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The Sony PME-EX3 Camcorder.
by Robert Primes, ASC
During the past few months I’ve had the pleasure of demonstrating or speaking about 3 different cameras from 3 different companies, Canon’s 5D Mark II, Panasonic’s Varicam 3700 and Sony’s EX-1/EX-3. I happen to love all three cameras so I felt no conflict of interest. But I’m impressed that all three of these major companies trusted me to present their cameras and allowed me to remain an objective voice speaking from my real world experience.
I believe this ecumenical spirit comes from the many years competing vendors of cinematography products shared a stage speaking to the American Society of Cinematographers as educators rather than rivals. There is something noble about the way competing cinematographers share their secrets and wish each other success. Miraculously, the higher purpose of advancing the art form seems to supersede individual ambition. The manufacturers seem to have caught the same bug. Hallelujah! But I’ve been asked to write this article about the EXes. So here goes.
Marc Levin, James Adolphus, and Forest Whitaker sit for an interview in the Mayor's office.
by Tom Davidson
A documentary that premiered recently on The Sundance Channel was shot entirely with Sony XDCAM EX series cameras (the PMW-EX1 and PMW-EX3). Brick City, the nickname for Newark, N.J., is about the fight by Mayor Cory Booker and other city leaders against gang wars, corruption and poverty. In the five one-hour episodes, Booker and Police Director Garry McCarthy work with “Jayda”, a Blood gang member turned youth mentor, who lives with her Crip boyfriend “Creep.”
The movie was executive-produced by Oscar®-winning actor and producer Forest Whitaker. Filmmakers Mark Benjamin and Marc Levin and their director of photography James Adolphus chose the EX cameras for their size, image quality and HD resolution, as well as the use of ExpressCard-based SxS PRO™ recording media, which presented the team with the perfect solution in the field.
Ki Pro Portable Disc Recorder from AJA Video.
by Leslie Parks
Everyone know, from broadcasters to indie filmmakers, how daunting the possible choices for image acquisition can be. Various cameras, formats, recording media and compression schemes can be confusing even to veteran video pros, leading many of them to ask, “Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to simplify acquisition so that virtually any camera could record the same format and resolution?”
First introduced at NAB 2009, the Ki Pro portable disc recorder from AJA Video may just be the answer, attracting a lot of attention among HD professionals and winning five major industry awards, as well as endorsements from camera manufacturers including Arri, Canon, JVC and RED. AJA also conducted a 24-city global tour in support of Ki Pro’s launch this past summer, which kicked off in Paris in May, and traveled throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas, ending in Sao Paulo in July.
Lee Lusby’s E.T. 3D Rig Time Lapse video from Keslow Camera on Vimeo.
by B. Sean Fairburn, SOC
I had the chance to get trained on the new series of 3D Rigs from Element Technica intended for sale in the exploding 3D market. They manufacture three sizes. “QUASAR,” the largest, for full size Sony F23-F35, 1500, F900R or the Red One, and Phantom cameras equipped with prime or zoom lenses. The mid-sized rig, “PROTON,” mounts box-style Scarlet, Epic and the SI-2K. The small rig, “NEUTRON,” is for the tiny 2/3” or 1/3” imager cameras sporting C-mount lenses such as the SI-2K MINI, Iconix and Cunima. All three incorporate a lightweight rugged frame with user ease of operation.
The Technica 3D rigs are now available for purchase or they can be rented from Keslow in LA, OffHollywood in NYC, and Panavision UK. The companies provide the opportunity to rent fully functional 3D Rigs to Shoot live action 3D projects.
Claire Danes (in overalls), Ivan Strasburg, BSC (far right) and Steve Shearer (center) prepare to shoot a scene.
by Bob Fisher
Temple Grandin is the story of a real-life heroine by the same name who has made a difference in the world. Born in Boston, she was diagnosed as brain damaged at 2 years old, but it turned out she was autistic. Grandin didn’t speak until she was 4 years old. She was subsequently mercilessly teased by her middle and high school classmates who thought that she was retarded. Grandin went on to overcome seemingly impossible obstacles, earning a doctorate degree, and becoming a professor of animal science at Colorado State University.
The HBO movie tracks Grandin, played by Claire Danes, from the age of 15 through her early 60s. The project was a collaboration between cinematographer Ivan Strasburg, BSC and director Mick Jackson. Originally planning to only shoot flashbacks in Super 16, the two decided to use it to capture the entire film and then transfer to HD.
Guadalupe Island, Mexico: A shark being lifted onto a boat after it has taken a buoyed bait. The crew will take measurements and attach a tracking antenna to the dorsal fin before returning it to the water unharmed.
by Dara Klatt
A hundred sixty miles off the coast of Baja California, science and sport fishing join forces for an unprecedented research effort. A team of world-class anglers will land one of the most challenging fish imaginable: the great white shark.
Unlike any other catch ever attempted, they’ll lift an SUV-sized shark out of the water onto a platform, mount a long-lasting tracking tag by hand, take measurements and DNA samples while pumping water into the shark’s mouth to keep it alive and release it unharmed … all within minutes, like a NASCAR race pit stop. It’s all captured in high definition for the National Geographic Channel special Expedition Great White.
Geyser nicknamed Old Faithful.
by Bob Fisher
Yellowstone: Land to Life was produced for display at the renovated theater in the Canyon Visitor Education Center at the national park. The 20-minute film premiered on Memorial Day in 2009. The poetic imagery ushers audiences on a journey through the ecosystem that created the park, which stretches over some 3,400 square miles of Wyoming, including mountain ranges, the Grand Canyon, Old Faithful and animal life. A 30-minute version aired in HD format on PBS in September.
The project had special meaning for John Grabowska, who has been producing films for the Harpers Ferry Center of the National Park Service since 1991. His parents visited Yellowstone on their honeymoon and took him camping there during his youth. Grabowska and his wife also spent part of their honeymoon at the park.
1) Using the spatula, apply some Pros-Aide cream in the center of the scar.
by Bradley M. Look
Since writing the article Stuck On You (Jan/Feb 2008), that demonstrated how to apply transfer scars, many people have asked me to write how the 3-D appliances are made in the first place.
First, you will need the following items which are available in many of the theatrical makeup beauty suppliers: Frekote #1711 silicone spray, cream Pros-Aide, flocking fibers (used to color the Pros-Aide if desired), silicone scar mold (for this demonstration I am using the S.O.S. silicone molds from MEL Products), permanent marker, metal spatula, transfer plastic and paper, as well as a wooden tongue depressor.
Saying NO to a dual lens 3D system, Sony recently launched a Single Lens 3D Camera at CREATE.
by Steven Sechrist
“Smoke and mirrors” never had much of a positive connotation but, sans the smoke, Sony is looking to a unique mirror technology to get beyond some of the core image capture problems with recording 3D. The company announced a new single lens 3D camera technology. They claim its “capable of recording natural and smooth 3D images of even fast-moving subject matter [by combining] a newly developed optical system for single lens 3D cameras which captures the left and right images simultaneously, together with existing high frame rate (HFR) recording technology to realize 240fps 3D filming.”
The single lens system splits the incoming light into two optical paths with pick-up sensors (CMOS) for left and right eye. This approach removes the zoom and focus issues of “existing half-mirror 3D camera systems” that use two separate lenses for the left and right eyes – the company claims.
