Help with a logistically difficult shot. Ideas?

[Logan Triplett]

Hi! I posted this on cinematography.com as well, but thought I would here as well!

Hello everyone! First of thank you all for your input.

Anyway, I have a potentially tricky shot to achieve and decided to see what I can brainstorm up on here.

The director wants a 2000 fps shot of a foot touching the ground. The director wants to show how the heel touches the ground (as apparently the shoe has some type of advanced construction). The problem is, is that he wants it to basically be under the heel:a vertically-pointing upwards shot.

My thoughts are this, we will need to shoot the heel through some type of glass that is stable enough, and wont bend as 2000 fps will not be forgiving if the material we shoot with begins to bend.

Anyway, I have some ideas, but I thought i would just ask for any thoughts or ideas people may have. I would potentially need to light bellow the glass as well, but I do not want to have any glare from the glass, so this makes such a task quite the predicament.

Also, The phantom flex will be a problem as well, as it is rather large. Is there a way to shoot the camera through several mirrors? which brings even more reflection issues. Anyway, at this point I will try or have the crew build anything that is within the budget.

Any ideas? I've suggested just cheating the shot so it is on a sideways plane, but the director does not want this.

[Jeff Whitehurst]

I once worked on a Reebok shoe commercial where we shot through a solid glass block to achieve a shot very similar to what you are after. The talent stepped on a platform with the camera underneath the glass block, centering the logo on the bottom of the shoe on each take. I didn't construct the platform, but it was a glass block with a wooden support built around it, probably one of these two.
http://pittsburghcorning.com/product...e-pattern.aspx
http://pittsburghcorning.com/product...ass-block.aspx

My first thought considering glare is to use a polarizing filter. Good luck!

[Logan Triplett]

Thanks Jeff, do you by chance have a link to the commercial or a lead on its name so I could find it?

Thanks again!

[Elsie N]

Thick glass, shoes on a small, skinny kid with big feet, Epic at 2k widescreen and 300 fps, open in Adobe Premiere and slow the footage down to about 1/6 of its original speed, shoot everything above glass as originally intended. Other than that, I got nothin'.

[Peter Lyons Collister, ASC]

I also shot a Reebok shoe commercial years ago with Michael Bay directing. We built a parallel about 6 feet high with the top surface one inch plexiglass. It was about 6 feet X 6 feet. We shot with an Arri 435 from underneath. Blacked out underneath. There was plenty of room... no reflection issues and no flex. The only downside is that the plexiglass is expensive.....

[Phil Holland]

Raised platform, like 3-4 feet, Phantom, black duvetyne on the ground to mask reflections, shoot through the glass block/thick sheet/plexi built into the platform, circular polarizer if there are reflections to take care of further, lots of light to shoot at 2000fps. Not an expensive build, but light could be tricky depending on what you're after. I'd probably shoot 50-60mm macro personally aiming for f/8ish.

That's how I would get under there and grab the shot.

[Peter Strietmann]

I've done this with a group of syncronized (think Busby Berkeley) girls walking over the glass. I would use Lexan as it is a lot stronger than plexi. We built a ramp and in the center of it laid the lexan. Depending on the span between supports I would think 1/2" should suffice. Use duvetyne underneath and cut a hole in the duvetyne, stick the lens through it. Good luck.

[Logan Triplett]

Do you think the lexan would flex since the shot is at 2000fps?

[Logan Triplett]

Thanks everyone! I think building a custom platform would be a good option, and plenty of tungsten sources. I guess my main concern right now is finding a material that wont flex when i shoot it at such high speeds.

[Mike 'Fireman' Ross]

I had a slightly similar shot a couple of months back, only it was a slowmo gasoline pour (arson scene outside nightclub) not a footstep:





Shot on Scarlet, through lexan, built a raised platform for the shot. Lighting needs to be watched (yes I know the grade is dark, that's exactly what the guy who pays the bills wanted), and some combination tactics might be warranted; a combination of direction to move unnaturally slowly and deliberately, and the right FPS selection. Since the shot didn't call for any moves, we improvised the Dutch angle he wanted by simply resting the Scarlet on the ground and propping it at the right angle with a beanbag! Sometimes the simplest is the best.

Wish I'd had the EPIC for this shot...

Since the goal of the shot is to show how the heel 'works', I wonder if there's any mileage in thinking about some less conventional imaging techniques, some kind of interferometry or Schlieren photography?

Mike