For his new documentary project, Just Ballet (about dancers at the Vienna State Opera Ballet School), BBC freelance DOP Johnnie Behiri co-produced with one of Austria’s leading production houses, Seven Film and Post-production Company.
As part of this project the 1×1 LED lights from Litepanels, a Vitec Group brand, were used by Behiri as a versatile source of lighting for demanding shots.
In total, Behiri spent a year working on the two 56-minute parts of the documentary about a unique ballet class from the school. Behiri filmed eight dancers between the ages of 14 and 15 years old during rehearsals, performances and interviews. He even accompanied some of the young dancers to Romania and Japan.
“To get the most authentic footage possible, I wanted to be as close to the ballet students, their teachers and families as possible,” says Behiri. “When it came to equipment, I kept my set-up to a minimum so I would always have mobility and flexibility and not be in the dancers’ way.”
A Canon EOS 7D on a Sachtler DV8 SB tripod system and the Litepanels 1×1 fixture made up the basic equipment, which was only supplemented by some accessories. The choice of lighting was especially important to Behiri as most of the filming took place in ballet studios with plain white walls.
“This was indeed a challenge because it would have disturbed the girls’ routine and their behavior would not have appeared authentic if the ballet studios had been completely lit,” says Behiri. “The combination of modern HD-DSLR film equipment and the versatile 1×1 enabled me to create the shots without exaggeration and to portray the protagonists in a very personal way.”
He describes the 1×1 as versatile. “I used it when shooting interviews, to film the girls while dancing or to emphasise room details,” says Behiri. “The light was often used as a direct light. However, it was also used with the filters included in the kit to adjust the colour temperature or to spread the light. Independent of what the lighting conditions were like in the room and how much natural light came in from outside, I used the 1×1 as a key light, fill light or background light.”
Throughout, the quality of light consistently met Behiri’s high demands. “The new possibilities created by filming in HD-quality have influenced the audience and the demands on the pictures are extremely high. Litepanels has moved with these developments and is consistently improving the lighting technology. Litepanels lights provide bright, flicker-free lighting without the annoying side effects of traditional lights,” emphasises Behiri. “Hot lighting, which makes the interview subject sweat, is just no longer contemporary.”
