The Gear Behind Top Gear – with director Avi Cohen – ON THE GO – Episode 66

by Fabian ChaundyAugust 28^th, 2017

In this second part of our chat with automobile DP Avi Cohen, we discuss his personal shooting style and his next steps after Top Gear.

Shooting that first feature is a huge milestone in any DP’s career. Avi Cohen tells us about his plans for the future regarding his possible plans, as well as the kind of projects — such as humanitarian-oriented documentaries — he would like to complete before considering himself ready to take that step.

We also discus the, uhm, gear behind Top Gear, the kind of cameras used, as well as Avi’s particular style involving car-mounted cranes.

Diving deeper into Avi Cohen’s personal shooting style, he explains why he prefers to avoid the standard focal lengths between the 25-85mm range, preferring instead the more extreme looks that an ultra wide-angle 11mm, a 100m Macro, or even a 1000mm telephoto have to offer.

And lastly we touch on the topic of specialisation: is it better to focus and excel at just one type of shooting, or is versatility the key to a successful career? With Avi Cohen, it was this decision to work in a particular niche that opened the most doors in his career. As he puts it, if you’re going into surgery “you hope your doctor’s like the best open heart surgeon in the world, and not a really great general practitioner”. But is this always the case when it comes to a filmmaking career?

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