In 1722, Daniel Defoe published “A Journal of the Plague Year,” a novel based on his uncle’s first-hand accounts of the Great Plague of London (1665). To capture the reality of the calamity, Defoe focused on specific places. Carrying on that tradition, for the past few weeks, Cassius Rayner has been filming the impact of the coronavirus on life in London. Talking about the project, Rayner writes that “documenting this moment in history is so important and the one thing we have is mobile phones. [It] breaks my heart for the many that have and are being affected by this virus.” The filmmaker adds that he’s “determined to try and see the beauty and sadness at the same time.” The video here—”London falls silent – tower bridge during coronavirus” is the third in a series, all shot using an iPhone 11 pro with FiLMiC Pro camera app and a Zhyun Smooth 4 gimbal for tracking shots.
About Cassius Rayner
A prize winning filmmaker, Cassius Rayner runs mobile filmmaking workshops and a professional video production service. Five years ago he stopped using main stream camera systems and now films with iPhones. Doing so, he says, gave him “so much creative freedom to explore different ways to shoot.” He teaches smartphone filmmaking at ScreenSpace (Met Film School) and London Film Academy, and is a guest lecturer at the BFI.
In 2017 MobileMovieMaking showcased Rayner’s “Silience in London,” an iPhone music video. In early 2020 we featured his “Tell You Tell Me” rap music video—featuring IMPS. That video took a top prize at this year’s Dublin Smartphone Film Festival.
You can find more information about Cassius Rayner at GoFilmIt.TV, Smartphone Video, Facebook,Twitter, and Instagram.
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The editors of MobileMovieMaking have chosen “London falls silent” as the Mobile Movie of the Week.
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I’m curious about with which settings he did shoot and how he graded / edited the footage
Hi footage was shot in filmic pro at 1/48th shutter speed at iso 32 in 4K at 24fps using Flat log capture. Only thing added in editing was the flat log LUT that helps to crush the blacks – no other colour grading was done. What you see is pretty much how it was shot.
Dear Cassius
Really loved your film thankyou.
Deserves to win would be worthy winner!
Regards
Rez
Beautiful, poetic film.
Wow! This film definitely captures both the beauty and sadness of London during this pandemic. Many cities across the world can relate to this. Great work!
Beautifully shot. One of the first things I did when we went into lockdown was explore London. This films captures the surreal silence and stillness of our city
Beautiful and haunting, perfectly balanced musically and visually, well done.
Great pictures, neat movements and an amazing sense of the desolation.
Hauntingly and beautifully captures the emptiness, Solitude, and even serenity of a lockdown. Starting with the crackle of a radio broadcast and moving through the montage of rich colors, textures, images and angles alongside the cello soundtrack I was in the grip of a powerfully emotional story – told masterfully.
Beautiful! A different view of the city I love.
Eerily beautiful and incredibly shot. Captures this historical time without sentimentality
Amazingly captured, the incredible city of London as never seen before. Cass’ film catches the atmosphere & feeling of utter quietness of a city with 9million residents….empty. Wonderfully eerie & atmospheric. Beautifully shot.
What an atmospheric film about life in London during Covid. Stunning!
A film which evokes emotion in the viewer: poignant, joyful and melancholy l, with a sense too of the epic and majestic nature of London. This film deserves very wide attention.
Cass never fails to capture moments in time and this is a perfect example. Haunting yet beautiful. A moment of calm during a turbulent time, capturing London like never before.
Beautifully shot, haunting film. Feels like it could be used as an historical tool for future generations to have a sense of what London was like during lockdown.
Beautiful shots of London being silent, not many people get to see that in real life, so now they can!