In the Design Lab at the Hunt Library

The Hunt Library on NC State University’s Centennial Campus is a truly amazing facility, a state-of-the-art library with few peers anywhere in the world.  It was designed from the ground up to be completely innovative, with every type of high-tech information system imaginable.  This is a shot we set up in a specialized studio created for multi-media design and interaction.

Particle Productions was tasked to produce a 10-minute film for the library’s dedication, and Particle’s Producer/Director Phillip Dolan asked me to DP and shoot the film.  We used two Sony FS100′s with Zeiss and Canon lenses, shooting to a cine-gamma picture profile developed by Able CineTech, which gave a nice, rich look while maximizing the latitude of the super-35-sized sensor.  We used a variety of techniques including time lapse, shot with a Canon 5D Mark II and a Canon D600, in addition to a dolly, a jib arm and a camera slider.

Susan Knutter, Senior Librarian and Visionary

Former Governor James Hunt speaks about the library

I used an interesting technique for the interviews.  I shot one camera on an MCU, locked off.  The other camera we mounted on a slider adjacent to the first camera and shot a tighter lens for a close up, and I kept that camera in slight motion.  I have’t seen interviews done quite like this, and the effect was very pleasant.

I shot the main camera on wide lens close to the talent. The reason for this was to bring in as much of the background as possible.  The Hunt Library is visually stunning, having been designed by the architectural firm Snohetta out of New York and Oslo.  Everywhere one looks is something to catch the eye, what I call a target-rich environment.

Shooting for New York’s Particle Productions and the Hunt Library

Interview lighting was accomplished with several banks of KinoFlo’s, heavily diffused for a very natural look.  My friends Matt Moore, gaffer,and Tony Holderfield, key, handled the lighting, assisted by Adam Wamsley, who also shot much of the time lapse.  Rebecca Moore Gann coordinated the job assisted by Paul Kilpatrick as PA.  Brooks Lester and York Phelps handled audio, and Jordan Haywood came in for a day as camera assistant.  Thanks, everyone!

The film should debut in March.  I’ll post a link to it as soon as I have it.