If there was ever a video that could get you to quit your job and buy a surfboard, it’s this one. Don’t worry about dropping stacks of cash on production either...
Sven Dreesbach, the award-winning filmmaker behind short films Willow Creek, California Dreamin and the Dark Waves music video shot on an iPhone, unintentionally proved that you don’t need a large allowance and fancy camera to create a breathtaking video. Inspired by a low-budget and tricky landscape for standard equipment to handle, he showed up to the shoot for his new video This Moment with only a few small pieces of gear to get the job done: An iPhone 6S Plus, Beastgrip Pro smartphone lens adapter and camera rig, DOF/SLR Adapter (with aCanon 70-200mm F2.8 IS Mk I lens) and Extreme Wide Angle lens, Watershot waterproof case, and an Olloclip clip-on lens - the video was also shot with the phoneography app FiLMic Pro and edited with Davinci production software.
In regards to why he chose to film on an iPhone 6S Plus, Dreesbach explained, “When I heard about the availability of 120fps in full HD resolution on the iPhone, I was tempted to use it right away, since I knew that I had a project coming up that would require flexibility without blowing up the small budget that I had available.”Side note: For those of you who don’t know, 120fps, or frames per second, in HD is huge for smartphone filmmaking; it gives you the crucial clarity that you need when shooting/editing slow motion video.
The film is set up on a distant beach with a few surfers taking a second to soak in the moment (pun intended) and hit some beautiful waves. Contrary to most action sports videos, Dreesbach chose to focus on the moments in between the highlight reels and huge waves to tell the story of how it is to be a surfer. He explained, “For This Moment the idea was to dedicate something more poetic to the world of surfing, compared to what we usually see in the media.” The ingenious idea to shoot the “behind the scenes” aspect of the sport led to some breathtaking views and imagery. He continued, “For me, this video was a way to unite surfing with the beauty of nature in a different way, because that's what surfing is all about, becoming one with nature.”
The moral of the story, stop wasting time thinking about creating something and just do it! Stop thinking, “if only I had this lens or that stabilizer…” - what matters most is that you put in the time to learn the craft and let your creativity flow. When asked about advice he would give to an ambitious filmmaker looking to get started - like he once was - Dreesbach answered “...in hindsight, one of the most important things I learned, was ‘Hold your horses!’ If you become too fixated in regards to the scale of your projects you’ll forget to focus on learning the artistry step by step.” He continued, “There will always be a lot to learn about the craft of filmmaking. Many of the people who are reading this are still standing at the start of their race track, including me.”
With all the inexpensive resources and technology our generation has at its fingertips, there has never been a better time to start filming than now. Whether you want to live stream, start a Youtube channel, or make a professional film, you can have all the tools you need without the hassle that the OG filmmakers had to go through, like actually buying rolls of film.
Soon, we’ll post an interview with the expert behind this film, Sven Dreesbach.-----
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We're Back From CES 2016
Interview with Award-Winning Filmmaker Sven Dreesbach