Case Study: Alex Sladman, Magician

The brief

Alex works as a close-up magician at conferences, bars and events, and set a brief to show off various techniques he employs during performances. The goal was to create a compelling video with quick cuts, whilst maintaining continuous sequences to ensure it did not appear that edits were used to over-exaggerate his skills as a performer.

Location scouting

While planning the shoot, Alex showed me reference videos of similar performers to give an idea of what the final outputs should look like. From there he planned a series of techniques and sequences to film on the day.

We utilised the beautiful Chapter Hall at Northern Monk Refectory as the location for the shoot. The Old Flax Store has fantastic period features and beautiful natural light streaming through the large windows.

The shoot

This needed to be a simple shoot with minimal equipment, so almost all footage was shot handheld using available light. A DJI gimbal was utilised to achieve stable shots moving around Alex, to create a mixture of styles to be combined in the edit.

Finally, to add a real pop to the videos, it was important to capture clear sound of the various interactions with the cards. Rather than trying to manage sound recording as well as filming, it was simpler to record foley sound using a standard Rode videomic. This was blended with ambient sound, transition sfx, and music tracks in post-production - here’s a clip with the music removed to demonstrate the mix.

The edit

Before/after colour correction and grading

Apart from simple cuts, a number of customised transitions were used to punch in/out, or simulate a whip-pan in a particular direction, and combined with sound design to make the effect more pronounced. Speed ramping was used to accentuate the movement of cards, and ensured the visuals accurately matched certain hits of the music track.

Colour correction was predominantly focused on achieving the correct skin tones and introducing an appropriate amount of saturation. The aim of the colour grade was to create a warm feel to the visuals, and introduce a somewhat “mysterious” appearance to fit Alex’s style.

The videos

In addition to the main piece, Adarak delivered a set of shorts optimised for social media.

Find out more

Dan Waters runs Adarak, a Leeds-based provider of professional and affordable videography, photography and aerial footage. We’re here to help you turn your ideas, products, and case studies into something you’ll be proud to share.