Website Logo

Search for lenses, articles and help

Music Promo

Ensemble Mik Nawooj CREAM

Ensemble Mik Nawooj's C.R.E.A.M.

“Ensemble Mik Nawooj's C.R.E.A.M. music video is a cover of Wu-Tang Clan’s 1993 hit by the same name and was an exploration of portrait photography within the medium of motion picture.  Exploring the Golden Mean aspect ratio of 1.618:1 and a Cooke 40mm we aimed to create a series of portraits where people could express the lyrics in a thoughtful and intimate manner. This black and white video features over 25 subjects and uses portraiture to re-explore a classic hit.”

Lens/Camera Information
Lens series: Cooke Vintage Speed Panchros
Focus length: 40mm
Original Aspect Ratio: 1.618:1
Camera: RED Epic
Format: Digital
Rental Company: None, lens DOPs own

DOP Information
Director of Photography: Jason Joseffer http://www.jasonjoseffer.com
Agent: Sherry Rousso Associates http://www.sradp.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonjosefferdp
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user16877490

Production Information
Production: Ensemble Mik Nawooj CREAM
Producer: Irma Kollar
Director: Marta Dymek http://www.martadymek.com

DOP Jason Joseffer on his lens and kit choice: At a pre-production meeting our director Marta Dymek shared visual references that were greatly influenced by Richard Avedon’s portrait photography. The idea was to gather a large group of people over the course of a day and have them lip sync specific segments of the song. Richard Avedon’s work was highly relevant, as he photographed people against a neutral background. I studied his photos and came up with a plan as to how to best emulate his photography and apply it to a music video.  I’ve always adored the look of Cooke Speed Panchros and found that the 40mm focal length would suit the project perfectly. Convenient, as I owned this one and only focal length.  The Speed Panchro family of lenses has a softer quality that counters the harshness of digital. I find 40mm to be a magical focal length as its limited degree of compression suits faces well and creates a three-dimensional character. It’s in the perfect spot of being neither a wide-angle nor a telephoto. As the piece is comprised solely of a series of portraits, this was the one and only lens used for the entire video.  Having a background in machining, I rehoused this focal length bringing it up to speed of modern production.  New barrels, PL mount and gear rings allowed us to properly pull focus during dolly moves and work properly on a RED Epic Dragon.”