Filmed in San Gimignano in Tuscany.
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I was just filming some stock after a job in Italy when I visited this beautiful Tuscan town. I saw these old men all sat down in the main square together, people watching. It was wonderful and fascinating to watch them watch the world go by.
I wanted to capture this. So I shot them and what they were watching with my lovely 1DC that I use for 4K stock. I deliberately wanted to capture the slow pace of life. This is NOT a fast cut, fast paced edit...just be warned. It's a deliberate pace to tell the story and to fit the music. If you want to see a slice of life that is relaxed and different then don't expect to see it in 60 seconds! :)
When I got back to the hotel I thought how it could have been cool shooting them in slow motion and the rest normal speed. Because I had already shot them this wasn't possible without totally reshooting it all. That's when I decided it could also work the other way, shooting what they watch in slow motion. For them life is normal speed but when they sit there it's about slowing things down even more. No stress, no worries...just the world around them. So for me it actually made more sense this way.
I had brought my FS700 with me as well as the R5 raw module. I did need to try it out. The R5 and cards are all from my F55 which at the time didn't have the 240fps firmware, it does now. That camera is neat and so well designed. Fitting perfectly together. The Sony 4K/ 2K FS700 raw solution is clunky. Massive, heavy and hugely expensive. The camera on its own isn't excellent elegant anyway! Hopefully I will try the Convergent Design Odyssey Q7 soon but there is no 4K raw, but there is ProRes 4k and 2k raw 240Fps.
Shot using the Canon 1DC for almost all of the real time shots and the Sony FS700 with V3 firmware shooting in 2K 240FPS raw.
The music was an accidental delight. I love Rossini's "Thieving Magpie", ever since I heard it in "A Clockwork Orange". I didn't know what music I was going to use in this until I heard these two fabulous accordion players whilst I myself people watching in San Gimignano. They were playing Vivaldi which was lovely but when I heard Rossini I knew this was what I needed. Gentle but with pace to drive the shot that builds to a crescendo. Also the slow motion imagery with this music resonated with me because of my love for "A Clockwork Orange". There is a shot halfway through this which was actually shot by Anna, not me, but when I saw it I shouted the name of that film! You can see the scene I am talking about here...be warned it features some ultraviolence • Video (Am I allowed to post KZfaq clips here?) :)
I did record the accordion players playing this piece after I gave them 20 Euros. Unfortunately after filming them they said "No Internet! No youtube!" Oh well...you can hear a little bit of their version over the end credits.
My review of this updated FS700 will be on my blog post shortly!