Highspeedworx and Nike Behind the Scenes

Cape Town has one of the largest film industries in the world due to its incredible variety in topography, its seasonal variation to the northern hemisphere and additionally hosting some of the most skilled talents in the film industry. These factors draw a lot of clients to have their feature films and commercials shot in the design capital of the world.

The new Nike Golf campaign, drew some of South Africa’s finest HOD’s to accomplish the incredibly complex task set out by the U.S. based creative team. The South African production was handled by “Fly on the Wall” in association with Lucan TV, who handled the projection and the animation, used in the brief.
Johan Horjus, from Highspeedwox was asked to DOP four Nike commercials over the course of four shooting days. He explains:

“It was an interesting project, which required minimal CG, by doing a lot of in-camera effects”.

John Robson, director of the Nike commercials says:

“the idea was to create a world around the product that combined projection mapping to create a bigger environment, but to work on a smaller stage, using props by the art department to create that world”.

The usual filming set-up would have been a variation of cameras, with a couple of high speed shots.

“Every shot was basically a pack shot” John Robson explained, “We had to quickly be able to switch from a high speed shot to a regular framerate shot due to time constraints. Johan suggested that we should use the Phantom Flex 4K for all shots. At first, I was reluctant at the idea as in the past the workflow has been a bit tedious. However, Johan assured me the Phantom Flex 4K was lightyears ahead of its predecessor and would only benefit the shoot.”

With incredible 4K resolution and built in timecode, the Phantom Flex 4K has become a revolutionising camera with the ability to change frame rates on the fly.

“The new Phantom Flex4K brings true flexibility to set, with the ability to shoot at normal frame rates and an astounding 4K resolution at up to 1000 Frames per second”, DOP Johan Horjus, from Highspeedworx explained. He went on to add that: “The operation and workflow of this camera system is somewhat different to other cameras”, referring to the camera’s ability to capture incredibly high frame rates to its internal memory, before saving the shots on the removable, Cinemags, “however, when shooting normal frame rate, you shoot straight to the Cinemag, which isn’t any different to what other cameras would do”.

The Nike commercials were a sincere test to the Phantom’s A-camera capabilities on set and a true testimony that it has the ability to outperform most cameras in terms of being able to quickly switch from normal framerate to high speed with push of a button.

Director John Robson concludes:

“After shooting on the Phantom Flex 4K, it will be very difficult for me to go back to Arri or Red”.

These commercials may lead the move away from pure CG, incorporating effects and a visual imperfection, to create a mood which is impossible to attain in CG images. Since shooting the Nike Golf campaign began there has been a buzz in Cape Town’s commercials industry about this new genre of advertising spot. The crew that was assembled to work on these ground breaking spots, was made up of a host of specialists, where everyone from set build to table top effects handling and camera department was excited to be breaking new ground and at the same time doing something the “old school” way.

Here is one of the Nike Golf Commercials Highspeedworx was involved in:

Phantom Flex 4k outshines Red Dragon in South Africa

Phantom Flex 4k vs Red Dragon

Recently, we shot a commercial, whereby our Phantom Flex 4K was put to the test against the infamous Red Dragon. What else can we say other than that our Phantom outshined the Dragon in every aspect. The Phantom Flex 4k not only shoots up to 1000fps at 4K, but shoots standard 24fps as well. The convenience of having one camera that can instantly switch from normal to highspeed framerates on the fly is one of the many reasons clients choose highspeedworx’s camera and service. We guarantee the best value for your production and are proud to be able to own such a magnificent piece of kit. We love highspeed, let us share our passion with you !

 

Migrate Film Company, uses our great Camera!

image002Its very difficult to be the first and best in an industry, where technology is constantly evolving and the goalposts keep shifting. But offering the cutting edge is what separates the wheat from the chaff and staying ahead of the pack is ultimately what makes one production house outshine the others. Migrate Film Company, run by Libbi Ball seized the opportunity to be the first production in South Africa to use the Phantom Flex 4K.
On a set with over a hundred extras and crew, the Phantom Flex 4K was used to realize a demanding story board, which took six days to shoot. Recording in 4K resolution at various frame rates, the camera was used to create that special look, running alongside Arri Alexa XTs.

 “It was a demanding day, with 4 location changes and little time in between shots.” Falk Eggert from Highspeedworx commented. He went on to say that; ” The amount of Data generated on a busy shooting day is huge, especially in 4K RAW resolution. Our workflow and depth in equipment ensures that the production doesn’t grind to a halt, while Data is being transferred.”

Producing a commercial for Land Rover, of this magnitude is a daunting feat. On a busy day, using several cameras, as well as a helicopter camera unit there is a lot to think about. Libbi Ball from Migrate Film Company added that; “We were happy with the way that Highspeedworx, ran the Phantom Flex4K.”