The rivalry between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier goes back many years to their 2015 bout in UFC 182. Since then, there have been several failed attempts at a rematch, and over the years Jones was forced to relinquish his belt to Cormier via league suspension. After a long wait, the epic showdown will finally happen at UFC 214. For a fight this big, the commercial had to be something special. The shoot was very ambitious and spanned several days and many locations. The sequence of Jones running through the woods was filmed in a reputedly haunted forest outside of Albuquerque. We were working with our friends at Wild Rabbit Aerial who flew their Freefly Alta octocopter drone with one of our Red Dragons outfitted with a Leica Summicron prime lens. It was a serious rig operated by a team of the best. Director of Photography Jonathan Belinski also operated many shots himself using a DJI Ronin gimbal system. Another challenging shoot was the night time training sequence with Cormier. A stark lighting design and kinetic camera movement were incorporated to heighten the intense mood of the piece. Some of the more intricate scenes were shot in the ring, where some brand new lighting was used. We were lucky enough to get to try a new unit from Cineo Lighting, the Quantum 80. The unit was built on a custom rig that was suspended above the ring to create a soft top light and it performed beautifully. It was definitely a very fast paced and exciting shoot to be a part of. Director: Adam Condal Producer: Eric Mazer Director of Photography: Jonathan Belinski Aerials : Wild Rabbit
