Explore the creative process of professional photographers and filmmakers. Extreme motion control configurations: Discover the Composing Project by Sebastian Jern.

CONCEPT

I always ask myself a lot of questions when starting a new project. 
Is this concept strong? What feeling will this evoke? What do I need to create depth in the image, is it through colour contrast or physical objects? How will the light reflect on the surface? 

When the camera moves on the slider, what will the parallax effect look like?  
Then I start visualising the concept I have in my mind with the help of sketches and reference images. Research is important to understand all the details about the project I’m about to create. 

SETUP & SHOOTING

Canyon - For this scene the goal was to create a realistic landscape, a classic canyon atmosphere. First, I cut into Styrofoam using a hot wire. To structure the Styrofoam, I used acrylic colors together with fine sand to get the right stone structure. Next step was  to configure my camera setup and decide which background chroma key colour.  
  
When I found the Manfrotto StudioLink Chroma Key Background System (available in Green and Blue kits) I thought it was a very clever product since it enables me to connect multiple panels together using the Blue  and Green  connection kits to create a 12 meter background which can be changed from green to blue in less than 10 minutes using the additional Green and Blue covers, which is a great feature.  

Then I planned out the composition and set up the slider to do a small camera move going forwards. The most important thing for me is that a slider is stable and that it's easy to use, even when doing macro shots. The Manfrotto Magic Carpet Carbon Slider is just that, and in combination with the Manfrotto Genie II Linear and Manfrotto Genie II Pan Tilt opens up so many possibilities, together with an app that is very easy to use. 
 
For the first shot I wanted the light to look like a timelapse, so I moved a small light over the canyon miniature. For the second shot I wanted to have sand coming down from the top of the canyon. Here I used slow-motion and five small lights aimed at the sand beam and the canyon corridor to get the shot. 

I started to move the camera forward, creating depth in the image and a nice parallax effect. The lighting on this set was a 300w light with a 90cm softbox.  For the second shot I worked on the transitions between the shots, together with a closeup shot of the mountain, using the Genie II 3-Axis - Epic Kit . This was controlled via the Manfrotto motion app to set up keyframes and create multi-axis movements whilst using the MOVE Quick release system to speed up my workflow even more and reduce time-consuming setup. 

FINAL RESULT

The shot I gathered from filming the set is a template for the whole process which comes into post-production. It's in this space I can start to see my vision be brought to life and when I edit the final touches, I can really feel like I’ve travelled to that location I just created.  When my viewers watch my content and feel the same way, then I’ve achieved my goal. 

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Sebastian Jern| author

Sebastian Jern is a Swedish creative director and visual artist who can turn a mix of art forms into a unique blend of creative concepts.

Director, producer, miniature sculptor, VFX, cinematographer, editor and lighting wizard, his work is defined by a unique creative style that has established him worldwide.