The deadline and budget were tight. The client – a leading maker of iconic, affordable jeans – wanted stills and a beautifully photographed film-style location-shoot commercial turned around in one day.
Christopher Laughter, a director at the Los Angeles-based creative content production company Snackhaus knew that the session, depicting a young woman’s quiet contemplations in a rustic cabin, would require a camera capable of providing superb still and motion-image quality, as well as minimal downtime between setups. This meant there would have to be minimal lighting adjustments, versatility, and mobility from take-to-take in order to make the deadline.
“Thrilling our clients and exceeding their expectations is something we constantly strive for,” said Laughter. “These days that seems to get harder and harder as budgets get smaller and smaller. Any time we can find ways to increase our creative capabilities and deliver great results for our clients, we’re quick to act.”
The solution Laughter chose to meet these challenges was the Canon Cinema EOS-1D C Digital SLR camera equipped with a variety of Canon L-Series photographic lenses.
“With the Canon EOS-1D C camera we were able to shoot 4K video, and then pull 4K stills from the same video file, enabling us to move quickly and capture what we needed for the commercial as well as the print and digital campaigns in the same day, with the same camera,” Laughter explained.
The first-ever digital SLR camera with 4K recording capability*, the EOS-1D C camera is part of Canon’s Cinema EOS product line and is unique in that line for its ability to capture both high resolution still images as well as 4K video (or full 1920 x 1080 HD) on its 18.1-megapixel full-frame (24mm x 36mm) CMOS image sensor. The camera’s less than 4 lb. body and its compatibility with a wide variety of compact Canon EF L-Series lenses enabled Laughter to maneuver into tight spaces to capture the intimate shots he needed. “The size of it is perfect,” Laughter said. “I really value the ability to work hand held with these EOS-1D C cameras because they’re not off-putting or scary to the model.”
“The lightweight Cinema EOS-1D C camera reduced the weight of our rigs and support,” added first AC Paul Mocey-Hanton. “This not only made us more maneuverable, but also saved on equipment-related expenses.” The Canon Cinema EOS-1D C camera also features a wide sensitivity range of up to ISO 25600 for outstanding low-light performance with reduced noise even at higher ISO settings. This further increased Laughter’s mobility and helped minimize the need for extensive set-ups, as it freed him from needing all but a bare minimum of lighting gear.
“The Canon lenses we used were crucial to the look of the commercial,” Hanton said. “We knew we wanted a very sharp image with great color rendition, and the 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 70-200mm lenses fit the bill. Pulling all the detail out of the 4K files from the Canon Cinema EOS-1D C camera is highly dependent on these lenses. They resolved the detail we needed not only for the 4K video, but also the still frames pulled from the footage.”
“Overall, the Canon lenses I have used have been very impressive,” Hanton added. “Each lens displays great resolving power, beautiful color and pleasing bokeh while minimizing distortion and chromatic aberration. Also of note is their fabulous ability to mitigate unwanted flare. My favorite lenses are the 24mm f/1.4L II and the 50mm f/1.2L. With these two lenses I feel ready for any situation under any lighting condition.”
“Using the Canon Cinema EOS-1D C Digital SLR camera we were able to capture everything the client wanted for the print and video campaign in just one day of shooting,” Laughter concluded. "Not only were they very happy with the cost savings, they were thrilled with the image quality. The EOS-1D C camera absolutely allowed us to exceed their expectations.”
You can watch a behind the scenes video from Laughter’s shoot by visiting Canon Pro on Vimeo at http://vimeo.com/67321110