Capturing the Cloud with SAL 3D

By John F. McClellan | Cinematographer

Fix it in Prep

I’m a big believer in the “Fix It In Prep” gospel. I know that prep is where you can battle line numbers and squeeze out the best results at any production scale. I like it so much that I teach prep; it’s something I consider the great equalizer. As it is often not standardized in our industry and was not easily available to lower-budget productions in the past, I have developed workflows to make it accessible to most people, and I think it makes any production’s budget look larger.

As Cinematographers, our job is to help the director bring their vision to life, working with all the other departments to create the final images. Prep is where we get to rough out our ideas—like sketching before painting. The details might shift, or we might go in a new direction, but at least we know what we’re aiming for!

Over the years, I’ve put together a prep workflow that works for any production and helps everyone get on the same page. I usually kick things off with some online digging, then head out for a tech scout to grab measurements, build out the location in software, do the pre-viz for a storyboard, map out the lighting diagrams, and wrap it up for delivery.

Before, I cobbled things together with a bunch of different apps: Canva, Cinetracer, Shot Designer, Google Sheets, SunCalc, and Google Maps. It was a mess.

I spent over five years hunting for something better, software that could handle all of my prep needs. Finally I found my answer at Camerimage.

I was fortunate to see a presentation by Ole Berek (Instagram: @oleberek | YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@oleberek) on how he produced his low-budget feature Argus. He is also a member of the church of Prep, and I appreciated how he used it to make a beautiful film on a budget. During the Q&A, I asked too many questions (sorry everyone), but I learned that I needed to:
A.) Talk more with Ole Berek (Instagram: @oleberek | YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@oleberek).
B.) Look into SAL 3D (SAL 3D stands for set.a.light 3D).

Enter Set a Light 3D

I had played with set.a.light 3D years earlier when it was geared more towards photography, but now that it had all the cinema-focused features, it was time to try again. I was really looking for software that would allow the following:

Support Camera Specs:
Multiple Sensor Sizes ✅
ND Filter ✅
White Balance Control ✅
Variety of Lens Options ✅
Wide range of Lights and Controls/Modifiers ✅
Easy 3D object Import ✅
Allow building and importing of Sets/Locations ✅
Easy Organization ✅

Building prep documents including:
Lighting Diagrams ✅
Storyboards ✅
Equipment Lists ✅
Bonus: Props List ✅

In the end, set.a.light 3D ticked all my boxes; the next step was to take it for a spin.

The Spot

Over the past two years, the German Broadcaster SWR has asked Feinfilm, a Berlin Production Company, to shoot its Carnival Promos.

As a long-time collaborator with Feinfilm (Director: Liesa Rademacher; Producer: Susanne Hassepaß), I was asked to serve as Cinematographer once again. The spots feature a person with a cloud that causes mischief as it follows them around. The cloud is practical, so it requires strong coordination among Directing, Camera, Production Design, and Wardrobe.

Also, the spots have a very fast turnaround, usually shooting and heading into post in the same week, with only 4 days from picture wrap to final delivery for broadcast. As with most TV promo spots, goals are high, and quality is important; budgets can pose challenges, and quick turnarounds are common. This is where my favorite phase comes in…

The Prep

Liesa and I did a location scout, where we did the usual run-through, took on-site photos using Artemis, and matched our camera and lens package. Measuring roughly the layout of the space. Looking into how the sun and natural light will affect us. Checking all the ins and outs related to smooth production, the most important being “Will the equipment fit through the door?”

With all of this in hand, I began rebuilding the space in Live Home 3D, software I have moved from FloorPlanner because it is desktop-based and allows exporting projects as 3D files, like .obj.

After this, it was time to bring things into set.a.light 3D. There is this moment with software, which does not always happen, but I love it when it does, the moment it surprises you.

While using set.a.light 3D, I kept finding little features I didn’t even know I was missing—like quickly copying and tweaking things, snapping objects into place, grouping lights together, or turning parts of a set into glass or solid materials. With set.a.light 3D, it was super intuitive, and everything just worked.

Honestly, just the importing alone saved me a ton of time. The building imported quickly and I could even change things like the windows from glass to transparent, depending on how I needed them.

I found free 3D files for items like the cloud and some gym elements. Also, set.a.light 3D already has a great library built in, and I was surprised to find items readily available. The 3D importer is like hungry little caterpillar, it just takes in anything you throw at it and makes it coming out like a beautiful butterfly.

After getting it all imported, I jumped right into setting up the lights, framing, and building out the spot. Once I got the hang of the controls, it just clicked. Now the fun could begin.

The Prep Bible

After the cinematography-focused round, I moved into the actual final delivery, getting our words gospel to the masses, and making our Prep Bible.

First, I played around with the snapshots and the rendering, finding the right balance for speed and quality. One feature I love came up: the ability to roll back to a snapshot from before, have your lights where they were during setup, and have everything back in its place. This beats everything else by a mile/kilometer, where you hope the undo feature works or the software won’t crash.

Then it was time to pull everything together into prep docs. I used to bounce between a bunch of apps—Google Slides or Canva for layouts, Cinetracer and Shot Designer for images, Google Sheets or Numbers for lists. But with set.a.light 3D, it was all there: storyboards, lighting plans, gear and prop lists, notes—everything in one spot!

I sent these over to Feinfilm and Liesa for everyone to get on the same page. Liesa sent them over to SWR, who were super excited and signed off right away. Our Gaffer (Ali Farrokhian – Instagram: @alifarrokhian_) and I had our prep call, and at the end, he told me how great the prep docs looked.

The big lesson, if you want to also build trust, for a production, especially with the Client: show them how you will execute their vision and give them a plan.

The Shoot

We jumped in on shooting the 3 spots over 2 days. Our first day was outside battling the Berlin weather, but we made our wrap on time and beat the sunset because we had THE PLAN!

The same went for day 2; even with problems, we knew our next steps and workarounds because we had it prepped, knowing which shots we could drop or merge and where we had room to make up time or play.

It was still a lot to get with practical FX and lighting gags, as well as a giant cloud that needed to be moved around and tamed. We were able to stay on track, though, and always check our references!

SAL 3D to Final

Wrap

We wrapped on a Monday night, and Liesa had the finals delivered by Wednesday. The spots aired on that Friday. She gave a buffer for notes, but there were NO NOTES!

Afterward, we talked about why this shoot and post went so smoothly. set.a.light 3D really was a game-changer—it kept everything organized and us on track, even when issues arose. It also gives us the time to play around. I think prep improves space for finding more frames. I’m seriously impressed by what set.a.light 3D can do now, and I’m even more excited to see where it goes next.

For me, my prep game just leveled up. I can’t wait to see what’s possible on the next shoot with set.a.light 3D in my toolkit.

---

John F. McClellan | Cinematographer
Insta: @johnfmcclellan_dop | LinkedIn: johnfmcclellan
Berlin 🐻 + New York City🗽 Based
Filming Narrative 📖 Commercial 📈 Documentary 👀 Music Video 🎸
Can Travel ✈️ – American 🇺🇸 + German 🇩🇪 Passport Holder
Skier ⛷️- Scuba Diver 🤿 – Fix it in Prep 📋 – Can drive a Tractor 🚜
Camerimage Talent Demo Participant 24/25 🐸
Open for work and collaboration 🤙🏼

Bio: John is an American and German cinematographer based in Berlin and New York. From farm to city, he works across genres and formats, creating award-winning images through his Fix It In Prep approach and close collaboration.

This post is also available in: