Behind the Scenes of Our Short Film, 'Planet Earth: Woodbridge, NJ'

Last week, after receiving the Sigma ART 85mm f/1.4, I decided to put it to the test by making a video of my cat with my business partner. A few days later, this is our finished product.

The second season of "Planet Earth" was absolutely out of this world. The show was filmed so well and put together in a very unique way to keep the viewers entertained. Working off a similar concept to that, we figured it would be funny to show the cat moving around the home and attacking the tiny drones we have been flying around. Overall, I think we did pretty well for having only a few hours to film it. We tried to keep it short, simple, and somewhat humorous. 

What We Used to Film

• Ronin M and Atmos Ninja Flame
  • Sony a7S II
  • Sony 24-70mm f/2.8

• Handheld
  • Sony a7R III
  • Sigma ART 85mm f/1.4

Shot List

• Cat Resting in Living Room: Handheld/Tripod 85mm f/1.4 on Sony a7R III
  • Close-up on face
  • Full body
  • Head turn
• Cat in Living Room: Ronin 24-70mm f/2.8 With Sony a7S II
  • Follow shot front
  • Resting pan
• Drone Attack Scene: Tripod 85mm f/1.4 on Sony a7R III
  • Still swat
  • Jump shot (close and far)
  • Drone Ttakeoff 60 fps
• Drone Attack Scene: Ronin 24-70mm f/2.8 with Sony a7S II
  • Silhouette leap 120 fps
  • Run follow cat (side and behind)
  • Follow drone (side and behind) 120 fps
  • Shot aftermath

Conclusion

We had a pretty good time filming this, but it ended up being a lot harder than we had expected. Following the cat and the drone on the Ronin without a pull focus was a challenge, but we were able to lock on for a few seconds and get some usable clips. The Sigma Art 85mm f/1.4 gave off such a sharp look and performed really well in low light. The autofocus was doing very well and even worked when tracking small motions like the eyes when the cat moved her head around. I am looking forward to testing this lens more with both photo and video work, but so far, it has been impressing me a lot.