Joaquin Baca-Asay of MJZ directed this “Moments” spot for Covered California (the state-run health insurance exchange), fulfilling an assignment to film a moment of time in a California town with several characters as a one-take. The desired look wasn’t a “frozen moment” commercial but rather action unfolding slowly enough to feel every moment.
After testing several slow motion frame rates, 400 frames per second felt right. In doing the math, 400 fps for a 60 second commercial meant the entire take could only be 3.2 seconds long. While stitching together different takes in CG to attain the one-take effect was an option, Baca-Asay instead sought to achieve a true in-camera single take. That necessitated figuring out how to move a camera fast enough across a city street and back again in 3.2 seconds.
After a thorough investigation on different ways to move the camera, a solution came forth with a cable-cam rig from Doggicam Systems. This rig has a narrow track with a cable system that shoots the camera back and forth at 12 feet a second. This is the system used in sporting events to track with a racing athlete.
With some very precise camera operating–and the ability to do the same move every time–the desired effect was achievable, once human error was weeded out. A full day of rehearsal with the rail system, cameras and actors was fruitful. Each actor’s movements were choreographed so that the performers fell in the right spot as the camera sped past them. Since the full move was just over 3 seconds, each person was only on camera for under a 1/3rd of a second each. That meant that they had to hit their marks at exactly the right time and do their action. The rehearsal–as well as shooting all of the rehearsal takes–paid off on shoot day as the winning take was realized for Covered California and agency Campbell Ewald.
