I found a motorized "lazy Susan" in the garage the other day, and asked myself, "What could I do with this?" I had just seen the movie Hugo that features the filmmaking pioneer Georges Méliès. One of Georges' favorite tricks in the old days was to stop the camera, change the scene, the start filming again. This created the illusion of things appearing and disappearing.

The set for recording Pro Roller Swing.

I thought that it would be fun to honor the work of this early filmmaker, use the motorized lazy Susan, and check-off an assignment request from a client... all at the same time. So I set up the shooting room to make this short, fun movie.

I used natural window light with a large white fill card for the lighting. I added a bit of sparkle to the bag using a small LED panel on a boom. I recorded the footage with a Canon 60D and the 16-35mm f/2.8 L zoom. I edited the movie in Final Cut Pro X. The royalty free music was created by Kevin MacLeod.

I decided to keep that lazy Susan in the studio for now, instead of the garage. Who knows what else I'll think of to do with it?

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