A promotional film shot at night time to showcase the new electric BMWi3 has used atmospheric aerial footage from the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera.
anviFILMS, based in Alsbach-Hähnlein, specializes in dynamic, fully stabilized aerial video production for clients ranging from extreme sports to holiday destinations. Using a range of roto-copters, drones and gimbals, its footage gives viewers a unique perspective. The team was approached by long term collaborator and director Manuel Rueda to help produce footage for a promotional film for a German car parts manufacturer produced by the agency Des Wahnsinns des Fette Beute.
“Manuel knew from the start that the shoot had to take place in a city location. As the BMWi3 is an electric vehicle, most owners will be living in urban environments and using it for shorter, regular journeys,” explains Vincent Haldy, CEO, anviFILMS. “He decided on Frankfurt City as the skyscrapers and skyline are very cinematic and make a fantastic backdrop.”
Shooting at night would give a smooth, dramatic feel and further enhance the city backdrop with street lighting and the car’s headlights providing accents in key shots. “We needed to be able to shoot in RAW to make sure we had as much detail in the aerial shots as those shot on the ground when we got to post production, to really showcase the car in motion, despite the low lighting. In order to do this, and also achieve the cinematic quality that Manual wanted throughout the film, we decided to use the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera, sourced from reseller AF Marcotec, in an aerial set up. “The team at AF Marcotec immediately understood what we wanted to achieve with the camera and were absolutely integral to the success of the project.”
As the camera was very new to the market at the time of the shoot, the team had to customize a cage to house the Pocket Cinema Camera securely in a DJI Zenmuse gimbal, and keep it stable as the hexacopter flew over the car. “Our main challenge was how to send the progressive signal to the monitors on the ground, as the original Zenmuse only supported an interlaced signal, but we were able to adapt the frame to view the images coming directly from the Pocket Cinema Camera,” explains Vincent.
“We shot using the 30fps setting with an Olympus 12mm lens and we were blown away by the images that we got back when shooting RAW,” continues Vincent. “There is so much detail that even shooting on streets with minimal lighting produces very atmospheric footage of the car and its urban surroundings. We graded the footage with DaVinci Resolve, and the final images were really outstanding.”
anviFILMS is already working on other client projects with the Pocket Cinema Camera aerial set up. “From a business perspective, we are now able to use a smaller drone to produce very high quality, reliable footage, giving clients the detail that they want from commercial shoots. This means we can offer a very affordable service, without compromising on quality.”
BMW i3 / Blackmagic Cinema Pocket Camera – Behind The Scene Trailer from anviFILMS on Vimeo.
anviFILMS – Showreel 2014 from anviFILMS on Vimeo.
