San Francisco Video Production Company, Corduroy Media recently shot a documentary short for Hughes Telematics.
"I'm lucky to be alive."- Paul Morris
Powerful words from a man who credits the Mbrace system by Hughes Telematics with saving his life.
Hughes Telematics called Corduroy Media to produce a promotional documentary video on San Pablo Councilman Paul Morris and his experience using the Mbrace System. Morris owns a property management company and was visiting a recently acquired property to introduce himself to his new tenant. He arrived at the property in his 2012 Mercedes Benz, and right after he rang the doorbell a man burst out and knocked Morris out cold. He awoke in a vacant lot in the passenger seat of his car. He called 911, but he couldn't communicate clearly, so the operator hung up on him. He then hit the Mbrace button inside his Mercedes, and the operator called emergency services, who responded shortly thereafter.
We began the production day by going to Paul Morris's office, where we created a dramatic lighting design to emphasize the mood of the story. We used two cameras for the interview, including the Canon c300 for our A camera, and a Canon 5D handheld for a B camera. We rarely go handheld for an interview, but thought the documentary feel would aid the overall aesthetic.
After shooting some b-roll of Paul in his office and rolling around town, we went by the dealership to pick up our brand new Mercedes Benz for our reenactment scenes!
(Corduroy Media Assistant Director Sean Donnelly, left, and Executive Director Carl Brown with the 2013 Mercedes Benz used for our shoot)
We got lucky with the ominous Bay Area fog and shot the car throughout the different areas that Morris recounted in his story. We strapped a 5d on the hood of the car, shot on top of the grip van, and used the Dana Dolly for a variety of shots. We had a quick turnaround of two days for a first cut, and our editor, Andrew Kaluzynski, created a powerful foreshadowing introduction to open a strong piece. Take a look at the video below and let us know what you think.
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