It’s Back To School Time!
September 20, 2016 — It’s back to school time here in Pittsburgh, and this yearly rite of passage for the many kids in the Pittsburgh Public Schools has our team at Studio 11 Pittsburgh feeling nostalgic. Why’s that, you ask?
This September marks the one year anniversary of Studio 11 Pittsburgh’s partnership with the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Over the past year, Studio 11 Pittsburgh’s team has produced, shot, and edited a total of 11, 30-minute shows for Pittsburgh Public Schools’ #WeArePPS campaign. The goal of this campaign is to create videos that showcase the people, places, and things that make the Public Schools such a special place for our city’s youth.
#WeArePPS Video Content
From summer camps, to swimming lessons, to peace marches — Studio 11 Pittsburgh covered it all. With so many shoots in so many different locations, it really allowed us to use the complete arsenal of video production gear.
For instance, in one of the most memorable shoots, Studio 11 Pittsburgh covered a very special program offered in the district. … swimming lessons. Each day, groups of elementary school students from around the district come to Pittsburgh Arsenal to take swimming lessons. Studio 11 Pittsburgh utilized three cameras on this shoot to cover every angle. The Panasonic V3700 HD camera was set up on a tripod to get smooth, up close shots of the kids and teachers in the pool, in addition to interviews with the teachers and students. Studio 11 Pittsburgh also brought along our Canon 5D Mark iii as a more portable option to keep up with the energetic youngsters. The third (and favorite) camera option from that shoot, was the brand new GoPro Hero 4+ Black waterproof camera, which was used to capture some of the underwater action. The students really had a blast swimming under water and waving to the camera. This really added a nice touch to that particular episode.
From short form to long form video production, outside to in, under water to above, no job is too difficult for the innovative team at Studio 11 Pittsburgh. We love a challenge, and a chance to get creative. Contact us today to get started on your unique project.
Working with The Pittsburgh Zoo
September 6, 2016 – Halloween is right around the corner, so Studio 11 Pittsburgh decided to get a head start on a commercial spot for Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium’s annual Zoo Boo Event.
Our video production crew filmed the zoo’s curator Henry Kacprzyk in front of the siamangs. The camera we used for this shoot was the Panasonic 3700 and its variable lens, which would prove essential when it was time to photograph the animals. Instead of utilizing the sun to light Henry, which was unreliably dancing between clouds, we opted to block it out entirely with two foamcore boards clamped to c-stands. Doing this greatly reduced Henry’s exposure, so we bumped it back up with two diffused Astra Litepanels and a third foamcore board to bounce any remaining light towards him.
The next step was to grab B-roll shots of the spotted leopard, giraffes, zebras, and siamangs. The giraffes and zebras were easy to capture, but the spotted leopard posed some difficulty, as it was not an open enclosure and the glass was extremely reflective. To combat this, we built a “tent” around the camera with duvetyne cloth and c-stands. After crossing that bridge, the leopard became camera shy and hid behind a small waterfall. It required us to move very slowly and with tons of patience to have the leopard emerge again.
The final leg of our commercial shoot brought us to the siamangs. Although we already had footage of Henry standing in front of the pen, we needed to return to capture them in action. Siamangs have a large throat bubble called a gular sac that allows them to vocalize a resonating call. These particular siamangs preferred to begin their calls at around noon, so it was important for us to come back and capture their songs. It was very important to monitor the audio for this portion, as these songs are so loud, they can be heard over a mile away! Studio 11 Pittsburgh looks forward to another fun shoot at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium.