SHOOT BREAKDOWN / COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION
The Republic of Tea had a new matcha coming out, and we got to build a kitchen commercial around it. Think carefully shaped light, lots of product details, and smooth camera moves. It was a small team with a clear look in mind, and the client was right there with us all day.
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THE FINISHED COMMERCIAL
Matcha made simple, sip by sip.
Watch the finished spot first, then come behind the scenes with me. Keep an eye on the camera move near the end. That’s where the dolly and motion control really earned their keep.
01 / LIGHTING
Give each light a job.
We rigged an amaran F22c and amaran F22x together on a Kupo Big Boom for overhead rim light. Coming in from above gave us a nice separate layer of light and kept the floor around the kitchen island clear.
Our main light was the Aputure 1200d (it’s been replaced, so the link goes to the newer Aputure 1200X). For the backsplash, we used the amaran 300c with a spotlight attachment and a window gobo to fake sunlight streaming through a window onto the set.
Negative fill kept the light from bouncing all over the white kitchen, and a few accent lights finished it off. I like to think of it as three separate jobs: shape the subject and product, give the background some direction, and control the spill so it all holds together.
02 / CAMERA & LENSES
My trusty FX6 and three lenses.
I shot this one on my Sony FX6, mostly bouncing between the 70–200mm, the 50mm F1.2, and the 28–70mm.
A kitchen commercial is constantly going back and forth between the person making the drink and close-ups of the product, so having those focal lengths ready kept us moving. I frame each shot around what you should be looking at, whether that’s the prep, the pour, or the packaging.
03 / MOVEMENT
Build the move into the shot.
For movement, we had a motorized slider and the eMotimo Spectrum ST4 on a Dana Dolly. That combo gave us really controlled moves around the product.
Movement only earns its spot when it makes the product look better. We’d dial in the composition, the speed of the move, and the action together, watch it back, and go again. Check out the end of the commercial to see it in action.
04 / CLIENT MONITORING
Keep everyone looking at the same image.
We used the Hollyland Pyro S wireless system to send the camera feed to a SEETEC production monitor and a Hollyland Pyro 7.
I love having that shared view on a shoot like this. The client sees the framing, the product placement, and the look as we build it, so we can talk through changes while everything’s still set up.
05 / THE TEAM
A clear direction makes a small team work.
What works great on a shoot like this is that everyone gets along, the client knows exactly what they want, and the production team is there to execute that look.
The gear helps us solve the shots, but the people are what keep things moving. When everyone’s looking at the same image and knows the goal, we get to spend our energy on the little details the client cares about.
THE KIT
Everything we used.
Rounding it out: the Kupo Big Boom, Dana Dolly, spotlight attachment, motorized slider, negative fill, and a few accent lights. Our key light was the Aputure 1200d; since it’s been replaced, the link goes to the newer Aputure 1200X.