Creative focus

JP explains how he turned his creative process into a dynamic dance video with the Nikon Z 8.

Jesus Presinal (JP) is a breakdancer turned creator (photographer, director, editor) who often turns the camera on himself. You’ll find his gravity defying images at Instagram/officialjpnyc

JP’s creative journey has been long and winding. Starting with drawing, JP moved into music, performing in a rock band, before turning to dance. After years of dancing professionally, JP picked up a camera— specifically the Nikon Z 50. Since then, he has shot with various FX-format Nikon mirrorless cameras, including the flagship Z 9 and the new Z 8. His most recent project, shot entirely on the Z 8, is a visual exploration of his journey as a creator.

The Concept

The video features JP’s brother, playing a younger version of himself as he starts on his creative journey.

At the beginning of the video, I’m asked, “what’s your creative process?” and it cuts right into a shot of a lightbulb. The lightbulb signifies an idea, and the room represents my brain. The video starts with my younger brother playing the younger version of me. Before I was a dancer, I was really into drawing, and I was in a rock band. After that, I danced professionally for 10 years. The whole concept of the video is to lead the viewer through my creative process, to show what inspires me, and what’s flowing through my brain when I create content.

Shooting with the Z 8 handheld, JP moves the camera to match the dynamic movement in the scene.

Most of the time, the camera movement and position are choreographed based on the movement in the scenes. For example, if my brother is spinning clockwise, I will spin counterclockwise with the camera. Let’s say I’m filming someone doing a kick—I want the focus to be on the foot, and for the camera to move with it. That’s where the dancer in me comes out, you know?

Using Features Creatively

The Z 8 can capture video at up to 120 frames per second (120p) in HD and 4K, and up to 60 frames per second (60p) in 8K. In his videos, JP uses framerates creatively, speeding up and slowing down the footage to tell a story.

I love messing around with framerate. I have a dance background, and I edit and shoot as if I was dancing. So having the ability to speed up and slow down the footage in post lets me show the story from the perspective of a dancer, where I can go from regular natural movement, to fast, then super slow, to focus on a moment in time. I was able to pull that off perfectly with the Z 8.

When the Z 8 was announced, I felt like my prayers had been answered. The Z 8 has the power of the flagship Z 9, but it’s small enough that I can take it anywhere. I’m taking photos and shooting video on a regular basis, and I can rely on both aspects of the cameras. The Z 8 is incredibly versatile— I know it’s going to pull off high resolution stills, and it’s also going to give me crisp video.

The feature that stands out is the autofocus tracking. I can trust it completely. This past weekend I was shooting breakdancing, which is very fast and very dynamic. A lot of systems I’ve used in the past will lock onto the subject, but then lose it. With the Z 8, the autofocus finds the subject and stays there.

Settings and Colors

The Z 8’s video footage is incredibly versatile, with options up to 12-bit N-Raw capture offering a massive scope for adjustment in post. But for JP, the colors that come straight out of the camera at standard settings are almost perfect.

I shoot HD and 4K video at standard, default settings, usually 60p, and I export at 24p. I shoot at as wide an aperture and as low an ISO setting as I can. In my photography, I usually shoot at high shutter speeds to freeze the action. I tend to shoot both my stills and video a little dark, so when I edit, I can bring out those vibrant colors. I like the image out of the camera to look like a rainy day. I shot the entire Z 8 video at standard settings. I was going to shoot N-Log, but I loved the way that the standard footage looked on the camera. That’s another thing about the Z series, whatever you see on that screen, is what you get. When I was looking into that screen, I was like, “these colors are beautiful.”

I don’t really need to do much post-processing. I might adjust shadows and highlights, and sometimes I’ll bump oranges and blues. But besides that, these cameras don’t need a lot of editing. A lot of people ask me, “dude, are you using a preset?” and I’m just like, “it’s straight out of camera.”