Eli Stonberg Makes Believe with the Goodman Community Center, Challenges Steadicam Operator Jeff Melanson

Last week, Jeff Melanson and David Kruta flew to Madison, WI to shoot a Sony “Make.Believe” spot, teaming up again with up-and-coming Los Angeles director Eli Stonberg. The spot follows MediaWorks founder Dave Chaimson, as his “bright idea” is sent through a plug, into a cable that snakes off to various laptops, TVs, cameras and other devices which his class is learning to use. Below, Eli Stonberg works with Art Director Danielle Dannenberg.

The ambitious spot was shot over the course of one day. Director of Photography David Kruta created a minimal lighting plan that would limit the amount of setup time and utilize as much available light as possible. Since rigging the day before was not an option, all four setups had to be rigged on the day, prior to shooting. Below, David Kruta coordinates with Key Grip Travis Moody.

Outdoors, Dave Chaimson was backlit with a 1 1.2k HMI PAR, softened with light grid cloth and warmed up with a 1/4 CTO. Three 1k MolePARs softened with light grid cloth were used for a warm look on the children’s faces. Inside, the first room was lit with 3 tungsten-balanced Kinoflo 2’ 4-banks overhead. In the hallway, available light filtering in through large windows was accentuated with 3 daylight-balanced Kinoflo 4’ 4-banks for fill, and a 1.2k HMI PAR with light grid cloth down the hall for a subtle edge. The projection room was lit again with the original 2’ 4-banks, mounted overhead. The crowd being lit by the projector was accentuated with those same Kinos.

Steadicam Operator Jeff Melanson encountered his share of challenges as well. Much of the shots followed a twisted mass of cables on the ground, and thus involved an awkward positioning of his camera and sled. Doorways were the toughest, as the Steadicam rig had to fit through sideways. Jeff was more than happy to meet these challenges head on, and powered through a total of over 70 takes throughout the day.

Check back soon for the finished Sony spot, and be sure to check out Eli Stonberg’s work at elistonberg.com.