Client :: American Diabetes Association
Production Company :: ZWFILM
Dir. :: Zach Wolfson
Location Sound :: Katie Bibee
Production Assistant :: Alex Truax

So, if you don’t know this already, I’m quite particular about how I treat everything I use, from my car down to my dishes.  I enjoy owning quality stuff and that comes hand in hand with the joy I take in caring for it well so it lasts for a long time.  Little things like regular oil changes or cleaning a LCD screen can add up after a while.

All this downsizing consideration eventually led to taking photos of a few things to post on Craigslist.  I’ve had great success using it to make sales in the past – I sold my old car in just 3 days… with over 10 serious inquiries within 24 hours.  Craigslist is a great tool, but whether you’re selling a car or renting an apartment, quality photos go a very long way.  And in my book, they help expedite your transaction much more quickly – words are great, but nothing makes an impression more than a great photo (or video for that matter, eh?).

Being not only one who appreciates quality photos, but also a creator of quality moving images, I couldn’t just take the regular fill-flash shots.  Frontal lighting?  No thanks!

In considering one of my items for sale – which, ironically, is a DSLR body – and how I could make it stand out to interested parties in how I shoot it, I thought of the black limbo and white limbo interviews that I’ve shot before.  For those unfamiliar with the term, the “limbo” part means that the subject is in a nondescript location with a completely white or completely black background.  And, depending on the subject you’re lighting, as well as the story being expressed, either black or white may simply work better as the color choice.

Last night I made the decision to use white limbo for shooting my DSLR body (side note: it didn’t end up being true white limbo; I’ll get to “the why” shortly).  I chose white limbo primarily because the camera body is black and the white background would create the necessary contrast against DSLR body.  And I also wanted to create a clean, fun, commercial-quality collection of photos that would highlight the camera body in a complementary way – such that the viewer’s eye goes straight to the camera and is not distracted by anything in the background/foreground.

I created my impromptu mini photo studio with 1/2″ white foam core for the “floor” and the “back wall” – roughly 18″ wide, 12″ high and 12″ deep.  I prefer 1/2″ foam core over 1/4″ for its increased rigidity.  I lit the scene with just one light – my desk lamp (CFL) – backlighting the D300 and using a white bounce for fill.  Now, I’ve been calling this white limbo, but in its truest form, this isn’t white limbo since we can see the camera body’s shadow.  I’m okay with the shadows.  To me they add some visual depth, and I just simply like the look.  If I had wanted to cut the shadows, I could have done one of two things – (1) move the subject further from the background; or (2) introduce a fill light to balance the ratio of brightness across the frame.  Since my mini photo studio is so small, the second option would have been the easiest to accomplish, and I may have needed to flag the fill light from spilling onto the camera body, too.

With some simple, cheap, everyday tools, it’s a very straightforward setup to accomplish.  Keep in mind that with subjects that are dark in color and shiny, spectral highlights – or, essentially, white reflections – are necessary to create contrast in the shiny/reflective/glass areas; otherwise it’ll just be solid black.  Contrast creates more interest and brings your subject to life for the viewer.  It’s sexy and intriguing.  Notice the highlight on the LCD screen?  It’s no Photoshop illusion; I created it with a small piece of white foam core held in position such that we see it reflected in the LCD screen’s surface.

So how do you like product shots to look?  How would you light them?  White limbo?  Black limbo?  Natural setting?  Let me know in the comments, and thanks for reading and checking out my site.

And, if you’re interested in the D300 body, drop me a line.  UPDATE: My D300 is sold.

So, since you’re here reading now, my decision of what to do with it is clear.  I’ve thought it’d be fun to have a site dedicated to me as an individual, instead of as a company (ZWFILM).  Being the “go-to” guy for my friends and colleagues for technical questions, I’ve considered writing about technical/creative tips, tricks, how-to’s, etc. but I hadn’t yet taken the time to more formally create a space to do it.  But now, here it is, as zachwolfson.com.

My main ideas for the site: to showcase my work as a cinematographer and editor; to share my thoughts on new tech, movies, inspirations, tools; to reflect on my travels, both for work and for play; to write about and share new film/video/tv projects that I’m developing.  And, who knows what else will come of it – we’ll see!

Here’s to enjoying life and living in abundance.  Keep creating!

Production Company :: ZWFILM
Dir. :: Zach Wolfson
Writer :: Ian C. Ware
Starring :: Mark Jeremy Mitten, Christine Mascolo, Jonah Lujan, Darden A. Poling, Jessica Caver, Kerma Martin
Producers :: Katie Bibee, Ian C. Ware, Joe Sarmiento, Zach Wolfson
Music Composer & Performer :: Brenda Elthon

Project Synopsis ::
A young man driving down a dark road late one evening has his life changed forever when he accidentally runs over two children. Stuffing them into his trunk, a grim adventure ensues when the children start to reappear in the young man’s life.

Client :: Colorado College
Production Company :: ZWFILM
DP/Director/Editor :: Zach Wolfson
Graphic Designer :: Naomi Trujillo

Project Synopsis ::
The Colorado College Office of Annual Giving had a fun promo video concept in mind to encourage donations from alumni who have attended Colorado College since Richard Celeste became the College President.  The video concept: to show how even the donation amount of the price of a pizza slice can make a difference for the College and students.  The point is that it’s not so much about the amount that you donate to give back to your college, it’s about consistently showing support to your alma mater that provided such opportunity during your college career – every CC student benefits from each dollar that’s donated.  We produced 7 videos in total for the Annual Giving marketing campaign, for classes 2003 through 2009.  In total, the videos were sent to well over 3500 alumni.

Client :: Kangopack – Lucid Sun, LLC
Production Company :: ZWFILM
Dir. :: Zach Wolfson

Project Synopsis ::
The team at Kangopack was in search of a cinematographer/editor to shoot and edit a promotional video for their Kangopack product line – a revolutionary collection of antimicrobial travel gear. Eric, John and Anna at Kangopack were on a tight deadline to have the video turned around in a couple days for their booth at an industry trade show, as well as for their website where the press and consumers, alike, could see the full benefits and advantages of the Kangopack product line. We shot the promo in a day at the Denver International Airport and I edited the piece within 2 days to allow sufficient time for the Kangopack team to post it to their website and ready the DVD’s for their booth.

Client :: Colorado College
Production Company :: ZWFILM
Dir. :: Zach Wolfson

Project Synopsis ::
The Colorado College Development Office needed a video produced to encourage the CC community (alumni, current students and their parents, alike) to donate to the College’s Annual Giving program.  The video’s aim was to promote CC Tiger pride and mutual support by all who have experienced the passion, dedication and generosity of Colorado College.

Client :: Colorado Center on Law and Policy
Production Company :: ZWFILM
Dir. :: Zach Wolfson and Mike Shum

Project Synopsis ::
The Colorado Center on Law & Policy (CCLP) wanted a video to express support for Amendment 59 on the November 2008 ballot through personal statements by “everyday” people as well as a couple Colorado politicians. CCLP had a series of people in mind for us to interview to communicate the value that A-59 could bring to Colorado as a whole through its education system. We came up with a creative concept and “look” to make the piece more than just “talking heads” in an effort to humanize the interview subjects for the audience.  After we completed shooting and shifted into post-production, we realized that it would be beneficial to make a series of shorter teaser videos from the individual interviews.  Each teaser served as a brief portrait of the person it focused upon–”The Student,” “The Economic Developer,” “The School Counselor,” “The Doctor,” and “The Teacher.”  The series of teasers provided extra marketability to catch the viewers’ attention in brief :15 to :30 second snippets.  In total, all six videos were distributed via CCLP’s YouTube channel to maximize exposure and accessibility.

Production Company :: ZWFILM
Dir. :: Zach Wolfson

Project Synopsis ::
Ulukhaktok: Arctic Voices is a documentary about living in the North told through the voices of six locals.  The film was shot over 3 weeks in the Canadian Arctic town of Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories (formerly Holman Island).  The video on this page is an excerpt from the short film.