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Together We Celebrate

A late fall bonfire to honor the champion Princeton Tiger Football team inspires a celebration of all that is Princeton for all who are Princeton. Students, alumni, parents, and friends.

Together We Celebrate on Vimeo and YouTube.

A year-end fundraising video created for Princeton University’s 2018-2019 Annual Giving campaign. Produced by Princeton Annual Giving and directed by Jon Roemer. Camera: Jon Roemer and Paul Benson. Edited by Jon Roemer.

Behind the scenes:

EOS R with 24-70mm f/2.8L II on the Ronin-S frame grab. f/2.8 @ 1/50 sec. Princeton, NJ. November, 2018.

This was a two-camera shoot. A Canon C300 Mark II on sticks with a 18-80mm T4.4 Compact-Servo lens to cover the podium, to capture the audio of all of the speakers, and to get b-roll. The second camera was all about mobility, a Canon EOS R with a 24-70 f/2.8 L II lens on a DJI Ronin-S gimbal.

C300 Mark II with the 18-80mm T4.4 Compact-Servo frame grab. f/4 @ 1/48 sec. Princeton, NJ. November, 2018.

All light was as available: the stage was lit by the client and the rest is the light of the bonfire. I opted not to use any lighting of my own to keep a documentary feel.

EOS R with 24-70mm f/2.8L II on the Ronin-S frame grab. f/2.8 @ 1/50 sec. Princeton, NJ. November, 2018.

The cameras captured in log, the C300 Mark II in C-log3/BT.709 and the EOS R in C-log/BT-.709/Neutral Profile. The C300 Mark II was set to 4K to allow for punch-ins and I bounced the EOS R between full-frame HD and cropped sensor 4K (1.74x) depending upon what I was filming.

C300 Mark II with the 18-80mm T4.4 Compact-Servo frame grab. f/4 @ 1/48 sec. Princeton, NJ. November, 2018.

Why film with the C300 Mark II and a T4.4 (f/4) lens? Two reasons. One, I love that lens. It has a clarity and look all its own. Two, I shot this same event as a stills photographer seven years ago to create advertising images for Princeton. So, I knew going in that T4.4 and the focal range would be fine for the coverage of the speakers (whose audio was needed as potential voiceover).

EOS R with 24-70mm f/2.8L II on the Ronin-S frame grab. f/2.8 @ 1/50 sec. Princeton, NJ. November, 2018.

My 2012 experience also guided my choice of the 24-70 f/2.8 L II lens on the EOS R. I often use a 16-35 f/4 IS L lens with the R on the Ronin-S but for this project I wanted more reach, the option of shallower depth of field, the ability film in low light, and I wanted to not have to swap lenses. Between the crowds, the bonfire’s heat and its smoke, a zoom made the most sense.

EOS R with 24-70mm f/2.8L II on the Ronin-S frame grab. f/2.8 @ 1/50 sec. Princeton, NJ. November, 2018.

A final note about the audio. The speaker, W. Rochelle Calhoun, was captured wirelessly via a lav mic taped to the podium and sent via a Rodelink kit to the C300 Mark II. Not ideal but an audio compromise which ensured coverage of all of the speakers (plugging into the sound board was not an option). The C300 Mark II also had a shotgun mic as a backup. The b-roll audio, from the crowd to the band, was recorded with the EOS R’s internal stereo microphone.

EOS R with 24-70mm f/2.8L II on the Ronin-S frame grab. f/2.8 @ 1/50 sec. Princeton, NJ. November, 2018.