For James Westlake, a recent Naked Wines campaign required a camera able to produce excellent images in a fast, lightweight, handheld setup, and the PYXIS 12K fit the bill.
James Westlake is a UK cinematographer known for a wide range of short films, features, music videos, documentaries and commercials. As such he finds himself having to manage a wide variety of projects and timeframes that sees him switching styles frequently. One week could involve moody tracking shots on location with vintage glass, the next might call for handheld shooting in a brightly lit studio. A recent Naked Wines campaign was exactly the latter: a fast, practical shoot that needed to look effortless while being handled with precision.
The festive commercial was designed as one long YouTube video cut in a style reminiscent of a reality TV cooking show. It was to be brightly lit and highly polished yet have cinematic production values for commercial appeal.
“The idea was that the episode would feel immediate and spontaneous, like you were being invited into the kitchen on Christmas morning,” says Westlake. “The presenters were tasting a bunch of the wines from the brand’s Christmas box, talking about them in a fun way. It had to feel authentic rather than overly stylized, reacting to things that are happening, even though it was all staged… so we went handheld for everything.”
Just as in a cookery show, time was of the essence. A fast, lightweight setup was essential to maintain a mobile, reactive style while keeping a high quality look. Westlake is a long time user of Blackmagic cameras, so specced the Blackmagic PYXIS 12K digital film camera for its compact design, quality image and modular build.
The camera’s cubic form allowed flexibility without adding bulk, something that made a real difference. “It’s not back heavy or front heavy. It’s pretty much an even-weighted box. You can keep things nicely balanced, which just makes it easier to operate.”
Westlake mounted the Blackmagic PYXIS EVF Monitor on the camera, offering more viewing angles and quick camera control via its touchscreen monitor. “The camera’s USB-C connection gives both power and video feed to the monitor, and the mount allows precise positioning, which is crucial”, he says. “Additionally, it enables all camera settings to be controlled directly from the touchscreen. It’s incredibly adjustable, and that was really helpful on this commercial, because sometimes you needed to be quite low. If you're in a place that's hard to see the monitor, reconfiguring the shot becomes awkward, but with this, it's very easy.”
Rigging was kept deliberately simple, mounting the camera on a Bright Tangerine shoulder plate and handles. An Easyrig harness was used to manage weight through the long shoot. “We were able to create a comfortable, well balanced handheld rig that wasn’t too heavy to hold for an entire shooting day,” recalled Westlake. “If you’re setting up a slider for all these different shots, it’s a lot harder to manage; being able to move quickly with the lightweight rig was very helpful.”
“That was huge for us,” he noted. “We didn’t have to rotate the camera or duplicate setups; just one frame gave us both.
“Even though a lot of it will end up on Instagram rather than on TV, it still needs to look good,” Westlake added. “It’s still lit in a cinematic way, which helps it stand out.”
The shoot took place in a fully dressed kitchen, with studio lights designed to enhance the brightness and create a cheerful atmosphere reminiscent of a Christmas morning. With its reflective worktops and glass surfaces, color and highlights required careful control. A combination of 16 stops of dynamic range and the forgiving latitude offered by shooting in Blackmagic RAW allowed him to keep on top of it all.
“We shot in 8K, but Blackmagic RAW is very manageable for data, and there was no issue in post or when playing back on set. On this spot, the UK client’s team was there for approvals, but there will often be people abroad who have a say as well. The camera shoots proxies internally, so you're not having to send 8K over the internet – that would be crazy. You can just send smaller files, which is great for commercials.”
To match the brand’s clean look, Westlake paired the camera with DZOFilm VESPID Primes. “They’re modern, sharp and fairly neutral,” he says. Westlake tends to use older glass on drama work, but knew the Naked Wines shoot needed something that could hold contrast in a bright environment without being clinical.
“I chose to have the camera in L mount, so it's adaptable to any other mount,” he explains. “One day you might be using really sharp modern glass for a commercial, and then the next day using vintage EF glass on a feature. It's nice to have that flexibility for whatever glass you want to put on it.”
For Westlake, the project showed how the demands of short form branded content have evolved, and how adaptable production crews and cinematographers need to be today.
“The challenge here was how much they wanted to get done in a single day,” he says. “One eight minute episode represents quite a bit of content to get through. Commercials are normally made at a much slower pace.
“Clients now want that cinematic polish, but they also expect the speed and efficiency of social media production. You need to move quickly but still deliver something that feels crafted.”
That balance, he says, depends as much on usability as image quality. “Everyone talks about the 12K resolution, but what I love about the PYXIS is the image and the flexibility,” he concludes. “It’s a camera that feels professional, but doesn’t get in the way. Most of my deliveries are 4K and sometimes 8K, and it shines there too.”