This is a video clip I directed just before departing for Africa, it has recently been released so I can share it with you. It was shot in club Prime in Amsterdam on the HPX300 and PS Technik MiniC combo. Operated by Gregg Telussa, he did a great job as usual! Language is Dutch but please tell me how you like the image!
Check out the gallery for some workshots!
After two months in Africa I am back home! Obviously it’s weird and I have to find my way again, the last weeks of our production I have been very tired and didn’t get around to posting anything. So I owe you guys some nice aerial shots I think! Shot in Kigali, Rwanda and Lilongwe, Malawi both in a helicopter and a plane.
One of the first children helped by the halfway home in Entesekera is currently making a living by weaving clothes. A nice setting with some beautiful natural lighting.
After a seven day communication blackout in Maasai country, a chartered flight to Nairobi, a 9 our drive to Maua, Kenya and back I am online! It was actually very nice not to communicate for a while, if we needed something from from a Maasai settlement we would send someone an receive word four ours later, a very impressive culture. One that still lives as they did thousands of years ago as gatherers herding cows an goats. No electricity, telephones or internet. You can imagine I have built quite a backlog of videos waiting to be posted… The project we were visiting was funded by the Liliane Foundation. Traditionally the Maasai have a very bad image of the physically and mentally disabled, it is seen as a course, a punishment from the gods and people are often hidden and starved to death. The Liliane Foundation is funding a halfway home for the disabled in Entekerera. The main objectives are to provide a home, education and create awareness in the Maasai community, and so bettering the situation of the disabled in the Maasai comunity. Part of the halfway home is a school were I shot the video above. Below is a sunset shot in this beautiful part of Kenya.
Yesterday we departed from Bukoba at 8:00 we knew it would be a long trip, from Bukoba, Tanzania to Kigali, Rwanda by car. We heard different travel time estimates, ranging from 5 hours to 12. Last night we pulled in at 8:30 pm so the latter was true… It was a journey with risks, we learned that the boarder region between Tanzania and Rwanda was not the safest. Armed bandits were common so we arranged for an armed escort. Two armed police officers would accompany us during our trip. The road was pretty good for African standards, we enjoyed what they call an “African massage” in our 4×4 van. Crossing the border post proofed to be easier than anticipated. This morning I woke up in a hotel in Kigali without a scratch, the first good night sleep in 3 days. This video shows a short excerpt of our trip.
We recently visited a small local village on the coastline of Lake Victoria, Tanzania. The community was receiving post natal care from a local hospital we here visiting. A part of the performance based financing program initiated by Cordaid, click here for more information. These are some of the mothers faces.
Just a quick edit of some early footage, the morning ritual of an African woman washing her son with water form a domestic water reservoir. Made available through Dutch development aid.
Here it is, my new HPX300 config. The kit lens just wasn’t up to par for me, On full zoom the lens would collapse and with open aperture all kinds of artifacts came in to play. All in all this is stuff I should be able to live with since it’s a kit lens with a 1,500 US street price. So here is the stuff i could not live with; a 0.9 meter MOD and a 5mm field of view (1/3″ chip). This makes shooting in a car next to impossible.
After being off the radar for nearly two months it seems fair to give you an update. I have been spending my time prepping for a big project and after signing the production contract I can now share my plans with you.
The project is a two month shooting period in east Africa, during this time we will be visiting five countries; Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Malawi. We will be making 13 episodes for Dutch television about Dutch traders, aid workers and foundations in these countries fulfilling an important economic and social role. Each broadcast we will portrait one of these businesses through the eyes of our reporter Leon van der Zanden. It is a road movie where the crew plays a major role during this trip. The program is made possible to date by COS Brabant, Cordaid, Liliane Fund and Mundial Productions.
After the release of Sony’s new PMW-350 I thought it would be appropriate to speak up for our Panasonic HPX300. Sony might have the 2/3 ” battle won but with a 35mm adapter chip size isn’t that important. The Sony still records 35 m/s Long Gop wich is an old mpeg codec, no match for Panasonics 100 m/s AVC Intra. And do remember that the Sony is double the price.
Ok so a lot of people have been asking for some test footage from our new camera. They were right there should be more, so here it is:
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