Maurizio Cigognetti and Cassina: “Made in Italy” on the same stage with the Hasselblad H4D-40 and the H4D-50 MS
To coincide with the photo shoot for the new
press campaign and the worldwide presentation of Cassina, one of
the most internationally renowned Italian brands for interior
design and furnishing, we are enabling you to take a look behind
the scenes of this carefully conceived set, built to stage the most
impressive names of international design in a grandiose
three-dimensional still life.
Philippe Starck, Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret,
Charlotte Perriand and Piero Lissoni are the names of the designers
who are responsible for the historic items in the Cassina catalogue
as well as for some of the new features in the 2012 season, such as
the Series LC2 armchairs and the Aire Sofas. For the third time in
succession, Cassina, a member company of the Charme Group, and the
agency Euro RSCG Milan have chosen a Hasselblad photographer:
Maurizio Cigognetti, who succeeded in taking the pictures needed
for the presentation of the Italian brand in the national and
international press in only three days.
The final implementation of the magnificent pictures
was a long and complex process. A simple photo set was not enough
for the production team of some 20 people, and instead they
demanded a film studio, the Ferrante Aporti in Milan, highly
specialized personnel as well as the type of scenery and lighting
normally used for film productions. The aim was not a simple one:
three Cassina objects were to be immortalized in three different
surroundings, with their common feature being the contrast between
a changing environment - at first thoughts actually turned to real
construction sites - and the object as the single absolute and
perfect element within the scene. The intended message was: Cassina
- design above all else.
After protracted iconographic research by Maurizio
together with the set designer Davide Cardillo under the guidance
of Giovanni Porro, Creative Director of Euro RSCG Milan, the
settings chosen were the Australian desert, the inside of a
historic palazzo in Venice and a Caribbean outdoor scenario. The
use of 3D models made it possible to simulate the layout, define
the camera positions and hence also specify the effective figure in
square metres necessary for the scenery. "With the 3D models,"
Maurizio explains, "it's possible to go beyond the normal layout.
You determine all the technical details and costs that will
confront you, and so, when the time comes for the photo shoot,
you're not caught unawares."
To carry out this demanding work, Maurizio placed
his trust in two cameras by Hasselblad: the H4D-40 and the H4D-50 MS, mainly with 28 mm lenses but
also 35 mm lenses and the 50-110 mm zoom. In addition,
the use of the tilt-shift function has - as Mario Oliva, digital
assistant during the production, explained to us - "proven to be
absolutely essential in the entire decentring of the optics to get
the right perspective of the image, because this enabled a lengthy
and sometimes imprecise post-processing operation to be
avoided."
The lighting chosen was as for a cinema film: Arri
discharge lamps of different types together with bulb lighting and
flashguns. Maurizio does not see any problems in the homogeneity of
the light sources; in contrast to the other two, the "Australia"
set was actually lit by one single flashgun at a height of 8 m
without a reflector in order to obtain the best possible simulation
of sunlight. With the open flash technique as well, which tends to
be used rarely in today's digital age, or using four consecutive
flashlights with long exposure times in almost complete darkness
for the same single image, thanks to Hasselblad, Maurizio was for a
moment able to feel as if he were working with a
film.
The multi-shot system and the use of Phocus Mobile connected to the iPad have made
the work even easier because this method not only made it possible
to remotely control the camera but also present the results to the
customer immediately.