2012 Digital Video All Stars: Patrick Moreau

Patrick Moreau is part of stillmotion, a creative collective whose goal is meaningful storytelling. Based out of Mountain View, Calif., and Toronto, the stillmotion team includes Patrick and wife Amina Moreau, along with Justin DeMers, Joyce Tsang, Ray Tsang, Paul Los, Evan King and Alicja Parlak. While stillmotion got its start years ago in wedding videography, their journey has taken them all over the world, including the sidelines of the Super Bowl and behind the scenes with the Army and Navy football teams for a feature-length documentary with CBS and Showtime that recently won three Sports Emmy Awards.

In 2010, stillmotion caught the attention of the NFL for its 12-episode series The Season, an unprecedented view of the NFL season, from the first kickoff to the final whistle. While a team of wedding filmmakers might not seem like the logical choice, it was stillmotion’s storytelling approach using HDSLR cameras that got them the job.

“When we choose tools, we’re thinking about not only about the story we’re telling but the experience [the cameras] provide and the way they allow us to tell these stories,” Moreau comments. “People know about DSLR technology because of the image quality, but what we are really drawn to is the intimacy and how, as a camera operator, you can disappear so that the subject has no awareness of the camera.”

Following The Season, director Pete Radovich tapped stillmotion to shoot the 2011 Showtime/CBS documentary Game of Honor, which chronicles a year in the lives of freshmen on the football teams at the U.S. Naval Academy and at West Point, culminating in the celebrated Army/Navy football game. The feature, shot mostly with the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, was nominated in 2012 for eight Sports Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Camera Work, and won three awards, including Outstanding Sports Documentary.

stillmotion’s signature style has drawn the attention of, and sponsorships from, Tiffen, Cinevate and Canon. The stillmotion blog, stillmotionblog.com, provides information to aspiring filmmakers, even answering questions submitted by readers.

Last year stillmotion introduced the “Evolution Experience,” a series of three-day intensive workshops designed to foster a better understanding of the art of filmmaking, and the experience has been such a success that workshops often sell out within the first 48 hours.

This year stillmotion will release an iOS app, SMAPP, chock full of tools and tutorials to help filmmakers understand the choices they make.

Moreau urges aspiring filmmakers to find their voice. “The more you understand yourself, the more you can tell original stories. To us, filmmaking and strong storytelling really comes down to understanding all of the elements. Knowing your audio, lights, lenses, movement and, in turn, what those aspects say, as well as knowing what you’re about, and then being able to see what makes your characters different will allow you say anything.”

Toolkit
Manfrotto 561BHDV-1 fluid video monopod
Cinevate Atlas 30 camera slider
Kessler Crane Stealth (with ORACLE controller)
Steadicam Zephyr
Cinevate Simplis HDSLR rig
Zacuto Z-Finder
RØDE Microphones VideoMic Pro
TripIt trip planner app
Sun Seeker sun direction app
SMAPP
Profoto ProDaylight Air HMI (with Cine Reflector)
Kino Flo 4Bank Select
Litepanels 1x1 Bi-Color LED
Canon 14mm f/2.8 lens
Canon 24mm f/1.4 lens
Canon 35mm f/1.4 lens
Canon 50mm f/1.2 lens