Author: Olivia Farrimond

Embracing the Live Streaming Revolution

Posted on | by Olivia Farrimond

Leveraging new, cutting-edge live streaming technology, Bokeh Rentals is now offering an extensive range of live streaming solutions. Empowering filmmakers, content creators, event producers, and businesses to deliver professional-grade live broadcasts. As live streaming continues to grow in popularity across various industries, the demand for reliable, high-performance equipment has surged. Bokeh Rentals has taken pride in our commitment of providing top-tier production gear, and aim to meet the evolving needs of our clients. By incorporating this new state-of-the-art technology into our rental offerings, we’re thrilled to become your go-to resource for any live streaming setup.

THE BLACK MAGIC ADVANTAGE

Blackmagic Design is renowned for its innovative and high-quality video production equipment. We have integrated some of Blackmagic’s latest equipment into our inventory to be able to bring your live streaming production needs to the next level.

Versatile Switchers: Blackmagic’s new Atem 4 M/E Constellation HD provides the backbone for sophisticated live productions. These switchers offer multiple inputs and outputs, advanced keying, and powerful automation features, ensuring seamless and dynamic live broadcasts. The Atem 4 M/E Constellation HD Switcher is also designed to cater to a wide array of live production scenarios:

  • Broadcast Studios: Its extensive input and output capabilities, combined with advanced keying and compositing, make it ideal for newsrooms, talk shows, and sports studios.
  • Live Events: From concerts to conferences, the switcher’s robust performance and flexibility allow for seamless transitions and dynamic visual effects, enhancing the live experience.
  • Corporate Productions: For corporate events and webinars, the switcher’s ability to handle multiple video sources and integrate with virtual sets provides a polished, professional output.
  • House of Worship: The ease of use and powerful features of the Atem 4 M/E Constellation HD make it a valuable tool for live streaming religious services and events, enabling clear and engaging broadcasts.

 

One of the key advantages of the Atem 4 M/E Constellation HD Switcher is its scalability. As production needs grow, the switcher’s extensive I/O and feature set ensure it remains a relevant and powerful tool. With this switcher behind the helm, the rest of your live stream production will be more than smooth sailing.

Alongside the Atem Switcher, Bokeh also proudly boasts top tier live stream equipment including:

Blackmagic Hyperdeck Studio Pro 4K 

  • Records and plays back Ultra HD 4K video using a variety of high-quality codecs, with advanced connectivity options and continuous recording capabilities via SSD and CFast cards.

Blackmagic Atem 1 M/E Advanced Broadcast Panel

  • Top of the line control panel that provides tactile, hands-on operation for managing and switching live video broadcasts with precision and ease.

Blackmagic Teranex

  • Professional video converter that provides high-quality standards conversion, format conversion, and frame rate conversion, ensuring seamless video integration and compatibility across different formats and resolutions.

Blackmagic Atem Extreme Iso Switcher

  • Comprehensive live production switcher that allows for real-time video switching, recording of individual inputs, and the generation of a project file for post-production, ideal for complex multi-camera live events.

Elgato Stream Deck XL and Stream Deck Plus

  • Customizable control panels featuring multiple programmable buttons that streamline and enhance live streaming, content creation, and workflow automation by providing quick access to various functions and commands.

A Custom Built Next Computing System

  • Our experts in collaboration with Next Computing have custom built a machine that is optimized for even the most robust live steam workflow. Want to upload to multiple platforms? Integrate zoom calls? Our system can handle it!

Sclera Digital Bonded Wifi Systems

  • When live streaming, it is critical to analyze the internet connection at your location. You will want to make sure you have a dedicated internet connection to your production that has the speed to seamlessly upload to every platform you want to stream to. Oftentimes, getting the dedicated feed with the right speeds is a hassle or just not possible. We have the solution with our Sclera Digital Bonded wifi systems. Using multiple cellular carriers and custom high gain antennas, this system ensures that you have the network connectivity you need for a successful shoot. 

Some of the key aspects of successful live streaming require using the high quality production tools, like the ones listed above, alongside professional grade cinema cameras that will elevate the viewer’s experience. Traditionally, a livestream or broadcast could only be done using broadcast cameras with small ⅔” sensors. Grass Valley, Panasonic, and Sony Broadcast cameras commanded the live stream market because of their ability to be fully controlled via a fiber connection. While these cameras have their strengths, they are limited by their small sensors, lack of depth of field, size, and limited lens options. After thoroughly testing our workflow, Bokeh can offer a fully capable live stream production utilizing cinema cameras ranging from a Sony FX6 to a Venice 2 with complete camera control capabilities. 

These tools partnered up with our extensive cinema camera and lens inventory are guaranteed to elevate any live stream production. We also collaborate with local production companies that are able to facilitate the entire live streaming process from pre-production to post! As live streaming continues to evolve as a critical medium for communication and engagement, our adoption of this new, state-of-the-art equipment ensures that we are well equipped and eager to support the diverse and dynamic needs of modern productions. 

Posted in Uncategorized

NAB 2024 with Bokeh Rentals, Cooke Optics, and Masterbuilt Lenses.

Posted on | by Olivia Farrimond

 

Since 1991, the NAB Show has transformed the Las Vegas Convention Center into a hub of innovation for the broadcast and film industries. This annual event draws thousands of professionals who come to explore the latest advancements in gear, software, and equipment, each designed to elevate projects from the concept stage to final production. So many new products hit the market this year – Blackmagic boasted their PYXIS 6k cinema camera, the new DJI Focus Pro uses lidar to turn any manual lens into autofocus, and the Ninja Phone allows your Iphone to act as a monitor when connected to your cinema camera. For NAB’s 33rd year, it was reported that over 60,000 people made the trek Vegas to attend the convention. Our team at Bokeh was part of that, and excited to hit the convention floor to talk shop with many of our friends and vendors that attended NAB this year. Lucky enough for us, we were able to steal a few of them off the floor and onto our warehouse to continue the fun after convention hours. We were thrilled to host two cinematic lens showcases with a few industry giants – Masterbuilt lenses and Cooke Optics.

 

MASTER BUILT Superscope

 

For the opening night of NAB, Bokeh LV was the stage for “Masterbuilt: Live in Las Vegas” – an enjoyable hands-on lens demonstration and mixer tailored for film industry lovers, where we collaborated with Masterbuilt founder and owner, Tim Arasheben. Bokeh has proudly partnered with Masterbuilt offering complete sets ranging from the Masterbuilt Classics, Portraits, and Superscopes to name a few. Masterbuilt lenses live beautifully in the intersection of vintage charm and modern cinematography, and we were excited to show them off for this event. NAB was especially thrilling as Tim brought his latest release, the Legacy series, to our Vegas warehouse and displayed the entire set ranging from 21mm-135mm all together for the first time.Bokeh provided Alexa Mini LFs, Alexa 35s, Buranos and Venices to showcase the wide array of glass. Tim also partnered up with Fuji to display the Ultra 65 lenses on a Fujifilm GFX100 II, and attendees loved being able to test out his lenses on these various set ups.

 

 

 

Monday night was dedicated to our friends from overseas. Cooke: A Cinematic Lens Showcase brought quite the crowd to our Vegas warehouse, and filled the evening with lens testing and laughter for hours on end. Chris D’Anna, the general manager for Cooke’s Burbank headquarters, teamed up with us a few months prior to NAB week to help facilitate what would turn out as a very successful evening.

 

 

 

With his help, we were able to showcase a phenomenal range of their award winning Cooke glass. Displayed on the floor were Cooke Panchro Classics, Special Flare Anamorphics, S8/is, S7/is, Cooke Macros, and their newest release – the SP3s. 

 

 

The event wasn’t just about showing off top-notch image quality and that signature ‘Cooke Look’—it was also hands-on. Through demonstrations and workshops led by experts, everyone got a real feel for what these lenses can do, learning about their tech in a fun and interactive way. It was great to see people so engaged, sharing ideas and discussing how these tools can boost both creativity and efficiency on set.

 

 

 

NAB is always such an impactful week for the film industry and we were so thrilled to have shared the spotlight with industry giants at Cooke and Masterbuilt.  As we look ahead, it’s clear that the common theme for NAB is all about pushing boundaries and keeping up with the industry’s needs. The events we hosted not only showcased Masterbuilt and Cooke’s commitment to quality and innovation but also set the stage for what’s next in lens tech. Everyone left buzzing with new ideas and inspiration for their next projects. Til next year, NAB!

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“Some Guys Just Can’t Handle Vegas”

Posted on | by Olivia Farrimond

A few weeks have passed since Super Bowl LVIII captivated the city of Las Vegas. Although the event is over, we have the unique opportunity of reliving some of the most thrilling moments with the help from our friends at Venture Production Group and CBS Sports. Talented Cinematographer Andrew Lee geared up with Bokeh to shoot “Some Guys Just Can’t Handle Vegas”, a Super Bowl pregame ‘Hangover’ spoof, and gave us the inside look at the making of this amazing short. 

 

 

https://vimeo.com/915386515

Lee’s film career blossomed after graduating from Indiana University in ‘06, where he majored in telecommunications with a focus on TV/Film. After graduating, Andrew moved to New York and landed a “permalance” job with CBS College Sports.  “Fast forward to 2011, I became a staff producer/shooter for the original programming department at CBS Sports Network. I left to go freelance and start my own company in 2014, but luckily CBS has hired me back often for projects, and remain one of our main clients still today. I do a lot of “sports centric” production, with CBS & Tennis Channel being the main clients.”

 

“Dan Ennis, one of the producers at CBS Sports, reached out about trying to re-create the scene from the original Hangover movie with the talent from CBS’s NFL Today pregame show.” ‘The NFL Today’  is anchored by James Brown, with analysts Phil Simms, Bill Cowher, Nate Burelson, Boomer Asiason, JJ Watt, and lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones. “They licensed the intellectual property from Warner Bros, and found a 5000 SQ ft suite at Mandalay Bay that could serve as the set for the shoot. The big challenge was we were only going to have the talent for 4 hours, for a shoot that probably should have lasted 2+ days. In that 4 hours we had about 8 different setups to get through. 

 

We also found out the day before that we’d have 15 less minutes with Nate Burelson, who we needed in each shot, because he had a Patrick Mahomes interview to conduct at 3:30 that got moved up to 3:15 (We were scheduled to wrap at 2:30) So that was a fun little wrinkle, we needed every minute we could get.

Bokeh provided Cooke Varotals and the Snorricam for us. The Snorricam was crucial to recreate that shot of Ed Helms waking up, and so once we realized we could source it from Bokeh in Vegas, it was a no-brainer to get the rest of the package from them.

 

We decided to go with the Varotals because we wanted the look of the Cookes, but given the schedule there was no way we’d have time for lens changes, so we put the 30-95mm on the Mini LF, and the 85-215 on the Venice 2. We were thrilled with how they looked. We shot the entire piece at a T4-5.6. We also had to shoot the scene with Ed Helms in LA, so it was great that another set of Varotals was available from Bokeh’s LA office to match.”

 

We asked Andrew what his favorite part of this shoot was. “The Cookes! But seriously, the lenses were great, but really the best part, like with any shoot, is being presented with something somewhat creative, but also with a bunch of challenges, (in our instance) severe time constraints, and being able to make it happen. Another fun post shoot story – the elevator scene at the end of the piece, we ended up with about 40 minutes to shoot that. We pre-lit an elevator, but then we all got down there, the elevator wouldn’t open or close, so we had to bail to a working elevator for the shot that reveals the guys have “found” James Brown. We set the shot, and the elevator was beeping cause we had left it open, so we were just going to let the doors close then hit the door open button. Alas, someone called it and as soon as the doors closed we shot up to the 61st floor. We ended up picking up about 10 hotel guests, so it was myself (Andrew Lee), fellow DP and biz partner Ryan Newman, Phil Simms in his boxer shorts, and Boomer with a face tattoo. Hotel guys were a bit surprised to say the least. I was trying to call everyone back on the bottom floor to tell them to have JB ready as we didn’t have time to do this again.

No one would answer. Thankfully our audio mixer, Zack Thorpe, was listening and realized when the mics went out of range that we had gone up and let everyone know when we got in range, so the shot that made the piece is the one that happened “live.” We dropped all the guests on the casino level, and then went one more down and it almost made it more a realistic “JB”! Because we had no idea if he was actually going to be there and ready when the doors opened.” 

Thank you again to Andrew, Venture Production, CBS Sports, and their incredible crew for 

allowing Bokeh to be a part of this experience. We can’t wait for the next one!

 

Hotel Suite:

Producer/Director: Dan Ennis

DP’s Andrew Lee & Ryan Newman 

AC: Eduardo Capriles

Audio: Zack Thorpe, Jameson Herndon, Stuart Peck

Gaffer: Rick Shipley

Key Grip: Andrew Williams

Electrician: Xavier Knight 

Grip: Jacob Peterson

Art Department: Noel Calizo, Shayon Nejati, & Jared Perez

Production Managers: Don Sheridan, Gina Fernando & Claire Aller

For Ed Helms:

Director/Producer: Dan Ennis

DP: Sean Brennan

AC: Alex O’Brien

Audio: Ryan Agostino

Gaffer: Kelly Porterfield

Posted in Uncategorized

Usher’s Super Bowl Pregame Coverage x Hawk Anamorphics

Posted on | by Olivia Farrimond

Super Bowl LVIII has brought more than just football to Las Vegas. Alongside gifted athletes, a plethora of talent has flooded the city, including world renowned music icon Usher, who stunned the nation with his halftime performance. Amidst this world of sports and entertainment lies a diverse group of people who play a crucial role in sharing the events happening with the viewers at home. Bokeh Rentals proudly partnered with talented cinematographer Sean Brennan, the creative force behind Usher’s Super Bowl Pregame Coverage shot on Hawk V-lite Anamorphics, to offer an exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpse into the magic behind the camera. 

 

I’m Sean Brennan, a freelance DP in LA and New York. My career occupies a unique place in the film and tv landscape, with my projects ranging from feature length docs to branded content, short films to broadcast features.

    Sean Brennan

 

I started as a PA for CBS Sports where I came up during the C300 renaissance, which was obviously an amazing tool because of its functionalities, but definitely shrunk crew sizes. Most of the DPs I worked with at CBS were expected to shoot, gaffe, and run audio for themselves, so it made my extra pair of hands as a PA valuable to them, and also modeled for me the ways to be nimble and self-sufficient on set. As a football player from the midwest, the DPs loved that they could load me up with a couple c-stands and the old Arri 650 cases for a shoot on a 4th-floor walkup. I wasn’t the kid that grew up with a camera wanting to direct, but as I found myself on more and more shoots lugging equipment around, I became so drawn into the image making process, and I was lucky enough to be taken under the wings of amazing mentors.

 

I started shooting within the first 7 months at CBS, grew to a staff DP within 3 years and went freelance at 25. From then on it’s really been about finding my voice as a DP through filmmaking. I went through all the peaks and valleys from the jobs I worked on and the types of images I could produce, definitely trying too hard sometimes to impose a look that wasn’t right for the story.

 

After a decade, I’ve moved much closer to finding that sweet spot of blending look and story. In the world of content we live in today, it’s becoming easier to make pretty images, but making images that support and enhance a story takes more thought and artistry. I’m certainly striving for that in my work now.

 

For this project, I was brought on to shoot a 5-minute feature for this year’s Super Bowl Pregame coverage for CBS Sports centered around an interview between Nate Burleson and Usher. Niya Walker, the Director, did a wonderful job of working with talent to make this more than just a fluff piece about the Super Bowl Halftime: they used this opportunity to explore the history of Black entertainment in Las Vegas and the significance of Usher’s journey in the town and throughout his career.

 

This all presented a fun opportunity as a DP: this piece had to be elevated but with purpose. It was not just a vibe piece, it had to relate back to the history they were exploring with intentionality.

 

I knew already we’d be shooting Alexa Mini LF, but the more impactful part was which glass we should rock. In the modern era of cinematography, there are loads of cameras that produce beautiful images, especially with how powerful color software has become, so the way for a DP to impress their vision on a project the most is through lens choice. There is no amount of post work you could do that can recreate what happens when you shoot through a Cooke S4 or Hawk V-lite.

The piece was built around a 4-camera shoot covering the conversation between Nate and Usher, so conventional thinking suggests going spherical for the sheer number of options you give yourself. That said, I couldn’t get the idea of going anamorphic out of my head.

 

I think Vegas is a city that photographs beautifully in anamorphic – all the lights and textures render wonderfully in the anamorphic frame and there’s a certain nostalgia about the city that brings to mind classic cinema and the time period of the 1950’s and 60’s, which also happened to be the era we were referencing often in the piece. Everywhere you look in Vegas is a set piece that would take weeks to build elsewhere. They exist in Vegas naturally, almost like this version of heightened reality.

 

Choosing the Hawks was an easy choice. Gina Ferrando, the production manager on the project, was so invested and trusting that this would be money well spent and when you’re talking about a shoot with this many Hawks, its pretty important to get production management on your side. This is also where Bokeh Rentals entered the picture.

 

I chose the Hawks for many reasons, but the two main reasons were their form factor allowed us to move quickly between setups (we only had three hours with talent) and they are the sharpest anamorphics that still have all the imperfections you’d want from choosing that format. Knowing this would be cutting with the rest of the pregame, I didn’t want to go full 2.39:1 primarily because the way CBS had the frame setup with bugs and the tickers, it just didn’t look right. Instead, I opted to go with a 2:1 aspect ratio, which blended more with the existing assets CBS was going to have on the screen.

 

I still wanted the barrel distortion you get and the funky falloff on the edges and the beautiful flares you get from 2X anamorphic lenses and there are truly no other lenses that exist in the world that do both of those quite as well as the V-Lites. The location we were shooting in for the main interview was already stunning (thanks to my friends at Resorts World) but these lenses really brought the most out of the space. I often gravitate much more towards lenses with imperfections, whether it be distortion or unique flaring for the projects I shoot but I often don’t have control of many other aspects of the frame. Its always been important for me when working with non-actors to give them the most amount of freedom as possible to move about the space as they would naturally, I think it lends itself well to a more “believable performance.” For this piece in-particular, I certainly never wanted to break up the conversation between Nate and Usher, I didn’t want the camera to be a distraction which left me quite exposed to natural light and other variables. Having lenses like the Hawk V-Lites, that create a world of their own, gave such a beautiful quality to the piece when we were operating outside what I was able to plan for.

Broadcast TV in particular is a special beast in the content space because of how quick the turnaround time is. Theres often very little time between when we shoot something and when it makes air… We shot this 2 weeks before the Super Bowl which actually feels like a lifetime in that line of work. That quick turnaround time leaves little room to manipulate the image in post or do any sort of VFX work which means the emphasis is on getting the image as close to right in-camera as possible. It can be a really rewarding process because you watch something air very close to when you shot it almost exactly how you shot it… haha. That said, it relates back to what I was saying about lens choices. The way a lens renders an image in the broadcast space is so important as the DP because thats often the last time I’ll have access to it, it goes right to an edit and then right the air. In order for it to feel like my intended vision, which really represents the vision of everyone involved, the camera and lens I shoot on matters greatly.

 

My initial ask when I hit Bokeh up about renting the Hawks was for 5 lenses with the 80-180 included but instead, what I got was the full 6 lens kit, an extra 110mm and the 80-180 for the same price because Bokeh really understood the vision of the project and the limitations we were facing. We didn’t have an opportunity for a prelight day because the space we were using is a functioning bar… so walking into a space blind can be really scary and yet the gave me all the options I could have possibly needed. Having the extra lenses on set allowed me to get the most out of the location and there were 2 lenses in particular that I ended up choosing on the day that wouldn’t have been in the kit I initially requested.

 

My gaffer, Hunter Langley, did such a great job of elevating the look and giving it the polish it deserved while working with what the Hawks were giving us. It’s the job as a DP to truly understand the limitations and variables of a particular project and the gear, and try to find the apex where they can interact as seamlessly as possible. I knew we weren’t going to have a lot of time outside the main interview to light or even flag Usher and Nate and we were going to be shooting during the middle of the day in Vegas, which is… not ideal. We wanted to give Nate and Usher the flexibility to move as they pleased and freely interact with their locations so for me, putting a good lens on a good camera was my only real defense against the elements and I can honestly say I wasn’t disappointed. I think ultimately thats the true job of the DP. Its eliminating as many of the variables as you can in pre-production and finding the gear that can bail you out of scenarios you might not have been fully prepared for. Thats where the production triangle never fails. I luckily had budget on this job, but little time (trust me, I was the guy in the room asking if Usher can come closer to sunset…), so we were still able to get stuff that’s of the standard we were striving for.

 

There’s one scene in particular, where Nate and Usher are walking through the Neon Museum where we were running tight on time and the V-Lites really showed their beauty. It was a really important moment in the feature because they landed right next to the old Moulin Rouge sign, which was out front of the hotel where many of the Black performers like Sammy Davis Jr. would stay when they would be in town. It was 1:30pm, and we had less than 15 minutes to wrap, so we simply had them walk through the museum backlight, no flags or bounces, and my killer Movi-Op, Chris Velona, moved around them with the 55mm.

Despite the sun being high in the sky, that lens decided it was going to flare in the most beautiful way, (it really does have a mind of its own) and the Alexa held all the information in the image. It just worked. Nate and Usher had a poignant conversation and we captured a moment that feels like the payoff of the whole piece.

 

This project felt like the culmination of all the things I love about this career: It’s on the fly problem solving, it’s using the knowledge I’ve gathered from hundreds of other shoot days, its gear… but its mostly about the people and relationships I have in this business. I had a client I’ve worked with for years that trusted me with their vision and money, I brought friends in that killed it in pressure situations, I had a rental house that was down to find a way to bring our vision to life and I got to listen to a conversation between two icons that was empowering and inspiring. I’m grateful quite a few people will get to see it.

MASTERBUILT “Legacy”

Masterbuilt : The Legacy Lens

Posted on | by Olivia Farrimond

Masterbuilt, an established lens designing and manufacturing corporation based solely in Los Angeles, has unveiled their newest collection of lenses – the Legacy Lens series. Masterbuilt gained recognition from their unique design allowing vintage personality to shine through large format cinematography through previous series releases such as the Masterbuilt Classics and Masterbuilt Portrait Lenses. The Legacy Lens drop will follow it’s predecessors in both quality lens performance and stunning craftsmanship.

Masterbuilt prides themselves on lenses that carry vintage character all while maintaining modern optical precision. All Masterbuilt lenses are built to exacting specifications; lenses hold superior center sharpness while gradually building softness and glowing beauty throughout the frame. Masterbuilt lenses are capable of giving their user control of sharpness WITH fall-off, creating a perfect blend of both modern and vintage glass.

MASTERBUILT “Legacy”

The new Legacy series is described to be hand crafted to the highest standards. Masterbuilt lenses are deisgned and manufactured with the foresight and thought for the cinematographer and crew. Alongside that, each lens is hand assembled and hand engraved in the classic style for clear, crisp markings. The Legacy lenses combine the traditional lens qualities of the 1940’s/50’s and modern design to produce beautifully rendered images with soft contrast, glowing highlights, and balanced fall-off. We spoke with Cinematographer Jordan Oram, a talented DP who has worked on shows such as “The Porter” (2022) and “Robyn Hood” (2023) and asked for his thoughts on this particular series of lenses.

 

 

“I had the opportunity to use Masterbuilt lenses for the first season of “The Porter” and my experience was very positive. They truly brought a unique character to my workflow not having to use filter to get what I was intending.”

 

 

 

“Regarding the new Masterbuilt Legacy series, I haven’t had the chance to use them yet, but I’m genuinely excited about the prospect. Masterbuilt’s approach to rehousing glass not only preserves but enhances the quality of the original optics, which is something I deeply appreciate as a cinematographer.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Their marketing strategy is spot on, and I must give a shout-out to Tim for his exceptional work.”

Here Jordan refers to Tim Arasheben who is the founder of Masterbuilt Lenses, who also has an integral part in the design and crafting of each lens. The Masterbuilt strategy to highlight and concentrate on the cinematographer is an important one in today’s market.

“It’s rare and refreshing to see a company that not only produces quality products but also actively listens and responds to the feedback of DPs. It creates a sense of community and collaboration that I value highly. I am eagerly looking forward to getting my hands on the Legacy series lenses and experimenting with them on future projects. I believe they will add a significant value and artistic touch to the visual storytelling.”

The Legacy Series is compatible with every camera format, from Super 35 to IMAX and are available in the following focal lengths:

32MM T 1.4

55MM T 1.2

90MM T 1.2

135MM T 1.2

Stay tuned with Bokeh Rentals for updated information on the Masterbuilt Legacy series and potential workshops involving them.

Posted in Uncategorized

The Creator and the FX3

Posted on | by Olivia Farrimond

Filmmakers and film aficionados worldwide are talking non stop about Gareth Edwards’ latest

sci-fi release, ‘The Creator’, but the buzz is not centered around the usual cinematic aspects we

all love to discuss, such as actors or a surprise plot twist. Edwards, renowned for helming major

productions like Godzilla (2014) and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), opted for a unique

approach in the making of ‘The Creator.’ This film was funded at only $80 million, which may

not seem like a low number but is comparatively to his two previously listed films which were

budgeted between $160-265 million to complete. So how did Gareth create a movie that looks as

good as a big budget film but costs a fraction of the price? Simple – by choosing to shoot on the

Sony FX3.

While the FX3, retailing at only $4,000 per body, may be regarded as one of Sony’s more

modest entries in their cinema camera lineup, it nevertheless boasts impressive capabilities.

These capabilities were compelling enough to persuade a highly regarded film team to opt for it

over Hollywood’s conventional camera choices, such as a Venice or an Alexa. To gain a more

in-depth understanding of Gareth’s specific camera choice, ‘The Creator’ cinematographer Oren

Soffer interviewed with Youtube film buff Matti Happoja for a detailed discussion.

“Gareth shot a test film to basically pitch the movie to the studio before it was greenlit

and this was pre pandemic, so 2019,” Soffer explains. “They traveled around, just him and Jim

Spencer – our producer – to seven countries in Southeast Asia to scout locations, but also to shoot

footage for what would eventually become a test film that Gareth used to get the movie greenlit.”

Soffer goes on to describe that the test footage the duo shot on a Nikon DSLR with a gimbal was

“absolutely stunning.” “When it came time to then decide like, okay, what are we going to shoot

the actual movie on? Gareth’s first and foremost instinct was like -I want to shoot the movie like

I just shot this little test reel.” And so the wheels began to turn, and eventually after it’s release in

2021, the Sony FX3 was chosen.

Why Sony?

According to Soffer, the primary prerequisites for filming ‘The Creator’ included the need for a

compact and lightweight camera capable of delivering high-quality cinematic imagery with

features like ProRes RAW, 15 stops of dynamic range, and 4K resolution. The FX3 easily met

these criteria.

So, why not other brands? Again- why Sony?

Different camera manufacturers have the capacity to offer quality imagery within a lightweight

body, as demonstrated by brands such as Black Magic, for example. But the science behind

Sony’s color is what ultimately won them over. “Sony was taking their color science from the

bigger cameras like the Venice and shrinking it down into the FX3, so there’s a color science

continuum with the other Sony cameras that just elevated the FX3 above the other options that

were in the same size and weight range.” Soffer also went on to explain the importance of using a camera as a data capturing tool and not to lean heavily on the body to create your movie’s

“look.”

 

“Raw is raw. Footage is footage. Data is data. What you end up doing with it, like color

grading is what gives a project a look. They really dug into Slog and ProRes RAW to get that

richness and color separation and then added in a film emulation underneath it.” Aside from

Sony’s impressive color technology, the size and flexibility of the camera was important to

Edwards to emulate the feel of his original test footage.

“I hope it becomes an industry standard for cameras to get lighter,” says Gareth Edwards. “I don’t think there’s any cameraman in the world that enjoys holding this really heavy brick hours on end.”

 

Not only does a smaller body alleviate potential stress for a camera operator, in an intriguing chain reaction it also benefited how Edwards was able to give direction to actors on set. The FX3 has a dual native ISO, one at 800 and 12,800, making it ideal for virtually any type of lighting situation.

According to Edwards, the increased ISO level would reduce the necessity for additional lighting on set, as the camera’s sensitivity would already be elevated.

“As the actors are given freedom to sort of go any direction they want, I can quickly move with them and the lighting can quickly change in an

instant. So, instead of waiting 10 to 20 minutes to change the lighting all the time, we were waiting three seconds,” says Edwards.

 

We live in a unique time in cinema where the accessibility of technology and over-the-top

showmanship can occasionally detract from the essence of why we even watch a movie.

The choice to shoot slim and adapt to the “less is more” principle for ‘The Creator’ is in perfect taste

with the movie’s plot. Edwards and his team said that the philosophy of their shoot was always

working around limitations and the confines they set up for themselves. Choosing to shoot on the

FX3 was a bold move that paid off beautifully, and a good reminder that a great film is

determined before shooting even starts.

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Sony FR7s – Blending Live Production and Cinema

Posted on | by Olivia Farrimond

As the world’s first full-frame 4k PTZ camera with interchangeable lenses, Sony has introduced innovative viewpoints for both filmmakers and live productions alike.

The FR7 stands out as one of Sony’s more distinctive camera releases in the way it intertwines the realms of Live Production and Cinema.

With the advantages of a cinema camera and the full functionality of a PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom) camera, Sony has raised the bar again with the FR7.

What is a PTZ Camera?

To understand why Sony has changed the PTZ market forever, let’s take a look at the basic building blocks of a typical Pan-Tilt-Zoom.

The main benefit of a PTZ is so the operator can remotely control the camera between three different axes – a pan from left to right, a tilt up or down, and a zoom in or out.

These cameras are ideal for live events, houses of worship, sporting events, and other affairs of that nature.

Original PTZ cameras excelled in areas where a traditional, smaller one inch sensor was needed for shooting.

To put in perspective how small this actually is, these little sensors have only about one-quarter the area of a typical crop-frame DSLR (16x24mm), and only about one-eighth the area of a full-frame (24x36mm) sensor.

That’s a lot of potential data lost that could be used to capture events to their full capacity. That is, until Sony released the FR7.

Key Features of the FR7

The FR7 is based on the core parts of Sony’s full-frame FX6 making it far more versatile than any PTZ camera that’s come before it. Not only is this camera full-frame, it can also support up to Ultra High Definition 4k120 video shooting and DCI 4k at up to 60fps.

Alongside its full-sized cinema sensor, the FR7 boasts remote control functionalities, accessible through the company’s web app or on Sony’s dedicated remote control device, the RM-IP500.

 

The RM-IP500 even further simplifies your shoot by allowing for smooth camera control with a joystick as opposed to a traditional remote that PTZs typically come equipped with.

It has compatibility with up to 70 Sony E-Mount lenses ranging from 12-1200mm which alone sets this camera apart from any other PTZ camera.

The FR7 also offers internal XAVC recording (to dual CFExpress Type A and SDXC card slots) while simultaneously sending the feed to your live production software.

It has 15+ stops of dynamic range and a base ISO of 800 that is expandable from 12,800 to 409,600 guaranteeing to capture optimal video in virtually any lighting scenario. Presets are included and users have the option to bake in a look or shoot in Slog.

And lastly, if the above features haven’t sold you yet, the FR7 comes equipped with integrated fast hybrid autofocus and adjustable ND filters, delivering enhanced cinematic capabilities.

Regardless of the shoot, whether it be capturing Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Big Steppers: Live

from Paris’ Tour or the newest season of Ninja Warriors (2023), the FR7 is a camera any crew can trust to get the job done and is available for rent today.

 

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