Cameras

For award-winning cinematographer Aaron McLisky, ACS, and for Academy Award winning director, co-writer, and leading actor Russell Crowe, shooting the psychological thriller Poker Face came down to two things: achieving a modern look that maintained a painterly quality as well as choosing the right aspect ratio to capture the ensemble cast in a single frame. One other challenge on the set was having a director who was also the leading actor.

Capturing and producing high-quality dynamic and fast-paced vehicle footage creates some of the most testing logistical challenges that film, television, and commercial production teams contend with. Kala, a production, and dynamic camera movement company based in Canada, is all too aware of the challenges of shooting moving vehicles.

Low budget films with a captivating story and compelling cinematography can compete with films budgeted in the hundreds of millions of dollars. It’s a lesson proven by the Netflix independent feature Purple Hearts from director Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum and cinematographer Matt Sakatani Roe. Purple Hearts became number seven in Netflix’s Most Popular Films List just 28 days after its release on July 29 with 220.6 million hours watched. It also became the number one film on Netflix in the UK within one week of its premiere.