Folio: An abstract video?

I’ve begun an experiment with video. My idea was to film the laneways from the passenger window of a moving car. My goal was to create a moving abstraction. To achieve this I needed to film without the top or the bottom of the fences included in the frame.

I experimented with different cameras and lenses and found the best option was to shoot with my Nikon D800 and not the Fujifilm x100. The Nikon, with its larger sensor, provided the best quality images and the in-built microphone provided better sound that the Fujifilm even though I had an external microphone – the Fujifilm sound capture seemed to have a constant hum, I think caused by the camera’s video operation.

First, I filmed in landscape mode using a 24mm prime lens. Then I realised that if I wanted to have a split screen projection I might need footage shot in portrait mode and for this footage I used a 60mm prime lens. I used a remote shutter release.

Speed was a consideration. My first tests confirmed my prediction that the vehicle needed to move as slowly as possible and that I should shoot at 60fps so that I could reduce the speed even further in post-production. For my first tests, I drove the car myself and then I enlisted my friend Rusty to drive me for the final shoots.

Here's the first (clumsy) video to emerge from Premier Pro!