In my prior post I mentioned three additional videos which are part of the 44 North Coffee project. Here they are – demonstrations of coffee brewing methods done Maine style. On the back of a lobster boat!
How to Brew: Pour Over on YouTube and Vimeo.
How to Brew: French Press on YouTube and Vimeo.
How to Brew: AeroPress on YouTube and Vimeo.
Production
First, before we get to the how and why, we need to get to the thanks. This was a group effort, truly all hands on deck.
Thanks to Megan and Melissa of 44 North Coffee. This was their concept as a way of making the demonstration series unique to 44 North Coffee. They had a clear vision of what they wanted and they were willing to literally lend a hand to help move kit and steady lights on a rocking boat.
Asia Eaton, our host, knocked it out of the park. Great delivery, great energy, and the start/stop needed to wait out audio issues from lobster boats unloading their catch or the onslaught of late-day mosquitos did not phase her one bit.
Grace did a bang up job on audio and helping with continuity.
Thanks to F/V Whistler for use of the boat and thanks to Greenhead Lobster for giving us a port when it turned out to be too windy to film in the harbor. C.J. “Dare” piloted the skiff for our harbor flag raising. And lastly, Samuel Kirland Lothrop, who plays as ℅ United Artists, provided the music track.
As mentioned above, we originally planned to film in the harbor but strong winds made that impossible. Luckily, Greenhead Lobster stepped in and let us dock at their facility. Their location, tucked in against the spit of land called Green Head, protected us from the wind and gave us a great view of the Deer Isle Thorofare. Islands, boat traffic, sea birds. We were able to get a taste of it all into the videos. Note – there is a great moment in one video when a cormorant pops up out of the water and you don’t want to miss Asia’s lobster banding respite.
A and B Cameras were both Canon EOS R’s. I had brought them to keep my kit manageable given that I was working alone for the other parts of the project. A Camera was on sticks, locked down, to get Asia’s delivery to camera. B Camera was on a DJI Ronin-S gimbal to facilitate getting detail views of each demo. I used the Canon Drop-In Filter Mount Adapter for the EOS R with a Vari-ND filter installed to allow me to quickly adapt to the changing light conditions. Lenses included a Canon 24-70 f/2.8 L II and a Canon 24mm f/2.8 IS.
Filming was in 4K C-log, 23.98, 1/50 shutter, internal recording.
I knew that audio would be a challenge. So, double audio was utilized to have a backup. The primary audio was via a Sennheiser MKH 416 shotgun mic with a dead cat (as seen in the BTS up top) running into a Zoom H4n recorder. Secondary audio was sent to the A camera via a wireless Rodelink kit. Its lav mic, a Sennheiser MKE 2 Gold, was hidden under the folds of Asia’s hoodie. The audio at the end of each video, as skiff pulls away, is natural sound captured with the EOS R’s internal microphone.
Lighting was provided by two Litepanels Astras 6x lights powered with v-mount batteries (see the BTS photo up top). Asia was positioned so that sun would back or sidelight her to camera right. My lights were to camera left. Being the Maine coast the natural light was extremely changeable. When it was up my lights acted as fill. When it was down my lights acted as key.
This was one of those production days where everyone involved is taking on multiple roles and working extremely hard. The day flies by and you wrap blown away by what you accomplished together, blown away by how exhausted you didn’t realize you are, and blown away by the sheer beauty of where you have been working. Nothing is better than that. Thanks again to everyone involved!