dvDepot filmed the latest installment of Food For Thought, a BET television series, on May 27. This episode, “Food For Thought: Conversations with Ice Cube” aired in early July. As in previous episodes, three media personalities, the Media Assassin Harry Allen, Hot 97’s radio host Angie Martinez, and sports journalist Stephen A. Smith, conduct interviews with Ice Cube over lunch. Previous installments of the show featured musical celebrities Jay-Z and 50 Cent. Since this was the third time dvDepot has shot Food for Thought, members of the crew have become friendly with the interviewers, leading to what we in the industry call “water cooler conversations.”

Lots of Equipment; No Space

With this shoot, dvDepot continues to provide the BET series with both crews and equipment.

The crew used four HDX900 cameras to obtain top quality footage. Using the steadicam also contributed to a very smooth shoot. Due to multiple cameras, lots of lighting equipment, and many crew members, the set was chaotic, to say the least. In addition to all of this activity, the restaurant was open to the public; diners looking for a quiet meal certainly got an unexpected surprise!

The Location: Sylvia’s Restaurant

The interviews took place at Sylvia’s, the world famous soul food restaurant. Situated uptown in Harlem, the eatery is famed for providing great service and an array of Southern favorites. Sylvia actually came out from the kitchen to meet the crew and personally took their orders. Munching on delectable macaroni and
cheese, divine fried chicken and catfish, and delicious cornbread kept the entire group more than well fueled for a full ten hour day of filming.

Multitalented Crew

Each member of the nine person crew brought their unique talents to set. Alex Sierra resumed his position as DP for the third installment of the series. Ameer Grice exhibited enviable packing skills; the utility’s ability to stow so much gear into a relatively small van was nothing short of beautiful. dvDepot’s own Jose Caraballo along with freelancer Jack Hutson handled the audio with impressive skills. Most importantly, however, everyone displayed impressive eating skills that would have made anyone on the competitive eating circuit jealous.

Ice Cube

Working with Ice Cube was wonderful. The artist had a professional attitude that translated to a very functional, stress-free shoot. Ice Cube’s acting background became obvious as he handled the shoot like an experienced professional. The platinum artist had only one indisputable stipulation about the shoot; the day had to end early enough so he could watch the Lakers playoff game which, fortunately, they won.

Though the shoot was crowded and long, our crew maintained a cheerful attitude. With great food, better company, and completely functioning equipment, the day ended on a positive note. We look forward to working with BET on the next episode.

To see more pictures from this shoot, visit our Facebook page.

Jay-Z’s new album, The Blueprint 3 drops on September 11th. As part of the publicity blitz, Jay agreed to be interviewed by other celebrities on BET. Jon Marc Sandifer, a producer we work with on “Rising Icons,” wanted to get the crew from dv Depot.

We sent five camera operators, two audio ops and our ace utility Derek Edwards. Our DP, Alex Sierra, set up two cameras to cover the interviews in close up. He shot the close ups of Jay-Z while Christine Ka’aloa covered the interviewers. Jeremy Leach worked on steadicam, getting two shots and tracking shots. Meanwhile, Daniel McKeown was put on a roving camera, getting a wide range of shots to make for a more exciting edit. Ethan Goldberger handled the audio. Another crew rode in the cab with the interviewers as they headed out to meet Jay-Z. Chris Piazza and Gabriel Cyr were on this crew.

The interviews were great to watch. All of the celebrities were friends with Jay-Z and this worked to create a casual, intimate atmosphere. They were able to ask real questions that required real answers.

The first interviewer was Angie Martinez of Hot 97, the highest rated DJ in New York. She and Jay discussed fame, among other things. She found that Jay had a remarkable ability to live his life naturally in front of dozens of cameras (including ours).

Stephen A. Smith interviewed next. He’s most famous for his show “Quite Frankly” on ESPN. He talked at length with Jay about his part ownership of the New Jersey Nets and his long friendship with LeBron James. They also discussed personal branding and imaging, something that both have mastered.

Hip hop journalist Harry Allen presented Jay with the hardest questions of the day, asking questions about music and black culture and Jay’s place in it. The two Brooklyn natives also had a chance to discuss their love of the borough in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge.

It was a challenging day. We shot on Panasonic HVX200 cameras and the utility Derek was kept busy dumping the cards and wiping them, trying to keep ahead of the cameras needs. P2 memory cards on a multicam shoot can be challenging, but the reward is that you can start editing the next day, with all your footage already

digitized.

We’re always excited to work with BET. Jay-Z and the interviewers were also nice people and easy to work with. At the end of the day, everybody went home exhausted, but proud of the work we did. As he was leaving, Jay complimented Jon Marc on how well everything went. Nothing could have pleased us more.

You can see all of the pictures from the day at our flickr site.

Watch for the special to air on BET on Monday, September 7th.