Here in Melbourne
You never know what you can expect at next street corner
Who you'd meet
What stories you'd hear
A man
A dog
And a bicycle
These are the main characters in today's story
I came across this shop in Collingwood
And let me tell you the story
This is Jesse Geisler
The souvenirs on the wall mark his glory days as a pro cyclist
In his 40s, he's still very positive and optimistic
He's a mechanical guy, a pure one
Even make himself a coffee with a manual machine
He founded his own bicycle brand and shop called Bike Bar
He also has a handmade steel frame brand: Geisler
From a cyclist to a bike craftsman
His rich experience on the road
has brought him a much better understanding of riding
He focuses so much on the workmanship
It seems stubborn to me
But I know that every step he takes is systematic and steady
a pursuit of perfection
And Jesse enjoys this pursuit
This is his faith
This is Indy, named after "Independent"
She injured her leg in a car accident 5 years ago
Since then
Jesse named her as the Quality Control Officer of the shop
Every corner in this shop has a unique story
This is the world of steel
A world filled with the smell of grease and metal
You might say it feels dark and cold
But to someone who loves machinery
This is the only place he'd want to be
A bike can represent a personality
It is the language
that a cyclist uses to communicate with the road
Tools have souls
You can tell their tempers by their sizes and types
However, the craftsman is the real key element
A handmade steel frame is the perfect art
of the rigidity and the toughness combination
Among all those high-tech materials, why steel?
Steel is one of the most classic materials
Definitely the best choice in the 70s to 90s
The golden age of cycling
Its performance doesn't decrease with age
Hard and tough, almost indomitable
Like the spirit of a cyclist
Steel isn't just hard and cold, Jesse can feel its heart beat
Steel can take all the hard work, with the finest detail
It is one of the most stable and easiest materials to work with
Cyclists can feel the response from the road
As viewers, we only see the mechanical work done by Jesse
And while we thought this is all of his job
It's just the tip of the iceberg
The most important part
is his active and sharp mind after the detailed observation
That is why he might look silent and serious
at the most of the time
He is fully immersed in the world of bicycle
He goes through the details again and again, tirelessly
Because it has to be done to his highest standard
A bike in the eyes of common folks
It's a simple transportation tool with 2 wheels
In the eyes of mechanics
It's a subtle combination of mechanical systems
In the eyes of Jesse, however,
It's transformed into a relationship
an attitude of life
This is a pursuit of craftsmanship
By using the most classic methods
He creates an all-new experience of riding
Welcome to Colorbee Photography Life Magazine
I am Brian
The clip you just watched
took us more time than any other video we've ever made
When we worked on an outdoor shoot 2 years ago
I accidentally found this studio which is located deeply in an alley
When I walked into it
I was like "WOW This place is fascinating!"
Everything looked so natural and organic
which is more coincidental
The shop owner Jesse is really into biking just like I am
We had a great conversation
At the time
I wanted to make a video about this place
At the beginning of 2020
Prores RAW filming was released
on Nikon Mirrorless Z6/Z7.
I took that as a chance
and started the project in March and took the very first clip
I want to talk about the experience
we had with filming this project
Firstly, I want to share some of the good experiences
But more importantly, I want to share about the mistakes we made
I hope everyone can get some tips from our mistakes
Let's start
I grew up in a factory surroundings
especially the memories triggered by the smell of industrial oil
and the scent of metals
They are the most prominent smells in my childhood memory
Thus, when I came across a familiar topic like this
which is also a subject that has plenty of cool details
I really
didn't want to waste this opportunity
However, as a gear lover
I made a common mistake
which was thinking that everything would work out perfectly.
At that moment, I thought I could do everything on my own
and produce each frame like punk commercial.
get all lights and reflectors I want on set
turn on every light to enhance the textures
and use sliders, gimbals, everything
Everyone is definitely gonna be moved by my video
Who am I
The DIRECTOR
However
The shooting condition in the studio did not allow me to achieve my amazing plan
Firstly
The work space was extremely crowded
All the walkways were so tight that only one person can pass
Not only was it hard to set up the tripod
but also hard to use sliders
Nor to put up lights at ideal locations
None of these is possible
The indoor lighting was not great either
There is little natural light
LEDs on the ceiling were the only lighting
which is yellowy and greeny
It annoyed me quite a lot at that time
The worst thing was
that Jesse was working as normal and the shop was fully functional during the shooting
Just like every other day, Jesse was taking orders from clients
and working on bikes
He wanted himself to be completely natural and real
in the final video
He did not want to be an actor, manipulated by the director
I have to say
I really appreciated how Jesse was supporting the project and giving us his time and help
Thus, I definitely wanted to respect his opinion
Well, that generated another problem
I needed to make a transition on my own role
This project is meant to be a documentary of real life
I had to swtich my role to be an invisible documentary photographer
so my object won't mind the camera
and ignoring my existence
Also, I had to work with the limited conditions
With the shooting goal set
it is easier to execute the plan
For gears
this shooting was mostly done with the Nikon Z series
I used two setups
The first half of the clips were done on a Nikon Z6 with upgraded firmware
and shooting on Prores Raw format with the Ninja V monitor
All the other clips were done using
the Newest Nikon Z7II with N-log from Ninja V
The purpose of switching to Z7II was for its high resolution.
I wanted to take some pictures while filming
Videos are usually come with too much subjective emotion
Even though it is a documentary
the background music, the narratives added
and the timing of each cut
can all affect or lead audience's feelings
However, for photos
they give viewer plenty of time to think and analysis
I hope us do not look down the power of the photo
which is much more efficient on transmission than videos
At the same time
The recorded and displayed carriers are more than videos
Next, let me talk about the camera movement
The shooting angle with the tripod is very limited
Furthermore, it is not easy to use tripod in such a small space
It is a time consuming process to setup the tripod
and will always miss the moment to snap a photo
So, 80% of the video was handheld
Nikon Z7 II 's stabilization system is very believable
With the in-body stabilization and the advanced Electric Image Stabilization
plus the stabilization in editing software during post production
the final video seams to be pretty steady
In order to improve the stability of the camera
I attached a cage on the camera
At the same time
The Ninja V on the top increases the total weight
which makes the camera even more stable
The lenses i used are 14mm to 70mm
The quality of the video is impressive
looks quite comfortable
and comes with a little shaking like in the real world
About IBIS
It is not that important
But it really can save documentary photographer from trash clips sometimes
It's interesting to choose the the lenses for the video
You believe or not
Most of the videos are shot by 50mm lens
50mm/1.8 was the main lens at the beginning
Now I'm using the high-end Nikon 50mm/1.2
which is known as the best auto focus 50 mm lens in the world
Those of you who have subscribed me long before might know
I'm not interested in 50 mm lens
and also not a big aperture lover
But what on earth changed my mind this time
Starting using 50 mm lens
Actually, it depends on the filming environment
The photographers must be adaptable in the changing environment
To be honest, during the framing of a shoot
I brought as many lenses as I can bring
14-24 mm, 24-70 mm, 35 mm, 50 mm and 85 mm
Fit the whole luggage
I may won't use them, but I have to bring them
I tried to shoot with every lenses
Finally my choice was 50 mm
In this such a small space
50 mm is the best lens to shoot with
If use 24 mm wide angle
That will make the picture too messy
35mm is way too plain
The 75mm and 70-85mm lenses are too long
Which can only do the close-up shoot
50mm is the best choice when you only got 1 or 2 meters away from your target
When shoot closer, it can use like a "macro" lens
With Apsc Mode, it can use as a 75mm lens
This lens can use in almost all situation and environments
There is one more thing
The two 50mm lenses from Nikon are optimized for video shooting
You can barely notice the breathing effect
The brand new 50mm/1.2 impressed me a lot
This might be the biggest 50 mm prime lens i have ever used
The image quality is fantastic
I shoot most of them with the max aperture on
The image is impressively sharp
but not that kind of stupid digital sharpness
While in the background, everything melt away smoothly like butter
which created a sense of distance properly
If not handled decently, such messy background
will deliver a restless feeling to the audiences
But I would describe the new 50mm prime lens with only 2 words
Comfy and quiet
With the 50 mm focal length
I thought there will be no more dark light issue
With my hand on test, Z7 II with 50 mm prime lens
The best ISO range is from 1600-3200
Meanwhile, for the photograph lighting
I have my own idea
I'd like to keep the original lights in filming surroundings
whatever it's bright or dark
it's all adjusted by Jesse himself in so many years of work
the height and position of the light have his own reason
If I purposely change the light or add more lights for filming
The video will not be as immersive as it should be originally
which will not satisfy me, nor Jesse
Fortunately, the high sensitivity of Z7 II performed well in this film situation
even when I push ISO to 3200 it still has very good dynamic range
don't forget its a camera with 45 MPX
After dealing with lights, lenses and stability
the problem left is how to film and framing
To be honest it's stressful to shoot
When I was filming
The prior problem is not about how to beautifully framing the image
But how not to disturb the subject
leaving him a relaxed in front of our camera
Then we are should trim the sails
trying to get the angle I want without disturbing his work
it's impossible to ask him to repeat operating a machine
because it's real works for client
he is a machinist, not actor
I keep reminding myself even if we want it more artistic
it should still come from the real life
there is one more thing
I feel puzzled after finishing all the shots
It's the color tone of the whole video
we shot with N-log 10bit Prores 422
which provided huge adjustment space in post production
especially for color grading, we got a bunch of choices
which, on the other hand, also confused me
what kind of color tone should we use
be metallic and nostalgic to fit the subject of this video
or make it bright as I actually saw
After trying both, we still can't figure out which is better
which one do you prefer
let me know in the comments below
1 for nostalgic style
2 for the realistic style
this is the few thoughts generated by using an external recorder on Z7 II
either external N-log recording 4K 30fps
or internal 4K 60fps
color and upgrade
which is more important
I feel like I've already made my choice
to sum up
I've talked so much about experience and gears
but after this time
I believe the most important part in film making
is unarguably the person
we spent too much time on the equipment
whatever cyclist or photography geek
some of sentence even talk my ear off
Is the steel frame getting outdated
the carbon fiber, which is lighter and more solid
will dominate the future
include myself
always complaining 50 mm not fit for me
In the end you will find that the capability of getting down to the earth
knowing how to communicate with our figures
be decisive and precise in different circumstances
are the only few lifelong benefits for photographers
This project is still carrying on
I'm looking forward a chance to filming a whole process of hand-making a bicycle
and also hoping one day Jesse riding his own bike
climbing up on some Melbourne mountain roads
one last thing is that Indy will not barking at me like this any more
pretty embarrassing
That's all. Thanks for watching
This is ColorBee Photography, stay tuned, I am Brian
Thank you again
I'll see you at next video
Bye