InCinematographer - Issue 1 - June 2017 - 11

11

www.incinematographer.com | Issue 1 | June 2017

Ember Films' ZEISS Show Reel
Charged with creating a show reel for the new range of ZEISS CP.3 lenses, Ember Films
Creative Director Jonathan Jones, details the making of Beyond the Four Walls...

E

mber Films is a UK-based Emmy Award winning
production company, devoted to creating visually
stunning content for broadcast, cinema and web. The
company operates 100 percent in-house and works
across a broad range of genres - from commercials
to natural history.
Who approached us: ZEISS approached us to
provide a show reel for their new range of CP.3
lenses. We have a deep history of using ZEISS glass
and established a working relationship with ZEISS
following a previous project where we tested the 8K
Weapon for RED Digital Cinema. Ember produced
a film entitled Ouroboros and captured the images
using only the 50mm super speed T1.5, and it was
after this project that the two companies began
working together.
Driven by story-telling we are always keen to
look at new equipment and push the boundaries of
filmmaking. So when we were asked to develop an
idea for ZEISS and their new cine lenses, it was one of
the key characteristics of the CP.3's that would help
drive the narrative of the film.
What we decided to do: The new ZEISS CP.3 lenses
have many great characteristics, one being their
weight. The team at Ember thought that this could
provide a great opportunity to use our heavy lift
drone as the main feature of the story. To extend the
narrative further, we felt that the character in the
film could actually fly the drone and showcase the
product in action, thus the idea of a man traversing
the wilderness was developed. The character would
be on a journey through the landscape and would
appear to be seeking something Beyond the Four
Walls.
The creative process: The creative process started
with choosing the character. We looked close to
home for this and decided on 'Steve', one of our
professional stills photographers. Steve has a great

look and an amazing voice and, as a professional
photographer, the idea that this character could
be capturing pictures and be in the pursuit of
the perfect image seemed to resonate well. After
speaking with ZEISS, we also decided to include
other products such as stills photography lenses and
binoculars, in order to broaden the ZEISS story.
The task ahead: With a character in place, the next
main consideration was the location. The initial idea
was to take the project to Iceland, but when looking
into logistics, costs and timeframe, it was not viable.
We therefore decided to shoot in the UK and for
the team this meant either Scotland or Wales. After
much deliberation, Wales and the Elan Valley was
chosen, with the decision based on the local facilities,
the distance from accommodation to location and
the overall travel time from the company's offices.

The execution: The team was on a constant
weather watch, checking for rain and crucially wind
speed leading up to the shoot. The plan was to fly
the heavy lift drone with the ALEXA Mini, with the
remainder of the film being captured with the RED
Dragon. We always capture the highest resolution
images possible, so the ALEXA recorded up-scaled 4K
and the Dragon recorded 6K. We opted for a 2.35.1
aspect for the film to ensure a feature aesthetic.
The team was blessed with fantastic weather
for the majority of the project over the two day
shooting period, although when it came to filming
with the drone the winds were gusting over 20mph,
making it very tricky to fly the drone and on occasion
impossible due to safety reasons. Shooting in April,
the long daylight hours also proved a challenge, as
very early starts and late finishes were required to
allow the team to record in the desired light.
http://www.incinematographer.com https://vimeo.com/214394944
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of InCinematographer - Issue 1 - June 2017
