Digital video january 2016 by boolepddis

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TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES FOR THE CREATIVE PLANET

JANUARY 2016 | CREATIVEPLANETNETWORK.COM

BUYER’S GUIDE:

LENSES & ACCESSORIES

MELANCHOLY, BABY

PERFECTING THE PACE, TONE & PALETTE OF CAROL

X TECH FOCUS: SONY PXW-FS5, BLACKMAGIC URSA MINI, SONY CREATIVE SOFTWARE CATALYST

digital

VIDEO

vol. 24 | no. 1

01.2016

EDITOR’S VIEW

EDITORIAL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Cristina Clapp cclapp@nbmedia.com MANAGING EDITOR Katie Makal kmakal@nbmedia.com WEB EDITOR Sarv Kreindler skreindler@nbmedia.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Jay Ankeney, Chuck Gloman, David Heuring, Debra Kaufman, John Merli, Carl Mrozek, Oliver Peters, Geoff Poister, Dick Reizner, Stefan Sargent, Jon Silberg, Ned Soltz, Jennifer Wolfe

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creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

ONE-TAKE WONDER

bsolutely the only way to start a new year is with inspiration. (You can’t dwell on mistakes you made, opportunities you missed or cookies you ate—and by “you” I obviously mean “me.”) Each New Year’s Day I make sure to watch a film that provides that inspiration. It doesn’t have to be a Breaking Away or Rocky (or Creed) kind of inspiring. (Of course, it doesn’t hurt.) What’s most exciting to me is when the people involved in the film—in all aspects of the production—are trying to bring you something amazing. Ken Russell’s Tommy is one of my favorites—it is in no way perfect, but everyone is working so hard throughout to make it a great experience Laia Costa in Victoria for you; you just marvel at the obvious energy and enthusiasm. I keep thinking, “These guys went all in!” If I can recommend anything like that for you this year, it’d be the independent film Victoria, just out on DVD and VOD. Directed by Sebastian Schipper, it’s set throughout Berlin and is shot in one continuous take—and, oh, did I mention, it’s a heist movie? It’s an astonishing accomplishment, and one that relied entirely on the imaginations and capabilities of the filmmakers and cast. I guarantee that if you watch it, you will have many, many exhilarating “How could they possibly do that?” moments. (And you’re a video professional, you know what’s possible.) I watched it with a cinematographer friend, and he was trying to work out some of the shots for hours afterwards—in fact, he still is. “We started the camera a little after 4:30 a.m.,” recalls Schipper, “and after two hours and 18 minutes— after we’d run, walked, strolled and climbed through 22 locations, had more than 150 extras handled by six assistant directors, and seven actors followed in succession by three sound crews—we were done—at 6:48 a.m. The sun had slowly risen while we filmed, and [lead actress] Laia Costa finally walked away from our cinematographer, Sturla Brandth Grøvlen, who looked like he had just run a marathon. Well, he had. We all had.” (The cast and crew ultimately shot the film three times straight through over the course of three nights.) I’ve compiled a series of articles, videos and interviews related to the production of Victoria that you can find at www.creativeplanetnetwork.com/victoria. I hope you’ll find a little inspiration there to begin your new year.

Editorial Director Digital Video magazine creativeplanetnetwork.com p: 310-429-8484 e: cclapp@nbmedia.com Twitter: @DigitalVideomag

01.2016 | vol. 24 | no. 1

CONTENTS

LOOK 16

The Winter of ’79

DP Dana Gonzales Shoots Fargo’s Second Season

20 Darkness Falls Realizing the Visuals for the Dance Series Flesh and Bone

LUST

24 Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee Sony’s PXW-FS5 Is Light and Ready to Fight

28 The Big Picture Sony Catalyst Production Suite Offers Broad Feature Set

Editing Additions New Applications to Advance Your Workflow

LEARN

38 The Mini Makers Production Successes with the Blackmagic URSA Mini 41 El Rey Network’s From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series

feature

How Muse VFX Conjures the Show’s (Immortal) Monsters

42 Tension and Timelines How Editor Joe Walker Escalated the Suspense on Sicario 48 Tips to Clip 50 Production Diary: One Down 49 Film Festivals to Go 34 Buyer’s Guide: Lenses and Accessories

Digital Video (ISSN 2164-0963) is published monthly by NewBay Media L.L.C. at 28 E 28th Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY, 10016. Telephone: 212-378-0400. Periodicals postage paid at New York, New York, and at additional mailing offices. U.S. subscription rate is $29.97 for one year; Mexico and Canada are $39.97 (including GST); foreign airmail is $79.97; back issues $7. Prepayment is required on all foreign subscriptions in U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank. All rates are one year only. Digital Video, Videography, Digital Content Producer, Millimeter, Digital Cinematography, Cinematographer, 2-pop, Reel Exchange and Creative Planet Network are trademarks of NewBay Media L.L.C. All material published in Digital Video is copyrighted © 2016 by NewBay Media L.L.C. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Send address changes to Digital Video, Subscription Services, P.O. Box 221, Lowell, MA 01853. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 255542, London, ON N6C 6B2. Digital Video makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information published in the magazine; however, it assumes no responsibility for damages due to errors or omissions. Printed in the USA.

12 Melancholy, Baby Perfecting the Pace, Tone and Palette of Carol

departments 3 6 48 49

Editor’s View Update Company Index Advertiser Index

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

UPDATE photos by neil jacobs/cbs

CBS’ new buddy-cop drama Rush Hour, a reimagining of the feature film franchise, stars maverick LAPD detective Carter (Justin Hires, left) and by-the-book Hong Kong detective and master martial artist Lee (Jon Foo), who are forced to partner together in Los Angeles.

BLACKMAGIC CINEMA CAMERAS CAPTURE THE ACTION ON RUSH HOUR C hristian Sebaldt, ASC, cinematographer on the CBS cop drama Rush Hour, is using the Blackmagic Cinema Camera PL to shoot selected action, stunt and car scenes. “We do a lot of upclose action scenes—scenes with the actors moving, fighting, getting thrown around and jumping on and off moving vehicles,” explains Sebaldt, who alternates shoot-

ing duties with cinematographer Marshall Adams, ASC, on the show. “We need a high quality camera that can get us dynamic shots, but that also is small and light enough to be rigged in cars or close to the actors. Every episode has fight sequences and stunts, and the Blackmagic cameras are used in most of them.” Sebaldt recently shot an intense action scene in a Los Angeles parking

garage with Blackmagic Cinema Cameras. “We built a mix of handheld rigs and also mounted the cameras to multiple points on the outside of the cars,” Sebaldt recalls. “Our grips and rigging guys love that they can set them up anywhere without getting in the way of the acting. The cameras were right on top of the actors. Because they are so compact, but at the same time super high quality,

we could get right up close to the action. I was incredibly happy with the images.”

online Read more about Rush Hour at creativeplanetnetwork.com/current-issue

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

Blackmagic URSA Mini, the lightweight Super 35 4.6K digital film camera with 15 stops of dynamic range! URSA Mini is a lightweight digital film camera featuring an incredible 4.6K Super 35 sensor with global shutter and up to a massive 15 stops of dynamic range! The lightweight and strong magnesium based design is perfectly balanced, making it comfortable for all day shooting. You also get a bright 5 inch foldout touchscreen, 12G-SDI connections and even dual CFast recorders that work in RAW or ProRes so you can change cards while recording! URSA Mini 4K From $2,995 URSA Mini 4.6K From $4,995 Electronic Viewfinder, lens and accessories sold separately.

Learn More

UPDATE

NEWS

SAROFSKY PLAYS WITH SCALE AND SIZE IN ANT-MAN TITLES

or the title sequence of Marvel’s Ant-Man, created by Sarofsky, a camera descends through a dark universe, moving from one field of luminescent shapes to others, as top credits appear framed inside boxes that are interlocked with the camera’s point of view. “One of our favorite aspects of the film is how they switch scale so seamlessly,” explains company principal and executive creative director Erin Sarofsky. “That interest led us to explore a few solutions that were exclusively about scale.” Sarofsky’s solution is an homage to the iconic 1977 “Powers of Ten” short film directed by Charles and Ray Eames, though it also draws inspiration from Ant-Man itself. “We wanted to develop a look that connected visually to the film without feeling like just another scene in the movie, where we could depict the macro and micro worlds in the same visual language,” Sarofsky adds.

Tattersall Transforms Edit Suite into “Virtual Mix Stage” for Fargo hile providing final sound mixing services for the current season of FX’s Fargo, Tattersall Sound and Picture in Toronto developed a unique method for the show’s Los Angeles-based producers to monitor work. Using a combination of proprietary and off-theshelf technology, Tattersall engineers turned one of the show’s Los Angeles editing suites into a virtual sound mixing suite. The suite is linked to Tattersall’s mix stage and tuned to its acoustic signature so that producers there hear precisely the same sound as the mixers in Toronto. Explains Tattersall’s chief engineer, Ed Segeren, “One of our Toronto operators remotely controls the playback system and monitors the room to ensure that audio levels are playing back correctly and the sound is in sync with the picture.”

photo by chris large/fx

Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons as Peggy and Ed Blumquist in Fargo season 2

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

UPDATE

NEWS

EFILM COLORS THE FINAL CHAPTER OF THE HUNGER GAMES photo by murray close

FILM recently completed color grading on the 2D, 3D and Dolby Vision versions of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2. Colorist Mitch Paulson worked in Autodesk Lustre to color the final episode of the series. Directed by Francis Lawrence and shot by Jo Willems, ASC, the film opens in the hospital where audiences last saw heroine Katniss Everdeen. “The first shots have a look that’s virtually identical to the end of the previous episode,” Paulson explains. The similarity ends there as Katniss moves through a darker, more desolate world. “The challenge in this movie is that a lot of it takes place in dark rooms and tunnels and outside at night,” the colorist says, “but we always want the audience to be able to see what’s happening.”

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

photo by kerry hayes

Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight Completed at PostFactoryNY

potlight, edited by Tom McArdle in his fifth collaboration with director Tom McCarthy, was completed at PostFactoryNY’s facility over the course of 10 months—eight months to complete picture editing and two for sound, music and visual effects. The primary workstation used by McArdle and his team was a 12-core Apple Mac Pro running Avid Media Composer v6.5.4. The production stored 5 TB of media on PostFactoryNY’s central Avid ISIS server. McCarthy describes an editing process that was focused and deliberate: “It was all about pace and clarity in hopes of maintaining the tension and tone of the picture. Tom and I sat down and watched his first assembly, then went out for a steak and a few martinis to wash it off. We got to work the next morning and kept editing until we thought it was ready.”

Spotlight is the true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese. It stars Michael Keaton as editor Walter “Robby” Robinson (at left) and Mark Ruffalo as reporter Mike Rezendes.

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

Carol follows the unexpected love affair between two women of different ages and social settings in the transitional period of the 1950s. The emotional turmoil central to the characters is rooted in the conventional worlds both Carol (Cate Blanchett, left) and Therese (Rooney Mara) have built around themselves.

MELANCHOLY, BABY PERFECTING THE PACE, TONE AND PALETTE OF CAROL BY OLIVER PETERS

ilms tend to push social boundaries. One such film this season is Carol, starring Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara and Kyle Chandler. It’s a love story between two people from different backgrounds set in a society in the midst of a cultural shift. That the two characters who find themselves in an unexpected love affair happen to be women in 1950s New York—one a young woman in her 20s, the other an alluring older woman with a daughter—is almost incidental. The story is based on the novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith, and Todd Haynes (Mildred Pierce, Far from Heaven) directed the film adaptation. Affonso Gonçalves (Beasts of the Southern Wild, Mildred Pierce, Winter’s Bone), the editor on Carol, explains, “Carol is a love story about two women coming to terms with the dissatisfaction of their lives. The Carol character [Cate Blanchett] is unhappily married but loves her child. Carol has had lesbian affairs before, but is intrigued by this new person, Therese [Rooney Mara], whom she encounters in a department store. Therese doesn’t know what she wants, but through the course of the film she learns who she is.” Gonçalves and Haynes worked together on the HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce, and Gonçalves says, “We got along well, and when he got involved with the production, he passed along the script to me and I loved it.” Carol was shot entirely on Super 16mm film negative, primarily as a single-camera production. Only about 5 percent of the production

included A- and B-cameras. Ed Lachman, ASC (Far From Heaven, Erin Brockovich, The Virgin Suicides), served as the cinematographer. The film negative was scanned in log color space, and then a simple log-to-linear LUT (color lookup table) was applied to the Avid DNxHD 36 editorial files for nice-looking working files.

CREATING A TIMELESS NEW YORK STORY Cincinnati served as the principal shooting location, designed to double for New York City. The pre-war buildings and apartments in Cincinnati mirrored New York in the 1950s and created a realistic time and place for the story. The surrounding area doubled for Iowa and Pennsylvania during a traveling portion of the film. Gonçalves discussed how he and Haynes worked during this period, saying, “The production shot in Cincinnati, but I was based at Goldcrest Films in New York. The negative was shipped to New York each day, where it was processed and scanned. Then I would get Avid editorial files. The cutting room was set up with Avid Media Composer and Avid ISIS systems. My first assistant, Perri [Pivovar], had the added responsibilities on this project to check for film defects. Ed would also review footage each day; however, Todd doesn’t like to watch dailies during a production. He would rely on me instead to be his eyes and ears, to make sure that the coverage he needed was there.” He continues, “After the production wrapped,

While Carol breaks free from the confines of marriage, her husband (Kyle Chandler) begins to question her competence as a mother as her involvement with Therese and close relationship with her best friend Abby (Sarah Paulson) come to light.

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

I completed my editor’s cut. Then Todd spent two weeks reviewing all the dailies and making his own detailed notes. When he was ready, he joined me in the cutting room and we built the film according to his cut. Once we had these two versions—his and mine—we compared the two. They were actually very similar because we have a similar taste. Most of the experimenting came with structure and music.” The main editorial challenges were getting the right structure for the story and tone for the performances. According to Gonçalves, “Cate and Rooney’s performances are very detailed—I felt the need to slow the cutting pace down to let you appreciate that performance. Rooney’s is so delicate. Plus, it’s a love story and we needed to keep the audience engaged. We weren’t as concerned with trimming, but rather with getting the story right. The first cut was two and a half hours and the finished length ended up at 118 minutes. Todd isn’t too precious about losing scenes, which allowed us to keep the story focused on our central characters. “The main challenge was the party scene at the end. The story structure is similar to Brief Encounter [a 1945 David Lean classic with the beginning and ending set in the same location]. Initially we had two levels of flashbacks, but there was too much of a shift back and forth. We had a number of ‘friends and family’ screenings and it was during these that we discovered the issues with the flashbacks. Ultimately we decided to rework the ending and

Rooney Mara as Therese

Director Todd Haynes and Cate Blanchett on the set of Carol

Dowdell’s tool of choice is Quantel Pablo Rio, which incorporates color grading tools that match simplify the temporal order of the last scene.” put together a book of photographs and tear sheets his photographic sensibilities. He says, “I tend not The editing application that an editor uses that helped with the colors and fashions from the to rely as much on the standard lift/gamma/gain is an extension of how he works. Some have 1950s. While doing the color grading job, we’d color wheels—that’s a video approach. Quantel very elaborate routines for preparing bins and often refer back to that book to establish the color includes a film curve, which I use a lot. It’s like sequences, and others take a simpler approach. palette for the film.” an S-curve tool but with a pivot point. I also use Gonçalves fits into the latter group. He says, “For The film’s palette emphasizes, especially in master density and RGB printer light controls. me, Avid is like sitting down and driving a car. It’s the interiors, the sour greens, yellows and dirty These are numeric and let you control the color all so smooth and so fast. It’s easy to find things pinks of the era—slightly soiled colors that give very precisely, but also repeatably. That was and I like the color correction and audio tools. I viewers the feeling of the post-war city before the important as I was going through options with don’t use any special organizing routines in the brightness of the Eisenhower administration had Todd and Ed. You could get back to an earlier bins—I simply highlight the director’s preferred taken over. setting. That’s much harder to do precisely with takes—but I do use locators and take a lot of Carol has approximately 100 visual effects shots color wheels and trackball controls.” handwritten notes.” to help make Cincinnati look like New York circa The Quantel Pablo Rio is a complete editing 1952-53. Dowdell continues, “Boon coordinated and effects system as well, integrating the full FILM SENSIBILITY effects with Chris Haney, the visual effects producer. power of Quantel’s legendary Paintbox. The IN A MODERN DIGITAL ERA The ARRI scanner is pin-registered, which is system permitted John Dowdell and Boon Shin Carol was literally the last film to be processed at essential for the work of the visual effects artists. Ng to handle some effects work within the grading Deluxe New York before the lab was shut down. In We’d send them both log and color-corrected files. suite. Dowdell continues, “With the paint and addition to a digital release, Technicolor also did a They’d use the color-corrected files to create a tracking functions, I could do a lot of retouching. laser “film out” to 35mm for a few release prints. All reference, preview LUT for their own use, but then For example, some modern elements, like newer digital postproduction was handled by Goldcrest send us back finished effects in log color space. style parking meters, were tracked, darkened and Films, which scanned the Super 16mm negative on These were integrated back into the film.” blurred so they didn’t draw attention. Quantel an ARRISCAN laser scanner at 3K does beautiful blow-ups, which was resolution for a 2K digital master. perfect for the minor reframing that Goldcrest’s Boon Shin Ng handled we did on this film.” the scanning and conforming of The color grading toolset is often the film. Creating the evocative look a Swiss Army knife for the filmmaker, of Carol fell to New York colorist but in the end, it’s about the color. John J. Dowdell III. Trained in Dowdell concludes, “Todd and Ed photography before becoming a worked a lot to evoke moods. In colorist in 1980, Dowdell has credits the opening department store scene, on more than 200 theatrical and there’s a definite green cast that was television films. added to let the audience feel that Unlike his experience on other this is an unhappy time. As the story projects, Dowdell was involved progresses, colors become more earlier in the overall process on intense and alive. We worked very Carol. He explains, “Early on, I had intuitively to achieve the result, and a long meeting with Todd and Ed care was applied to each and every Carol is intrigued by this new person, Therese, whom she encounters in a department store. about the look of the film. Todd had shot. We are all very proud of it.” dv Cate Blanchett as Carol

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

VIDEO INDUSTRY DATA POINTS Cameras are capturing more data than ever before:

THERE’S AN

EXPLOSION

AND

2GPS

for Sony’s F65.

OF DATA IN M&E

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cameras to capture more types of material.

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digital storage capacity used in M&E in 2019.

1 EXABYTE

AND

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AND

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The greatest storage capacity demand in 2014 is for digital conversion and preservation as well as archiving of new content

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40 DIFFERENT cameras

OPTIONS: By 2020: High-density disks will handle

24 X

between 2014 and 2020

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CRITICAL CONTENT

LOOK

FARGO DEBRA KAUFMAN

THE WINTER OF ’79 DP Dana Gonzales Shoots Fargo’s Second Season

photos by chris large/fx

argo, the “true crime” show executive produced by Joel and Ethan Coen, is back, this time set in 1979 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Luverne, Minnesota. In this second season, the focus is on a local crime family, the colorful Gerhardts—matriarch Floyd (Jean Smart), eldest son Dodd (Jeffrey Donovan), middle son Bear (Angus Sampson) and the youngest, Rye (Kieran Culkin)—who are fighting back against a Kansas City crime syndicate pushing into their territory. The Kansas City organization is led by Joe Bulo (Brad Garrett). Its face in the story is Mike Milligan (Bokeem Woodbine). Caught up in the war is a small town beautician, Peggy Blumquist (Kirsten Dunst), who’s made some bad choices, and her husband Ed (Jesse Plemons), the local butcher’s assistant. Rounding out the story is Lou Solverson (Patrick Wilson), a young state trooper just back from Vietnam, and his father-inlaw, Sheriff Hank Larsson (Ted Danson), as well as town lawyer, Korean War vet and loquacious drunk Karl Weathers (Nick Offerman). Cinematographer Dana Gonzales, who shot nearly all of season 1, shot six of season 2’s 10 episodes (he rotated with Craig Wrobleski). Here, he speaks about the challenges and changes in the second season. As with season 1, Fargo still shoots in Calgary, although the production shot within a different time frame. “Last year we started in November and finished in April; this year we started shooting in January and finished in May,” he says. “We started shooting later this year knowing we’d want it to thaw out a little bit. We planned that it would hopefully stop snowing before we were done.” Weather ended up being one of the bigger challenges in shooting the second season. “Last year it was really cold,” he says, “but this year, because the snow was erratic, we had to reschedule things and bring in fake snow. We had to move the schedule around if weather was coming.”

Minnesota state trooper Lou Solverson (Patrick Wilson) at the scene of the (first) crime

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

Luverne, Minn., town lawyer Karl Weathers (Nick Offerman, far left) and the Gerhardt’s man, Ohanzee Dent (Zahn McClarnon, far right)

This season the production also built more sets from scratch. “That was a huge challenge,” he says. “We’re shooting 1979, and everything had to work in the period—every sign, building and car.” The production again shot with two ARRI Alexa Plus cameras. “Alexa is one of the most popular cameras for a reason,” says Gonzales. “It has the best dynamic range and the best skin tone and color science. Fargo is a show that relies on skin

tone and dynamic range, so it’s the best choice.” Often, multi-season series have to pay attention to matching the look over the course of previous seasons. Not so for Fargo, which was set in 2006 last season. Gonzales chose vintage Cooke Speed Panchros to get the look he wanted for season 2. “I think one of the best ways to help sell a period is to have the film look like films from that period,” he says. “Vintage lenses are more popular because

Butcher’s assistant Ed Blumquist (Jesse Plemons, foreground) is forced to cover for Peggy’s hit and run of Rye Gerhardt, putting him in the middle of a turf war. Also pictured, Charlie Gerhardt (Allan Dobrescu).

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

Peggy Blumquist (Kirsten Dunst) is on a quest to be the best Peggy Blumquist she can be.

they give the look more character. I tested many vintage lenses, including with color swatches from the wardrobe, before I decided on the Cooke Speed Panchros. They were bang on for the color palette we were going to use.” Although Gonzales used Steadicam occasionally last year, he completely eliminated its use this season. “It wasn’t popular with anyone. When I had something that had to be tracked like a Steadicam shot, I ended up using a Ronin instead,” he says, referring to DJI’s three-axis stabilized handheld gimbal system. This year, the camera crew also had a Technocrane all season. “We didn’t the first season,” says Gonzales. “This year we needed it. Other than that, we used a jib arm for about 90 percent of all our shooting.” This season introduced split-frames, to show actions happening simultaneously. The editing device helped cover many more primary characters than last season, as well as a complicated plot. “It became a very effective way to track everybody,” continues Gonzales. “Not only was it a right way to tell the story, but it was another way they told stories in the 1960s and 1970s, such as in The Boston Strangler [1968]. To do so, however, we had to double up on our coverage. We definitely needed to shoot more to support that.” Gonzales notes that many viewers think the

camera doesn’t move much in Fargo, but that’s a misapprehension. The camera does move, he says, but purposefully, to drive the story forward. “Camera moves punctuate the story,” he explains. “But there are many times when the camera is static, so when it does move, people are so caught up in the story, they think we’re not moving it. But if you study it, you’ll see the camera moves a lot.” Gonzales reports that the camera moves more this season than last, but never in a radical or erratic way. “There are a lot of push-ins,” he says. “We do that a lot, but it’s telling the story, moving it forward.” In preproduction, Gonzales focused on the lighting and color palette of photographer William Eggleston, who, he says, “shot the most iconic imagery of the 1970s.” He continues, “I showed that to the production designer [Warren Alan Young] and Noah Hawley [executive producer/writer/ showrunner] and we all agreed. We attached ourselves to that era and used only the colors from that period.” That color palette is heavy on oranges, yellows and pastels. “If you look at the Sears catalogs of that era, you’ll see there are pastel blues and a little bit of green, but less green than last year,” he says. Cars were very distinct, Gonzales adds. “People owned cars for 15 years [back then], so you’ll see cars from the 1960s and 1970s. The cars were distinct colors and there were fewer choices,” he says. “Probably the biggest challenge was maintaining that many picture cars. We didn’t

Kansas City’s Mike Milligan (center) with the Kitchen brothers, Gale (Brad Mann, at left) and Wayne (Todd Mann)

want to see the same picture cars all the time, and getting period cars in Calgary that weren’t rusted out wasn’t easy. We got them from all over the U.S. and Canada to satisfy that requirement.” Gonzales lit the series using lighting common in 1979. “For instance, they barely used sodium lighting outside in the late 1970s,” Gonzales notes. “There were still a lot of tungsten streetlights in the Midwest, particularly mercury vapor, which wasn’t very efficient and had a blue, garish color. So I sourced that for street lighting and had all

From left, beautician Peggy Blumquist, Rock County sheriff Hank Larsson (Ted Danson), beauty parlor owner Constance Heck (Elizabeth Marvel) and Betsey Solverson (Cristin Milioti, in chair)

the town’s sodium lights re-globed to tungsten to match the period. And I used fluorescent lighting very sparingly. It existed, but they didn’t use it all over the place the way we do now.” Gonzales owned some of the fixtures, which he found for another project and then hung onto. “They’re rare colors that are really hard to get in gels,” he says. “In fact, I couldn’t find a gel to replicate it. The spectrum is unique.” These fixtures are used for background lighting. “There are a few scenes with people in that light, but I’d never let actors bask in it,” he says. “Of course, we light the actors for cosmetic qualities, and for that, it depended on what we were doing.” Finally, Gonzales notes that he took care to color correct each shoot. “When I first got into the business in the 1980s, we went to great lengths to color correct everything,” he says. “We’d change every light, gel every light. You were dealing with film and people didn’t want to shoot green. Now, people shoot available light all the time and correct the green, or go out of the way to add it, because it’s more modern. Most of the time, everything in season 2 is color corrected, with always perfectly correct skin tones—kind of like movies and photography at that time.” With such exquisite attention to every cinematographic detail, the viewer is transported to 1979, entering into a story redolent of the Coen Brothers’ best: a complex, surprising and sometimes macabre plot peopled by the kind of eccentric characters they’re best known for. dv

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

LOOK

FLESH AND BONE

JOHN MERLI

DARKNESS FALLS Realizing the Visuals for the Dance Series Flesh and Bone

Claire (Sarah Hay)

oon after Adam Arkapaw shot the pilot for Starz’ Flesh and Bone, cinematographer Terry Stacey happily found himself signing on as DP for the remainder of the season. “I feel Adam [Arkapaw] and I share a common aesthetic, both coming from a feature [film] background. For A-camera, Adam went with the ARRI Alexa—which also made the most sense to me because of its proximity to a film camera resolution, and for its latitude and rendition of skin tones. Also his choice of older Super Speed primes,

with their high contrast and a cooler feel, made sense for this project,” says Stacey. Regarding the additional artistic and technical possibilities afforded by today’s digital tools, he says, “To be honest, I still think in terms of 35mm film and I try to capture what I can on the day. Obviously, it’s great to be able to play with color saturation, contrast and so on in post, but I feel that what I see on the monitors is pretty close to what will be on screen. We had no [digital imaging technician] and I enjoyed that vérité style for this

series. It was very liberating—but I think only possible with the Alexa.” The eight-episode first season, which premiered Nov. 8 on Starz, follows Claire, a young ballet dancer with a troubled past, as she joins the ranks of a prestigious ballet company in New York. The gritty, complex series explores the dysfunction and glamour of the ballet world. In addition to Claire and a few non-dancing actors, the show includes a company of 22 professional dancers. Executive producer Moira

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

Claire (Sarah Hay) and Paul Grayson (Ben Daniels), artistic director of the ballet company

Claire and the American Ballet Company

Walley-Beckett explains, “I didn’t want to fake it. I didn’t want to have body doubles. I didn’t want to have actors who could dance a little. I wanted dancers, and I wanted to be able to put the camera anywhere. I wanted to watch them sweat and bleed and suffer and soar.” Walley-Beckett, who previously served as a writer and executive producer on Breaking Bad, has extensive experience in the sphere of professional dance. She started dancing at 3 and continued through her 20s, including some years on a professional level. Her experience gives the series a realism that helps drive the narrative. “Coming from my background on Breaking Bad, authenticity is everything—dramatically, character-wise, storywise. And in terms of the ballet component, that’s something that I wasn’t willing to show without full verisimilitude. All of it is true.” The cinematographer notes that when all of

a show’s elements come together—the story, the writing, the characters—it’s easy to find the right cinematic style. He describes the tone of Flesh and Bone as “very moody, with a high-contrast look and an invisible lighting style to stay naturalistic and often pretty harsh.” His style on Flesh and Bone, he continues, was “to light a room and then have that scene play out to give the actors freedom to move around the space, in and out of shadow. We also used a lot of handheld camera work, with a great camera operator [Oliver Cary], which added to the mood and tension. Going with [lens] flares, too, also made sense for this series.” He shot the series’ numerous dance sequences on the big stage at Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, as well as on a variety of other sets at Steiner Studios at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. “I did transgress in the dance studios at Kaufman, which was rigged with fluorescents and looked great. But

Executive producer Moira Walley-Beckett (at right), with Stefan Schwartz, who directed episode 3

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

the more I shot there, the more I missed the drama of harder light and having the windows blow out. So we rigged 20Ks on truss motors and moved them through the huge arch windows. I think it kept things alive and added mood to the story.” Of shooting on a stage, Stacey believes the challenge is in remaining small and keeping lighting and camera styles consistent with location work. “I would always visit the real location and see how the light changes throughout the day and then try to mimic that on stage. The luxury of the stage, of course, is that you can create your own constant sunlight, and pull walls and such. And then there’s always that stylized overhead shot that contradicts everything I just said. But if it’s right for the drama, then it’s worth it.” The cinematographer described another challenge inherent to extended shoots, an artistic challenge hidden in the routine of everyday production: “On a series, you may come back 20 times to the same apartment on the stage. Discovering how to approach the scene to keep things fresh and alive can be really hard, and it’s too easy to say, ‘Oh yeah, the 35mm from that corner looking into the windows always looks the best.’” Stacey typically finds location work the most enjoyable to shoot, perhaps because of his background shooting documentaries. “I always think of all those tremendous 1970s on-location movies that still hold up since they’re so real and visceral. Sure you have limitations—space, and losing daylight—but there’s urgency and a real truth that is unbeatable. And it’s great to see ceilings! So much of stage work is done with rigged soft toplight. It especially made sense for the mood of Flesh and Bone,” Stacey adds. dv

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LUST

first look

SONY PXW-FS5 NED SOLTZ

FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY, STING LIKE A BEE Sony’s PXW-FS5 Is Light and Ready to Fight

At IBC in September, Sony announced the expansion of its professional 4K camera line with the PXW-FS5, whose feature set places it roughly between the FS7 and FS700. The FS5 is a petite, lightweight Super 35mm camcorder with native E mount lens type built for applications including unscripted television, documentary and independent filmmaking, and content acquisition for online delivery. The FS5 is shipping now, with a suggested list price of $6,699 (without lens) or $7,299 (with SELP18105G zoom lens). Sony describes the camera as a “radical reimagining of the FS7” and a “grab and shoot” handheld that delivers high-quality, entry-level 4K imagery. Weighing less than 2 pounds (and less than 5 pounds with lens, eyecup, LCD viewfinder, handle and grip), the FS5 is ergonomically designed for handheld shooting. The camera’s rotatable grip allows operation from a variety of shooting angles. Its 3.5-inch LCD screen is similarly flexible; it can be mounted in nine different spots on the camera body or handle to accommodate different shooting styles. Its Super 35 Exmor CMOS image sensor incorporates 11.6 million pixels (8.3 million effective pixels) and provides 14 stops of dynamic range. The FS5 offers onboard 4K recording. It is able to shoot 100 Mb/s QFHD (3840 x 2160) using Sony’s XAVC (Long GOP) recording system. Sony says that a future update will provide an option to record raw externally. Another planned firmware upgrade will add 4K (4096 x 2160) output, though pricing and timing have not been announced. The camera also offers high frame rate (HFR) cache recording at Full HD (1920 x 1080) 10-bit 4:2:2 image quality and a frame rate of up to 240 fps. That’s without sensor cropping. The camera’s interfaces include 3G-SDI, 4K HDMI output, two XLR connectors (one on camera body, one on detachable handle), LANC remote control, MI shoe and dual SD card slots. Equipped

Sony PXW-FS5K with kit lens

with Wi-Fi and a wired LAN terminal, the FS5 features enhanced network functions such as file transfer and streaming transmission. There are no timecode or genlock inputs or outputs.

FIRST LOOK I actually had my first look at the Sony PXW-FS5 in a confidential press briefing several weeks before the announcement at IBC 2015. With each subsequent interaction I had with it, the camera only appeared better.

The FS5 and its sibling FS7 share an Aaton-like body configuration, though the FS5 is considerably more compact. (Its body-only dimensions are about 4.5” x 5.1” x 6.9” WDH.) While it can be rigged for shoulder-mounted operation, Sony’s intent is that the FS5 be used handheld in front of the operator or, of course, mounted on a tripod. Its small size and weight also make it ideal for use on unmanned aerial vehicles or gimbals. The PXW-FS5 is equipped with the same sensor as the run-and-gun 4K FS7, but the FS5 has a native

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

PXW-FS5K at left, with PXW-FS7K

ISO of 3200 (compared to the FS7’s 2000 ISO). That would seem rather high for outdoor shooting in bright sunlight, but the FS5’s high ISO is more than compensated for by the camera’s continuously variable ND filter, which ranges from 1/4 ND to 1/128 ND. That translates to seven stops of ND attenuation. The camera also has the traditional fourThe body-only weight of the position ND wheel FS5 is 1 lb., 13.2 oz., less (clear plus three than half that of the FS7. settings), whose presets may be configured in the menu structure. The variable ND becomes yet another useful feature for setting exposure or using in conjunction with aperture to achieve shallow depth of field. The electronic mechanism produces no artifacts, and I found it impossible to differentiate between the electronic variable ND and conventional ND filtration. Like the Sony F5, F55 and FS7 cameras, the FS5 offers a Center Scan Mode. Note that this is not center crop; the Center Scan selectively outputs a 2K image (2160 x 1080) from the sensor’s center. With

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

the use of an appropriate adapter, the Center Scan function enables the use of either Super 16 cine lenses or B4 ENG lenses without vignetting. Center Scan Mode also offers a 2x Digital Extender zoom, effectively doubling your

range for HD content. Accompanying the Center Scan Mode is Sony’s Clear Image Zoom technology. Once the camera’s servo zoom lens reaches its optical limit, Clear Image Zoom can enlarge the image by an additional 2x in HD and 1.5x in QFHD resolutions with virtually no degradation of the image. Clear Image Zoom is compatible with fixed focal length lenses as well, essentially adding a 2x (or 1.5x)

The FS5 is built for handheld operation. The well balanced chassis is easily configured to shoot from high or low angles thanks to a flexible, rotatable grip and an LCD viewfinder that may be mounted in several locations on the camera body or handle.

zoom to prime lenses. In my initial test with a pre-release camera, the zoom was not continuous, pausing slightly when the lens hit its optical limit before engaging the Clear Image Zoom. Effective focal length can be extended even further by switching to Center Scan Mode and then using Clear Image Zoom. The FS5 features dual media slots with independent record control. Relay mode automatically switches recording to the other memory card when the first becomes full, while simultaneous mode permits simultaneous recording on both cards. The FS5’s two start/stop buttons (one on the grip and one on the camcorder body) can independently start and stop recording on different memory cards while recording in simultaneous mode. The camera can record AVCHD footage of varying bit rates, but more significant for a camera in this price range is the fact that it offers onboard XAVC-L recording. While this is Long GOP, not I-frame, XAVC-L is still a more powerful codec than the XAVC-S found on lower-end cameras and Sony mirrorless cameras. In XAVC QFHD, it records up to 3840 x 2160 at frame rates up to 30p. In XAVC HD, it can record in 25, 35 and 50 Mb/s bit rates up to 60p. It is important to note that the XAVC QFHD is 4:2:0 8-bit but the XAVC HD recordings are 4:2:2 10-bit. The FS5 has HDMI and SDI outputs on the rear. The SDI is HD only. The HDMI can output HD or QFHD footage, depending on the shooting mode. It is important to note that currently there is no

SDI or HDMI output when the camera is recording in QFHD mode. This precludes the use of external 4K recorders. It remains to be seen if Sony will remedy this in the first firmware update, as has been intimated. Sony includes the ability to record in S-Log2 and S-Log3 gammas, in addition to its video and HyperGamma settings. There are limitations to the amount of grading 8-bit 4:2:0 QFHD footage shot log can tolerate before the image breaks down, but with basic de-log and correction, the image holds up surprisingly well. Other notable features on the FS5 include a moveable LCD viewfinder that can be attached in up to nine different locations—three on the handle

and another six on the camera body. The grip handle is greatly improved over the FS7 and offers an adjustable mounting angle. With a bayonet connection, it is easy to detach the grip. The camera’s high frame rate (HFR) recording is also a powerful feature. The FS5 offers HFR cache recording at Full HD 10-bit 4:2:2 image quality and a frame rate of up to 240 fps (8 second burst). Higher frame rates (480 and 960 fps) are available at significantly reduced resolutions. Like the FS7, the FS5 relies on the Sony E mount lens system for native Sony E glass. The E mount system’s short flange-back distance (distance from the lens-mounting surface to the image sensor) enables the use of A mount lenses via LA-EA4 or LA-EA3 lens adapter, as well as various other lenses via third-party adapters. Sony sells the FS7 as a kit (PXW-FS5K) with the compact power zoom PZ 18-105mm F4 G OSS lens (SELP18105G). Weighing just short of 1 pound, the kit lens has a 6x power zoom controlled by a zoom lever on the camera’s grip handle. Maximum aperture is a constant f/4 from 18mm to 105mm. A lever and ring on the lens barrel allow zoom speed to be freely adjusted as needed. The 18-105 is a credible zoom and adequate as a kit lens. Dual XLR inputs and the Sony MI shoe for wireless microphones or lights round out the professional feature set of the camera. We hope in a future issue to take a more in-depth look at the FS5, detailing these and other features. Meanwhile, Sony has a true winning camera on its hands and one that is eminently useful for documentary, indie, run and gun and event work. Our first look is indeed a very favorable one. dv

Recording Formats and Bit Rates Format 4K

XAVC QFHD MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 8-bit 4:2:0 Long profile XAVC HD MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 10-bit 4:2:2 Long profile

HD AVCHD MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 AVCHD 2.0 format compatible

Bit Rate

Mode

100 Mb/s

–

60 Mb/s

–

Definition 3840 x 2160

Recording Frame Rate 29.97p, 25p, 23.98p 29.97p, 25p, 23.98p

–

1920 x 1080

59.94p, 50p, 59.94i, 50i, 29.97p, 25p, 23.98p

–

1280 x 720

59.94p, 50p

35 Mb/s

–

1920 x 1080

59.94p, 50p, 59.94i, 50i, 29.97p, 25p, 23.98p

25 Mb/s

–

1920 x 1080

59.94i, 50i

28 Mb/s

1920 x 1080

59.94p, 50p

24 Mb/s

1920 x 1080

59.94i/50i/29.97p/25p/23.98p

1280 x 720

59.94p, 50p

17 Mb/s

1920 x 1080

59.94i/50i/29.97p/25p/23.98p

1280 x 720

59.94p, 50p

9 Mb/s

1280 x 720

59.94p, 50p

50 Mb/s

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

LUST

SONY CATALYST PRODUCTION SUITE

NED SOLTZ

THE BIG PICTURE Sony Catalyst Production Suite Offers Broad Feature Set

 Quick Take Product: Sony Creative Software Catalyst Production Suite

The Sony Catalyst Production Suite consists of two applications: Catalyst Prepare and Catalyst Edit. The applications may be used independently or together to streamline ingest of camera media, first light color correction, edit, transcoding, and even timeline export to Apple Final Cut Pro, Avid or Adobe Premiere Pro.

Pros: Fast ingest of media. Reads all Sony camera metadata. Convenient organization features. Color correction with raw debayer and LUT support. Export to other NLEs from either Prepare or Edit. Full video and audio editing functions within Edit. LUT creation within Prepare.

Cons: Proprietary interface. Does not read CinemaDNG files. Does not detect log or Rec. 709 from Sony footage recorded to third-party external recorder. No drag and drop of storyboard from Prepare to Edit. Pricy when compared to other options. Bottom Line: A worthy

tool useful for on-set transfer and organization of footage, with the ability to create a LUT from a basic grade. Its audio and video editing functions are basic but effective. Easy to use and highly responsive.

MSRP: Catalyst Prepare

standalone $199, entire suite $399

Online: www.

sonycreativesoftware.com

Catalyst Edit, part of Sony Creative Software’s Catalyst Production Suite

Prepare and Edit join Sony’s free ingest software, Catalyst Browse. Most of the features found in Prepare are also in Browse, but it is important to note that a user can make only one color correction per session in Browse—that is, any correction made to one clip applies to all of the clips.

CATALYST PREPARE If your needs are limited to getting video files and metadata from the camera into the computer and then transcoding, Browse may be adequate. Catalyst Prepare, however, is a complete ingest and one-light tool. It’s a preproduction assistant for browsing camera, deck or

card reader, viewing clips, offloading media for backup, viewing and editing metadata, batch copying, batch transcoding and performing first-pass color correction. Catalyst Prepare natively supports Sony professional formats such as XDCAM SD and HD, XDCAM EX, XAVC Intra, XAVC Long GOP, XAVC S, NXCAM, Sony RAW, HDCAM SR (SStP), AVCHD, AVC H.264/MPEG-4. DNxHD, HDV, DV and ProRes are also supported. (Note that it does not read CinemaDNG files such as may be recorded by external recorders or cameras that record to CinemaDNG.) Prepare’s use is straightforward, and the software offers the same interface on both Mac OS X and

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

Windows platforms. That interface allows access to all of the important organization and preparation tasks from a single screen. Import clips from camera media or computer drive, or offload, backing up media cards with checksum verification. Specify destination of the imported files and rename the files if desired. Transcode the files to an editing codec (very often this will be ProRes or DNxHD) with the option to include any color adjustments made in the app. Files can then be uploaded to Sony’s Cloud Service, Sony Ci, for collaborative review. Keep in mind that Prepare’s upload capability is limited to Sony Ci. While Sony certainly is entitled to promote its service, the application would gain far greater traction with Catalyst Prepare the addition of other cloud storage services. or S-Log3 (with either of the two S-Log3 gammas). The first tab of the UI is the Organize window, You can then convert that clip to another gamma which shows any folders designated as favorites, or apply a 3D LUT (Sony calls these “look profiles”) attached devices, recent folders, and user-created to a log clip. bins and storyboards. A typical organizational Use the brightness, contrast, tone curves, color workflow might include ingesting clips, creating wheels and color correction sliders to adjust color bins as needed, and then beginning work on the while viewing the waveform, vectorscope and clips. Ingest is speedy, but there is often a slight lag histogram displays. Transcode files that carry the in displaying the clip thumbnails. new color adjustments or save the settings as Within the Edit tab, the second tab of the UI, you standard ASC-CDL to apply later in the finishing can mark in/out points and inspect metadata, and session. The color grading tools also support the then enter color adjustment mode. The metadata ACES color management system. Set your preview aspect is significant in that Prepare reads all of the display to a before, after, split or 2-up view to metadata recorded by Sony cameras. compare adjustments. The Catalyst family takes advantage of modern The final feature of Prepare we’ll consider is GPUs from Intel, Nvidia and AMD to enhance Storyboard mode. Create a new storyboard from playback and transcoding, delivering a fluid contextual or pull-down menus and drag clips experience on appropriate Macs and PCs. Users into the storyboard. Drag or, if using a touchof touchscreen PCs will be pleased to note that enabled device, swipe to arrange clips. Play clips Prepare is touch-enabled, allowing them to use to mark in/out. Then render the Storyboard out gestures to start and stop playback, zoom and pan in a variety of formats or export it as an EDL with to check focus, select and move files and adjust media to send to Sony Vegas Pro, Apple Final Cut color controls. Pro, Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere Pro or For critical color work, output to an external Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve. reference monitor through a Blackmagic SDI or The storyboard may also be used in Catalyst UltraStudio device. Edit, the second component of the Production Prepare’s Adjust Color feature is extremely Suite. useful. While this is not a full-blown color grading CATALYST EDIT application, its features are nonetheless useful. Since Prepare imports all metadata from Catalyst Edit may serve as either a standalone Sony-shot files, the application will recognize editor or a more advanced prep tool for other NLEs. automatically whether a clip is Rec. 709, S-Log2 It depends on Catalyst Prepare to ingest and color-

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

In Catalyst Prepare, the first tab in the UI is the Organize window.

correct clips. With both applications open, clips can be dragged from Prepare into Edit, which will maintain all operations performed on the clip in Prepare. Alternatively, an entire storyboard may be imported. (For some reason, the storyboard cannot be dragged—it must be physically located and opened by the Edit-Open Storyboard command.) Once clips are in Catalyst Edit, the software acts just like any other NLE. Add audio or video layers, rearrange clips, perform edits (ripple, roll, split) and add fades. Edit includes plug-ins from Sony, with various built-in filters, effects, generators and transitions. Transitions are a little tricky to apply, requiring the user to first set a transition in/out and then drag the transition onto the clip. As an added bonus, Edit reads OpenFX plug-

Catalyst Prepare color window

ins, with various levels of success. On my Mac Pro system, Edit read plug-ins from Red Giant Universe, NewBlueFX Titler Pro and FilmConvert Pro, but did not read Boris Continuum Complete for OFX. No doubt owing to Sony Creative Software’s origins as Sonic Foundry, Edit includes audio editing features. In the inspector window, up to eight channels of audio can be assigned. Audio editing allows adjusting output with horizontal VU meters and decibel display, as well as individual channel control. Once you have completed work in Catalyst Edit, export XML or AAF and continue the edit within

product’s positioning in the market, saying, “With version 1.0 of the Catalyst Production Suite, we introduced a lean, focused suite for video postproduction, along with the promise to our customers that their input would drive future development. The new version of the suite reflects the input we received. Catalyst Prepare is now far more intuitive, with an extensively redesigned UI that gives users a workflow that speeds up their organizational process. Catalyst Edit now contains several of the most asked-for features, including OFX support, slow- and fast-motion tools, an innovative workflow for J&L cuts and a lot more. And we’re not done listening. Customer input remains the single strongest driving force as we plan how next your favorite NLE. to make the Catalyst Production Suite exactly SUMMARY what customers need At first glance, the in their postproduction Catalyst Production toolkit.” Suite may seem to Both applications be a Sony camera- Color wheels in Catalyst Prepare may be downloaded from specific product, but Sony Creative Software’s be assured that it is not. Sony Creative Software site for $399. Catalyst Prepare alone is $199, but marketing needs to spread the word that the Catalyst Edit is not sold separately. software is indeed appropriate for all footage, with With other ingest and grading options available, specific applications for Sony cameras, particularly each user or organization needs to assess whether with metadata. the software or suite provides value. A free trial Product manager Gary Rebholz explains the is available of each product. There is much to be said for the integration of organization, ingest and editing functions within one package. dv

Left: Catalyst Edit supports OpenFX Above: Catalyst Edit offers audio editing functionality.

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

LUST

NEW EDITING TOOLS

OLIVER PETERS

EDITING ADDITIONS New Applications to Advance Your Workflow

TELESTREAM SWITCH Apple QuickTime Player Pro (not QuickTime Player X) has been the go-to media player and encoding application, but Apple is actively deprecating QuickTime with each new version of Mac OS X. At some point it’s likely that QuickTime Player Pro will cease to function. Telestream—maker of the highly regarded Episode encoder—plans to be ready with Switch and hopes editors will use Switch where they would normally have used QuickTime Player Pro in the past. Switch is a cross-platform, multifunction media player that comes in three versions: Switch Player—a free, multiformat media player with file inspection capabilities; Switch Plus—a $49 application to play, inspect and fix media file issues; and Switch Pro—a comprehensive ($295) file encoder. All Switch versions will play a wide range of media file formats and allow you to inspect the file properties. Unlike other open source media players, Telestream Switch can play many professional media formats (like MXF), display embedded captions and subtitles, and properly encode to advanced file formats (like Apple ProRes). The current version of Switch can encode in QuickTime (MOV), MPEG-4 and MPEG-2 (transport and program stream) containers. Codec encoding support includes H.264, MPEG-2 and ProRes. (ProRes export on Windows is ProRes 422 HQ for iTunes only.) Telestream plans to add more capabilities to Switch over time. There’s also a pass-through mode in cases where files simply need to be rewrapped. For example, you might wish to convert Canon EOS C300 clips from MXF into QuickTime movies but maintain the native Canon XF codec. Switch Pro, the most sophisticated offering, is

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

Left: Telestream’s Switch Pro may be used as a media player, a file inspector or a single-file encoding tool. Below right: Switch audio meters Below left: Switch Plus and Pro include caption support

brand new Timeline feature to view the GOP structure of Long GOP formats, highlighting I, P and B frames. You can now view Vertical Ancillary (VANC) data on an external monitor, allowing broadcasters to view captions on multiple monitors. more than an encoder. It also includes SDI out via AJA I/O devices (for preview to an external calibrated device), loudness monitoring and caption playback. Even the free Player will pass audio out to speakers through AJA cards and USB-connected Core Audio devices. Along with inspection of file properties, Switch includes a set of audio meters that display volume and loudness readings. Although it does not offer audio and video adjustment or correction controls, you can rearrange audio channels and speaker assignments. Telestream recently released Switch 2.0 with additional features for QC workflows. There’s a

APPLE PHOTOS As most readers know, Apple replaced iPhoto and Aperture with Photos, a free photo organizing and processing tool that comes with the OS X operating system. If your need is to create slideshows and books, it’s extremely easy. Simply import the photos you want, group them into a project and then create a book or slideshow from a template. Double-clicking any photo opens it in the image editor, which is the closest to Aperture’s adjustment or Lightroom’s develop mode. When you edit the image, a series of tools opens on the right. These can be used to crop, add stylizing filters, heal

blemishes or fix red-eye. The Adjustments tool opens a set of sliders for various color adjustments, but the “add” pull-down enables quite a few more controls than the default. In total, this makes the level of control fairly sophisticated. Exports are handled through a share menu, as in Final Cut Pro X. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the sort of batch-processing control that Aperture or Lightroom offers. This is a functional tool that many will like, but it really isn’t for photography power users who need an industrial-strength application.

IZOTOPE RX LOUDNESS CONTROL As more emphasis is being placed on loudness compliance around the world, it’s important for editors and sound mixers to have the right tools to stay legal. A new iZotope offering is RX Loudness Control, which not only analyzes your mix, but fixes it to be compliant. This plug-in is designed for Avid Pro Tools and Media Composer, along with the Adobe Creative Cloud applications. It quickly analyzes your final mix and performs a faster-thanreal-time processing of the track. RX Loudness Control includes presets for eight international loudness standards. Correction includes three components: fixed gain to hit a specific target, optional short-term loudness compression, and True Peak limiting. By design, the intent is to leave the mix dynamics in place, but IRC II (Intelligent Release Control) limiting is used where necessary. In Media Composer, create a mixdown clip of your timeline mix and place it on an available track. Mute all other tracks. Apply the RX Loudness Control as an AudioSuite filter to the mixdown clip. Set the loudness standard preset, analyze and render. With the Adobe applications, the RX Loudness Control appears as a preset in the export module of Premiere Pro or Adobe Media Encoder. Simply export your timeline using the RX Loudness preset. Make adjustments to the settings as needed. If you want the mixed/processed track to be imported automatically back into the same project, make sure to check that box.

SERIF AFFINITY PHOTO AND AFFINITY DESIGNER Those who are looking for an alternative to Adobe Photoshop may find a solution in Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer for the Mac platform. Affinity Photo competes with Adobe Photoshop. Affinity Designer is aimed at Adobe Illustrator. Both applications are available through the Mac App Store.

Above: Apple Photos replaces Aperture and iPhoto as a more streamlined photo organizing and enhancement application. Right: Photos can apply advanced adjustments as well as presets.

Above: iZotope’s RX Loudness Control is designed to analyze and correct tracks while maintaining the dynamics of the mix. Right: It quickly analyzes your final mix and performs a faster-than-real-time processing of the track.

Since I don’t use Illustrator much, I can’t adequately compare Illustrator and Designer, except to say that Designer is a very capable vectorbased drawing and design application. It will import AI files, but round-trip compatibility largely requires certain common file standards: PNG, TIFF, JPEG,

GIF, SVG, EPS, PSD or PDF. The layout is built around three modes, called “personas.” Start in the Draw persona to create your document. Switch to the Pixel persona for paint and adjustment functions. Finally, export through the Export persona. Affinity Photo’s four personas are Photo, Liquify,

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

Develop and Export. The Photo persona is the closest to Photoshop’s toolset, while Develop is more like the Lightroom toolkit. Liquify is designed for image distortion based on a mesh. In general, Affinity Photo feels a lot like Adobe Photoshop—the toolset, adjustment layers and layer styles work in a similar fashion. One powerful set of effects is Live Filter layers, which are similar to adjustment layers in that they are editable and don’t bake an effect into the layer. The difference is that a Live Filter can be added to that layer only and doesn’t affect everything beneath it, like a standard adjustment layer. Live Filters can be rearranged, disabled or edited at any time without relying on undo. Compatibility between Affinity Photo and Adobe Photoshop is good, and Serif states that they are aiming for the best compatibility on the market. I’ve had better luck going from Photo into Photoshop using a layered PSD file than I did bringing a file created in Photoshop back into Photo. The usual culprits are layer effects and vector-based objects. In Photoshop, the Photo-created adjustment layer effects came across, but text with layer effects was merged into a rasterized layer with the layer effects

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䐀䤀䜀䤀吀䄀䰀圀䤀刀䔀䰀䔀匀匀

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Above: Designer includes a comprehensive set of rasterbased paint tools. Right: Affinity Photo includes many photo enhancement tools, including relighting effects.

baked in. When I went from Photoshop to Photo, layer effects were simply dropped. Affinity Photo is supposed to use third-party Photoshop plug-ins, but my attempts to use Red Giant Magic Bullet

Looks crashed Photo. Unlike Pixelmator, Affinity Photo cannot use Quartz Composer-based filters, such as those from Noise Industries’ FxFactory. dv

昀愀挀攀戀漀漀欀⸀挀漀洀⼀䄀稀搀攀渀唀匀

BUYER’S GUIDE: LENSES & ACCESSORIES

BRING YOUR PRODUCTION INTO FOCUS

This month’s Buyer’s Guide showcases some of the latest advances in optics and imaging technologies.

ZOE EVER AFTER SITCOM STYLE RELIES ON FUJINON CABRIO LENSES BILL SHEEHY For the new sitcom Zoe Ever After, we decided to shoot in a style that harkens back to the sitcoms of the 1980s and ’90s, before a more cinematic approach became the norm. With three Fujinon Cabrio 4K PL mount lenses—the 25-300mm, 19-90mm and 14-35mm—on Sony F55 large-format cameras, we worked in a multicamera, “live cut” environment, with all three cameras covering the scene at once; however, with the Sony F55 and Cabrio lenses, the show looks more like a single-camera production. This single operator/multiple camera method of shooting saved us considerable cost and production time. We didn’t have to worry about changing to different zooms for different looks. Camera assistants didn’t spend time paring down the camera to switch

The set of Zoe Ever After

from primes to zooms. We were able to use that extra time to focus on other things like lighting, while still keeping a really fast pace on the set. The 25-300mm has a detachable servo drive for remote control of zoom, focus and iris. With that, there’s no need for rod-mounted motors, so it’s very convenient. The other two Cabrios are used with SS-13 full servo rear lens controller kits.

Even though this was a multicamera, studio-style series with large-format, PL mount cameras, the lenses allowed us to shoot with a minimal crew. We were the first sitcom to use three different Cabrios in this way, and with single operators using the servo rear lens controller kits. Bill Sheehy is cinematographer on the sitcom Zoe Ever After, set to air in early January on BET.

SIGMA LENSES DELIVER EDGE-TO-EDGE SHARPNESS FOR CORK FACTORY FILMS TED KAWALERSKI Unlike most commercial still photography work, video relies more on the ability to work with existing light. Typically, these are lower-light situations where your lenses have to be open to their widest aperture. It’s in these situations that Sigma lenses have always impressed me. Whether we’re interviewing a CEO in the boardroom, chasing a long haul trucker down the road at sunrise or panning across a classroom of excited first graders, that video has to be sharp, edge-to-edge, all the time. In my business, we don’t necessarily get a second take. That’s why we can’t afford to take any piece of equipment for granted. This is especially true when it comes to lenses. Right now, we have five Sigma lenses: an 18-35mm f/1.8, 24mm

f/1.4, 35mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.4 and 120-300mm f/2.8. We have found the sharpness and clarity consistent among our Sigma lenses, which is important when cutting between angles. Also, the overall engineering and handling of the lenses is outstanding. We work with Canon bodies and have found that Sigma lenses fit solidly to the cameras without extraneous rings and adapters. Every function that the OEM’s lenses would deliver is right there with Sigma lenses. The settings are easy to read, the focusing rings are smooth and firm, and the sharpness, particularly when shooting wide open, is outstanding. Overall, they just perform. Ted Kawalerski is a director and DP at Cork Factory Films + Communications, which he co-founded with Matt Stanton.

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

BUYER’S GUIDE: LENSES & ACCESSORIES

REED MORANO, ASC, RELIES ON ARRI/ZEISS MASTER ANAMORPHICS How did you achieve the look and style of the film? Reed Morano: I knew with the Alexa I could get the look I was after, which was to have the movie be as real as possible and be very naturalistically lit—not drawing attention to the lighting or the camera work. When I knew that I was going to be shooting with the Alexa, I wanted to take the camera to the next level. You went with the ARRI/Zeiss Master Anamorphics? The Master Anamorphics blew me away and created a very rich texture in combination with the Alexa. The anamorphic look just screams cinema—the flares, the bokeh, the aberrations of the lenses and all of those unpredictable qualities. In my opinion, they make everything just feel bigger. I couldn’t have been more pleased with the qualities of the Master Anamorphics. These lenses are sharp and have beautiful anamorphic qualities, but they are just slightly less erratic and more

Olivia Wilde in a still from Meadowland

controllable than your usual anamorphics. You can flare them when you want—and they are gorgeous flares, such as rainbow circles. There were also blue oval flares and the bokeh was just beautiful. They had such distinct qualities, but it wasn’t too much to a point where it could be distracting. They were just right. Reed Morano, ASC, shot, directed and operated handheld on the independent drama Meadowland.

Reed Morano, ASC

REDROCK’S MICROREMOTE NAILS FOCUS FOR “MAGNUM OPUS” Sam Nuttmann was the DP/operator behind many of the hottest videos for the launch announcement of the Freefly MoVI gimbal. He’s since gone on to shoot video projects with icons including Oliver Stone, Gus Van Sant, Red Bull and Nike. Nuttmann now runs his own company, MotionState. For his latest film, “Magnum Opus,” a postapocalyptic action short, Nuttmann suited up his lenses with Redrock Micro’s microRemote for focus control. “As a passion project, ‘Magnum Opus’ had minimal budget, so we had to move fast. We had a lot of setups and switched between several different rigs. We needed something for reliable focus control that would let the operator pull focus, or have a dedicated AC pull from remote monitor, depending on the shot.

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“The microRemote is an integral part of my kit,” continues Nuttmann. “I can pull focus on my own with the finger wheel, or I can instantly transition to my AC pulling focus wirelessly just by flipping a switch.” He adds, “The small size and footprint of the microRemote was also key for us. To move quickly between rigs and setups, we needed a focus unit that was compact enough to stay with the camera to minimize downtime. The microRemote did that perfectly. The fact that the microRemote is incredibly affordable is just icing on the cake.” Redrock’s family of support accessories helped round out the rigs, including the Rhino Mount and Field Runner AC rig. Look for “Magnum Opus” on YouTube or at motionstate.com.

BUYER’S GUIDE: LENSES & ACCESSORIES

COOKE ANAMORPHIC/I LENSES HOLD COLOR AND CONTRAST ON STRATTON FELIX WIEDEMANN I chose to shoot the action thriller Stratton anamorphic partly for the aspect ratio, but also because I like the look of anamorphic lenses and the way they render 3D space into a 2D image. I tested Cooke Anamorphic/i lenses and immediately liked what I saw. They give a sharp image that holds contrast and color where others would go milky. Beyond the sharpness, they’ve got “soul”—there’s something beyond the technical performance of the lens. You get a warm feeling from them. Simon [West, the director] and I wanted to create a naturalistic, atmospheric look. If it looks real, the action is more impactful, and it feels more dangerous and immediate to the viewer. We had a wide range of shooting conditions, from bright, sunny beaches to dark scenes inside a water pipe, which was lit mainly by torches flashing around and lights that we prepared to look like colored glowsticks. I was really impressed with how

the Cooke Anamorphic/ i’s held the color and contrast equally well in each situation. They brought out all the nuances within each shot. For a big action film, you need to be practical—you need a lens set with a big focal range, and you need multiple sets available Cinematographer Felix Wiedemann so that the second unit Cinematographer Felix Wiedemann outfitmatches what you are shooting. The lenses need to be light enough to go on a Steadicam, yet rug- ted ARRI Alexa and Alexa Mini cameras with ged enough to cope in different environments. The Anamorphic/i lenses from Cooke Optics to shoot Cooke Anamorphic/i lenses were ideal. We never the action thriller Stratton, which is due for release had an issue throughout the whole shoot. in 2016.

MANFROTTO DIGITAL DIRECTOR BRINGS PRECISION TO MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY DAVID A. EHRMANN, M.D. I have been using the Manfrotto Digital Director for the Apple iPad Air 2 for the last three months and have found it to be an invaluable tool in my workflow. I primarily shoot macro images and had been somewhat frustrated trying to control shots using the LCD on my camera as well as by tethering to my laptop. The limitations of a camera-back LCD become obvious once you start shooting with Digital Director. It allows me to control virtually every function of the camera, including dynamically changing the point of focus. In addition,

it uses focus peaking technology, thus permitting acquisition of images with maximal sharpness. This feature allows for capture of detail of flower elements and other biological specimens such as insects. This is a macro photographer’s dream. The device is lightweight and highly portable; it can run when plugged into an outlet or with batteries for field use. At home, I secure it to a tabletop setup. In the field, I secure it to the tripod leg, which has worked

terrifically well. Digital Director is also a wonderful tool for those who shoot video. The live view, large screen provides the ability to capture the scenes in real time in a remote manner. The user

interface is intuitive and well laid out. I have had a noticeable improvement in the quality of my images. The Manfrotto Digital Director is well worth the cost and provides features not found on any other device.

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

BUYER’S GUIDE: LENSES & ACCESSORIES

SHOOTING IN THE KITCHEN WITH SCHNEIDER KREUZNACH Director/cinematographer Andrew David Watson has traveled the world, following his passion for interesting and challenging documentaries. Watson was recently called on to profile chef Yoji Tokuyoshi for Red Wing Shoe Company. The challenge was to capture the dedication and perseverance required to transform Tokuyoshi from sous chef to world-renowned chef and owner of a cutting-edge restaurant in Milan. Deciding to shoot with Canon’s EOS C300, Watson searched for prime lenses that covered the full image area, offered the characteristics he was after and were priced to own. He chose Schneider Kreuznach Xenon FF-Primes (all T2.1 in 25, 35, 50, 75 and the coveted 100mm). “I was drawn to them first and foremost because of their color rendition, particu-

larly the way they handle skin tones,” Watson explains. “I noticed this immediately in the color grading. We had to do very little to match shots, which was helpful since the project was documentary in nature and shot almost entirely with natural light.” While he used the 100mm for detail shots throughout, Watson shot in Tokuyoshi’s kitchen, handheld at very close distances, with the 35mm and 50mm, which allowed the background to fall off and the bokeh to shine. “These lenses have a nice classic cinema look, which I think is due to their 14 iris blades,” he says. “I also like the character of the flare.” In the compact kitchen, he appreciated that the lenses are all identical in size and configuration, so “it made swapping them out really quick and easy. That’s always key with a small crew.”

ZEISS MILVUS LENSES OFFER EXPANDED CINEMATOGRAPHIC OPTIONS “In order to be able to smoothly adjust the aperture, you had to send the lenses to specialists, who would then reconstruct them.” Aside from the additional time and cost involved, there was always an extra risk because this procedure amounts to a considerable intrusion on the interior of each lens. That’s why Zeiss Ambassador Clinton Harn likes the fact that Zeiss Milvus lenses give him the choice when it comes to aperture. Depending on the application, Clinton can decide if he wants to work with a smooth aperture adjustment or not— and immediately start working with it after a small turn of the screw on the lens mount. Harn says this is a sign that Zeiss understands the needs of users and is prepared to create practical solutions based on that insight. “I don’t think a lot of people understand the amazing benefits of performing an iris pull when transitioning from exterior to interior shots when executed properly. Having this option on a non-cine lens just gives you more options.”

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The same could be said of the focusing ring, which has a rubber coating that Harn found to be very comfortable. “It always provides optimal grip, especially in difficult climate conditions—for example, when it’s really cold or in a hot environ-

ment.” Moreover, its handling with a large rotation angle makes this lens perfectly suited for exact manual focusing. Robustness is also guaranteed, as all Zeiss Milvus lenses have a full-metal barrel and weather sealing.

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BLACKMAGIC URSA MINI USERS JAY ANKENEY

THE MINI MAKERS Production Successes with the Blackmagic URSA Mini

lackmagic Design’s URSA Mini makes sport of the phrase “good things come in small packages.” It’s almost incredible what this relative newcomer to the world of camera manufacturing has packed into URSA Mini, which the company’s marketing team describes as “the world’s lightest handheld Super 35 digital film camera.” It’s got features that a decade ago would have stumped the stars. When it ships, the camera will be available in 4K and 4.6K models, with EF or PL lens mounts. Street price for the URSA Mini 4K PL is $3,495 and 4.6K PL is $5,495. “With our long, traditional history of camera manufacturing,” begins Dan May, president of Blackmagic Design, with a laugh—it’s been all of four years since their first camera model was unveiled—“we’ve learned a lot from customer feedback. No camera can be all things to all videographers, but from the lessons we’ve learned, we know people want cameras that help their workflow in a minimal form factor, recording at least a 4K image, with easily accessible I/O and a price that doesn’t break the budget. Our URSA Mini meets all of those criteria.”

Daniel Peters has his own way of rigging the camera. He puts the EVF on with only one screw, without the top handle, so it only takes a second to put it on and take it off.

URSA Mini

Daniel Peters with URSA Mini

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Both models of URSA Mini have a Super 35 image sensor—the sensor on the 4.6K camera is slightly larger—a 5-inch fold-out viewfinder for on-set monitoring, dual raw and ProRes recorders, and professional connectors such as 12G-SDI. The 4.6K model shoots resolutions up to 4068 x 2592 with 15 stops of dynamic range, while the 4K camera shoots up to 4000 x 2160 with 12 stops. URSA Mini offers the features of a fullsize production camera miniaturized into a lightweight, compact design that makes it easier for small crews and single operators to use. The Still from Revelator EF mount URSA Minis (4K and 4.6K) weigh 5 pounds; the PL mount versions are 5.54 pounds. Dimensions of the models are similar, though PL mount Minis are about half an inch longer. (The 4K PL camera measures 7.61” x 8.74” x 5.78”.) Like the full-sized URSA, URSA Mini has been designed to include much of the extra on-set equipment that shooters normally need to carry around and that limit mobility. The camera’s 5-inch, 1080HD touchscreen monitor has histogram scopes, timecode overlays, focus assist and audio meters. As well as monitoring video, the fold-out LCD touchscreen can be used to change camera settings. URSA Mini includes a side hand grip with record start/stop, iris and focus buttons. The handle is mounted to the body of the camera using a standard rosette and also has a LANC connection. If desired, the user may remove the handle and mount a custom rig directly to the rosette. The camera’s professional connections include 12G-SDI out, separate HD-SDI video outputs and 12V power for connecting electronic viewfinders. For audio, there are two XLR balanced analog inputs with 48V of switchable phantom power for external microphones. URSA Mini also includes LANC for remote camera and lens control, a standard 4-pin XLR power connector and URSA battery plate internal power connector that lets you mount battery plates on the rear of the camera. Among the breakthroughs on the URSA Mini is its enhanced metadata recording. The camera has a built-in gyroscope and records pitch, roll and yaw movements when working in raw, for example, which will eventually let users correct camera movements in post. Even Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve can’t actually perform this correction yet, but won’t it be a kick when unintentional wobble and shake can be removed in post? By the way, the GPS recording functionality that had been announced before the 2015 NAB Show has been dropped, judged premature. These are just some of the features on the forthcoming Blackmagic URSA Mini cameras. As usual, we asked working videographers about their experiences, and it was not difficult to find exclamation points in their responses. Note that all the videographers we talked to were using the 4K model of URSA Mini. The 4.6K version is still in beta testing.

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

J. VAN AUKEN J. Van Auken (@RevelatorMovie) is a freelance videographer in the Los Angeles area who is directing his first feature film, Revelator, using an URSA Mini as A-camera. You can find out more about the film at www.revelationmachine.com, but as a talking point, think John the Baptist and the Book of Revelation. “I’ve been a Blackmagic advocate for J. Van Auken with URSA Mini a long time,” Van Auken begins, “and the Mini addresses many of the concerns I had with Blackmagic’s Production Camera. The Mini is smaller, lighter, has beefed up image processing, has the same original sensor but tweaked for greater performance, and has a lot fewer ‘yes, buts.’” The first point Van Auken makes is that when the camera is in “windowed” cropped sensor mode, it can shoot 4K at up to 60 fps. “It offers a 3:1 compressed raw recording option that can save a lot of space, giving you up to 9 minutes and 30 seconds on a 128 GB card,” he says. “That really helps our feature’s budget, and we aren’t as dependent on ‘shuttle’ [sneaker net] RAID drives. It brings our 30 TB storage allocation down to a 10 TB budget.” Van Auken is a big fan of tactile buttons, so he appreciates the physical buttons on the URSA Mini that can relieve him from dependence on the touchscreen. He praises several of the camera’s design features, such as the ability to remove the side handle, which makes it easier to mount the camera on a MoVI gimbal. One consideration that is not immediately apparent is that Blackmagic has given the 1080 electronic viewfinder (EVF) its own software, so it can be updated independent of the camera’s software. “Blackmagic Design has always been prolific in their software and firmware updates,” Van Auken says. “Blackmagic is the first company I know that is not afraid of breaking their own camera with a firmware upgrade.”

Stills from Daniel Peters’ URSA Mini footage

Of course, there can always be improvements. Van Auken would like to be able to turn off the tally lights so they don’t distract the cast when the camera is rolling. He’d also like to see all the controls accessible from the outside. “Currently the power button is inside of the flip screen, and when it is mounted on a MoVI gimbal, you can’t turn the camera off without unmounting it,” he says. “If the power button could be mapped to one of the other function keys, that would be more convenient.”

DANIEL PETERS Over in the U.K., Daniel Peters (@DanielPetersDOP) is a fashion videographer who shoots branded videos in the London area for companies like Hype Clothing and P&Co. “There are a lot of cameras that shoot 1080 and 4K,” Peters begins, “but with the URSA Mini, there is a ‘thickness’ to the image that gives it a cinematic feel. I usually have to shoot quick turnarounds, so 1080 gives me what I need, especially when recording in ProRes, that I can load directly into my Adobe Premiere NLE for a fast duck into post.” Peters has his own way of rigging the camera. He puts the EVF on with only one screw, without the top handle, so it only takes a second to put it on and take it off. He likes attachments to be tool-less, so he has found some third-party accessories on Amazon—for example, CoolLCD, which makes a handle that goes on and comes off easily. When we spoke, Peters had just come back from Dubai, where he spoke at a Blackmagic event and found the company very accepting of his alternative rigging suggestions, such as mounting a mini touchscreen monitor/recorder on top of the camera instead of the viewfinder. “It’s inexpensive and lets me record raw right on the camera,” he explains. “It acts as a video assist, and takes up less space. I guess I’m just not a viewfinder kind of guy.” That’s one of Peters’ suggestions for future improvements. Another is to get rid of the window cropping when shooting 1080p at 120 fps, although he realizes this has technical consequences due to light loss.

JAKE STARK

Still from footage of the band Good Charlotte shot at 120p, ISO 800

Jake Stark (@MrJakeStark) is a freelance videographer in the Los Angeles area who uses his URSA Mini to shoot music videos, among other projects. Stark has used other Blackmagic cameras, so he recognizes the improvements the company has built into the URSA Mini. “I like the XLR connectors for the SDI and also for the audio,” he begins. “The side monitor can now flip out and up or down, which protects it from the sun. Sure, the camera is small, but once you mount it on rails, add a battery and lens, it is still a handful. I use the shoulder mount that’s made for it, and

can hold it for five hours with no problem.” The optional Blackmagic URSA Mini Shoulder Kit ($395) includes the shoulder pad with built-in rosettes, rail mounts and integrated quick lock release attachment points. The kit also includes a top handle for carrying the camera and attaching accessories. Stark recently shot a music video at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, where the band Good Charlotte was performing. “It was a great test for the camera due to the low light,” he says. “Like other Blackmagic Design cameras, the max ISO is 800, but I was using fast Rokinon lenses. They go down to f/1.5, and since all I needed was 1080p, we were able to obtain images that were plenty bright.” Stark has tested his URSA Mini at 4K and found the image was consistent with that of the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K. “If you shoot raw, it grades very nicely, but that is to be expected since it has basically the same sensor. Posting it in DaVinci Resolve gives you very good results, even when you shoot at 60 fps in 4K or 120 in 1080.” One factor Stark ran into is that the URSA Mini can be set to have a different project frame rate than the sensor frame rate. “You can keep the project frame rate at 24p and set the sensor frame rate to 120 fps—but then you have to crop the sensor, giving it the ‘window’ effect, and this changes the

effective focal length of the lens. So if you are shooting with a 24mm lens, you will get results that look like a 50mm lens. This is something new to Blackmagic Design, and videographers unfamiliar with this camera will have to get used to how to get the most out of it.” dv

Jacob Stark with URSA Mini

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

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FROM DUSK TILL DAWN: THE SERIES

EL REY NETWORK’S FROM DUSK TILL DAWN: THE SERIES How Muse VFX Conjures the Show’s (Immortal) Monsters

xpanding on the horror film franchise developed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series on the El Rey Network follows the story of the Gecko Brothers as they navigate a world of crime and immortal reptilian vampires known as culebras. The television series from El Rey and Miramax is now in its second season, with Muse VFX at the helm for its sophisticated visual effects work. Muse VFX founder and supervisor Fred Pienkos describes the current climate for visual effects work: “Episodic work requires feature film quality.” For culebra transformations and immolations, matte paintings and high-res simulations, Muse VFX uses Blackmagic Design’s Fusion Studio software to help deliver the horror and gore. Muse VFX founder and creative director John Gross notes, “One of the challenges for this season was re-imagining the culebra immolation VFX with the idea that the bodies should burn from within. Fusion was an integral part in accelerating the progress of the nearly 100 immolation shots throughout the season.” One of Muse’s lead artists, Dan DeEntremont, developed the process, which begins with a subsurface glow under the skin. Next, artists add bubbling veins, followed by individual layers of burning, sparks, ash and bone. The Muse team used Fusion’s particle system in addition to various other 3D particle systems for the finishing touches. Muse believes that a combination of good special effects and VFX always leads to the best results, especially when it comes to bringing the culebras to life. Gross notes, “On From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, the makeup effects team did a fantastic job designing the culebra look. One of our jobs with Fusion is to handle the transition from human to culebra both seamlessly and believably, mixing reality with the supernatural.” That combination worked effectively when a

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

Malvado facial transformation

recent episode contained a scene in which Muse VFX had to heal a wound on the face of Malvado, one of the lords of the culebras, and then transform his face from human to his culebra look. Muse created and tracked the healing wound and then blended in a CG version of the special effects culebra makeup over his human face. “The VFX work for Malvado’s face had certain

challenges because it had to match both the lighting and coloring of the real face and the coloring and look of the special effects culebra makeup,” says Pienkos. “What’s nice about Fusion is its stability and speed, empowering us to get things done. Without having to worry about technical issues, we’re able to focus on the task at hand—in this case, a human transforming to a culebra.” dv

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SICARIO

OLIVER PETERS

TENSION AND TIMELINES How Editor Joe Walker Escalated the Suspense on Sicario

photo by richard foreman jr. smpsp

Emily Blunt as Kate Macer

icario is an emotional and suspenseful look into the dark side of the war on drugs as told by Canadian director Denis Villeneuve (Enemy, Prisoners, Incendies). After uncovering evidence related to a Mexican drug cartel, by-the-book FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) is recruited to join a covert black-ops mission headed by an enigmatic Columbian operative known only as Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) along with CIA special agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin). As the operation proceeds with increasingly extra-

legal means, we learn of Alejandro’s conflicted personality that’s part former crusading prosecutor and part hit man. The clashes at the heart of the story force Kate (and the audience) to question whether the ends justify the means on the boundary between the United States and Mexico.

FROM WAGNER TO HOLLYWOOD The key to driving such a tense thriller is often the editor, who in this case is Joe Walker, ACE (12 Years a Slave). I had a chance to discuss Sicario with

Walker as he took a break from cutting the next Villeneuve film, Story of Your Life. Walker’s road to Hollywood is different than that of many other toplevel feature film editors. While editors often play musical instruments as a hobby, Walker actually studied to be a classical composer in his native England. Walker explains, “It’s always been a hard choice between films and writing music. I remember when I was 10 years old, I’d run 8mm films of the Keystone Cops at slow speed with Richard Wagner

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

playing against it and kind of get depressed! So these were twin interests of mine. I studied classical composing and balanced two careers of editing and composing up until the mid-2000s. I used my music degree to get a job with the BBC, where I moved into assistant editor roles. The BBC is very cautious—it took 11 years before I was finally allowed to cut drama as an editor. This was all on 16mm film. Then I moved into digital editing, first with Lightworks and later Avid. I always wanted to work on bigger films, but I felt there was a glass ceiling in England. Big studio films that came in would always bring their own editors. The big break for me was 12 Years a Slave, which provided the opportunity to move to Los Angeles.”

CONTROLLING THE STORY, CHARACTERS AND RHYTHM Sicario has a definite rhythm designed to build suspense. There are scenes that are slow but tense and others that are action-packed. Walker explains his philosophy on setting the pace: “Since working with Steve McQueen [director of 12 Years a Slave], I’ve been known for holding shots a long time to build tension. This is contrary to the usual approach, which says you build tension with an increasingly faster cutting pace. Sometimes if you hold a shot, there’s even more tension if the story supports it. I’ll even use the trick of invisible splitscreens to hold a take longer than the way it was originally shot. For example, the left side of one take might hold long enough, but something breaks on the right. I’ll pull the right side from a different take in order to extend the end of the complete shot.” Another interesting aspect to Sicario is the sparseness of the musical score, in favor of sound design. Walker comments, “Music is in an abusive relationship with film. Putting on my composer hat, I don’t want to tell the audience what to think only by the music. It’s part of the composite. I try to cut without a temp score, because you have to know when it’s only the music that’s driving the emotion. I’ll even turn the sound down and cut it as if it was a silent movie so I can feel the rhythm visually. Then sound effects add another layer, and finally music. In Sicario, I used a lot of walkietalkie dialogue to fill in spaces—using it almost like a sound effect. Jóhann Jóhannsson [composer of Prisoners, The Theory of Everything, Foxcatcher] was thrilled to get a clean output without someone else’s preconceived temp score because it allowed him to start with a clean palette.” Editing shapes the characters. Walker says,

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photo by richard foreman jr. smpsp

Kate (Emily Blunt), Matt (Josh Brolin, left center) and Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro, right)

“Taylor Sheridan’s script was fantastic, so I don’t want to do a disservice to him, but there was a continual process of paring down the dialogue and simplifying the story, which continued long into the edit. Benicio Del Toro’s character says very little and that helps keep him mysterious. One of the biggest cuts we made in the edit was to eliminate the original opening scene, shot on the coast at Veracruz. In it, Alejandro [Del Toro] is interrogating a cop by holding his head underwater. He goes too far and kills him, so he drags the lifeless body to the shore—only to resuscitate him and begin the interrogation again. It is a strong and brutal scene, but one that told too much about Alejandro at the outset rather than letting us—and Kate [Emily Blunt]—figure him out piece by piece. We needed to tell the story through Kate’s eyes. The film now starts with the hostage rescue raid, which better anchors the film on Kate. And that scene is not short of its own brutality. At the end, we smash cut from a mutilated hand on the ground to Kate washing the blood out of her hair in the shower. This very violent beginning lets the audience know

that anything could happen in this film.”

A CAREFULLY CONSIDERED PRODUCTION Sicario was produced for an estimated $31 million. While not exactly low budget, that amount is certainly modest for a film of this ambition. The majority of the film was shot in New Mexico over a 49-day period starting in July of 2014. Final post was completed in March 2015. Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC (Unbroken, Prisoners, Skyfall), the film’s director of photography, relied on his digital camera of choice these days, the ARRI Alexa XT recording to ARRIRAW. The editorial team cut with transcoded Avid DNxHD media using two Avid Media Composer systems. Joe Walker continues, “This was a very carefully considered shoot. They spent a lot of effort working out shots to avoid overshooting. Most of the setups are in the final cut. They were also lucky with the weather. I cut the initial assembly in L.A. while they were shooting in New Mexico. The fine cut was done in Montreal with Denis for ten weeks and then back to L.A. for the final post. The edit

really came together easily because of all the prep. Roger has to be one of our generation’s greatest cinematographers. Not only are his shots fantastic, but he has a mastery of sequence building, which is matched by Denis. “Ninety percent of the time the editorial team consisted of just my long-time first assistant Javier [Marcheselli] and me. The main focus of the edit was to streamline the storytelling and to be as muscular and rhythmic with the cutting as possible. We spent a lot of time focused on the delicate balance between how much we see the story through our central character’s eyes and how much we should let the story progress by itself. One of the constructs that came out of the edit was to beef up the idea of surveillance by taking helicopter aerials of the desert and creating drone footage from it. Javier is great with temp visual effects and I’m good with sound, so we’d split up duties that way. “I’m happy that this was largely a single-camera production. Only a few shots were two-camera shots. Single-camera has the advantage that the editor can better review the footage. With

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

Editor Joe Walker’s screen wall for Blackhat

multicam you might get four hours of dailies, which takes about seven hours to review. When are you left with time to cut? This makes it hard to build a relationship with the dailies. With a single-camera film, you have more time to really investigate the coverage. I like to mind-read what the direction was by charting the different nuances between takes.”

The editing application isn’t Walker’s only go-to tool. He continues, “I wish Avid would include more improvements on the audio side of Media Composer. I often go to outside applications. One of my favorites is [U&I Software’s] MetaSynth, which lets me extend music. For instance, if a

chord is held for one second, I can use MetaSynth to extend that hold for as much as 10, 20 seconds. This makes it easy to tailor music under a scene and it sounds completely natural. I also used it on Sicario to elongate some great screaming sounds in the scene where Alejandro is having a nightmare on the plane—they are nicely embedded into the sounds of the jet engines. We wanted the message to be subliminal.” Joe Walker is a fan of visual organization. He explains, “When I’m working with dailies, I usually don’t pre-edit select sequences for a scene unless it’s a humongous amount of coverage. Instead, I prefer to visually arrange the tiles [thumbnail frames in the bin] in a way that makes it easier to tuck in. But I am a big fan of the scene wall. I write out 3x5 notecards for each scene with a short description of the essence of that scene on it. This is a great way to quickly see what that scene is all about and remind you of a character’s journey up to that point. When it comes time to reorder scenes, it’s often better to do that by shifting the cards on the wall first. If you try to do it in the software, you get bogged down in the logistics of making those edit changes. I’ll put the cards for deleted scenes off to the side, so a quick glance reminds me of what we’ve removed. It’s just something that works for me. Denis has spent the best part of a year turning words into pictures, so he laughs at my wall and my reliance on it!” dv

IT SHOULDN’T MATTER WHAT THE KNIVES ARE Walker is a long-time Media Composer user. We wrapped up with a discussion about the tools of the trade. Walker says, “This was a small film compared to some, so we used two Avid workstations connected to Avid’s ISIS shared storage while in L.A. It’s rock solid. In Montreal, there was a different brand of shared storage, which wasn’t nearly as solid as ISIS. On Michael Mann’s Blackhat, we sometimes had 16 Avids connected to ISIS, so that’s pretty hard to beat. I really haven’t used other NLEs, like [Apple] Final Cut, but [Adobe] Premiere is tempting. If anything, going back to Lightworks is even more intriguing to me. I really loved how intuitive the ‘paddles’ [the Lightworks flatbed-style controller] were. But edit systems are like knives. You shouldn’t care what knives the chef used if the meal tastes good. Given the right story, I’d be happy to cut it on wet string.”

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

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TIPS TO CLIP

DICK REIZNER

WEATHER OR NOT, WE SHOOT

It would be nice if we could limit our shooting to bright, sunny days, but that’s not the job. The winter season is now upon us, and we must keep our gear dry while working in the rain and snow. If you don’t have a purpose-made rain cover, try protecting your camera with a large plastic trash bag. Cut a small hole in the bag for the lens and tape it down. Your hands and maybe your head can go in through the open side. You’re ready to shoot. Note that this setup works a lot better if you can find clear plastic bags.

SHARE YOUR TIP

MORE ON CABLE TIES Our thanks and a Tipster Tool Tote go out to John Wetmore for sharing this adventure. John says, “I have long followed your advice about putting cable ties on the male end of audio cables to keep them away from the microphone. However, I recently had that tip backfire on me. I was filming an interview in gale force winds in Christchurch, New Zealand. I had secured the tripod by hanging a bag of equipment from it to act as ballast but I hadn’t secured the end of the cable tie, and it was long enough to blow in front of the lens during the interview. Fortunately, I had lots of B-roll to go with the interview. And I now double check the cable ties when shooting in windy weather.”

We will send you a Tipster Tool Tote if you share a favorite production tip or question with your fellow professionals. Just drop me an e-mail at DVTips@nbmedia.com. All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

COMPANY INDEX Aaton ...............................................................24 Adobe ............................................ 28, 31, 40, 45 AJA Video ........................................................31 AMD ................................................................29 Apple ....................................... 10, 28, 31, 36, 45 ARRI ................................... 14, 17, 20, 35, 36, 44 Autodesk .........................................................10 Avid .......................................... 10, 13, 28, 32, 43 BBC ..................................................................43 BET ..................................................................34 Blackmagic Design ......................... 6, 29, 38, 41 Boris FX ...........................................................30 Canon U.S.A. .......................................31, 34, 37 Carl Zeiss ...................................................35, 37 CBS ....................................................................6 Cooke Optics .............................................17, 36 CoolLCD ..........................................................40 Cork Factory Films..........................................34 Deluxe New York ............................................14 DJI ....................................................................17 Dolby ...............................................................10 EditShare Lightworks .....................................43

EFILM ..............................................................10 El Rey Network................................................41 FilmConvert ....................................................30 Freefly Systems .........................................35, 39 Fujinon ............................................................34 FX .................................................................8, 16 Goldcrest Films ...............................................13 HBO .................................................................13 Intel ..................................................................29 iZotope ............................................................32 JVC ...................................................................50 Kaufman Astoria Studios ...............................21 Manfrotto ........................................................36 Marvel Entertainment ......................................8 Microsoft ...................................................29, 31 Miramax ..........................................................41 MotionState.....................................................35 Muse VFX ........................................................41 New Media Film Festival ................................50 NewBlueFX .....................................................30 Noise Industries ..............................................33 Nvidia ..............................................................29

Pixelmator .......................................................33 PostFactoryNY ................................................10 Quantel ............................................................14 Red Giant Software ...................................30, 33 Redrock Micro.................................................35 Rokinon ...........................................................40 Sarofsky .............................................................8 Schneider Kreuznach .....................................37 Serif ..................................................................32 Sigma Corp. .....................................................34 Sony Creative Software ..................................28 Sony Electronics .................................24, 29, 34 Starz .................................................................20 Steiner Studios ................................................21 Tattersall Sound and Picture............................8 Technicolor .....................................................14 Technocrane ...................................................17 Telestream .......................................................31 Tiffen Steadicam .......................................17, 36 U&I Software ...................................................45

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

LEARN BATTERY BACKUP If you have a wireless receiver that is powered by the camera, then you also have a good spot to store a spare battery. Scott Dietz, chief photographer at KSNW-TV in Wichita, Kan., receives a Tipster Tool Tote for sharing that he always keeps a 9-volt battery in his receiver’s unused battery compartment, but placed backwards in the slot. He says, “Then I have a backup for my transmitter battery if it happens to go out.”

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS As you prepare to put your Christmas decorations away for the year, think about holding onto a string or two of lights. They can provide low-level safety illumination along backstage paths. Fastened around the inside of an equipment rack, a string of white lights will become a shadowless work light. Hidden behind the books or other objects on a shelf, they will add a snap and separation to your lighting setup. You can avoid tangles and knots in the strings you will be storing by wrapping them around a piece of cardboard.

PLANE FACTS Russ Villas of San Diego asks, “I will be shooting through the windows of an airplane. Do you have any tips?” There are two considerations that are specific to shooting on an airplane. First, don’t let the camera or your hand touch the window because the plane’s vibration will be transferred to your image. Second, be sure your overhead reading light is off. You can usually avoid showing the dirt and scratches on the window by throwing them out of focus. Get as close as you can to the window without touching it and set your focus just short of infinity. Other than these points, the same tips for shooting through any type of glass also apply here. Wear black or dark clothing. If you wear a light shirt, the chances of reflections in the glass are much greater. A circular polarized filter may help darken the sky and reduce reflections, but be careful—they can sometimes create moiré patterns.

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LEARN

PRODUCTION DIARY

STEFAN SARGENT

ONE DOWN 49 Film Festivals to Go HERE’S MY FIRST ACCEPTANCE

ongratulations! Your New Media submission, “We Built A Ship” (17-minute version), has been officially selected into the 7th Annual New Media Film Festival in the 3D category. They’re going to run it in 3D. All too exciting—and that $45,000 prize would be a nice donation to the shipbuilding effort. They want the film for opening night. I am asked to cut my 92-minute feature down to a mere 15 minutes. Gulp!

QED Fear not! As an old pro, I’m used to cutting things down. I’ll never forget “Amazing Amsterdam.” The city is a destination for the British Gas salesman of the year. A short film is needed for the sales convention. Each shot in the official Chamber of Commerce film is about 10 seconds long. I cut them down to one second each. Ten minutes to one minute and not a single shot missing. It looks great. My own film reduction is a little harder. I leave in the opening sequence and jump to a longish piece about making the frames (ribs) and laying the keel. Another huge cut to frame 36 and hey presto, 92 minutes is chopped to 17. Quite Easily Done.

have plenty of tissues handy.

BIG-SCREEN SCREENING A week later there’s a private screening at a local cinema. You have to be so careful about these things. Unless you want to disqualify yourself from film festivals, any screening has to be strictly private. Mine was organized by the shipyard and was for only the ship’s builders and donors. There are no tickets on sale but the theater is full. I’m as nervous as a kitten. I’ve had so many bad experiences. The worst was at the National Film Theatre in London, where my 16mm film was so badly threaded in the projector that the sound was muffled and unintelligible. I was sitting in the center of the theater. I did nothing, just sat there wincing.

TEARS IN MY BEDROOM That afternoon, next-door neighbors Sally and Martha come over. I’ve got to say that the New Media Film Festival folks had a good idea. You can’t ask visitors to watch 92 minutes, but “Hey, would you like to see my film? It will only take 15 minutes!” is more enticing. Sally and Martha say yes and are trotted into my bedroom, where the 24-inch JVC 3D monitor lives, right next to my bed. (Am I weird or what?) They put on their 3D glasses. I start the movie, tiptoe out and close the door. I come back 17 minutes later and turn on the light. Martha is crying. Not just crying—sobbing. She is a mess. “It’s so beautiful, so beautiful.” Wow, that’s a good reaction. I’d better warn the New Media Film Festival people to

SHOWTIME Back to my big screen event. My film starts and, as expected, it looks good. People in the audience see their friends (and even themselves) on the big screen. There is excited chatter and laughter. After one sequence, the audience breaks into spontaneous applause. Have you ever been in a cinema where the applause is in the middle of the film? They do it again and again. This is heady stuff for me. Is anyone in there crying? Only me. It’s so beautiful.... dv

creativeplanetnetwork.com | 01.2016

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