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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

#87 Spec Spot #2

The future may be green but it will cost you some greenbacks:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/biz/5673691.html

"Hooking up the state's largest cities to rapidly expanding wind power projects in West Texas could cost as much as $6.3 billion in the coming years, the state's grid operator says."

"Texas is the largest wind power producer in the country, with more than 4,400 megawatts of capacity installed — about 2 percent of the state's total power capacity, according to the American Wind Energy Association."
 
Great Spot!
Thanks for posting!

Dave
 
Great spec. Good concept, but the direction here is really what makes this a great spot which is what you're after. Hell of a location with all those turbines! Did you actually find the location, or are the turbines 3D? Did you get the aerial shots yourself or are they stock? Did you bring a wind machine with you on location? Just asking because specs are normally done on the cheap with the intention of looking a lot bigger - I'm curious how low budget you were actually able to do this for.
 
It just looks like one of those commercials made for GM. That is saying alot about.. RED. Then again you are pretty talented. love some of the stuff on your site.
 
Noah@posnick.com said:
Great spec. Good concept, but the direction here is really what makes this a great spot which is what you're after. Hell of a location with all those turbines! Did you actually find the location, or are the turbines 3D? Did you get the aerial shots yourself or are they stock? Did you bring a wind machine with you on location? Just asking because specs are normally done on the cheap with the intention of looking a lot bigger - I'm curious how low budget you were actually able to do this for.
Click to expand...

Thanks Noah—really appreciate it. And yes, every shot in the spot was captured by us.

The aerials were negotiated with a friendly helicopter company who charged us only for gas. We took up two REDs and shot handheld out the door for about 30 minutes. The catch was that without any sort of mount or rig I got to spend 2 days stabilizing all the footage in after effects.

Same for the ground shots of the windmills which are practical and located near palm springs (as was the train). The crew consisted of me and one friend, a doorway dolly and 3 lengths of track (plus my dog). Since we didn't have the crew or gear to get smooth tracking shots on location, all of them were stabilized in post and we added blowing particles in AE to enhance the sense wind.

In LA we had a giant crew of 4 people, an RE-3 fan, 2 lights, a chapman dolly and some track. The fan didn't do much though, so almost all of the shots were augmented with particle generation in post.

All told the spot will end up costing in the neighborhood of $2K, which to me is a great example of RED allowing you to get beautiful footage at a fraction of the cost if you plan carefully (and chain yourself to the computer for a few weeks).

s
 
Do you have a direct link to the MOV? My computer likes to freeze on webpages with embedded MOVs. Thanks.
 
Stewart,

You should try Syntheyes for aerial stabilizing. Works out much better than After Effects and is much faster to get reliable tracking data. I do helicopter handheld all the time. :)

Btw, great spot.
 
One Films said:
Thanks Noah—really appreciate it. And yes, every shot in the spot was captured by us.

The aerials were negotiated with a friendly helicopter company who charged us only for gas. We took up two REDs and shot handheld out the door for about 30 minutes. The catch was that without any sort of mount or rig I got to spend 2 days stabilizing all the footage in after effects.

Same for the ground shots of the windmills which are practical and located near palm springs (as was the train). The crew consisted of me and one friend, a doorway dolly and 3 lengths of track (plus my dog). Since we didn't have the crew or gear to get smooth tracking shots on location, all of them were stabilized in post and we added blowing particles in AE to enhance the sense wind.

In LA we had a giant crew of 4 people, an RE-3 fan, 2 lights, a chapman dolly and some track. The fan didn't do much though, so almost all of the shots were augmented with particle generation in post.

All told the spot will end up costing in the neighborhood of $2K, which to me is a great example of RED allowing you to get beautiful footage at a fraction of the cost if you plan carefully (and chain yourself to the computer for a few weeks).

s
Click to expand...

Stewart, You are the future of TVC production.
My hat off to you. I have 3 directors working for me and I wish they had the nouse to do what you just did with your spec ad.

Congrats. You will do well.
Keep it up.
 
Hats off!
It looks amazing. Very classy high-budget commercial work.

... wait a minute... spec spot... SPEC SPOT ????
Spec spots are supposed to look less good, then real spots, no?
Well, this one does not!

Hats off, even more!
What a production value, what a great concept, what a director.
Bravo!
 
Wow, you did a hell of a job! I guess it's nice to have all that resolution to be able to blow up for stabilizing - never would have been able to tell. I'm going to show this to director at the production company I'm working at. There have been some recent 35mm vs. HD debates going on and I guarantee no one will suspect this is anything but 35.

Both this and the previous spec you did for Zune have a similar, mystical tone. What makes you drawn to this type of concept?
 
I watched it before reading the posts. Thought it was amazing.
Now I've read the posts and am truly blown away.

You are a talent to be reckoned with. All my enthusiasm has just been renewed!
 
This is wonderful, well done...great overall pacing and feeling. I agree with those overexposed looking shots were the only thing that stood out for me since everything else felt balanced and bold. Great direction and edit...a few hiccups where some sound could mix from one cut to the next a bit smoother but I love the choice in sound design and music, bravo!
 
Noah@posnick.com said:
Wow, you did a hell of a job! I guess it's nice to have all that resolution to be able to blow up for stabilizing - never would have been able to tell. I'm going to show this to director at the production company I'm working at. There have been some recent 35mm vs. HD debates going on and I guarantee no one will suspect this is anything but 35.
Click to expand...

Thanks Noah—believe it or not these were stabilized off of 720p prores files, so once we lock the cut I'll go back to the 4K and it'll get even sharper.

Noah@posnick.com said:
Both this and the previous spec you did for Zune have a similar, mystical tone. What makes you drawn to this type of concept?
Click to expand...

I donno—I guess I'm just a sucker for magic...
 
Haskell said:
This is wonderful, well done...great overall pacing and feeling. I agree with those overexposed looking shots were the only thing that stood out for me since everything else felt balanced and bold. Great direction and edit...a few hiccups where some sound could mix from one cut to the next a bit smoother but I love the choice in sound design and music, bravo!
Click to expand...

Yup—that's a 3am sound mix for ya... :huh:

And the exposure is all there on the RAW files so it'll get a lot more consistent after the final grade.
 
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