updated 02 Feb 2006

 

The Making of "Hip Hop's Dead," Part One: Production
an article by Jon Fordham, Director of Photography, D.I.T.

Jon is a contributing member of our DV Info Net Community.

In August 2005, I was contacted by Marisa at HDFEST. She asked me if would be interested in serving on a panel discussion during the New York City stop on the HDFEST tour . She also asked if I would be willing to give a lecture on the subject of the new HDV format. I agreed to take part in the panel discussion "Filmmaking at the edge of the HD transition". And I also agreed to give a lecture that I titled, "HDV: A Cinematographer's Point of View". I chose to call my lecture "a cinematographer's point of view" for two very specific reasons. First and foremost, because I am a cinematographer. Since I am not a writer, director, producer, editor, or what have you, I cannot speak with authority or experience on the qualifications of the HDV format in any other terms, other than how it can be used to capture and create images. Secondly, as a cinematographer I strive to maintain a "format neutral" position. In other words, I believe that a cinematographers priority is to responsibly choose an acquisition format based on its merits and appropriateness to the project at hand. I don't believe in the pretentious, elitist perspective that 35mm film is the best and only format with which to create images. Nor do I feel that HDV is the indie filmmaker's savior.

With the stage set for an HDV discussion that focused on its merits as a medium to create imagery, I obviously needed to have footage to screen as an example. Since my my first outing with the JVC HD10 and then the Sony FX1 a year later, I had shot a handful of small projects on the HDV format. With each one I was able to learn what worked and what didn't. So I set out to shoot a project that played specifically to HDV's strengths.

Now, let me take a moment to re-iterate the point I made in the first paragraph… I am not a writer, director, producer, or editor. However, since this was my lecture, those jobs fell on my shoulders. So if nothing else, let this experience serve as a testament of what can be accomplished with a little experience, a lot of favors, and a ton of determination!

Shortly before Marisa had contacted about HDFEST in August, I had shot a Music Video for Hip Hop artist Buddha Monk and Director Joshua Freeman entitled, "Change is Now Comin'". I had come up with a visual approach to the video that Josh and Buddha both vetoed. Although we did end up shooting two shots from that visual approach (that did make it into the video), my idea remained virtually unproduced. Upon reflection, I realized that this idea would be perfect for HDV! Now all I needed was a Hip Hop artist with a track who be willing to let me shoot a video for them…

I contacted my good friend Adrian Richards who had shot an excellent music video for his friend Uni, and asked if he knew of any Hip Hop Artists who fit the bill. Adrian put me in touch with Elus. I met up with Elus' manager, Unique who provided me with a CD of Elus' tracks. Now I'll admit, I'm not a big fan of today's Hip Hop. While I can dig some old school stuff, I personally don't care for the current Rap scene. So when I sat down to listen to Elus' tracks, I was pleasantly surprised with how good it was. It was both modern and unique, and yet had a bit of old school flavor that really appealed to me. Not only is his delivery excellent, but his lyrics are pointed and relevant without being obscene or too "du jour". Best yet, I found the ideal track for my HDV Music Video; a track called, "Hip Hop's Dead"!

My concept for the video was simple… It consisted of a variety of locked off shots from all around the artist as he delivered his rhyme. A single key light, black white image, and dark non-existent background rounded out the look. This was ideal for HDV. Since extreme movement and fast action can stress HDV's MPEG compression, the locked off shots with a dark non-existent background virtually eliminated the possibility of compression artifacts showing up in the GOP. And the black and white image further aided in lightening the load on compression.

At the time, the Sony FX1 and the JVC HD10 were the only HDV cameras available. I chose to shoot the video with the Sony FX1. The Sony FX1 offered me two major features that were invaluable to me on this project. The first being complete manual control. And the second was the ability to pull the color out of the picture for a black and white image in camera. It would have been impossible for a camera's auto exposure to expose the high contrast single key light image properly. And the ability to eliminate color for a black and white picture in camera not only eased the amount of data that needed to be compressed, but it also eliminated the need to render the black and white in post!

Adrian Richards is not only a good friend of mine, but he is also a DP himself. And he has work with me as my 1st AC, Camera Operator, and even Second Unit DP on many projects. I invited Adrian to Camera Operate for me on this project since he introduced me to Elus and I needed a skilled colleague to assist me in getting the video shot as quickly as possible. Joe O'Brien at Shadow Studios in Manhattan graciously allowed us to use his sound stage and G&E gear.

I arrived at Shadow Studios at about 1:00 in the afternoon and got to work. I pulled a couple 4x4 solids, a few C-stands, and pair of 400W Zip lights. I set up my Sony SD monitor and PowerBook on a small folding table and started to pre-light. Adrian, Elus and SKY-O (who is also featured on the track) arrived shortly thereafter and we went about finishing the set up.

I positioned Elus in front of the 4x solid and lit him with a single Zip at a traditional 45 degree angle. The FX1 was set up with the Cinema Tone Gamma on, and the color was turned off with a setting of -8. All other custom preset settings were left at default.

I used my PowerBook with iTunes for playback. I set the FX1 to output a downconverted, letterboxed image through the RCA cable, and connected it to my 13" Sony WEGA CRT monitor. And as I've stated before, everything worked flawlessly!

My only complaint is the short RCA cable that ships with the FX1. Since we were working with a lock off camera and I had a table to set up video village, this wasn't a huge issue. But in the past, working with this restriction has proved incredibly difficult. I've devised various workarounds on other projects I've shot with the FX1. But I really shouldn't have to. Sony, either supply a longer cable with the camera, or lose the proprietary connection on the camera!

We set about shooting the various angles of Elus and SKY-O using the same 4x solid background and single key zip light. It took Elus a little to warm up. But since this was his first Music Video, and (god bless him) he had to perform in such a small space, I can't blame him! Can you imagine showing up for your first Music Video and being told, "OK so we're really close on your face and the camera is locked off, so don't move too much"??? Not being a director, I probably went about describing that the wrong way! He finally warmed up though and gave an excellent performance, despite the "stiff" restrictions!

It only took about an hour to get everything set up and about 2 hours to shoot everything. Which was incredibly speedy for only having two guys and the artists' working on the video! If it weren't for Adrian's assistance, as well as Elus and SKY-O being on time, very professional, and very prepared, there's no way we could've accomplished everything so quickly.

Go on to Part Two of Jon's article.
Written by Jon Fordham, Director of Photography, D.I.T..
Thrown together by Chris Hurd.