Sensory Calming Rooms in Schools

Sensory Calm Quiet Room from Ryan Jackson on Vimeo.

The sensory calming quiet room at Our Lady of the Prairies Elementary School in Edmonton on Jan 8, 2016. The room is a getaway from the noise and buzz of an ordinary classroom, an important break for students who may feel overwhelmed by a busy day. It is also a place for students who have outbursts to calm down in private before returning to their peers in class. Video by Ryan Jackson, Edmonton Journal

Grade 1 student Theodore Janz, 6, poses for a photo in the sensory calming room at Our Lady of the Prairies Elementary School in Edmonton on January 8, 2016. The room allows some students time to decompress, from the noise and buzz of an ordinary classroom. Photo by Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal

This video was a fun challenge to make. There were so many interesting lights and objects to shoot but the room was very small and dark. I used my Dedolights to shape and splash light on objects to bring out details.  For example, I beamed light on the chair, the toy on the floor, behind the tree and the painting on the wall. If lighting is done right you shouldn’t be able to tell it was lit at all.

Boxer Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford

Boxer Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford from Ryan Jackson on Vimeo.

Former MMA champion Boxer Ryan Ford has switched to boxing. Following his champion father’s footsteps. He trains at Avenue Boxing Club in Edmonton on Jan. 6, 2016. Video by Ryan Jackson, Edmonton Journal.
Read the story http://edmontonjournal.com/sports/451120

Behind the scenes photo of my interview setup with Journal freelance sports reporter Jason Hills.

I loved making this video! Ryan Ford is a really cool guy and lives up to his nickname.

The interview was shot with a Sony FS7 with a Sigma 35mm f1.2 and a Panasonic GH4 with a Canon 100mm f2.8L Macro.

I lit the interview with six LED lights. A Dedolight DLED4.1 as the key on the right, LEDgo 560C as a fill on the left, Dedolight 2.1 and LedZilla as rim lights, and a couple small LitePanels as background detail lights.

We arrived at the gym an hour before the interview to set everything up and dress the background.  All the action shots were lit with a bare bulb Dedolight 4.1 set to tungsten.

Colour graded in Final Cut Pro X with the Filmconvert plugin.

Boxer Ryan Ford poses for a photo at Avenue Boxing Club in Edmonton on January 6, 2016. Photo by Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal

Christmas Eve in an Ice Castle

Canada’s First Ice Castle in Edmonton from Ryan Jackson on Vimeo.

Canada’s First Ice Castle in Edmonton takes shape in Hawrelak Park on December 24. 2016. Video by Ryan Jackson, Edmonton Journal. Shot with a Canon 1Dx and 24mm f1.4L lens on a Kessler Pocket Dolly with the Second Shooter motion control system.

I worked the night shift on Christmas Eve for the Edmonton Journal. It’s typically pretty slow on Christmas Eve so I took the opportunity to make a cool video of the Ice Castle being constructed in Hawrelak Park. It was also a chance to use my new Kessler Second Shooter system which allowed me to get super smooth programable shots. There’s no way I could have made such smooth shots hand held. Especially while freezing my butt off!

Canon 1Dx with a Canon 24mm f1.4L lens on a Kessler Pocket Dolly with the Second Shooter motion control system.

The people who were building the ice castle provided me with slip on spikes for my boots which saved me from slipping and falling.

Here is the ice castle being constructed on Dec. 8, 2015. You can learn more about it from another video I made here.

Canada’s first ice castle nears completion in Hawrelak Park in Edmonton on December 23, 2015. The 27,000-tonne, 4,000 square metre ice castle will open to the public on Dec. 30th. Tickets available at icecastles.com/edmonton Photo by Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal

Here’s me in the ice castle on Christmas eve. It was cold and wet but nice to have the whole place to myself to make the video.