The last week just gone I've been filming with an amazing double bass pro from the LA Philharmonic
...and I've had the privilege over the last 8 months to work on a series of video projects shooting masterclasses with other amazing Double Bass playing experts
The business I've been shooting with is the wonderful http://www.DiscoverDoubleBass.com
Anyone interested in Double Bass should look at this incredible resource or I guess if you're already a double bass player you might already be aware of it.
They're a wonderful company run by Geoff Chalmers (you really couldn't meet a better bloke)
Here is Geoff watching back playback of a shot during one of the filming sessions.
As well as Geoff being a huge double bass enthusiast and seasoned pro, he also runs the comprehensive online video tutorial archive of double bass players demonstrating their insights and experience, offering an in-depth look in to a vast range of techniques.
So far this year I have shot four masterclasses - along with the brilliant videographers Sian and Jack - for Geoff Chalmers, Adam Ben Ezra, Danny Zieman..
..and this last week we just finished filming David Allen Moore (LA Philharmonic & USC Professor)
He was fantastically grounded with an exceptionally brilliant dry sense of humour and was a total professional in delivering his 30-40-minute-each lessons (in usually just one take I might add!)
His approach is a very physical and ergonomical to teaching the basics. It was all about tension free playing, which eventually leads to better development with the instrument whether it be technical, physical or musical.
This week we have been filming at the very comfortable 'The Chairworks' recording studio in Castleford, UK.
Our basic video setup in the main studio room comprises of four cameras; three locked off on tripods...
..and one on a moving Ronin gimbal (operated by Sian)
With the tutor presenting in the middle this arc of cameras it give us enough coverage space for the edit to do it's job and show the viewer the necessary moves to learn properly from.
It's been an interesting experience developing our own filming techniques to best get across what the tutors want to convey.
Especially paying attention to precise angles and holding positions.
For this kind of filming we tend to shoot in HD (no 4K required here) as we shoot in 30-40 minute sections a go.
Although over 4 cameras we still rack up many hundreds of gigabytes in a day.
It's incredible to see how fatigue can set in on both crew and tutor after just a few hours of filming too. It's intense stuff when the flow is going.
Along with the full lesson videos we also shoot bonus material like these interviews we did, pictured from the control room.
We carefully setup the lights in the main control room. The final aesthetic is lovely with that huge desk backdrop.
This kind of project is a pleasure to shoot, mainly with Geoff at the helm. He really understands the importance of both the nuance of teaching through the camera effectively and aesthetic.
I look forward to future projects where we can evolve all elements of production to make each one better than the last.
Thanks for reading about, and supporting, my work.