Lexus’ long running campaign slogan, “The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection,” is a mantra that cinematographer Jordan Valenti knows all too well not only in terms of the high standard of artistry he sets for himself, but also his experience over the years shooting Lexus commercials for Team One Advertising, El Segundo, Calif.
Over the past couple of years, though, that pursuit has entailed navigating a different course–two-minute documentaries that are shown on the Lexus website, on TiVo On Demand, on airlines and in theaters.
In 2006, Valenti–who is repped by the Sheldon Prosnit Agency, Los Angeles–made his first foray into the brave new media world, lensing three of these two-minute documentaries in Paris, which were directed by Jeffrey DeChausse of Boxer Films, Los Angeles. Each mini-documentary in this Science of Desire series profiled an artisan sharing insights about his art. The individual subjects in each piece were: Jean-Michel Doriez, a perfumer with Jean Patou, Paris; Pierre Marcolini, a master chocolatier and Christian Pol-Roger, a fourth-generation vintner. Their passion for perfection in what they do was subtly tied to that which goes into the making of the Lexus ES 350 automobile.
Valenti landed the branded content assignment in part due to Team One’s comfort level in having worked with him in the past on assorted commercials. And director DeChausse had a similar comfort zone with Valenti in that they had collaborated previously on varied spots, though not for Lexus.
Safety first Most recently, Valenti shot the second series of Lexus documentaries, this time portraying the concept of extreme safety. One of the two-minute films profiles a French ski patrol that uses explosives to prevent avalanches in the Alps. The second film features a Swiss master bridge designer who discusses new high-tech methods for preventing bridge failures. A subtle link to Lexus is made at the end of each film with the presentation of a Lexus RX luxury utility vehicle that too is equipped with advanced safety features that help prevent accidents.
Both films were directed by Boxer’s Danny T and showcase an approach to “active safety.” Whereas ordinary safety measures help you to survive an accident, active safety helps to prevent accidents from happening.
Both documentaries are engaging. For example, bridges are revealed in a unique way, starting with abstract features until it gradually dawns on viewers that they are looking at the architectural marvel of a bridge. The documentary features interviews with Christian Mann, a renowned Swiss bridge designer known for his work in structural analysis, and representatives of Smartec, a Swiss company that his developed fiber optic sensors for bridge monitoring.
HD lensing For Valenti, all the Lexus documentaries involved a mix of shooting HD and 35mm film. HD was used primarily for capturing the documentary subjects while 35mm was deployed for Lexus vehicle running footage.
Valenti shot HD with Panasonic’s HVX 200 camera and found the experience gratifying in that it was the ideal means by which to capture his documentary subjects. “It’s a small and unintimidating camera and you can shoot continuously, which was perfect for this particular kind of filmmaking,” relates Valenti. “The people being profiled could be themselves; they didn’t feel intruded upon. This is especially important for people who aren’t professional actors. This setting made it easier to have a conversation with each amazing person.”
Valenti adds that this form of HD shooting–sans the baggage of large crews, trucks and lights–to be “very freeing, opening up a different world. It was just me, a camera and my director free to move about and take any opportunity we saw to advance the story, with the help of a small creative agency ensemble….Also freeing was the fact that these documentaries were a departure from the advertising norm–we weren’t necessarily just shooting to sell a product. We were relating this product to the world in the sense of telling stories about fascinating, unique, interesting people. It was a bold and brave approach by the client and the agency, opening up new avenues creatively.”
Toolbox While he enjoyed the HD lensing experience, Valenti feels the need to put it into the proper perspective. “Although we are undergoing an incredible revolution and exciting time in terms of technology and creativity, HD just provides us with additional tools as cinematographers. I have a bit of a problem with the thinking that this is going to replace film. There are times when it [HD] is appropriate for a project and it’s a different toolset we all need to know. But it’s not the be all and end all. For me making the HD and 35 mm work together in the Lexus films was a tremendously positive experience.
“It’s like playing a musical instrument,” he continues. “You learn, practice and study but you need to forget about the instrument ultimately, get out of the way of it and play. People are getting too caught up in the instrument, in the technical nitty gritty. No matter what the instrument, it still comes down for the cinematographer to composition, lighting and expressing the intent of the director and telling a story visually. That never changes. Like playing a musical instrument, you have to let the universe play through you. Let that creative inspiration take over.”
Roman Jakobi Cinematographer Roman Jakobi, who is repped through Partos Company, Santa Monica, has come up the industry ranks. Raised in Germany and South Africa, he moved to Los Angeles in 1990 where he studied film at Columbia College. After graduating, he worked as a set lighting technician on features while moonlighting as a cameraman on spec work, shorts and videos.
Jakobi describes this mix of moonlighting and his day job as a studio electrician/lighting technician as providing him with “a great education,” the latter capacity enabling him to work with and learn from such noted cinematographers as Ed Lachman and Roger Deakins.
In the late ’90s, Jakobi began to build enough of a following that he became a full-time DP and has since established himself in different disciplines, with the lion’s share of his current workload in commercials.
Among his more notable spots is the Apple iPod+iTunes piece featuring legendary artist Bob Dylan performing a song from his Modern Times CD. Dylan is strumming the guitar and singing as seen from different perspectives in stylized silhouettes in this ad directed by Logan (a.k.a. Alexie Tylevich and Ben Conrad) of Los Angeles production house Logan for TBWAChiatDay.
“We shot it in a very controlled environment,” recalls Jakobi, noting that HD lensing with the HDV 200 dovetailed well with the particulars of the project.
“We had three of those cameras–one on a jib iron, another hand-held, another on a dolly–and we moved from one camera to the next without having to take up re-rigging time. We were able to move about as quickly as possible around Dylan and could get in really close without anything like time-consuming snorkel lensing.”
While he “actually likes shooting HD based on its merits, with a smaller camera and being quick and getting into tight corners fairly quickly,” Jakobi affirms that film is “still my favorite medium,” citing his lensing of Modest Mouse’s “Dashboard” music video, directed by Motion Theory, as an example.
“We looked at various HD cameras–the Genesis, the Viper, the 20D–for that video and ultimately wound up shooting in 35mm,” relates Jakobi.
“And we’re happy we did. Hands down, the dynamic range of film was best for the project. In the end it came down to simply we liked the look of 35mm the best.”
Dion Beebe Oscar-winning (Memories of a Geisha) cinematographer Dion Beebe, ASC, ACS, first experienced high-def production while shooting the movie Collateral, for which he used Sony’s HDW-F900 camcorder. With several more HD projects under his belt since then, he recently chose the HDW-F900 to shoot a Sears spot in Chicago.
Beebe, who’s handled by ICM, says the HDW-F900 was the right choice for this particular project since it gave him the “on-the-set” flexibility required. The commercial featured Sears customers giving testimonials about the store’s products and services. The talent is set against a white cyc, and Beebe cast a range of shadows against the backdrop that he controlled through the camera settings. Rental house Fletcher Chicago provided Beebe with three cameras, eight Sony monitors and technical support during the project.
“We didn’t want a pure white background,” says Beebe. “So we lit with grades of mid-tones in the whites on the cyc. We worked closely with the digital imaging technician to manage this, reaching multiple grades of grays and mid-tones. Getting match up with all the cameras was not terribly difficult. With HD, you have the ability to easily adjust RGB, gamma and black values to achieve the desired results.”
Being able to keep rolling the cameras for an extended period of time as compared to film also proved advantageous when working with non-actors. “Since they weren’t always able to nail it right away, we could keep the cameras rolling 10 to 15 minutes at a time, or longer, than we could have with film,” says Beebe. “So for this project HD was a huge advantage, especially since we were running three cameras at the same time. We were able to gather information and get the type of comments and performances we wanted without having to constantly cut and re-set.”
In late ’06, Beebe also shot a special in HD, An American Classic, a tribute to Tony Bennett featuring duets with Barbra Streisand, Elton John, Stevie Wonder and other music legends. It was shot in a studio theater with Sony’s HDC-1500 4:4:4 RGB camera system.
