Redefining Slow Motion

At an insane 1000 frames per second, the footage we recently shot for Rambus’ XDR microsite looks amazing! The goal was to capture a “moment in time” of consumers enjoying devices that use XDR technology. Check it out:

http://www.rambus.com/assets/flash/xdr_showcase/

CRM’s Director Jono Schaferkotter came up with the slow motion concept. And not any slow-ish motion would do. It needed to look like a moving picture to truly capture the emotion of the moment. This was possible by shooting with a Phantom camera.

We were delighted to learn that our friends at Chater Camera have a Phantom Gold Camera (the only one in California north of LA from what I’ve heard). Art Adams, DP, and Jay Farrington, DIT, know that camera well.

Phantom footage often has that “wow” effect but is typically is used for a single slow motion element – a bullet that shoots slowly from a gun, a butterfly on a leaf, a mound of bouncy Jello. What’s cool is that the camera was used here to capture the mood of a full scene.

This is rare because, at such a fast speed, the Phantom camera requires a ton of lighting – not easy in a large space. Led by Luke Seerveld, the lighting department brought in a DC generator and flooded the studio with photons. In the end, we walked away with a tan and a happy client… despite one melted laptop.