High Society at The Old Vic

Strike Digital

Bullet time sequences for the advert

400

Miles the batteries were from set

Very expensive taxi

Bullet time in 4K for High Society at The Old Vic, a very tight get in, and the taxi ride that changed how we power the rig.

What Did We Do?

With Strike Digital we produced the advert for High Society, a musical opening a run at The Old Vic. We shot bullet time sequences in 4K on a 48 camera array, one camera of which came off the rig to shoot handheld, so realistically 47 on the ring. The sequences were digitally zoomed and panned in the edit to give the advert its moving shots.

We knew the tight space would make setup and calibration a challenge. The bigger lesson: do not leave all the camera batteries on charge in the office, 400 miles away. That was an expensive taxi from Sunderland to London.

Mistakes are for learning from. We upgraded the rig to run entirely from mains power soon after, and it now also carries a large built in UPS, so a power cut on set no longer stops a shoot.