GET INSPIRED. TELL YOUR STORY.
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m4 has the production capabilities to tell your story. to create a spark, we’ve provided examples for review.
the "great conjunction" of 2020
december 21, 2020 is the kind of day that comes around once every 397 years. after a 12-hour roadtrip to the sonoran desert, we were able to scout a great spot to record the magical tango jupiter and saturn were about to perform. it was a spectacularly clear night.
this celestial event was captured with zeiss glass. it was filmed on a tripod from a hiking trail in the mountains. the cactus at the beginning of the sunset timelapse was even lit with a small light for effect against the darkening sky. in every one of these instances in nature, we work to eliminate any impact from our work by remaining mindful of good “leave no trace” principles. we hope you enjoy one of nature’s great stories for our generation.
using a fireplace for a little mindfulness good
the covid-19 pandemic has had its impact on mental health for individuals not typically prone to such an issue (based on a lancet study). juggling virtual work conditions, at-home schooling (for some), and a number of other environmental changes has been challenging.
knowing this, we put the irix 150mm macro lens to work by a warm fire on a cold winter’s night. if yule logs are popular for the holidays, we thought it made sense to create a moment with melodic music while this specialized close-up lens pulled out details your mind normally doesn’t see.
zone out for a minute and enjoy the show. yes, you deserve this.
slogging through the 2020 elections
we pretty much knew the 2020 election season was going to be different & difficult regardless of political ideology. we’re not sure most took election theories as far as the capitol insurrection that occurred on january 6th, 2021.
we wanted to have a little fun with election night. it was predicted to be a long one waiting on results to be tabulated, and that assumption proved correct. knowing this, we decided to reinforce that we’re in the business of bringing great partners (& people) together by merging our friends coca cola with maker’s mark to get us through the evening. do we encorourage heavy drinking normally? nope. but… we overlooked the rules for this day.
we shot this with our very fine tokina glass with aperture lighting. have fun!
making lucy the labrador a movie star
see ball. jump in pool. retrieve ball. what fun it is to be a labrador during the hottest days of summer.
we used this setting to remind our community to jump on opportunities when they arise–in pure anamorphic, cinema style. this short segment was shot with anamorphic glass and presented in true cinemascope (the black bars aspect ratio that some movies cause on tv).
this is a higher-end way to tell a “cinematic” story. the production workflow has more steps, but the result is exactly what producers put on the big screen. that’s what made this shoot so much fun.
a hike to (temporarily) outrun COVID-19
it’s late summer and the COVID-19 numbers are terrible around the US. front-line healthcare workers are being taxed in every direction (personally & professionally).
we decided to lug our camera equipment into the tetons on a hazy afternoon with the hope of capturing a relatively clear moment. we get to the lake, and the winds pick up. the smokiness clears. we hurriedly set up to shoot.
we filmed this segment with a fujinon mk zoom lens. it’s a great, do-it-all lens with beautiful color rendition. this effort we dedicated to all healthcare workers guiding us through the pandemic. the result was 15 seconds delivered in the teton range to give us all a mental boost.