In case you haven’t heard, Stocksy United quietly added video to its offerings a few months ago. Today I’m showcasing a new combination photo and stills series – “Police in the Neighborhood“.
Buyers have been asking for the opportunity to a: license video, and 2: have the ability to license both stills and video from a shoot. So, in the last few months, I’ve been investing a bit in some equipment. The new Canon 5dMk4 gives the ability to shoot 4k video at the usual 24 or 30 frames per second, as well as regular HD video at 60 fps. I’ve been using this camera with my Canon 17-40mm and a Canon 50mm lens to shoot 4k, and I’ve put it on an Ikan Beholder EC-1 gimbal system. The gimbal allows for relatively smooth movements without the usual shakes from holding a camera handheld. This allows for that sense of “urgency” or “in the moment” that today’s designers are looking for – the kind of footage a cell phone might provide.
This new series features a male and female officer and a real black and white patrol car. The officers are wearing actual police uniforms, in midnight blue. It was, by the way, very hard to find matching male/female uniforms as well as tops/bottoms, all in the right sizes and colors. These are not your usual Halloween costumes. Their duty belts are loaded with holster and pistol, radio, and other useful tools. I consulted with a local department to make sure the equipment was satisfactory. We also talked about officer behavior, how to approach a stopped car, and other matters.
These officers are shown in their patrol car, walking by it, interacting with a stopped vehicle and the persons in it, as well as talking with homeowners and neighbors. The models are a diverse group of ethnicities and ages. There are a variety of compositions in the videos and stills, some with plenty of copyspace, some blurred out for easy text layover, more dramatic angles to more observational, etc.
The patrol car is the iconic black and white police car, with “POLICE” and “911” lettering on it. The expected light bar is running throughout the shoot and images to provide a sense of safety, urgency and authenticity.
I’m very excited to have this combined series up on Stocksy. Check out this preview video and some of the images, and then head over to Stocksy to view the whole series. Thanks!
Hi Sean, looks really good ! In “Video #1205542” is the rocking movement of the police car intentional ? Just being curious, and I assume that is what you meant by “in the moment”, as I know you wouldn’t upload anything that wasn’t up to your high standards. Thanks.
That’s just me handholding my EC-1 gimbal. Actually, I should have done some tripod shots, but I was in the flow, and time was running out before sundown.
Well you sure produced some great video with that Mark IV. Even just viewing them at 720p they look really sharp on my 32 inch HDTV computer monitor.