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Wild Bites - Video of the Week

November 18, 2011 by Steve Young, Director of Product Marketing in Favorite Videos

The opening shot to this week's video of the week is AMAZING! George Stearns did a fantastic job shooting the Wild Bites restaurant in Amesbury, MA.

And he even offers some tips on how to use things called a Pocket Dolly, tripod and slider. Can you tell I'm not a videographer? But I know a great video when I see one!

Tell us about the shoot

I'd like to start by saying Tony Ortu is truly a character and a really great guy to work with. He sent me back to my girlfriends with some tiramisu that was to die for! With that said, Tony's passion for the food he creates was the greatest challenge of the shoot. The shoot was scheduled for the evening so we could capture the clientele and vibe of a typical evening. Shooting during prime time made locking Tony down for more than five minutes really not possible, as he was running out to the kitchen to attend to every plate, and that made getting voiceover and interview footage a total nightmare!

The good news: What I lacked in VO I made up for in B-Roll. I left two cameras set up in the back room for those lucky moments when I could get interview. Then I set up a third camera for B-Roll in the dining room on a Kessler Pocket Dolly, it's a three foot sliderthat is proving to be worth it's weight in gold for these smaller one man shoots.

Can you talk about the opening shot?

 

I also used the slider for the opening shot of the sign out front earlier that day. The Pocket Dolly works great on it's own but mounting it on a tripod allows you to pan and tilt the slider moves. For the opening shot I used a RR Micro Blue Follow Focus with an 18 inch whip to pull focus with the hand I was panning with, while sliding with my free hand.
One Caveat: If you plan on putting the slider on a tripod use something big and heavy, that you can screw the slider into from the top.
Don't mount it to a quick release plate, they put 1/4' 20ml holes underneath on each end and in the center of the slider so you can use QR plates. But the Pocket Dolly doesn't stay level when you get out toward the end of your slides especially if you use anything larger than a DSLR. 

 

What is your favorite shot?

I think the B-Roll footage I was able to capture that evening in the dinning room was my favorite, especially the slider move of the young couple having dinner. I also used the slider for the opening shot of the sign out front earlier that day. The Pocket Dolly works great on it's own but mounting it on a tripod allows you to pan and tilt the slider moves.

(1) Comments | Tagged in: , , ,

1 responses to Wild Bites - Video of the Week

  1. Matt Logan November 19, 2011

    Hey Nice work, but I thought Turnhere filmmakers didn’t use lights when they did shots?

    I can clearly see the on camera light on the couple and the woman who was interviewed.

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