While he may have won three Grammy’s for his vocal ability, recording artist Ne-Yo is just as comfortable on the dance floor where his smooth moves have earned him roles in Stomp the Yard and Save the Last Dance 2 and a spot as a judge on NBC’s World of Dance.

Ne-Yo also has the distinction of virtually welcoming visitors to the interactive dance floor exhibit at the Grammy Museum Mississippi, thanks to a video that DePalma Productions helped create, in collaboration with Gallagher and Associates.
To make his greeting as life-like as possible Ne-Yo appears on a full-length vertical flat screen, a challenge DePalma Productions met head on by mounting the camera in a vertical position on a custom tripod head, much like a dutch head.

This allowed the camera to sit securely at a 90 degree angle. The camera was set to 4K resolution and shot at 23.98fps and we used a 24mm Canon lens for a realistic focal length of the human eye. We also mounted a 43″ 4K client monitor vertically for a similar representation of the final look.

In addition to the mechanical challenge of shooting vertically, from a visual standpoint we needed to work with the choreographer to make sure Ne-Yo had the amount of space he needed to show his dance moves, all the while keeping him in frame and at a distance that didn’t break the illusion of him actually standing there in front of visitors. Critical to this was the appearance of an infinite background which was achieved by shooting on a white cyc.

DePalma Productions is proud to have our work be part of such a prestigious museum which celebrates innovation and creativity, two characteristics we strive for in every one of our projects.