WHAT’S MARK KOHL BEEN UP TO?

Cinematographer/founder of Kohl Pictures of Jacksonville and Director, Ben Orisich collaborated with Bright Red TBWA Agency to create the Cayman Islands “Point of View” (POV) television campaign this past November. The project uses new state-of the-art equipment that gives viewers a real-life experience through the eyes of the Cayman Islands active traveler.

“We wanted to create an experience where viewers feel as if experiencing the adventurous activities on the island. We were able to successfully capture what the natural human eye would,

an up close focus and racking focus to infinity backgrounds,” says cinematographer, Mark Kohl. “It was also important for us to incorporate hands to keep it from looking as if the campaign were shot on a handheld camera.”

Kohl previously worked with Radiant Images, a full-service rental house for digital cameras and

film equipment, and knew the company recently worked on a POV system with the Codex

camera. The Codex camera is several steps above the GoPro system allowing the use of

interchangeable “C” mount lenses, and wireless focusing capabilities, with a 10-bit color depth.

“We wanted a realistic feel for the campaign. It is imperative that viewers see through human

eyes, not an extreme wide angle with an infinite depth of field like using a GoPro. We also

needed a camera that captures the Cayman’s deep beautiful colors. We needed Alex type quality

mounted in front of someone’s face.” says Kohl.

One of the biggest challenges was showcasing underwater activities that went on in the Cayman

Islands. Radiant worked with Hydroflex and developed the first underwater housing for the

Codex POV camera, which used an underwater BNC cable tethering the camera to the recorder.

“This was a tricky task because the sealed BNC cable was only 80’ long and we had the recorder

on a boat, which limited our shots of being in the sweet spot of the location. It ended up working

out great and we could actually see underwater on live video. I don’t remember ever doing that

before. It was quite exciting watching the clients see the underwater footage as it was happening.” says Kohl.