A Cinematic Film Case-Study
All of us here at Film Division absolutely love the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Peter Jackson’s adaptation of the Tolkien novel is nothing short of a magic 11 hours and 24 minutes of cinema. If anything started the spark for our love of cinematic video production it would be this epos. So when Birmingham based jeweller Samson Gold came to us to produce their in-store mini-documentary, we knew we could go all out.
It’s all about the memories
In the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the creature Gollum refers to the Ring as ‘my precious’. The first conversations we had with Samson Gold showed that engagement and wedding rings are actually precious. A ring is so much more than a circular piece of metal with a valuable stone. We invested time in talking to newly engaged couples and we realised quickly that a ring actually stores memories. It is a token of a couple’s love and one look at the ring can bring back so many happy moments.
This realisation inspired us to think about the ring crafting process. If you are looking to buy a such an emotional object as an engagement or wedding ring, you want to see the crafting process. But more than that, you want to be sure that the person who is actually crafting the ring puts all effort in and cares about it.
Focus on the harmony
So when the filming date drew closer, we decided to focus our short cinematic film on the harmony between the jeweller and the ring. This is a difficult task that we created for ourselves. Video is a visual medium and how can we capture something intangible such as concept of harmony?
Another challenge in this video is the complete absence of audio. The short cinematic film will be displayed in the Samson Gold showroom. So if we would have added a music track, the Samson staff would be driven mad by a repetitive song. Can you imagine how annoying hearing the same song over and over again must be? So the challenge grew. How can we show an intangible harmony without relying on sound and a voiceover?
The cinematic approach
Our solution lies in the eyes. One look at someone’s face tells an entire story. Eyes can talk. And in our video, we let the eyes of the Samson Gold staff do the talking. One simple look can show dedication, care and confidence. There are many steps in the process and many experts involved. We captured the dedication in all of them.
By using a RED Scarlet-W with Canon Cinema Prime lenses we were able to fully capture the harmony, dedication and craftsmanship in the design and production process. Glide rails and dynamic shots complement the imagery. They transfer and maintain the focus of the audience.
This is what we call the cinematic approach. We could have made a talking head video where the jeweller talks about his experience and credentials but that would not have conveyed the harmony as much as actually showing how rings are crafted. The actual crafting story of this token of love.
The evil Lord Sauron poured his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life into his ring. We’ve shown that Samson Gold creates rings filled with love, care and dedication. And that my friends and dear readers makes these rings really precious.
Below you can watch the final video, as well as the behind the scenes video to see how we actually created it.
(The video hosted on our Youtube is our version of the final video which does contain a soundtrack – because in this particular situation it is appropriate to have a soundtrack).