepping a set is typically lighting, particularly if there are more than one setups with multiple lighting transitions. The ability to use small low-powered lighting, often mixed with ambient light, is among the most effective strategies for delivering on a tight budget.

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