We have been working hard to produce a spot that would air during the Super Bowl and last night I got to see it for the first time on the air. How cool is that! LOL! Okay so it was only in the San Diego market but hey!
This spot was challenging and fun to work on. When the producer pitched the idea I was thinking…. How the hell am I going to pull this off? Well when you ask yourself that question usually the challenge can be fun.
At first I thought technical. I would mark down every shot with the lens used and distance so I could match them when I shoot the night version or day whatever came first. The speed of having to shoot these scenes tossed that idea out the window. We tried so many different angles that it would be a mess trying to write all the different lenses and distances, so instead I took frame grabs and printed them.
We covered the Odyssey 7Q+ monitor with a piece of tape so it only showed half the screen then I composed the shot then used the printed frame grab to match it. Worked pretty well. I didn’t record to the 7Q+ only used it as a field monitor and it worked very well as one. Very portable and lasts pretty long with Sony NP-F batteries.
The editor did fudge some shots a little in post but for the most part it worked straight out of the camera.
For the night shots I used the Aputure Arman HR672S LED panels. They worked really well and pack a punch. Check out the first look post to learn more about them. Inexpensive and the color is spot on.
But wait there’s more!
We also produced a new morning image spot. I used the Sony A7s with the Odyssey 7Q+ to record all the b-roll of the around the house shots. All in 4K and posted in HD. The anchors are with the C300.
The A7s/7Q+ setup was great and worked without a hiccup all day. I didn’t even have a cage on the camera yet. I used the Manfrotto492LCD Micro Ball Head Ball head most of the time and it held it very well. The Xtender Friction Mount is also very good and can be converted easily to use on a light stand with a cold shoe.
The 4K full frame image from the Sony A7s is pretty darn sweet, and working with the 7Q+ attached to it was too. Nice to have record trigger so no need to use the 7Q+ manually but if you prefer using the 7Q+ to start record then make sure you are in VIDEO MODE so you are sending the appropriate signal.
All in all I like the spots. It’s a little different and in news image promos thats hard to do.
One last thing…..
Here is my review of the Convergent Design Odyssey 7Q+. Packed with lots of info using the A7s in 4K.
Convergent Design Odyessy 7Q+ Hands On Review from Erik Naso on Vimeo.
Follow me on Twitter @eriknaso and check out my page on Facebook.
Thanks for coming by! Please help support my site by using the links on this page or bookmark these from my favorite retailers, B&H, Adorama, Zacuto, Amazon.com & Think Tank Photo. Using the links cost you nothing extra, but it helps offset the cost of running my blog. Thanks again for coming by eriknaso.com!
Great, Erik. Image quality looks fantastic.
One question, as I am still trying to get a handle on shooting with my A7S: What picture profiles do you find yourself favoring on the A7S? And what LUTs or post-processing are you using on the other end?
Thanks so much for sharing your expertise,
Pete