Creating a strong emotional connection with the viewer is without a doubt the most important criterion in a successful image. Nothing will ever supplant that. Beyond that, however, there’s a whole bunch of second tier, more “mechanical” techniques that we creatives can cook up to elevate our images and create visual interest.
One such technique is compositional in nature: creating cool angles and unique perspectives. It’s what makes P.O.V. shots cool, it’s the mojo in those classic 360 degree shots from The Matrix and the super-cool car commercials, and it’s what make those slick overhead shots on Monday Night Football all really sing.
In the 2:41 of this Chase Jarvis SHORTS video, I illustrate the what, where, how and why for a contraption that we built in-house that’s helped me make some of my most-asked-about…[click the 'continue reading' link below]
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…(how’n the hell did you do that?) images from The Blakes music video, from Laura’s Story video, and from images created for Apple, Brooks running shoes, Hasselblad Masters and others. I’ve used all sorts of lighting AND Nikons, Hasselblads, RED motion cameras, even the Phantom HD motion camera in conjunction with this contraption.
A quick spin thru the portfolio section of my site will reveal that I’ve got a good bit of use from this sucker. We call it “Ground Control”. Watch the vid and you’ll know why.
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always productive. nice one
Awesome!
Very nice! I can think of a ton of shots that would be possible with this. Off to Home Depot I guess.
this just opened another door inside my head.
Chase how wide/long is that plex sheet? What would you change if you were going to build it again? Would you change any of the dimensions?
When I saw this in your music video BTS, I had hoped you'd give us more detail on it. So cool, and yet pretty simple. I did wonder about reflections though. Great Short! Thanks!
Ha! That thing is awesome. The black foam core is awesome. Great thinking.
Excellent technique! Reminds me of the glass floor at CN Tower in toronto! The clip of someone walking above camera is kind of spooky!
Nice! Reminds me of Ranking shooting Thierry Henry
Fan.Tas.Tic! Just a bit too difficult for a lone freelancer to carry this one around, but nevertheless a great idea. Thanks for sharing!
Dibs on calling mine Major Tom when I do make one!
It seemed really obvious in previous, to think, yeah it's plexiglass, but now i can see that it goes far beyond that. Thanks for sharing.
we built this close to 4 years ago and have used it a lot. it's 4' X 8' and is fully dismantleable – fits in the bed of a truck or a full size suv.
if I could change anything, I'd make it out of carbon fiber so i could pick it up myself
That's pretty innovative – nice work
I dig this contraption.
Any plans to have a Seattle event soon and we could bring this little diddy out?
that is awesome.
So awesome! I loved your use of it in the Blakes video. Once again you've pushed to create a tool that as Warr3n said, opens many doors for creative production!
Thank you so much for sharing this!
-Will
P.S. I had a really great time in Toronto and New York.
Shooting from below is something I've been dying to do recently so it's great to see the practical stuff you did to produce such clear photos.
The black board is a great tip! Keep it up with the shorts!
Dog walker spotted at 1:45 ha
That's amazing Chase!
Awesome! Love it.
Such a simple concept with such great results. Thanks Chase, keep the awesome vids coming!
I want one! Put it in your carry on next time you come to toronto. It was great to see you by the way, everyone out here really appreciated it man!
I love it.
Sweet!
hahaha – 8 inch plexi on top hey? :p
great vid, interesting way to get different shots
Very Cool, thank you for this. Nikon needs to send you a check by the way, I bought a new d300s cause of you and the nikonfestival event…so you should get something, right?
great, j'adore. je connaissais déjà le procéder.
Thanks! Want to make now.
Great idea Chase! Thanks for sharing! I have a part-time job in security with the US Post Office. Our guard shack is made out of the same material. (Bullet proof)
Louis
Very cool, Chase. Thanks for sharing.
Chase, sorry to crash your blog, but can you make my british colleagues aware of the british Governments attempt to destroy a photographers copyright. My apologies
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/copyrightreform/#skip_to_content
@ anon 2:39. that's 1/8" plexi, as i said in the video, not 8"
very cool.
i've built something like this on a smaller scale, works out great.
thanks for sharin the knowledge.
rocksteady,
danno~
Hey Chase,
Couple hundred of dollars for the big plexi surface ??
I don't know in USA, but in France it's 1015€ /m2 (US$ 1 508) for a thickness of 50mm !!!
Awesome, great little tid bits- even if I don't ever use this idea- it gets me motivated and thinking- thanks Chase and gang!
Naissss… now I want to build one too…..
Not sure if you have any uses for the "trashed" plexi, but you should consider donating it to a local architecture or art school – they use that stuff all the time and it stays clear of landfills …
Why the 1/8 inch plexi on top is not flat over the bottom one?
Pablo,
When we're shooting with the Ground Control, the 1/8" piece is flat, installed in the same groove as the thick sheet of Plexi. On this video, we had already pulled it out so that we could show the two layers more clearly.
I appreciate your comments very much and want to thank you.
By Discount Air Jordan
Chase do you think this would hold up to someone falling onto it. You said it would hold several people so I would think so. Just do not want to dive into something like this just for it to break when I drop someone on it.