To see this video at 1080p go to SmugMug by CLICKING HERE.
“Hurry Up and Wait” - these are words that I and every photographer / filmmaker / surfer - you name it - live by. It was a mad dash to get everything ready for this trip - people flew through winter storms, prototypes were assembled last minute and gear was shipped from all over the country. And then you get here. And no waves.
I knew that this might happen - and that’s why I gave myself close to 3 weeks to pull this off. Nonetheless - it hasn’t made the wait any easier. I can tell you that waiting for weather as a photographer is one of the few truly stressful parts of the job - but when you have a film crew with you - it just gets amplified exponentially as you’re no longer the only person waiting. This isn’t my first rodeo - and I’ve had to wait a long time before (in fact I had to wait over a week to make a single frame the last time I was here on the North Shore to cover the Pipeline Masters two years ago.) My 18 years of experience has taught me to simply let things unfold naturally. Certain things just can’t be helped along… Truth be told: I still can’t “relax” even in Hawaii when I’m “waiting” for an assignment to come together.
The fact that we’ve also faced some tough weather and a power outage hasn’t helped, but stress aside - we’ve been having a good time. We don’t have a single clip of Jamie surfing yet - but it looks like we might just get lucky as a swell is headed our way. For now I hope you enjoy a very quick cut of what we do have - mostly of us waiting. For the waves. And Jamie to explode off of them.
Next I’ll put up a behind the scenes piece/tutorial on how important Neutral Density Filters are with these digital cinema cameras and how they’re absolutely essential if you want to differentiate what you are shooting with your Canon lenses from what you see coming out of standard HD video cameras when shooting in daylight.
51 Comments so far
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Um … not so sure about the mono. As for the waves, or rather lack of, they say ‘All good thing’s come to those that wait’.
6:14 amI’m not a fan of video work (preferring stills photography), but I think this is a great piece of work. Excellent framing throughout and IMHO the mono works well.
Comment by Mike 12.30.08 @ 8:33 amI think it all looks fantastic! I appreciate the time you’re taking to show us the behind-the-scenes too. It’s very helpful for an aspiring (professional) photographer/videographer. Keep up the good work!
Comment by Ryan 12.30.08 @ 10:43 amHey Vincent,
I know you are going to post something about ND filters soon, but I just came across a variable ND filter that fits most canon L lenses (77mm) and I was curious as to whether or not you had heard about it yet.
http://www.singh-ray.com/varind.html
Little pricey, but if it replaces having to buy several ND’s…it may well be worth it. And having this flexibility on the 5d2 would be nice!
Good luck out there. Hopefully the swell hits and you have some great opportunities!
Best
Duane Reply:
December 31st, 2008 at 4:38 am
Thanks for the link, looks like a nice tool to have in the bag.
Would promote some experimentation, that is for sure.
Alex H. Reply:
December 31st, 2008 at 10:26 am
@BenjaminScot,
Or you could go the “cheap” way. Just take 2 polarizers, screw on the first one and tape the rotating ring to make sure is stays still. Take the second polarizer and screw it on the first one. Rotate the adjustment ring and voilà!
Bingo!
Vincent Laforet Reply:
January 1st, 2009 at 1:52 am
@Alex H., Yes - but the image quality can really suffer… this is what I did first - and the image quality suffered quite noticeably - especially in the highlights
Vincent, I think it’s turning out pretty good! I think you’ve got some great shots there. Before I comment about the audio I would like to see it when it’s done.
You should definitely explore while you’ve got the time!
Comment by Austin Joffe 12.30.08 @ 10:49 amGreat work Vincent,
I’m wondering if you can share some info on the last panning shot (:47-1:10). What camera took that shot? I’ve played it both in hidef/midef and it seems a little choppy. I can run full hidef on my computer with no problems, so i’m wondering if that is an encoding problem or something else?
TIA! Can’t wait for the final product!
Rand Reply:
December 30th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I’m seeing the same thing - a little jutter on the pan (on a higher end machine). Thanks for the updates - makes the waiting for my 5DII much better.
Vincent Laforet Reply:
January 1st, 2009 at 1:53 am
@Rand, It’s my fault - we put the RED on a head that wasn’t rated for the weight…. so it’s a bit choppy… one thing I’ve learned: spend money on your tripod head - it pays off big time and separates the men from the boys in the motion picture/video industry.
Dear Vincent,
First of all Many Thanks for keeping us informed. I am sure, that many, many fellow photographers and fans of your work keep checking here at a higher frequency now 
And second, I can only say: Thank you so much for doing this in black&white. As a landscape photographer who works mainly in b&w myself, I can only say … WOW …. Even if I would have never thought, I would say that once: I think I am getting more and more interested into “moving images”. All the Best, and I am somehow sure, you will get the Mega-Waves you are waiting for in time …
Peter
Comment by Peter Fauland 12.30.08 @ 1:10 pmCan one of the commenters please post some info as to why it is so much better to use the 5D MK2 versus one of the canon video cameras which accept L lenses? I am asking this completely naively — it seems to much easier to shoot with a video camera than go through having the hassle of shooting with the 5D.
The video looks gorgeous of course — can this not be produced with a regular vid camera?
thank you
Comment by jack 12.30.08 @ 1:39 pmOr Vince, for that matter, answer to above question as to why an excellent canon HD vidcam with L lenses isn’t as good as shooting with the 5DMk2?
most of us can’t beg borrow steal or fabricate all of the cool accessories which are available to you.
thanks!
Vincent Laforet Reply:
January 1st, 2009 at 1:56 am
@jack, There are a few reasons - the main ones are the conversion factor, the loss in image quality (if you are using a ground glass to focus the L Lense on) and the size of the video chip being so much smaller than the 5D - that effects both the quality of the image and the low light sensitivity - if you’re shooting in full light and with long lenses - the HD vidcam w/ adapters will work very well - when you want to work wide and in low light - then the 5D is noticeably better
[...] de diferencia después del Making off con Jamie O´Brien del nuevo trabajo de Laforet Visuals y aquí está el resultado después de unas semanas compratidas con el surfista, fotógrafo y [...]
Pingback by Hurry Up and Wait « Blind Lynx 12.30.08 @ 4:54 pmwow!
keep going can’t wait to see more!! I am so excited I found this site… I have been doing a fusion of still and video for a little while and excited to see how the 5DmarkII works… beautiful piece!!
Looking great so far. I know how you feel about the waves too. I was on the North Shore last year to shoot the Pipeline Masters, but I don’t think a single wave got above 10 feet, and most were much smaller. It’s still amazing to see what great surfers like Kelly Slater can do with even the smallest waves though. Three weeks to wait it out is a blessing and a curse, but it sounds like you’re counting it more as a blessing. Best of luck.
Comment by Bill Allen 12.30.08 @ 6:25 pmOnce again, you’re passing off 720p as 1080p. I know it’s not just me - SmugMug does offer videos in 1080p (which they call “Full HD”). For example: http://cmac.smugmug.com/gallery/6677452_e9rL5#427227023_AsXNo
Vincent Laforet Reply:
January 1st, 2009 at 1:57 am
@Ben, No - it’s 1080 p - check to make sure you res is high enough on your monitor or my understanding is that smugmug will scale you down to 720 automatically.
Ben Reply:
January 1st, 2009 at 10:14 pm
@Vincent, Did you even read my post? I AM seeing 1080p videos just fine, when they’re available (as in the link I gave). My guess is that the SmugMug people haven’t made your 1080p footage public. Obviously, you are seeing it, but the rest of us aren’t.
Amish Reply:
January 2nd, 2009 at 12:03 pm
@Ben,
Yeah I’ve noticed this too. With the link that Ben posted, there is a option at the top for Hiddef and FULLHD, whereas the video’s Vincent posted only allows HiDef and lower.
“Once again, you’re passing off 720p as 1080p. I know it’s not just me”
Oh no, the world is coming to an end……….help us all!
Comment by Derek 12.31.08 @ 12:35 amAmazing shots. One note, however. In the shot from inside the truck driving down the road my eyes went straight to the reflection in the mirror instead of staying with the road. I went back and figured out that he’s wearing a RedBull hat.
That’s just what jumped out at me apart from the otherwise stunning imagery. Could just be me that that happened to.
Ole Reply:
December 31st, 2008 at 8:37 am
Exactly the same thing here…. I thought about commmenting “subtle product placement”…. but it wasn’t all that subtle. 
Best of greetings! Keep up the blog, man.
Ole
Vincent Laforet Reply:
January 1st, 2009 at 1:58 am
@Ole, Yes - to be sure - that’s the hat he was wearing and it popped in the mirror… if this can land a gig down the line w/ Red Bull why not right?
If you have some time, would be interested in knowing something about your work flow with the 5D. Are you capturing video to the CF card or recording direct to a hard drive? Have you used the Wireless File Transmitter with success? What is your setup for file storage for raw and post production? Also, how has battery life been?
Eagerly awaiting every post.
Damn, I’m impressed.
It makes me want to do something more with my Mark II. Excellent work! I can’t wait to see more.
This is not working very well in B&W. It just seems like an odd choice given the location this was shot in and the nature of the subject …or perhaps it will have even more impact when it breaks into color in the surfing parts when and if the waves ever show up. Kind of like the break between Kansas and the Wizard of Oz.
Vincent Laforet Reply:
January 1st, 2009 at 1:59 am
@JRW, Hope that the jump to sun and colors will please you - v
That was awesome. Thank you for taking the time to put the clips and behind the scenes video and posts to the blog. It makes my day
The last pan was a little jerky slow. I am thinking that it is just my computers lack of performance causing the slightly jerky pan. Again, this is really good stuff.
Vincent Laforet Reply:
January 1st, 2009 at 1:59 am
@Stoney Vintson, No it was an overloaded tripod head - my bad - v
love the bw! waiting for the 120fps red footage in action! good luck vincent. great work.
Comment by mike kobal 12.31.08 @ 4:33 pmHey everyone,
first of all, I’d like to thank Vincent for all his enthusiasm and these inspirational videos. My friend and I shot a short movie with the 5D2. You can see it here: http://www.vimeo.com/2681050
Feel free to leave your critiques and comments
And I wish a happy new year to everyone! 
Elvir
Comment by Elvir Tabakovic 01.01.09 @ 1:25 amSo far the imagery and narrative seems cliched and not particularly compelling. Don’t be a slave to your toys, immerse yourself in the subject matter and find a concept that helps you deliver something original.
Comment by peter 01.01.09 @ 3:10 pmHello Vincent,
first of all I´m very happy to come across your blog! I´m definetly hooked
and eager to see more material …
For now I would say your best shot is by far the steady-cam where you follow jamie stepping outside his front door.(or maybe backdoor ;))
I really like B&W fine art, but in my opinion, this topic needs/deserves plenty of color.
Maybe a fireplace scene on the beach at nighttime to take benefit of the high iso performance of the 5D and to warm up some women`s hearts too. Cliché? Yes, maybe - but perfectly wonderful
As an editor I`m also very interested in seeing some more editing …
Carry on!
Happy New Year!
Bo
Comment by Bo 01.01.09 @ 7:30 pmGreat as always… Looking forward to seeing more…
Enjoy your time there… Even if it is for work
Hey was this video shot entirely with the 5D2? I especially love the landscape time lapses… and that driving down the street shot! WOW!
Comment by Yang 01.16.09 @ 10:04 pm نغمات موبايل -
موسيقى رومانسيه -
رنات جوال -
نغمات جوال mp3 -
نغمات جوال -
العاب جوال -
Thank you for useful information. With love …
reklam ajansları
Hey Vincent,
I was wondering if you had looked into any gear to start video recording for the 5D Mark 2 wirelessly.
I am using 2 5D’s too shoot weddings I am interested in something that could let me start recording on one 5D from across with room with remote.
I think it all looks fantastic! I appreciate the time you’re taking to show us the behind-the-scenes too. Keep up the good work!
Comment by aion kinah 09.08.09 @ 4:04 amLeave a comment
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kmtianxu Reply:
May 12th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
this is very good!
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