Sachtler ™
A Vitec Group brand
Sachtler ™
A Vitec Group brand
Sachtler’s new SOOM XL System has passed its first test under live conditions with flying colors. Camera operator Sebastian Georgi has just used the brand new multifunction tool from Sachtler to shoot for the Hugo Boss 2008 summer fashion campaign.
35 degrees Celsius and blue skies filled with the scent of lavender – Hugo Boss couldn’t have dreamed of better conditions for his 2008 summer fashion cam-paign shoot. A villa with lavish gardens and swimming pool served as both set and backdrop, overlook by the picturesque mountain scenery on the Spanish is-land of Majorca. Hugo Boss has worked with world-famous photographers on his photo campaigns for many years – photographers like Peter Lindbergh and Mario Testino. In recent times, however, the importance of motion pictures in Boss campaigns has grown in significance – for example, the parallel fashion videos used to present the Boss label in flagship stores across the globe.
Boss has long transcended its image as a respectable, German tailor of fine suits. In recent years, its audience has become younger and more fashion conscious. At the same time the company has grown rapidly. Worldwide, Boss is now regarded as a fashion label in the same league as Armani. One reason behind this success story is the company’s image. Boss sets great store on its flagship stores, where the company presents itself as a contemporary, innovative brand with exquisite taste and artistic ambitions. Elaborate and unusual interior design and ornamentation turn Boss stores into showplaces for a whole lifestyle, which unites art with fashion, and good taste with business. Boss fashion videos that are modern, artistic and sexy, beckon down from large flatscreens, reminding the viewer of music videos.
The Summer 2008 campaign shoot uses a Sony HDV-Z1E and SOOM, Sachtler’s brand new multifunction tool, soon to be launched at IBC 2007. HDV has proved itself to be a relatively high resolution system that enables campaign photos and animations to be interlaced into videos.
The compact camera’s flexibility also allows fascinating extreme-angle takes to be produced with minimal logistical outlay. Experimental work is also a key to remaining creative and spontaneous. In this way the camera operator can satisfy the hunger for new, artistic picture ideas and styles. In the fashion industry, nothing fails as badly as yesterday’s tastes. Leading models play their part too, but they are not actresses. Experience shows that cramped, inhibited models are anything but sexy, and an outfit without sex appeal becomes simply a piece of cloth that has little to do with fashion.
For cameraman Sebastian Georgi, creativity also depends on the equipment used:
“If you want to be creative, your equipment must not become an obstacle. I am very spontaneous when shooting. I like to get unusual takes that camera operators don’t normally film. Images that are blurred, concealed, reflected, distorted, greatly altered using digital processing programs, or even destroyed. I judge and select them during postproduction, where the material, further altered through animation, attains its own esthetics. It’s like painting, where the process is central, not just some finished idea of an image that has to be carried out.”
“The Sachtler SOOM XL System’s multifunctionality and fast, flexible handling encourages my style. The SOOM Tube, when used with a tripod head, allows totally new camera movements. It’s like a cross between a hand-held camera and mini-crane. The SOOM TriPod can be quickly modified, for example on the SOOM TriSpread, a baby tripod. Despite its relatively low weight, it features a normal fluid head, the basis for every tripod. In fact, the FSB 6 is the only head that can be used for HDV operation.”
Studied painting, video and performance at art academies in Berlin, Karlsruhe and Stuttgart, Germany
Since 1995: Exhibitions with painting and video installations
1998: Founded the Glashaus Cultural Association in Karlsruhe, which holds exhibitions, concerts, theater performances and readings
Since 1998: Cameraman for documentary films, cultural journals, and industry and image films
Since 2001: Partner and Manager of BildManufaktur GmbH
Since 2002: Trainer and Examiner of creative media designers in the areas of picture and audio
Since 2003: Shooting fashion videos on behalf of Publicmotor GmbH for Hugo Boss
“I’m really impressed by the Sachtler SOOM, which converts really fast. Its inte-grated monopod (SOOM Tube) offers extension to a maximum of 2.5 meters (98.4"). Thanks to the Sachtler head, you can cleanly pan an HDV even at that height. The SOOM Tube extends quickly – you just pull it out – and retracts just as fast. The head can be tilted up to 90°, and the baby tripod also serves as the mid-level spreader, so you always have it with you. The Sachtler SOOM system is relatively lightweight, even though it actually consists of three tripods, which are also always with you.“
Cameraman Sebastian Georgi
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