Litepanels Lights The Road To The White House

It’s been a long road, but finally, independent filmmaker Keith O’Derek’s two-year journey capturing Barack Obama: Road to the White House, is finished.
"When I began this project, my friends were skeptical," O’Derek admits. "But, after seeing Obama speak, I knew 'this could be it', so I assembled a small shooting package and began my own journey, following the man who finally became our first African-American president."
The idea was to capture not only the events along Obama’s road but the reactions of people as they watched history unfold, a style O’Derek is familiar with, having shot and produced many documentary-style productions like Straight from the Streets, a look at the cultural scene from diverse perspectives. He packed his car with several small digital cameras, Century wide-angle lenses, P2 cards, and one of his favorite tools, Litepanels.
"Whether I was stopped along the road, interviewing average people from all walks of life or winding my way through the Delegate Ball, Litepanels were a lifesaver," he says. "Many times, I had to be as unobtrusive as possible. But I needed to add some illumination or soften shadows on peoples' faces without drawing too much attention to the fact that I was shooting.
"Although I used a variety of Litepanels, depending on the situation, I found that the small MiniPlus on top of the camera was the most helpful when dealing with high-profile people," he explained. "It could give me enough light to shoot without blowing people out.
"When I was covering the Delegate Ball in Chicago, I wanted to not only capture the politicians having a good time, I also wanted to capture their feelings about this monumental event.
"At one point, the Litepanels was the reason I got an interview from the Illinois Secretary of State. When I asked him to talk to the camera, he started to decline. He disliked interviews where the light blinded him. The dimmed-down light from the Litepanels did the trick, and I got some great footage.
"In my line of work, where spontaneous and natural is key to telling the story, Litepanels are a must. I know I wouldn't have been able to get as much great material for this project, if I hadn’t had the Litepanels to light the way."
The 60-plus hours of footage filmmaker Keith O’Derek shot has been edited down to a tight 90-minute feature documentary. Barack Obama: Road to the White House has begun making the rounds of film festivals throughout the world.
For more information about Litepanels’ award-winning lights visit: www.litepanels.com
(BMcN/GK)