Storming The Globe: Sony Promotes ‘Never Before Seen’ to Promote New Action Cam (Industry/Press Release)

Posted by MFM Industry Press on Apr 14, 2015 | 0 comments

US campaign commissions over 20 films shot on Action Cams by directors all over the world

Sony Action Cam has teamed up with a diverse range of filmmakers, artists and influencers to create a series of new films celebrating the “never before seen”. Ranging from crafty experiments and audacious stunts to short documentaries, sports adventures and scripted short stories, the films celebrate creativity in all its forms and use Action Cams to provide unique new perspectives on the production process and the stories themselves.

The campaign launched on March 23rd with the debut of three films: “Picture Machine”, “Paperports” and “Creature”. Directed by Studio Nos, Charles Young and Ryan Dzierzek respectively, the variation between the three films is a good indicator of the campaign’s overall breadth. “Picture Machine” documents the construction of a reverse zoetrope, “Paperports” lets us peek into the work and process of Young’s intricate miniature paper architecture practice, and “Creature” tells the tale of a mutant reptile on the loose.

The campaign’s remaining films will be released gradually on Sony’s YouTube channel as well as the accompanying site. The site will provide further information about the making of each project, such as behind-the-scenes imagery, comments from the directors, supplementary footage and detailed information about how the Action Cam was used in each production workflow. Vine star Zach King and directorial duo Wilkins & Maguire are among those contributing to later films.

The creative vision for the campaign was led by Japan’s Mori Inc and New York’s Stinkdigital, with additional support from Dentsu.

For more info, go to the official site: www.sony.net/neverbeforeseen

To check out the videos created by this Under $500 4K Camera for this campaign, check out:

CREATURE
Directed by Ryan Dzierzek

About Creature:
We have the ability to make almost anything in a laboratory but should we? Director Ryan Dzierzek combines eerily realistic footages from Action Cam by Sony with VFX to imagine what happens when a genetic experiment revives something meant to stay extinct.



How it was made:
Dzierzek and his crew used the Action Cam to capture the point of view of the Creature. The Action Cam was mounted on various accessories and a quad-copter as it made it’s way through
London and it’s suburbs. This allowed for natural running and flying motions that the imagined Creature would have.

The lab, embryo and the Creature were created by Dzierzek one strange part at a time in 3D. The Creature was then composited on the live action Action Cam footage. From creature animation, to live action VFX compositing, to drones, this film allowed the director to push the technical limits of what can be done with a small, hand-held camera.

See how this Creature was born and other Never Before Seen films here.

THE PICTURE MACHINE
Directed by STUDIO NOS

About The Picture Machine:
One of the oldest forms of animation meets Action Cam by Sony in this custom animation system designed and created by Studio Nos. This delightful process and it’s results involve a remote-controlled car pod, painstaking craftsmanship and a parade of illustrated, dancing mushrooms.

 

How it was made:
The Action Cam was placed inside a remote-controlled car-rig that traveled around the circular path of an animation system. Animation frames were mounted on the wall of the system. The camera shoots as it travels in it’s car-pod along the path, creating the effect of an animated zoetrope. The camera operator controlled the camera and what it was seeing with the Action Cam’s Live-View Remote. The Action Cam was also mounted to a Jib arm for crane shots.

The car-pod, the animation system, the mounts and rigs, as well as every frame of animation was conceived and designed by Studio Nos for this project.

See how The Picture Machine was put together and other Never Before Seen films here.

PAPERPORTS
Directed by CHARLES YOUNG

About Paperports:
This charming film follows the inhabitants of a tiny paper city as they go about their business. From the imagination of Charles Young, creator of Paperholm, comes 60 unique buildings, 9
vehicles and a fascinating peek inside his meticulous process with Action Cam by Sony.

 

How it was made:
The Action Cam’s small size and high quality footage meant Young could place the camera inside his construction and capture the city’s fine details and movements.

Young constructed each building and vehicle by hand-cutting and folding them out of paper. The model was then arranged in a circle with the Action Cam placed at the center. The Action Cam was mounted on a Lazy Susan bearing platform that allowed it to turn freely in 360 degrees. Young then added a long arm to the platform to move the camera precisely by hand.

Still photographs were taken using the Action Cam’s Photo Mode while the Live-View remote allowed Young to operate the camera without having to disturb it’s position. A stop-motion animation was then created with the stills. The final film was created with three time-lapse videos and approximately 1300 separate photographs.

See how Paperports was constructed and other Never Before Seen films here.