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To kick off the conference, Hélène de Roux begins by showing the audience a video demonstration of the discipline of Parkour. Daniel Ilabaca commented : “This is a video we made sponsored by a brand. It was shot in Barcelona, so we explored the city looking for interesting places and architecture that would allow us to jump and perform tricks, with my colleague who was on rollerblades”.
Freeskating meets Parkour : Danny Aldridge & Daniel Ilabaca
“I’ve always been better at expressing myself physically than verbally”, says Daniel Ilabaca, looking back on the personal journey that led him to discover Parkour. “I loved dressing up, I did theater, but I really wasn’t good at school ! I started to take an interest in cinema, particularly films like Gladiator, which give meaning to posture and body language in relation to the setting and space. In parkour, they say that from the very first step, you can already tell whether the movement will be successful or not. It was the same in those films : from the very first move, the outcome of the fight was already sealed. I also became interested in the character of Spring-Heeled Jack, a figure from Victorian English folklore who was a masked bandit who was never identified and who had the ability to jump very high. That’s what inspired me in my parkour practice. I achieved physical success and recognition in this discipline, but I still didn’t feel completely at home. Then one day I auditioned for a commercial directed by Jon Favreau and photographed by Matthew Libatique, ASC, LPS, and that was a turning point in my career. We did three weeks of preparation during which I was able to invent the obstacles I dreamed of overcoming. In parkour, you have to interpret the space, use your imagination to transform the environment into a circuit that you have to challenge yourself to complete, but here I had the freedom to ask for the perfect course myself. On the first day of shooting, Jon and Matthew were discussing the shot, wondering where to place the camera. I took the liberty of intervening and suggesting a placement, and in the end, it was my suggestion that was chosen. For the next shot, they came straight back to me to ask where to put the camera ! I realized that my experience with parkour and the understanding of space it had given me were sought-after skills that I could put to good use, because ultimately, cinema is the same : you arrive in a space and wonder what you can create there. I took it for granted, but I understood that everyone sees the world differently, and that I had acquired a unique way of reading the environment. Shortly after, I worked as a camera operator for a commercial, and it confirmed my belief. This was what I had been looking for all along. When I got home, I had a revelation : I wanted to express myself not in front of the camera, but behind it.”
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“I started making videos, and very quickly became interested in equipment. I invested in a Steadicam, a Trinity, etc. But I soon felt limited by this equipment, and wanted to start making what I really needed. I developed my own machinery so that the camera could adapt to all my movements. This opened up new possibilities for shots that began to interest the teams. Sometimes I start a film in the stunt team and end up in the camera team when they realize I have all these tools ! It’s a new development in my job, with new challenges. Now I not only have to figure out how to overcome an obstacle, but also how to do it while carrying the camera. Little by little, the Ronin 4D has become my favorite tool.”
The operator came to the conference with his own rolling cart, containing all kinds of tools and several modular cameras. Among them was the famous DJI Ronin 4D camera, whose sensor is located at the end of a small articulated arm. Fitted out with a Zeiss Nano Prime lens, the camera is reduced to a discreet glance over the operator’s shoulder, malleable and lightweight, suitable for all configurations, even the most extreme. Hélène de Roux comments : “You figured out how to hold the camera as much as wear the camera !”. The operator wears the camera body almost like a piece of clothing, moving in unison with his body in a way that does not affect his balance or freedom of movement, and detaching as little as possible to choose and refine the shot with precision. He humorously presents a version of a potential Venice 3 that he designed himself, stretched out flat across the entire surface of a vest.
Daniel Ilabaca then emphasizes the importance he sees in making behind-the-scenes footage. Indeed, all of his cameras are equipped with a system that allows him to install a small GoPro-type camera, whose images reveal the operator’s incredible agility. “In the age of artificial intelligence, I think it’s important to show the people behind the images we see”, he comments. “Viewers are looking for authenticity on both sides of the camera. People like to see how things are made, and it allows us to share our passion.”
Finally, Daniel Ilabaca presents to the audience the film project he is working on, this time as a director. “Throughout my career, I have evolved to become increasingly involved in the creative process. By directing my own project, I can continue to explore more freely the possibilities that actors and the camera have to move together. I came up with this script that follows a student whose daily life is turned upside down when an alien ship appears in the sky and causes panic. We shot some test footage for a first shot, which follows him in an open stairwell. It’s a tracking shot in which I included a moment where the camera pivots and reveals where it came from. At that moment, the audience wonders how the shot was achieved, and the magic happens. We worked with the Ronin 4D and a Zeiss Nano Prime 18mm lens, and two camera operators, Nils and myself, who took turns to move from one staircase to another without cutting the camera.”
The next day, guests and festival-goers were able to continue the conversation in the field, during a practical session, in the cool streets of Toruń, but around a warm sharing of experiences.
(Report written by Margot Cavret for the AFC)
