All posts tagged GH2

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Fair Trade Flash Mob

This was the big event of the UBC Fair Trade Committee’s fair trade week and what a kick off it was!

I spent the weekend fearing rain but when Monday morning rolled around, we were blessed with glorious sunshine and puffy white clouds. Juliana from the Fair Trade Committee had already planned to follow me around with a big golf umbrella but thankfully it stayed as a backup plan and she was able to participate in the festivities.

Because the flash mob would be moving quickly and to several different locations, I did not know what to expect and prepared for just about everything. I brought the GH2 with the Lumix 7-14mm wide zoom, the 14-140mm kit zoom in case I needed flexiblity, and both the Steadicam and the monopod. I started with the Steadicam indoors but because of the windy conditions outside, I expected to have to switch to the monopod once we ventured out. My awesome assistant Faye followed me around the entire time holding my monopod, ready for me to request an exchange at a moment’s notice. I ended up staying on the steadi the whole time, because it was working out OK and I didn’t want to miss any of the action. I ended up shooting the entire event on the 7-14 and the Steadi.

The wind sure was a challenge though! Because the GH2 is such a feather weight, I usually balance it with a hot shoe LED light on top for the added inertia. Even with the added weight, it was no match for the rapid gusts! You can see me getting blown around in the footage outdoors. Still, it worked out well enough and most of the footage was usable.

Audio wise, I stuck to the reliable on board mic of the GH2. If only all video DSLRs had mics like this one.

It was a suitably grand kick off to a successful fair trade week and I was glad to have been a part of it.

Sam

Fair Trade Flash Mob BTS

The UBC fair trade committee is made up of a number of students and staff who advocate fair trade and wish to promote it across campus. UBC Food Services is very much committed to fair trade and this year invited me to cover the committee’s main event: a marching flash mob.

The week before the flash mob, I opted to shoot some behind the scenes footage for them and put together a short promo film that they could share with friends and hype up the event the weekend before. I joined them in the planning meeting as well as the rehearsal.

Two of the lead organizers, Rosalind and Quinn, were happy to provide some interviews on camera and this helped to drive the narrative of the promo. Audio was captured via Zoom H1 mounted to a small tripod directly in front of and below the speaker and synced up in post. On the visual side I turned again to my trusty Leica Summilux 25mm f1.4 for coverage. This is fast becoming my favorite interview lens. The 50mm effective focal length on the GH2 is both natural and flattering and the backgrounds simply melt away at f1.4. Lovely, lovely lens.

My one and only complaint about this Leica is the manual focusing. While the focus ring is exceedingly smooth and friction free, the distance it takes to turn from near to far is exceedingly long and makes rack focusing more tiresome. This is mostly a result of Panasonic’s focus-by-wire design where the focus ring is really a digital controller and not an actual mechanical device. Not really a fault of the Leica, but I wish it wasn’t there.

For stabilization I turned to my beloved Manfrotto 561 BHDV-1 monopod. This is probably my favorite tool for fast set up and all round use in unpredictable situations.

It was a pleasure to shoot with this set of gear and even more fun to watch the committee members learn the lyrics and dance moves. All in the spirit of fair trade.

Flash mob coverage to follow shortly.

Sam