One day, a call came in from René Rodlauer. Music video. Artist: Lisa Pac. Song title: Rotation. Idea: drifting cars. Timeframe: very short. Was I in? Yes.
As is often the case, the process began with a compact scouting and several rounds of ideas. During this ping-pong, a specific image crystallized for me relatively early on: very close to the artist, a slow zoom out into an extreme super-wide shot, while the camera simultaneously rotates around the Z-axis.
The song is called Rotation. The idea is neither particularly subtle nor conceptually new. But it was visually clear—and in my head, it worked.
The Decision Against Post-Production
The most obvious way would have been to solve the whole thing pragmatically: high-resolution sensor, moderate zoom, rotation later in post. Technically problem-free, production-wise efficient.
Nevertheless, this approach felt wrong to me. For one thing, because of the unavoidable cropping; for another, for a reason that is rather difficult to measure: it would have been a purely digital assertion of movement, not a physical one.
Why Physical Camera Effects Have a Different Impact
Since I had neither a Skaterscope nor a comparable system available at that time, I brought the matter to AVPro. They are familiar with my penchant for requirements that could politely be described as “unusual”—usually not for their own sake, but because they arise from a concrete image or a formal necessity.
The task was clearly defined:
- a very long, electronically controllable zoom
- simultaneous, also electronically controlled rotation of the camera around the Z-axis
The initial feedback was pleasingly unagitated: “Is a 40x zoom enough? About 14–560 mm?”
The Rig – Technology as a Means, Not a Show
After some testing and adjustments, a compact but by no means light setup emerged:
- ARRI Alexa Mini
- Canon HJ40x14B 14–560 mm
- Tilta Roll Rig
- Wireless Follow Focus
ARRI Alexa Mini with B4 optics Due to the exchangeable B4 mount of the Alexa Mini, the lens—originally designed for broadcast and live applications—could be repurposed. This inevitably brought some technical challenges: weight, inertia, calibration, motor load.
Zoom, Rotation, and Motor Load
The testing phase was accordingly pragmatic, at times also unpleasant, but goal-oriented. In the end, the system worked reliably—despite significant masses being moved during the rotation.
Effort vs. Screentime – A Conscious Decision
However, another aspect was more decisive for me: the solution was physical. The zoom, the rotation, the movement in space—all of this took place for real, in front of the camera, not retroactively in the computer.
In the final video, this shot only takes up a few seconds. Objectively speaking, the effort is not linearly proportional to the screentime. Subjectively, that is exactly the point: images are not created solely out of efficiency, but out of attitude. Out of the decision of how one wants to show something—and why.
For me, this type of work is only possible if everyone involved is willing to try things out, to test, and to build solutions that don’t come from a catalog. Not out of romance, but out of an interest in the image.
And that is exactly what matters to me.
Author: DOP Matthias Groß I www.florrislava.eu
