Cameras

Documenting Global Warming Cinema Vérité Style

Mon, 03/31/2014 - 16:06 -- Nick Dager

Climate change is a complex global phenomenon. Documenting its many aspects for a new multi-part cable series required an HD production format that could not only provide a cinematic, audience-friendly look but also the flexibility to capture everything from expert interviews to location footage shot in a wide range of temperature extremes. Challenged with these requirements, the producers of Showtime’s Years of Living Dangerously chose Canon EOS C300 digital cinema cameras and a wide variety of Canon optics, including Canon CN-E Cinema prime lenses, for the superb image quality, extreme mobility, and creative capabilities needed to make this multi-camera documentary-style series.

Codex, Vision Research Working on Phantom Flex4K Workflow

Mon, 03/31/2014 - 15:47 -- Nick Dager

Codex has announced that it is working with Vision Research to provide a robust workflow for the Phantom Flex4K camera. Already widely used around the world with many different cameras, Codex Vault is a mobile workflow device that supports the rapid transfer of the digital camera originals from the Phantom for review, post-production and archiving.

Codex Unveils the Action Cam

Mon, 03/31/2014 - 15:20 -- Nick Dager

Codex has announced Codex Action Cam, an ultra-compact, all-in-one, digital cinema camera and recording package for 2D and stereoscopic 3D production. The camera is designed for use as a supplement to larger camera systems on commercials, TV and movie productions as a companion camera when regular camera packages are too large for the situation or location in which the production is trying to shoot. The new camera will be on display at the National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas April 7.

Panasonic Unveils 4K VariCam 35 Camera

Wed, 03/05/2014 - 12:27 -- Nick Dager

Panasonic has unveiled a 4K camera/recorder, VariCam 35 that incorporates a newly developed super 35mm MOS image sensor and the company’s AVC-ULTRA family of video codecs. The new camera handles multiple formats including 4K, UHD, 2K and HD and is designed for high-end filmmaking, and commercials and episodic production as well as live 4K events.

Test Pilots

Thu, 01/23/2014 - 15:20 -- James Mathers

The industry doesn’t do as many pilots as in years past, which is a shame, because they can be a valuable format for testing not just story ideas and actors but new technology. In my role covering new cinema technology for the Digital Cinema Society I am often offered gear to test and evaluate, everything from new lighting units and cameras to various digital cinema recorders. Since I need to keep busy earning my living as a director of photography, I honestly don’t have time to run scientific tests, so I prefer instead to use the gear in real world productions I’m hired to work on. You could call me a technology test pilot. I get a better sense of how these tools perform where the rubber hits the road, and it’s a good way to help out the productions I’m working on, pulling in items they might not otherwise be able to afford. The perfect opportunity to put many of these items through their paces came up recently when I was asked to shoot a feature length pilot for a new action/adventure show aimed at young adults entitled, Tribe of the Wild.

Understanding the Changing Nature of Filmed Stories

Wed, 01/08/2014 - 12:42 -- Nick Dager

Filmmaker Matt Ogens latest effort is a feature length documentary called Meet the Hitlers. When he selects the right for any of his projects his first thought, though, is how best to tell the story is wants to convey. “It all comes down to telling great stories,” said Ogens. “There are different types of stories, and the nature of the story itself may change how I capture it on film. To decide on that, I collaborate with a director of photography and ask what type of camera he or she thinks is best for each project from a creative perspective, but sometimes the reality of a budget may also dictate what cameras are available to me. We will discuss the look I want for the story and then the DP and I will choose the camera.”

Recreating an Iconic Moment from the Civil Rights Era

Fri, 12/20/2013 - 12:11 -- Nick Dager

Re-creating the past can be challenging for filmmakers, especially when tasked to duplicate the look of a particular time in history for a period movie. Add a tight budget, cramped locations, and underwater photography, and you have the situation James Chressanthis, ASC, faced as cinematographer for the movie The Watsons Go to Birmingham. Based on the novel by Christopher Paul Curtis, the film depicts a fictional family’s 1963 road trip intersecting with an actual terrorist bombing during the civil-rights era.

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