When Austin-based cinematographer David Wells was handed the treatment for the C4 Energy sweepstakes featuring rapper and actor Ludacris, he knew this commercial would require out of the box thinking. Designed as a one-take, point-of-view shot, the spot would require a lighting setup tailored to the wide plane of view and a camera package nimble enough to operate as POV rig. Wells selected ZEISS Nano Primes with the Venice 2 Rialto to realize the project.
A prolific Texas commercial and music video cinematographer, Wells was an obvious choice to lens this unusual stunt for C4 Energy. The beverage company wanted to shoot a promo for a sweepstakes giveaway that among other prizes, included the iconic Integra Type S, a car featured in the Fast & the Furious franchise. None other than music icon and Fast & the Furious cast member Ludacris was attached to star in the spot. It was one of those full-circle moments where you get to work with someone you've admired for years, describes Wells.
The promotion was designed as a unique, one-take first-person point-of-view shot, moving from inside a convenience store out to a gas station parking lot. I knew right away it would require a POV mount, explains Wells. The commercial delivery specs required large format, so Wells decided to use the Venice 2 Rialto as the camera. Finding the lenses to pair with the Rialto rig was not as easy. We looked at some other lenses, but they proved too heavy during tests and the actor had a hard time holding his head up. I thought, I need a small lens that's going to look great, shave weight, and have a stop of T-1.5.' Then it dawned on me: the ZEISS Nano Primes.
Wells had encountered the ZEISS Nano Primes for the first time at the 2024 South by Southwest Film Festival. The Nano Primes are small, clean, and fast they checked all the boxes. He acquired a pair to test with experienced Austin operator, James Navarra. Our actor/operator was able to move his head easily. We mounted the Venice 2 to an Easy Rig with a little plate that fits on the back, using the tension to help hold up the operator's head. We added a monitor in front of his eyes with a focus motor on rails, lenses, and a matte box for filtration. (It's Navarra's own hand that reaches out to fist bump Ludacris in the commercial.)
Camera rig locked; the next challenge was how to light for the extremely wide field of view. With a focal length of 25mm, along with extensive blocking from the store into the parking lot, rigging lights out of sight was essential. We didn't have the budget for a Condor to hang a big softbox with raking lights, so we ended up putting lights on the top of the store, describes Wells. We rigged all these ARRI S60 fixtures to the rooftop of the 7-Eleven. Then we hung hard fixtures to imitate existing streetlamps in the parking lot and replaced overhead lights under the gas pumps with cinema lights to ensure everything looked right.
The Nanos proved their merit once more during the operator/actor's movement from inside the bright gas station to the night parking lot. We shot at T-4 inside, then did an iris pull outside all the way to T-1.5, the cinematographer explains. What really sets these lenses apart is how fast they are. I don't think there's anything like it below a T-2 anywhere else. The difference between a T-2 and a T-1.5 is huge, especially in large format. The moment of transition is seamless. After days of prep and hours on location setting up, it only took five takes to capture the sequence.
There are so many things I like about the Nano Primes, reflects Wells. The Nano Primes are like smaller versions of Supreme Primes. They're a fantastic choice when you need a small, compact lens. They give us the opportunity to get closer in tight spaces and maintain a high-quality look.
The sweepstakes deadline has passed, but the promotion can still be watched on C4 Energy's Instagram and social media.
Check out the full interview with David Wells at: https://lenspire.zeiss.com/cine/en/article/dp-david-wells-chooses-zeiss-nano-primes-for-pov-rig-on-sweepstakes-starring-ludacris/
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
01/06/2026
Designed to solve a common problem in broadcasting, the automated workflow detects, identifies, removes, and documents copyrighted music
AudioShake has introdu...
01/06/2026
The sports-analytics company combines its data with proprietary AI to help leagu...
01/06/2026
Category line-up & sponsors announced
Photo: Paul Clarke
The Production Music Awards (PMA) have announced that submissions are now officially open ahead of...
01/06/2026
New hybrid sample/synthesis instrument revealed
Excite Audio have just released the latest instalment in their Evolve series, which has been developed in co...
01/06/2026
Latest TONEX expansion captures three rare vintage amps
The newest addition to IK Multimedia's ever-growing TONEX line-up introduces a set of three incr...
01/06/2026
Musically intelligent soft synth gets upgraded
Scaler Music will be probably be best known to many for their music theory tools, but their product range al...
01/06/2026
SBS confirms its broadcast sponsors for FIFA World Cup 2026
1 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has secured Hyundai, Hisense, Macca's, Rexona, bet365, Com...
01/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz Satellite Industry Days 2026 guided by the motto From Earth to ...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Marshall Electronics is showcasing a comprehensive lineup of next-generation POV cameras, purpose-built to power today's connected AV environments, at InfoC...
01/06/2026
Adobe Announces Concept to Vector
Deepa Subramaniam June 1, 2026
0 Comments
One of the biggest frustrations we hear from designers is how difficult it...
01/06/2026
Vampire Feature Night Patrol Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton June 1, 2026
0 Comments
Colorist shapes dark, gritty tone for horror thri...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Mardi 2 juin 14h00
FilmLight (ARRI), 10 rue Ren Boulanger, 75010 Paris
Rejoignez-nous pour d couvrir comment FLAPI (l'API FilmLight) peut transformer e...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
31/05/2026
Olivia P rez-Collellmir to Premiere Original Work at Gaud Centennial in Barcelona The Berklee graduate and faculty member will debut her choral symphony with...
31/05/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Wins 15 Awards at the Canadian Screen Awards - See Pho...
31/05/2026
Taiwan is home to more than 500 NVIDIA ecosystem partners. More than 1 million N...
31/05/2026
As factories move from isolated automation to plant-wide intelligence, manufacturers need AI systems that can connect live machine signals, quality systems, wor...
31/05/2026
The NVIDIA AI Cloud ecosystem is accelerating the global buildout of AI factory infrastructure. Partners are expanding capacity to meet growing demand from ente...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
When Austin-based cinematographer David Wells was handed the treatment for the C4 Energy sweepstakes featuring rapper and actor Ludacris, he knew this commercial would require out of the box thinking. Designed as a one-take, point-of-view shot, the spot would require a lighting setup tailored to the wide plane of view and a camera package nimble enough to operate as POV rig. Wells selected ZEISS Nano Primes with the Venice 2 Rialto to realize the project.
