Behind The Scenes Of The 24×360 Project
A few weeks ago Eric Pare released the 24×360 project which included 24 cameras taking a long exposure picture of a single subject. It’s difficult to explain but once you see it you will understand. Eric was kind enough to write up an article just for us on how these incredible video clips were made.
The 24×360 project appeared on the Web last December, but the actual shooting began in September 2012. Here are some behind the scene shots, along with a few insights on the project.
We invited Patrick Rochon in September for the first shooting. At that point, we didn’t have the black curtain yet. This 360 degree image have never been published online before.
“In 1999 while I was in Japan, I dreamed of doing light painting with several cameras. Of course, this was shortly after The Matrix came out, and we discussed the idea among friends. Thirteen years later, in Montreal, I was invited to light paint inside a ring of 24 cameras with the guys from Timecode Lab and Eric Par�. Dreams do come true, somehow� It’s hard to believe that we have achieved such a tech-feeling result using only cameras and lights. It’s a mixture of analog and digital. Obviously, everything goes through digital nowadays, but the process is still very much analog, not unlike Eadweard Muybridge did long ago.”
- Patrick Rochon
Shooting with Genevi�ve Borne on September 20. Patrick Rochon carefully places his lights to easily reach for them in the dark.
“For me, the 360 is one of the most challenging light painting situation I�ve encountered. Usually, on my shootings, there�s a tiny bit of light behind my camera, which helps me see in the dark without affecting the long exposure. In the case of the 360, since there are cameras all around, I have to work in 100% darkness. That means I have to position my lights perfectly on the ground, ready to be picked up, and feel my way around, keeping my balance while moving and dancing in the dark. Plus, I have to light paint without blocking any cameras so I don’t create shadows and silhouettes in the final images. For example, when I light the face, I have to stand behind the model so I don’t block the cameras in front of her. Plus I have to work quickly so the model doesn’t move. It’s like doing gymnastics with your imagination, but the result is so hypnotically good, I just want to do more.”
- Patrick Rochon
The setup from above. Notice the 3 yellow marks that we use to locate the exact center of the ring. There is a flash hanging from the ceiling, but it hasn’t been used for that project.
A shooting I did with Yandel Bodypainter, and Fannie Hunter on November 20. I boosted the exposure in Photoshop to demonstrate what’s really happening in the dark. For the final result, some of the background is digitally removed to ensure a pitch-black color around the subject and the lights. On most of my pictures, I use very short exposure time to make sure the subject is as sharp as possible. I generally hold the shutter with a remote control for 0.5 to 2 seconds.
On this one, I used my solar wind light, which creates a lot of colors. It was a perfect match with the black and white bodypainting that Yandel did. The only downside with the solar wind is that it spills huge amount of white light on one side of the rig. We had to do a lot of Photoshop to clean the background. This is the original frame #14, followed by the cleaned 360 set:
I also did a variation of this effect that I used with Jenny, where the light was continuous.
Fannie looking at our live system to review the latest shots. Notice the original black-and-white body painting on her.
A shooting I did with Joanie Darveau on December 5. I stood behind the model to trace the light. As a result, you can clearly see my shadow on her back in the 360 shot below.
Cameras on the rig are Canons T3 with kit lens. The cameras used for the behind-the-scene shots are Canon 5d2 and 5d3 + 16x35mm and 40mm pancake (between 0.5 and 2 seconds, f/9, iso 400).
Video of the project:
Written by Eric Par�
