The unique vision of Abandon Visuals
When you sit down to watch a movie, TV show or documentary, you’re viewing the world from someone else’s perspective. Whether it’s looking down on something from a bird's-eye view or zooming in uncomfortably close on a subject, these kinds of shots give us an opportunity to see things in a way that you may have never imagined.
Two people who are more than aware of the transcendent potential of perspective are Edward Khoma and Jonny Mass, the duo behind Abandon Visuals. If most production companies tackle their projects with the head-on attitude of a rugby player, then Abandon is more akin to world-class snooker player, taking their time to skirt around the perimeter and seek out that winning shot that only they can envision.
Abandon Visuals 2015 Reel from Abandon Visuals on Vimeo.
The pair got into video through filming their friends doing action sports while still at high school, and from there things progressed quicker than they could have imagined. “We began shooting weddings at the age of 16 and developed storytelling skills that simply can’t be taught in traditional school,” they tell me from their California headquarters. One year and 20 wedding shoots later, Edward and Jonny were running a professional company.
Opportunity doesn’t have a schedule
Abandon live by a simple mantra, ‘opportunity doesn’t have a schedule’, and this couldn’t have proved more apropos when it came to shooting ‘Perspective’ - a night-time look at San Francisco shot from the back of a helicopter.
Perspective | 4K from Carbon Studios on Vimeo.
"We were set to go fly at sunset and film the city during the beautiful ‘Golden Hour’, but when the time came to leave for the city we got a call that we would not be able to fly that day. We thought the shoot was canceled and started to lose hope, but at the last minute we got the call that we were actually good to fly.
“By the time we drove down to the airport and got the Movi dialed in with the [Sony] A7s the sun had set. Luckily the A7s has incredible low light performance, so we were curious to see the footage we would get. It ended up working out great for us - we captured some breath-taking shots of the city at a unique time when it wasn't too foggy."
The film captures the shimmering elegance of San Francisco at night; a view of the city that is usually only enjoyed by the crows and gulls that inhabit the skies. “You never really understand the vast size and how beautiful the city really is when you are stuck in traffic or just on the ground level walking the city. But as soon as you get in the air and fly around the buildings, it really puts it into perspective of how small we are and how diverse the San Francisco culture is in such a short distance."
Edward and Jonny are advocates of both the Sony A7S and the FS7 and use both cameras for everything that they work on, from the in-car first-person shots in ‘Formula Drift Long Beach 2015’ to the heart-in-mouth slow-motion shots of professional scooterist James Edixon in ‘James Edixon Woodward Tahoe’.
A distinct vision
Throughout our conversation they gush over each small detail of the cameras - from the “truly beautiful colour science of the new Sony sensors” to their “second-to-none” build quality - but for them the real game-changer is the low-light performance. "To be able to not have to worry about how late it's getting while shooting because of the low light performance is a game changer and allows us as professionals to focus on the story rather than the camera's limitations. We recently shot a video at the maximum exposure index on the fs7 and struggled to find the slightest bit of noise."
To really put the A7s through its paces they shot a video called ‘Moonlight’, an exploration of the San Francisco coastline lit by nothing more than the natural light of the moon.
Moonlight | Sony A7s from Carbon Studios on Vimeo.
“We found a beautiful spot off the coast and just filmed a handful of scenes. During the shoot it was clear that we had the perfect camera for the job. The A7s outperformed any other camera that we had shot with at night. Pushing the ISO to an unheard of 32,000 with minimal noise was astounding.
“When we got back we were so excited about the footage we captured that we stayed up all the way through the morning editing it to show the world how amazing the A7s is in high ISO situations.”
It only takes a few seconds of watching an Abandon Visuals production to appreciate their eye for perspective and experimentation. They don’t see things like most people do, and each video is a fascinating glimpse into their distinct vision. “We strive to bring immersive angles that draw viewers into the video. Being able to take the viewer on an adventure past the normal camera angle really helps tells the story of our subject matter on a different level.”
