How I shot this College Basketball Ad on Red Komodo: Cinematography Breakdown
Hey friends —
Let’s talk about sports, sunlight, and goats. (Yes, goats.)
I just dropped a new cinematography breakdown on my YouTube channel — this time it's for a basketball commercial I shot for the University of Alabama Birmingham. Two shoot days. One RED Komodo. Ten setups. And some very uncooperative four-legged talent.
This wasn’t a big-budget, everything’s-perfect kind of gig. It was one of those fast-paced, grab-the-light-while-you-can productions — with exterior scenes, moving vehicles, and a banner drop timed to a dolly pull.
Here’s a taste of what went into it:
Gear: RED Komodo + Angenieux 30–90mm + ARRI Ultra Prime 16mm
Lighting: Godox 1200B with ¼ grid diffusion + a 4x opal fill
Tricks: Modular truss car rig from Champion Lighting
Timing: Blue hour, golden hour, and anything the goats would allow
Our Motto: “We’ll fix it with slow mo”
The spot opens with a spoken word anthem and cuts between performance, archival footage, and stylized city shots. It’s the kind of piece that lives and dies by timing, sun position, and a director you trust in the trenches — which in this case was my buddy Stephen Stinson(shoutout).
We had to work fast. The goats didn’t care. And yet, it turned out kind of beautiful. Sorry for saying goats so many times. But seriously, you’re the GOAT.
🛠️ Watch the full breakdown here: https://youtu.be/fZMjCGnUsWU
🔗 Final Commercial: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DB9M1Sjgo2f/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
If you want to see how we pulled this one off with a small team, hit the link and check it out. Let me know what breakdown you’d like to see next — always down to share the real-world side of freelance DP life.
Until next time — keep your frames steady and your crew (human or goat) fed.
— Mika