The huge Deansgate Square development in Manchester is finally open.
I’ve been making the timelapse update videos and social media projects for a few years now.
Despite the Covid19 situation the client still needed additional promotional videos showing the new facilities onsite. So I spent two days on location with Tom and a group of clients, shooting two videos:
This was also the first big job where I’ve used my new Crane 3s Pro Gimbal.
The gimbal is capable of handling large payloads, far heavier than my largest camera with everything attached. Anyway you can see quite a few gimbal shots in the video above, it lets me move the camera easily and smoothly using any camera and heavy cinema lenses. It wasn’t cheap but the results speak for themselves.
More recently I’ve made the resident’s handover videos for both Deansgate Square and the nearby Crown Street development.
Deansgate Square in Manchester is a massive property development that includes a cluster of four skyscrapers, shopping and entertainment centres.
I’ve been editing monthly update videos for a few years using onsite timelapse. In early July I visited the site to film the showhomes and capture a day to night timelapse. I’ve used some of that footage in this launch video:
http://www.duncancraig.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/DEANSGATE_2.jpg20482048adminhttp://www.duncancraig.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/logo7-300x185.pngadmin2019-09-01 15:51:352019-11-24 15:53:06Deansgate Manchester
Recently I spent a day filming in Manchester and Sheffield for the US/UK video production company WebsEdge. Here’s the finished film:
Together with Tom on second camera we filmed at various Medical Labs and an interview in Manchester, as well as additional interviews in Sheffield. The Sony A7s matched very nicely with the JVC LS300. Both cameras filmed at 30fps for US distribution and the end results look great.
http://www.duncancraig.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/logo7-300x185.png00adminhttp://www.duncancraig.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/logo7-300x185.pngadmin2015-09-03 19:14:042015-11-08 12:38:13Life on the edge
A video posted by Park Inn by Radisson (@parkinnbyradisson) on
Originally I edited these videos in a 720p timeline with a custom 640×640 overlay to help with framing, then I’d crop the resulting video in Handbrake when encoding the mp4 for Instagram. But in recent months Final Cut Pro has been updated to allow for custom project dimension so a 640×640 30 fps workspace was easy to create. As you can see I remake certain elements such as the particle effects for creating water and steam in the shower scene, as well as creating the blue nightime effect in the bedroom scene. And luckily I’ve got a huge collection of sound effects and music that always seem to deliver what the clients want.
Here’s an edited compilation of some of the fun stuff, including a recording of my daughter playing the piano:
http://www.duncancraig.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/640x640.png640640adminhttp://www.duncancraig.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/logo7-300x185.pngadmin2015-01-11 12:22:322015-01-30 09:46:03A square kind of a deal
Today was my second day of filming for SoftBrick, the UK’s biggest manufacturer of soft play equipment for children’s play centres. Using my FS100 and 11mm ultra wide lens I’ve been able to film inside these huge and amazingly complex structures that they’ve created. Also also worth mentioning that the low light capabilities of the camera are a massive help as some areas are designed to be really dark and atmospheric.
The first day of filming was at Bubbles World of Play in Liverpool, followed by filming at the factory in Manchester. Today I visited a huge, newly opened play centre in Northampton – The Riverside Hub. These venues are amazing, I wish there was something like them in Leeds as I’d love to take my two year old along. I’ve also used the GoPro to shoot factory timelapse and I had the opportunity to use the full length mode of my 4 metre jib, which doesn’t often happen as it’s too long for most venues.
Softbrick are using various edited videos to show at trade conferences across the EU. These videos are mute and create a seamless loop when played back on a solid state media player.
I’ve been working with Open Doors Garden Furniture to create a video showing the range of products they produce and distribute.
It was snowing in Leeds when I left in the morning to drive to the Oldham location, and it was still snowing when I arrived. Luckily the weather broke and the rain held off until I wrapped after 7pm. It was blowing a gale most of the day though, the jib was getting slightly buffered during the shoot but not enough to affect the filming too badly.
I remade and animated the company logo in Apple Motion and edited in Final Cut Pro X with a master grade and vignette. The folks at Open Doors are really happy with the final film, and it’s been embedded into their website for the Easter holidays.
After an overnight stay in the lovely Midland Hotel in central Manchester, we started out early Wednesday morning to the Trafford Centre. I was working with VisMedia to cover a local launch event for the Lynx Space Academy, where you can win the chance to travel into space. The event was being hosted by Kimberly Wyatt, former Pussycat Doll.
Kimberly was joined by four astronauts in brilliantly detail costumes, that were by all accounts incredibly hot inside. Even with the built in air conditioning the helmets were steaming up, and the guys had to take regular breaks.
We filmed footage alongside a photographer, stopping filming when the flashes were going off. I shot in standard and slow motion, to achieve an outer space look.
Yours truly, Kimberley and Lee from VisMedia. Aww.
