Raycon

The concept

This one came through a connection of ours. Raycon reached out to him to make a video for the Everyday Pro headphones, the kind of thing that usually turns into a standard YouTube review: creator holds up the product, talks about it, done. He did not want standard. He wanted an actual film, part short film, part commercial, something that stood out from every other brand collab. STUDiiO was brought on as one of the cinematographers.

The production

Two day shoot. Day one ran 14 hours, well past a normal 8 to 10 hour production day. We based most of it out of a house, and the day was a straight creative workout. Cinematography is really just puzzle solving, and every shot we kept asking the same question: what is the point of this frame, and does it still serve Raycon and the headphones? We hit setups that fought us, worked through them, and kept rolling. That is every set we are on: a problem shows up, we solve it, we do not sit in it.

Day two was outside and hot, Vegas in the summer. The sun was the problem, so we made it an asset: heavy overhead diffusion, read the light, shape it into something that worked for us. Then there was audio. A neighbor behind our location had lawn work going that would not quit, and we needed clean sound. After a few takes fighting it, Micah drove around, caught the gate behind another car, found the right door, and asked them directly, got their name, explained STUDiiO was shooting a commercial right behind them, and asked if they could pause for a few minutes. They said yes. By the time he got back, it was quiet, and we got the take.

We will do that for a project. Most people will not knock on a stranger's door to ask them to hush their yard work. We will, because getting you something you can actually use is bigger than being uncomfortable for two minutes.

The post

STUDiiO handed off to the director's post team for the edit and final color. Even off the edit, the footage had to hold up under a heavy grade and a tight cut, which is exactly why we shot it clean and intentional on the day, so nothing fought the edit later. Before long the film was live on YouTube, and from what came back, Raycon loved it. It stood out the way the director set out to make it, as a real film instead of another product review.