Subaru WRX Launch Video

[DC Chavez]

So a few months ago I had the opportunity to work (as DP) with Carmichael Lynch and Director / Photographer Tyler Gourley on the video portion of the new Subaru WRX Launch. It was supposed to be a 1-day shoot, but after a bad gyro on the Flight V head, we had to push everything back a day while we had someone drive up another one from LA.

This video was unveiled at the LA Auto Show a month ago, but Subaru just put it on their YouTube page last week.

Shot on RED Epic with Angenieux Optimo 17-80.

 

[Justin Kirchhoff]

Nice work. I'm a huge Subie fan myself. Owned a '99 2.5RS and now an Impreza Outback Sport. Great cars. Me want.

 

[Neil Dearman]

great stuff did you have the RED protected from the Dust and Sand?

 

[DC Chavez]

great stuff did you have the RED protected from the Dust and Sand?

Neil- yes, my AC built a plastic bag that attached to the back of the matte box, wrapping around the camera with Velcro access in the back. We would open the bag to let the camera breathe between setups to make sure it did not get too hot. Here is a wide shot of the setup- let me see if I can find anything closer.

http://instagram.com/p/c8WC3IMcTD/

DC

 

[Neil Dearman]

that is sick man!!!!! Bet that was a blast to do too!!!

 

[Burke Doeren]

Wow, that was awesome! Great work!

Did you use any HDRx? Your highlights look stellar!

 

[DC Chavez]

Wow, that was awesome! Great work!

Did you use any HDRx? Your highlights look stellar!

Burke-

Thank you sir. No HDR. We shot 4K HD @ 120fps 6:1 compression for pretty much all of the shoot. All natural light. I am constantly amazed at the balance of highlights and shadows with the Epic.

It has me DYING to get a Dragon in my hands...........

 

[Burke Doeren]

Well in that case, great work nailing the exposure!

And I agree, the EPIC is one beast of a camera, and I too can't wait to get my hands on a Dragon.

Sure, I've tested out pushing around some Dragon R3Ds, but it's going to be a dream come true to personally shoot something with a Dragon and truly experience what it's like to have a camera perceive what I do. We're in an exciting time for sure!

In the meantime, keep up the great work man! I'm a huge fan of well made auto commercials!

 

[Joel Arvidsson]

Incredible the shoots you get out if the car rig. Does it do stabalizing only around the camera or where the crane meets the car roof too?

 

[DC Chavez]

Incredible the shoots you get out if the car rig. Does it do stabalizing only around the camera or where the crane meets the car roof too?

The stabilization occurs at the head only. The entire arm is basically a tank turret motor that swings around and up and down. I guess you could say the suspension of the car acts as the stabilizer for the arm. The head varies depending on payload, but most of the heads have 4 separate gyros that keep the camera platform steady.

 

[Mark Percy]

Great!

 

[Matthew Scott]

So awesome! That second last shot is just perfect! I'm a massive WRX fan....at one point in my life I had a 99 WRX and a Version 6 STi in my garage at the same time hehe Looking at getting a two door soon!

 

[DC Chavez]

So awesome! That second last shot is just perfect! I'm a massive WRX fan....at one point in my life I had a 99 WRX and a Version 6 STi in my garage at the same time hehe Looking at getting a two door soon!

Thanks Matthew- that was one of those "losing light, shoot what we can" sort of shots. The director yelled cut and I told the AC to keep rolling and the driver to keep going... the birds flew in out of nowhere and appeared as if we had let them out of a cage or something. The opening shot was right before this as well and something not on our shot list. I saw the light and was like "ROLL THIS!!!!"

Happy accidents are awesome.