“When you’re preparing a film you can indulge in dreamy conversations –– it’s an essential part of the process that gets infused into the work,” says cinematographer Sam Levy. “But once you’re on set, and the clock is ticking, you find yourself a passenger on a moving train. Sometimes it’s a slow-moving train, but that train is moving. This was very much the case when we shot Karen Cinorre’s new film Mayday.”
The Cherokee Nation Film Office and Oklahoma State University-Tulsa are partnering to build educational opportunities and support Oklahoma’s rapidly expanding film industry. OSU-Tulsa is currently expanding its public, noncredit workshops for screenwriting, filmmaking, and production skills with a for-credit film program in development that will create a new, state-of-the-art, hands-on learning experience at OSU-Tulsa.
Some of the world’s most spectacular views are best seen from halfway up a wall of rock. That’s a place where gear has to be reliable, whether it’s crucial safety equipment or the cameras that let the rest of us experience the same dizzying panorama. It’s also a familiar situation to alpinist Renan Ozturk, whose experience includes some of the steepest climbing challenges on the planet as well as documentary filmmaking and photojournalism covering everything from the freezing Himalayas to the African deserts of Chad.
Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, is rapidly becoming a crucial film production location in the region, officials there say, favored by both local and international production companies. The main reasons for the attraction are the Lithuanian Film Tax Incentive and the availability of high-level film professionals. Although the pandemic partially slowed down projects, the film industry in the city has been quickly restored, and 13 foreign feature films have already been shot in Vilnius this year.
Cherokee Nation has announced Kevin Shand as the tribe’s new film commissioner. In his new position, Shand will serve dual roles as both film commissioner for the Cherokee Nation and as the tribe’s film office manager.
Teradek has launched the Bolt 4K monitor modules 1500 TX and 1500 RX, giving users a long-range option with the 1500 monitor modules and a short-range option with the original 750 monitor modules.
SmallHD has launched a new 4K 13-inch high-bright monitor. Cine 13 is SmallHD’s most compact, agile, and pixel-dense 13-inch production monitor yet. With its low-profile design, this on-set workhorse can fit into nearly any production scenario. The brilliant daylight visibility and 4K clarity of Cine 13 is designed for creatives who always require critical focus capability.
Teradek has introduced the Bolt 4K LT Max, a 4K high dynamic range wireless video system featuring up to 5,000 feet line-of-sight range in a compact, rugged form factor.
Filmmaker and explorer Michael Muller has made what he believes is a first-of-kind underwater virtual reality project featuring nine episodic short films. The series, entitled Into the Now, offers a revolutionary, stereoscopic virtual-reality experience that explores the most spectacular events in marine life, what Muller calls "the holy grail of diving.”
The CBS mega hit S.W.A.T. has always been fast moving—on air and on set. Shot on multiple stages at Santa Clarita Studios and diverse locations throughout the Los Angeles area, the series averages 100 set-ups per day. Giving life to the adrenalin pumping story lines has always been a creative feat for accomplished cinematographer Francis Kenny, ASC (Justified, Heathers, Bruce Beresford’s Bonny & Clyde, New Jack City), and his crew.
