03.02.12
An Added dimension: Duckrabbit's 3D photofilm
Duckrabbit is making waves in the digital journalism community with its combination of still photography and audio, labelled ‘photofilm’. Kathrine Anker talks to David White, Co-Founder and Photography Director of Duckrabbit ltd, about why there is still a place for stills in this age of convergence. Oh, and we get the ‘how’s and ‘why’s of the latest Duckrabbit venture - the world’s first campaign photofilm shot with 3D stills.
Before award-winning photographer David White and BBC audio producer Benjamin Chesterton met, they had both been nagged by the same feeling of lack in their respective jobs. They felt that they weren’t telling the whole story. But when they met by chance in 2002, they found a way to combine their media and make their stories richer: photofilms, the marriage of stills and audio.
“My inspiration to start doing photofilms was the inherent limitations within the medium of photography itself”, White recalls. “Every story I tried to tell photographically, even when allied to the finest writing, fell short in my eyes in respect to my subject. Meeting Benjamin was a revelation. We both realised we had the same approach, but just with different tools.”
A powerful combination
All this talk of combining photography with sounds - wouldn’t it be more effective just to make a video? Far from, according to White. For the photographers of Duckrabbit, the combination of stills and audio achieves something extraordinary that could not be achieved with video. The stills image allows the eye to roam, to explore the inherent power of the image, White says. Video, he insists, does not allow the eye to roam in the same way: “We have found that video dictates much more where the eye goes, what the viewer digests visually. Often, video distracts from the audio. To us, the audio is easily as important as the visuals. The audio is the narrative lead.”
So the stills bring out the power of a good audio narrative, while allowing the eye to roam. Got it. But White has yet another reason to prefer stills over video: A great deal of creativity is allowed in the combination of the soundtrack and the images, and not necessarily in the way it happens on TV. “The visual narrative does not have to slavishly follow the audio, as it so often does with pure video. This can create intriguing dynamics.”
Old genre, new clients
The creative revamp of an existing but forgotten genre seems to appeal to the digital journalism community. Duckrabbit’s founders are regularly asked to showcase their photofilms and take part in panel discussions and events, such as Digital Storytelling ‘10 and the annual London Design Festival. As it turns out, the product also appeals to another, rather important group: the clients. Duckrabbit was recently commissioned by Médecins Sans Frontières as the creative agency on their fundraising campaign, MSF Delivers. They spent ten days in eastern Congo, producing photofilms, photography, radio and TV adverts, and a pioneering 3D video (but more about that later).
It’s not just the NGOs that are after Duckrabbit’s photofilms. Commercial clients are also starting to discover the appeal of the stills and audio combo. A commission from Riverford Organics, showcased on Duckrabbit’s website, proves White’s point about the format. By allowing the viewer to fully take in each still image before moving on to the next, their channels of perception are open and the message from the advertiser in the audio track will stick in the viewer’s mind.
Out Of The Box from duckrabbit on Vimeo.
The gear
David White is not rigid when it comes to cameras. “I shoot with Nikons, Panasonics, Fuji compacts, 12x10 plate cameras, a Mamiya, a Leica, frankly anything and everything that allows the story to be told.” He adds: “I hate the kit getting in the way of a story, so I try to keep it to a minimum. Typically, I will carry a D700, a 24, 35 and 105, a GH2 if I need video, with a few speedlights in the bag. A zoom audio recorder is in my bag, and a pair of decent over ear headphones. My bag is tiny.” Although audio quality is very important to Duckrabbit’s productions, White prefers to keep the recording simple and focused on the subject. “We rarely use an external microphone, those built into the units are admirable. I will on occasion use a Sennheiser directional mic on the GH2, but not for the important audio from the subject. For that I’ll sit down with the subject and have a conversation, mostly listening, rarely speaking, sitting next to them, never in front. I never try to do stills and audio at the same time, that is a mistake many photographers make. If you try to do that, both will suffer.”
Duckrabbit’s producers apply the same, practical approach to their choice of software as they do to their hardware. White and his colleagues will typically use Adobe Audition for the audio, multi-tracking and Sony Vegas for video and photofilm. Photoshop, iMovie and Bridge are also in the toolbox.
From Congo with 3D
One of the most exciting things to come out of Duckrabbit’s trip to Congo is a 3D photofilm campaign. The very first of its kind, White tells PP. The debut was suitably launched at a special screening at the Royal College of Medicine.
“Using 3D in an NGO campaign was a real eye opener. I can honestly say that the reactions people have to 3D stills amazes me. I wish I could get such reactions from 2D images.” He says: “3D is normally associated with light entertainment, cartoons, CGI. Rarely is it married to true content. That marriage is very, very powerful. The work we did about childbirth in Eastern Congo for MSF really brought the subject alive.”
What’s in a 3D toolbox?
Simplicity seems to be a recurring theme with Duckrabbit. When shooting the 3D photofilm, the photographer used a Fuji W3. “A true 3D stills compact”, says White. “It is important for us to be able to move quickly and easily in the environments in which we work. For that reason, bulky twin camera rigs and mirror boxes were out of the question. It’s quite possible with 3D stills to take the resolution levels and clarity to a point that vastly surpasses the possible with video resolution if needs be, using stereo rigs and/or mirror boxes - but at the expense of speed and portability”.
The Duckrabbit photographer who shot the 3D photofilm, Yasuyoshi Chiba, used the same approach as he would normally take with his Canons. Observing, waiting, shooting. “In fact, a lot of the time he was juggling both the 3D and his 2D camera. He can do that because he’s one hell of a shooter” says White.
A challenging start
Although the set-up was simple, Duckrabbit’s first plunge into 3D was not without difficulties. “The Fuji is capable of incredible results, but it is essentially two compact cameras in one,” says White. “To that end, it suffers from a degree of shutter lag, poor low light abilities, a weak flash and slow write times. “The software issues were a bit of a pain, but Vegas and a lot of sleepless nights answered them. We were literally rendering the film in the train on the way down to the launch screening in London at the Royal College of Medicine.”
Is 3D the future?
The screening was a success, and MSF were delighted with the publicity that came from being the first to have a 3D campaign. Duckrabbit’s photographers are convinced. But what about other photographers out there? Should they be adding 3D to their portfolio? “I don’t think it’s something all photographers will want or need to be using”, believes White. “Technically, I think it is fascinating when allied to strong content. I think many photographers are instantly dismissive of the idea before even having seen images in 3D. That attitude intrigues and disappoints me. Documentary photographers and photojournalists struggle endlessly trying to absorb and immerse the viewer in their content, and 3D can help with that enormously. A few people dislike 3D photography, but the majority find the images often more compelling than their 2D counterparts.”
Wise words
Since its foundation, Duckrabbit has taken on four new photographers, and they have started to offer training in their signature photofilm skills. It’s not a closed club, and White’s advice for curious photographers is encouraging: “Jump in, the water’s lovely. And never forget the content. You can be as whizz bang as you like, but if the content is lacking, the work is lacking.”
To find out more about Duckrabbit’s photofilm training, go to: www.duckrabbit.info/training
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