Tag Archive for 'cinealta'

Zodiac shot in digital

Published by Administrator March 7th, 2007 in Digital Technology, Film School, News bits and Video Production. 0 Comments

Zodiac posterFollowing Michael Mann’s lead, David Fincher has decided to shoot Zodiac with a digital camera.


It seems the Viper FilmStream camera has been the camera of choice, while Sony F900 is being relegated to low-budget, horror movie status.

Another contender for being THE camera for studio filmmakers (RED camera) is still in development, so the competition is not exactly fierce.

Here’s some thoughs from the DP, Harris Savides:

The fluctuating nature of the technology means that most filmmakers still have to fight to shoot their films on HD. Directors like Steven Soderbergh and Robert Rodriguez can get away with HD because they keep their budgets down. But once budgets start rising to $100 million, or tent-pole status, the resistance is much fiercer.

And more from Savides, this time re: Fincher:

He’s amazing. I don’t think anybody could’ve done it this way. David had to figure it out on his own, and then present it to the studio. He had to do smaller projects, commercials. He’d been using the Viper, got really used to it. So by the time I stepped in he had gotten the Viper integrated and he’d figured out how to make the camera work. When I got there, 90 percent of the problems had been ironed out. I was just part of the creative solution.

RED camera endorsed

Published by Administrator November 11th, 2006 in Digital Technology, HD Cameras and Video Production. 3 Comments

Thanks to Mike Curtis, we get another endorsement for the amazing RED camera, slated for release in April.

Red Camera

If you can’t read the image, it says:

The RED Mysterium sensor has finally pushed digital acquisition past the timeless 35mm film barrier in resolution and clean color fidelity.

The endorsement is by David Stump who is not only a member of the ASC but is the chair of the Digital Camera subcommittee for the ASC.

Sony CineAlta Rigs

Published by Administrator February 27th, 2006 in Film School, HD Cameras and Video Production. 3 Comments

Sony CineAlta rig - George LucasIf you’re wondering why I went from writing about Panasonic HVX200 to writing about Sony CineAlta, your budget is probably a couple of million short. Welcome to the club.

I won’t be able to afford a CineAlta-size production any time soon. Yet, when I look at CineAlta rigs, I see some of the same accessories that are needed for low-budget filmmaking.

Recently, I reviewed a number of accessories for HVX200 that could be used to create a “killer rig”. Apart from standard stuff like tripods and monitors, I paid special attention to matte boxes and filters for HVX200 as these are essential to create filmlike video.

Sony CineAlta rig - Lars von TrierFirst, let me go through CineAlta’s specs. Right now, Sony has branded CineAlta to two cameras: F900 and F950. They can shoot at the same 24 frames per second (24p) as film and have a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels (1080p). F900 was notably used to shoot Star Wars, Episode II.

Revenge of the Sith was shot with more advanced HDW950 cameras which can record the full 1920×1080-pixel frame. When shooting in the 2.35:1 widescreen format (often referred to as “Panavision”) only about 800 of the 1080 vertical pixels are actually used.

Look at Lars von Trier’s rig for Dogville. I see a Steadycam of some sort. I see a shotgun mic mounted on the camera. I see a separate recorder tied to the shotgun mic (always a good idea to have backup). I can’t descern what the lens is but it comes with some kind of a matte box.

All of these are pretty standard stuff. Take it from the pros, you need just three things: 1) keep your shots steady; 2) more control over your image; 3) better, cleaner sound. That’s it. When you rent a rig, go for the basics first.

Star Wars III - Within a Minute

Published by Administrator October 24th, 2005 in Book/DVD Reviews, Film School and Video Production. 0 Comments

This is not exactly a lesson. It’s more like a reminder to get the Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith DVD. The DVD with the extras is an excellent primer for the world for corporate filmmaking. One of the documentaries on the DVD is Within a Minute, a feature-length documentary detailing the work that has gone into just one scene of Star Wars.

The scene in question is SCENE 158: Mustafar Duel. Based on the documentary, the scene required 26 shots, 1185 frames, and 910 artists. The total amount of man hours that went into that scene (I wonder how they tracked this) is 70,441!

The movie provides a step-by-step overview of the whole production process. The narration for the most part is provided by Star Wars’ Producer, Rick McCallum. He exhibits an excellent grasp of the process and leaves you with the impression he personally supervised the thousands of people who worked on the last episode. Here’s the table of contents, department by department:

Story (script), Art Department, Previz, Production Design, Construction (600 people!), Props, Make-up, Costumes, Actors, Directorial, Stunts, Cinematography, Editorial, Visual FX, Sound Design, Score.

Pay close attention to the digital cinematography department - there’s plenty of SONY CineAlta’s around. They always make me drool. A few screenshots from the scene’s progression:

Mustafar Duel: Making of Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith

There’s plenty of other material as well on this DVD: deleted scenes, interviews, etc. but the real money shot is the Within a Minute documentary.

An interesting note in indie filmmaking coming from Lucas - the rehersals for the stunt scenes have all been shot using a Canon XL1S and wheelchair as a dolly. When you compare them to the rest of this gigantic film production, they feel like home: low/no budget video production.

Even if you’re a low/no-budget filmmaker, this is an interesting see. If you’d like a “corporate” career, pay close attention to any occasions of white hair that appears on screen. These are few and far in between but indicate a career that you can retire on. Who wants to hire 65-year-old focus-puller?

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