Guest Author: Joey Hubbard
Growing up, I was always a passionate guitarist. From a young age I was educated on one simple fact. Tubes are better for sound, end of story. As such I grew up playing on a wide range of budget tube amps that constantly died so I met Chris from swamp Donkey Amplifiers constantly to fix my budget rigs. I was always amazed by the craftsmanship behind his products, and wanted to do a shoot to showcase his incredible work. The tonality you get from tubes is completely different than anything else you will hear, but could be compared to vinyl vs. MP3.
For the images captured, I wanted to highlight both the complexity of his work but also the intricate details. To do this, I exclusively shot all the images on the Panasonic S1R (to have higher megapixel images for re-framing) and the Lumix 50mm 1.4 to get maximum light/separation.
The reason I stuck with one prime lens was two fold:
- To have a consistent perspective in all images.
- To avoid lens changes & maximize my time shooting stills.
Overall I really enjoyed shooting with this combination, and did mostly shoot in manual wide open with focus peaking.
For the B-roll, I only utilized my Lumix S5II paired with the Lumix 50mm 1.4. I shot in V-log with the E-stabilization set to high. As for the interview component, I locked in the S5II with the same lens approximately 6 feet away from my subject, and the Lumix S9 paired with the Lumix 50mm 1.8 off to the side in Vlog. These 2 cameras worked extremely well together, and locking in their shutters/profiles to match were key. For aerial shots, I used my DJI Mini 3 Pro paired with a K&F variable ND.
As for lighting, I utilized the Ulanzi L024 40W RGB Portable LED Video Light with the portable softbox for the duration of the shoot as my only source of controlled lighting. I love this light from a portability perspective, and only used 20% of its battery over the 1.5 hour shoot.
For audio, I used the Ulanzi wireless mics for both the interview & guitar recording. The guitar audio I did do some processing on in Pro Logic, but the rest of the editing was done in Final Cut.
The last component was the fog, for which I used the Ulanzi FM01 FILMOG Ace. This was great for creating some ambiance in Chris’s studio.
This shoot was such an amazing opportunity, and I really encourage you to get out and shoot things you love. This brought me back to my guitar, and has in-turn, pushed my creativity further. I also want to give a big shout out to the Camera Store & Panasonic for providing me with the gear I used on this shoot.
Watch Joey's tube tech & music - Swamp Donkey Amplifiers video below!
Watch Joey's BTS video, Using Lumix Cameras for Interviews - S9 S5II S1R, below!
Featured in this blog:
Panasonic LUMIX S5II Body
Panasonic LUMIX S9 Body
Panasonic Lumix S 50mm f1.4
Panasonic S 50mm f1.8
