Markee 2.0 April/May 2015 by Lionheart Publishing Inc.

NAB Preview April 2015 • V.30 | No.1

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

2.0

Modern Film Sound Digital Lighting

Camera Support for All

Occasions

find your creative solutions at firstcom.com

2015 Exhibits Seminars Demonstrations Film Series Competition New Product Introductions Technical Awards Networking Special Events

Cine Gear Expo 2015 Los Angeles

June 4 - 7, 2015 The Studios at Paramount Hollywood, CA

Cine Gear Expo 2015 New York City

September 24-25, 2015 The Metropolitan Pavilion New York, NY www.cinegearexpo.com info@cinegearexpo.com

Markee2.0

April 2015

volume 30 | Number 1

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

co n t e n t s w w w. m a r k e e m a g a z i n e . c o m

18 fea tu res

Equipment

NAB 2015 Preview

NAB attendees can use this article to get a head start on convention planning, while non-attendees can keep pace with manufacturers’ latest product briefs. By Cory Sekine-Pettite

Sound for Film

Changing the Soundscape An interview with Frank Morrone of MPSE By Tom Inglesby

Lighting

Diffusion in the Digital Age: Cinematic Lighting in 2015

There’s something comforting in the knowledge that amid so many revolutions in technology, the actual physics of lighting will never change. By Joel Holland, CEO, VideoBlocks

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Film • Video • A nimation • Audio • Locations • People

Markee2.0

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

Markee 2.0 is a results-driven magazine that has been published since December 1985. A nationwide survey of film and video industry professionals revealed that Markee 2.0 is at the top of their must-read list. Editorially, Markee 2.0 offers a wide range of content tailored for its diverse readership. Features span film and video production and postproduction topics to include must-read interviews with leaders in the creative community, the latest equipment and technology news, perspectives on innovative independent filmmaking, and in-the-trenches reports on shooters, editors, animators and audio pros – plus regularlyscheduled specialty supplements. Markee 2.0’s seasoned writers know the industry inside-out. That’s what makes Markee 2.0 compelling, informative and timely reading.

www.markeemagazine.com

feature s

Business

Three-Steps to get Clients to Come to You Regardless of how good you are at your work, if you can’t get clients to hire you, all your talent, hard work and experience are wasted. By Jay Huling

Cinematography

Support Your Local Camera

As digital moves toward higher resolution, slight movement is dramatically enhanced, and close-ups are ruined if there is the slightest shaking. By Thomas H. Byrd

Spotlight: Southeast

Tales from Two Cities

Two Southern producers tell their stories with different approaches and timelines. By Tom Inglesby w w w. m a r ke e m a g a z i n e .c o m

[On The Cover]

Shot in a church in Hilversum, Netherlands, Nederland Zingt (The Netherlands Sings) TV show used Egripment’s Xtreme T12 Carbon Fiber Telescoping Crane and HotShot Remote Head.

April 2015

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Markee2.0

from the editor

Film • Video • Animation • Audio • Locations • People

| By Tom Inglesby

www.markeemagazine.com LIONHEART PUBLISHING, INC. 506 Roswell Street, Suite 220, Marietta, GA 30060 Tel: 770.431.0867 Fax: 770.432.6969 E-mail: lpi@lionhrtpub.com www.markeemagazine.com

Tab, You’re It

Publisher John Llewellyn llewellyn@lionhrtpub.com

If you are reading this on a tablet or a smartphone, you are among the majority. Not that we’ve done a survey or anything, it’s just the idea that busy people, unless they are tied to a desk—like us writers—are more likely to use a portable device for their communications and information. At work on a set, a far-flung location, or post-production studio means you don’t have the luxury of a 20-inch monitor and tower case computer. Not that you need one; today’s laptops are as powerful—often more powerful—than a desktop and a lot more portable. But the true portable computer has become the tablet. What Apple tossed into the mix, the iPad, has spawned a new generation of flat screens-with-computing that come in so many sizes there is one for every possible pocket. As tablets get bigger, smartphones follow suit. The Samsung Galaxy Note, my phone of choice, has a screen bigger than some tablets. It makes these old eyes suffer less strain when reading texts—as one pre-teen said, “Who calls on a phone anymore?”—and offers a reasonable alternative to the tablet for daily, on-the-go communications and information gathering. Years ago, when the iPad was the supposedly only game in town for tablets, my wife was in China and bought me an “iPad” on a Shanghai street corner. Her thinking was, iPads are assembled in China so seconds and rejects easily find their way into the black market. And the price, about $125 after currency conversion, was much better than the $600-plus for the U.S. marketed version. And it had the Apple logo on the back! What could go wrong? Fired up, it turned out to be an Android OS tablet with minimal memory and almost no apps available. And, of course, no service, warranty or support in the United States (probably none in China, either). So much for bargain hunting. Today, I have tablets of various screen sizes to choose from, depending on the reason I’m carrying one. Trade show? Take the iPad—a real one—to show Markee digital edition to exhibitors. Conference? Go with the Samsung Galaxy Tab. The 7-inch screen is fine and the tablet fits in a pocket instead of a case. Mixing operating systems is no longer a problem as almost every app is replicated on iOS and ‘Droid. There comes a time when the technology we employ dictates the way we do business. The printing press allowed the newspaper industry to develop; radio begot television. The Internet has caused any number of changes in how we approach communications. Markee, like every magazine, has long been part of that technological advance with a digital edition you can read on a tablet—or smartphone—and a website, blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts, and every possible other social media method known to Western civilization. Some of which this old guy never heard of before! To paraphrase an old quotation, “The handwriting is on the tablet.” Markee is moving its magazine to this fully digital edition format in 2015; the last paper printed version, Winter 2014-15, soon will become a collector’s item, I’m sure. If you attend NAB this year, be sure to pick up a copy and preserve it for generations to come. I can hardly wait to see what those collector issues will be selling for on eBay!

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Editor/Associate Publisher Tom Inglesby tom@markeemagazine.com Executive Editor Cory Sekine-Pettite cory@lionhrtpub.com Director of Sales and John Davis Marketing Companies L-Z jdavis@lionhrtpub.com 770.431.0867, ext. 226 Advertising Sales Aileen Kronke Companies A-K aileen@lionhrtpub.com 888.303.5639, ext.212 Art Director Alan Brubaker albrubaker@lionhrtpub.com Assistant Art Director Jim McDonald jim@lionhrtpub.com Online Projects Manager Patton McGinley patton@lionhrtpub.com

Assistant Online Leslie Proctor Projects Manager leslie@lionhrtpub.com

Marketing/Reprints Kelly Millwood kelly@lionhrtpub.com Subscriptions Amy Halvorsen amyh@lionhrtpub.com

Markee 2.0 (ISSN 1073-8924) is bi-monthly digital publication published by Lionheart Publishing, Inc.

Subscription Information – For a free subscription to Markee 2.0 and Markee 2.0 eNews, sign up at: www.markeemagazine.com Click on Subscriptions. Copyright © 2015 by Lionheart Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. The copyright owner, however, does consent to a single copy of an article being made for personal use. Otherwise, except under circumstances within “fair use” as defined by copyright law, no part of this publication may be reproduced, displayed or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner, Lionheart Publishing, Inc. Send e-mail permission requests to cory@lionhrtpub.com. Disclaimer – The statements and opinions in the articles of this publication are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Lionheart Publishing, Inc. or the editorial staff of Markee 2.0 or any sponsoring organization. The appearance of advertisements in this magazine is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval of the products or services advertised.

Film • Video • A nimation • Audio • Locations • People

NAB

PREV 6 | Markee 2 .0

April 2015

Film • Video • A nimation • Audio • Locations • People

2015

VIEW NAB attendees can use this article to get a head start on convention planning, while non-attendees can keep pace with manufacturersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; latest product briefs. By Cory Sekine-Pettite

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Equipment

Aframe

Andra Motion Technologies

(Booth #SL10210) www.aframe.com Aframe

Andra ARC Controller

Aframe will launch the next generation of its cloud video collaboration platform. Aframe enables teams to upload, transcode, and store video footage, organize content and collaborate across locations and time zones at every stage of the production media lifecycle. Aframe’s secure platform is designed to handle large volume, multi-format broadcast quality content and is trusted by some of the world’s largest organizations, broadcasters, and producers. Aframe’s 2015 Spring Release will include expanded search and discovery features, enhanced multimedia format handling for non-video assets such as audio files, graphic files and documents, and a new approvals workflow for more streamlined feedback between users. The new release is designed to make the management of professional video and production assets more efficient, accessible, and cost-effective.

The 2015 NAB Show will feature an Aerial Robotics and Drone Pavilion.

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(Booth #C6819) www.andra.com

April 2015

Canadian high-tech film and video technology start-up Andra Motion Technologies will show its next-generation auto-focus system for film and TV professionals. The new automated focus system, first shown at last year’s NAB event, uses motion-tracking to follow subjects in the scene and maintain sharp focus on them in real time. “We showed our prototype system at NAB last year, and the response was incredible,” says Andra CEO Julian Taylor. “We’ve had film studios, directors, and TV producers knocking on our doors ever since, but we wanted to get the product just right. This year, we’ll be showing a system that tracks several moving objects at the same time and allows you to remotely switch focus between them instantly, even if the camera is moving as well.” Also new this year are refinements in Andra’s iPad app controller for the system, a wider operation range, and more features in the dedicated ARC hand control unit, which offers focus-pull operators a range of manual focus-control options. Systems will be available for various applications, including studio setups and small, highly portable run-andgun documentary or action-sequence work with film or video cameras.

The DJI booth from the 2014 NAB Show.

Film • Video • A nimation • Audio • Locations • People

Cooke Optics (Booth # C8643) www.cookeoptics.com Cooke Optics, the multi-award winning manufacturer of precision lenses for film and television, has pledged to start shipping the 25mm and 135mm Anamorphic/i lenses by NAB 2015. The new lenses, announced at IBC 2014, will further enhance the range, which currently includes 32mm, 40mm, 50mm, 75mm and 100mm models. At NAB 2015, Cooke also will present its 5/i prime lenses, the S4/i series and the increasingly popular miniS4/i range. In addition, the latest products in the Cooke Metrology range will be available for demonstration.

Corning (Booth #SL13718) www.corning.com Corning will showcase one of its latest innovations — Optical Cables by Corning — which are designed to help broadcasters and other A/V professionals create, move, and manage data for these high-bandwidth applications in a more flexible, efficient, and durable way. The cables the first all-optical fiber cables for the Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 communities, and are available in lengths spanning up to 60 meters. These cables allow for data transfer speeds up to 10 Gb/s through Thunderbolt technology, up to 20 Gb/s through Thunderbolt 2, and up to 5 Gb/s through USB 3.0 and 2.0 technology. The cables are thin, light and remarkably tough — they can be bent, squeezed, and tangled. Optical Cables by Corning also are 50 percent smaller, 80 percent lighter, and still stronger than comparable copper cables, making them ideal for 4K and 8K video production environments such as location work and studios.

Dalet Digital Media Systems (Booth #SL4525) www.dalet.com Dalet Digital Media Systems is gearing up to showcase its latest future-proofing broadcast and media solutions at this year’s NAB Show. On trend with the demand for UHD content, brand new at the show will be the upcoming Dalet AmberFin 10.6, which introduces support w w w. m a r ke e m a g a z i n e .c o m

for high-quality down-conversion from UHD to HD/ SD in Dalet AmberFin Dark. Dalet Brio 3.1 will bring video over IP support, pioneering the facility of the future. The industry-leading Dalet Galaxy platform continues to foster collaboration in MAM-driven news, sports and production workflows, while the latest additions to the Dalet On-the-Go mobile app enhance remote and mobile collaboration. In its 25th anniversary, Dalet also will be highlighting its brand new, free education platform for media industry professionals, the Dalet Academy. Bringing exciting and impartial presentations live to the NAB stage, show attendees can engage face-to-face with Dalet’s industry insiders on the issues that matter to media professionals.

DVEO (Booth # SU6605) www.dveo.com DVEO GNAT

DVEO will demonstrate the broadcast standard version of its miniature 1080p HD camera, featuring 29.97/59.94 fps in addition to 30/60 fps. The 2.1 megapixel CMOS camera is just 1.66 x 1.14 x 1.14 inches and weighs approximately 1.41 ounces. The socalled GNAT features a built-in OSD (on screen displays) joystick and a 1/3-inch progressive scan CMOS sensor. The DSP chip-based camera is available in cased or board versions, with prices starting at under $500. A broadcast standard version is available with 29.97/59.94 fps. All versions of the camera output NTSC or PAL video. The cased version ships with a tripod adapter, universal power supply, and control cable. The GNAT features WDR (Wide Dynamic Range), AGC (Automatic Gain Control), Dynamic Motion Detection (8 zones, up to 1980 blocks), digital zoom, and defog. April 2015

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Equipment

Egripment (Booth #C8612) www.egripment.com Egripment Support Systems, manufacturer of highend camera support systems and remote broadcast solutions for the film and broadcast industries, is unveiling its new 205/D Digital Remote Head for modern, smaller cine and ENG cameras at NAB for the first time. Following in the footsteps of the company’s well-regarded 306/D Digital and Encoded Remote Camera heads and systems, the 205/D offers the same exacting precision and smoothness in a smaller and lighter design, providing users an affordable solution into virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR) production. The company also will present a variety of other new products, including the 336/DCM and 336/TPM for use with the 205/D and 306/D, the 225 G-Track Generic Tracking System, TDT Remote Crane System, Universal Dolly, Focus Dolly and ProTraveller System.

Facilis Technology (Booth #SL8811) www.facilis.com TerraBlock

through Facilis’ Shared File System. TerraBlock shared storage enables collaborative workflows with all popular editing platforms and supports a wide range of industry-standard creative applications and formats including full 4K DPX.

FOR-A (Booth #C5117) www.for-a.com FOR-A will showcase the latest version of its 4K highspeed camera, multi-viewing and signal processing technology, and a variety of video switchers, including the new HVS-2000. The HVS-2000 is a flexible SD, HD, 3G and 4K video switcher that allows up to 48 inputs/18 outputs or 40 inputs/22 outputs. The unit features exclusive features unique to other switchers in its class, including the introduction of MELite, which allows a traditional AUX bus to transform into a functional M/E with cut, mix, wipe and key control; ONStage, a newly developed technology designed specifically for staging events where multiple image magnification displays are used; and FLEXaKEY, which allows operators to tailor their production needs by adding and moving key and DVE layers to traditional M/E resources or to MELite resources. On the camera front, FOR-A will introduce the newest version of its 4K variable frame rate camera, the FT-ONE-S. The new 4K camera allows operators to separate the camera head from the body for exceptional mobility. Capable of shooting up to 360 frames per second (fps), the FT-ONE-S enables unprecedented shooting positions and camera angling for live sports and events.

FUJIFILM, Optical Devices Division (Booth #C7025) www.fujifilmusa.com At NAB 2015, Facilis will showcase significant innovations to its TerraBlock shared storage system. Upcoming releases of TerraBlock will include scaleout features for larger workgroups, integrated asset tracking, improved interoperability with third-party applications, and performance enhancements for resolution independent workflows. Facilis TerraBlock is a multi-platform, high-performance shared storage solution built for post-production and content creation. Flexible connectivity options include 4/8/16Gbps Fibre Channel and 1/10/40Gbps Ethernet 10 | Markee 2 .0

April 2015

The Optical Devices Division of FUJIFILM North America will show off its range of lenses, including its latest Cine-Style, broadcast studio, and field lenses. The entire range of FUJINON Premier PL 4K+ cine lenses and the Cabrio cine/ENG-Style lens series will be on hand and demonstrated in a wide range of applications and on a variety of cameras. The entire range of Premier PL 4K+ cine lenses will be in the booth. The 14.5-45mm T2.0, 18-85mm T2.0, 24180mm T2.6, and 75-400mm T2.8-T3.8 will all be on display. All four PL Mount zooms are similar in size and weight, and uniform gear placement and front Film • Video • A nimation • Audio • Locations • People

barrel diameters (136mm). The latest addition to its popular series of cine zooms — the FUJINON Premier PL 25-300mm Cabrio — will be on hand, along with the rest of the Cabrio series. FUJINON’s popular Cabrio series includes: the new PL 25-300mm, PL 19-90, PL 85-300, and PL 14-28mm. The PL 1990, PL 85-300, and PL 14-35 Cabrio feature exclusive detachable servo drive units; the PL 25-300 servo is optional, making them suitable for use as a standard PL lens or as an ENG-style lens. And they can be controlled using cinema industry standard wireless controllers, as well as existing FUJINON wired and wireless units.

iZotope, Inc. (Booth #SL4330) www.izotope.com iZotope RX 4

JVC Professional Products (Booth #C4314) http://pro.jvc.com Come see the new 4KCAM camera line that provides high-quality HD and Ultra HD 4K acquisition for broadcasters, filmmakers and more. The flagship of JVC’s new 4KCAM product line, the GY-LS300, features a 4K Super 35mm CMOS sensor and MFT lens mount. JVC’s unique Variable Scan Mapping technology maintains the native angle of view for Super35, Super16, MFT, and other lenses. It also features built-in HD streaming and can record 4K Ultra HD or Full HD to SDHC/SDXC media cards. JVC’s most affordable streaming camcorder, the versatile GY-HM200, delivers 4K Ultra HD, Full HD, and SD imagery with a 1/2.3-inch BSI CMOS chip. It features a built-in 12x zoom lens with optical image stabilizer, color viewfinder and LCD display, dual XLR audio inputs, and integrated handle with hot shoe and dedicated microphone mount. The economical GY-HM170 offers a heavyduty body with professional controls. It records 4K Ultra HD as H.264 files, and can record HD and SD footage in a variety of resolutions and frame rates.

Matthews Studio Equipment (Booth #C5437) www.msegrip.com MSE MEGA Vator

iZotope, Inc., a leading audio technology company, will unveil new tools for post-production users at NAB 2015. These new tools are intended to help content creators deliver consistent and compliant levels, stems, and surround channels. iZotope also will showcase its RX 4 application, which has become an industry standard for audio repair and enhancement. NAB 2015 will be the first opportunity for the public to see the latest post-centric tools, intended to give editors and mixers more time for creativity. RX 4 helps editors save otherwise unusable audio from the cutting room floor. By reducing the need to re-voice via ADR (automated dialogue replacement), or scrap an otherwise great take in today’s reality shows, RX 4 helps preserve original performances by making it possible to use production dialogue. Further, iZotope will demonstrate RX Connect for the first time to NAB audiences, showing streamlined workflows between popular video and audio editing applications.

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Matthews Studio Equipment will be introducing the new series of VATOR III heavy-duty lighting stands at NAB 2015. The VATOR series of stands are always a staple support on productions around the world. This new, third generation of industry proven HD cranking stands will be available in six different models that range form a single riser LoBoy, through the CRANK and SUPER CRANKS — all the way to the new MEGA Vator (pictured) offering a 15-foot height and 200 pound capacity, says Robert Kulesh, VP of sales and marketing. All the new VATOR III stands from Matthews are manufactured in the USA of locally produced components and come with a three-year warranty.

April 2015

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Equipment

Miller Camera Support, LLC (Booth #C9520) www.millertripods.com Miller is showcasing its new, complete Cineline Tripod System, which features a new HD Mitchell Base 1-Stage Alloy Tripod and HD Alloy Ground Spreader to complement the previously introduced Cineline 70 Fluid Head and further expand the company’s range in the cinematographic market. Executives will be on-hand to discuss the latest products, designed to meet the demanding needs of cinematographers who desire speed, reliability, and consistency to be paramount.

Nila (Booth #C1724) http://nila.tv Making its debut at NAB 2015, Nila’s new Arina light is a one-to-one replacement for a 2,500-watt HMI while only drawing 800 watts. According to Nila, this fixture is the next-generation version of the company’s popular SL, but with greater punch, substantially less weight, and in a much narrower profile. This means that you can do away with all of the heavy cables, generator power, external dimmers, and frequent lamp replacement chores typically associated with HMIs. And, by drawing only 6 amps, multiple Arinas can operate on the same standard 20-amp circuit with enough output to light any stage or provide fill for the sunniest on-location shoots. Moreover, the new Arina still offers all of the same features found in other Nila lights such as on-board or DMX-controllable dimming, holographic lenses, and flicker-free operation for high-speed photography; all packaged in an inductively-cooled (no fan), durable, housing.

Pronology (Booth #SL12517) www.pronology.com Pronology continues to update its complete asset management platform to accommodate a larger base of users and workflows. This includes added HTML5 support in its video player, to additional record and import options. In addition, Pronology will highlight its custom-built ProStream encoders, which seamlessly records three tiers of video without missing a frame of action: a high-resolution media file, wrapped as an MXF OP1a, OP Atom or QuickTime, a lower resolution “edit proxy” and a live web-streamable proxy of multiple bit-rates.

Red Giant (Booth #S108LMR) www.redgiant.com Red Giant will showcase Magic Bullet Suite 12. Delivering a powerful color correction and grading experience, Magic Bullet Suite 12 includes an unprecedented number of new features and improvements to existing tools, and introduces the all-new Magic Bullet Film. Built on the same foundation as the award-winning Red Giant Universe, Magic Bullet Suite 12 includes GPU acceleration for Magic Bullet Looks, Colorista III, Mojo, Cosmo and Magic Bullet Film, bringing real time color correction and grading directly to the editing host application. “Magic Bullet Suite 12 is a return to our roots: powerful color correction with a focus on a simple and enjoyable user experience,” says Nate Sparks, Magic Bullet Suite product manager. “We stepped back and looked at every feature introduced over the years and asked, ‘How can this be better?’ Every tool has been optimized for the GPU, providing real time rendering and so much more.”

Don’t miss the StartUp Loft in the North Hall at NAB 2015, where attendees can get the first glimpses of technology from newly created companies.

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Film • Video • A nimation • Audio • Locations • People

RTW (Booth #C2134) www.rtw.com RTW is showing for the first time at NAB its new TM3-Primus, a unique combined USB, analog and digital compact loudness and level meter that meets worldwide standards. Designed for workstations, edit suites, musicians, and small site operations, TM3-Primus includes vectorscope, RTA, chart, and monitoring capabilities. Its touch screen allows vertical and horizontal operation. The company also is presenting its TMR7 TouchMonitor, a radio-dedicated loudness metering device that offers dual vectorscope and loudness mode for simultaneous display of program and pre-listening. The company’s Mastering Tools software DAW plugin for loudness, level and additional powerful audio analysis and mono-to-7.1 measurement for TV, radio and cinema also will be on display.

tery. Zylight also offers the F8-B, a black light version of its popular LED Fresnel, with a proprietary ultraviolet chip for true black light applications. With its patented flat focusing system and eight-inch SCHOTT glass lens, the F8-B is one of the only dedicated LED UV instruments on the market that delivers variable zoom control. Like other Zylight models, the F8-B features ZyLink wireless technology, which makes it easy to link multiple Zylights for simultaneous remote control, and full DMX operation.

Sound Devices (Booth #C6040) www.sounddevices.com Sound Devices will be featuring its latest 12-input field production mixer, the 688, with its integrated 16-track recorder, MixAssist™ auto-mixing capability, plus the SL-6 wireless system. With the SL-6 SuperSlot™ chassis, the 688 system provides tight integration and control of wireless manufacturers’ slot-compatible receivers with no cabling required.

A H I G H LY C U R AT E D C O L L E C T I O N O F T R A C K S FROM THE WORLD LEADER IN SONIC BRANDING™

Zylight (Booth #C8043) www.zylight.com Zylight will introduce a new on-camera light. The company also will demonstrate the IS3c, a high-output light that can serve as a background color wash light or as a wide soft light. It features built-in controls for adjusting color temperature, color correction, and Zylight’s Color Mode, which produces millions of colors without gels or filters. The F8 LED Fresnel, which collapses to four inches thick for easy transport and storage, is ideal for run-and-gun shooting. It is water resistant (IP54) and can be powered by a worldwide AC adapter, or even standard 14.4V camera batw w w. m a r ke e m a g a z i n e .c o m

C L I E N TS I N C L U D E : A L J A Z E E R A , AS S O C I AT E D P R E S S , AXS TV, C CT V C H I N A , C N N , E S P N , F OX , H D N E T M OV I E S , I O N , N B C, TO P R A N K B OX I N G & M O R E

2 1 4 . 72 6 . 1 0 1 0 / 8 0 0 . 5 37. 5 8 2 9 / s t e p h e n a r n o l d m u s i c . c o m / v a u l t

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April 2015

Markee 2 .03/23/15 | 13 1:27 PM

An interview with Frank Morrone of MPSE An interview with Frank Morrone o An interview with Frank Morrone of MPSE With Tom Inglesby

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Film • Video • A nimation • Audio • Locations • People

[Left] Frank Morrone at work doing a mix at Technicolor Studios.

CHANGING THE SOUNDSCAPE Frank Morrone president of MPSE

of MPSE

Frank Morrone wears several hats; he is an award winning Hollywood audio professional who has mixed sound for high profile television shows and movies including The Strain, Boss, Sleepy Hollow, and the Oscar-winning When We Were Kings. He is President of the Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) and has served as a Governor for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Morrone is a member of the Recording Academy and has served on the Board of Directors for the Cinema Audio Society. All in all, a sound guy first and foremost. w w w. m a r ke e m a g a z i n e .c o m

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Sound for Film

[Bottom Left] The Nagra portable tape recorder, in mono or two-track, was the workhorse for sound engineers in the 1960s.

[Bottom Right] A virtual audio console is one feature of Avid Pro Tools

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“I’ve been working in film since mag, then 24-track interlock, and from there to the DA-88s and digital dubbers,” Morrone recalls. “Now we are in Pro Tools land. The changes have been substantial in a fairly short period of time. And the changes keep on coming. The big changes now are just in workflow because our track counts are getting bigger, and our budgets are getting smaller, and our times are getting shorter. That’s been the biggest change.” The computer has, indeed, taken over the processing of audio for film. “It’s all in Pro Tools,” acknowledges Morrone. “Even composers are all in Digital Performer and converting everything to Pro Tools for deliverables to the mix stage.” Silly question: Are there things that have transpired with the equipment on the set; the microphones, the recording equipment? “Most certainly!” is his response. “Going from the Nagra days, we went to eight-track recorders, and now to the new Dolby Atmos capabilities. I was looking at a recorder that Sound Devices is putting out, a 64-track recorder for use on production sets. We’ve gone from a single boom and a lav to 64-track capability; that’s huge.” The impact on production mixers has been equally great. “Their carts have become very, very sophisticated. I’ve been on sets where some of the transmitters they have on the lavs, the custom carts that they’ve built, the custom antennas that they’ve built to work with the number of wireless mics that they employ, are phenomenal. Production mixers have had to get very, very hip to technology, and it’s really impressive how they’ve adapted.” Audio people are creative and innovative, just like their counterparts behind the cameras. “A couple of years ago, in Los Angeles, CAS held a parade of carts,” Morrone remembers. “We had 14 production mixers bring their carts to a set, and it was amazing to see how 14 different production mixers had 14 totally different carts. Some were on hard disk recorders. Some were in Pro Tools. There were no two carts that were identical. They were all like fingerprints. It was interesting to see how everybody really adapted their way of working with whatever technology they wanted to use.” All the technology on a set points to heavier bandwidth needs and more computer power and that’s true of audio, as well. Morrone agrees, “Absolutely. Our computers need to operate at much higher speeds and handle much higher loads. We are getting up to 500 tracks of audio playing at one time. So Pro Tools has developed HDX cards, which are fantastic and much more powerful than the previous generation, the HD cards. With TDM systems, you were limited to how many voices you could have in Pro Tools. Now you can just deploy as many of these cards as you need, and every card gives you 256 voices per card. It’s pretty amazing.” He continues, “Most of the processing power is on the card itself, so it doesn’t tax your computer’s processor so much. One generation ago, Pro Tools cards were doing a lot of the processing but so was your computer. Sometimes you would

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get that “wheel of death” on the Mac that we all so often fear; the rainbow spinning wheel of death, as we call it.” Years ago, the audience wasn’t too concerned about the quality of sound in a film. It was possible to create sound on film that was much better than the reproducing capabilities of the theater. Then Ray Dolby came along and changed everything. Newer technologies are making the delivery systems, whether in theaters or in 4K television set, so much better that the original audio on the set has to be that much better. “No question about it,” Morrone says. “The analog-to-digital and the digital-to-analog converters have gotten so much better over the years, and they’re recording at higher sample and bit rates. Now the norm is 24-bit 48K. That’s just the norm. The tools are there.” But tools are not always enough to overcome the barriers faced on real-world sets. “Production recordings are limited by the location,” admits Morrone. “If you’re shooting under the Brooklyn Bridge, there’s very little you can do about the ambient noise. There are ways to overcome that problem but it makes it that much more difficult when your ambient noise is 85 dB to start with.” The current and next generation of audio engineers will have more technology to apply than ever before. But knowing when and how to apply it is going to make some winners. “I think the tools that people now have at their disposal are so much more than what we ever had—and there are so many new ones coming. The challenges aren’t with the gear; the challenges now are with workflow, just being able to do work quickly and still produce the quality that the client demands. The audience has gotten used to a much higher quality in their movies so that’s the challenge for everybody on the set. We’ve evolved to where we are now and somebody just coming into the business might not have the background old timers have—I’m not sure if they appreciate it as much as guys that have come up through mag. But whether they appreciate it or not, they have fantastic tools at their disposal right now.” As the technology has evolved, so too have the educational approaches. Let’s hope that those entering the field take the time to learn the basics before jumping into the deep end. “You have to understand where you’ve been to know where you’re going,” counsels Morrone. “I think they should touch mag, they should know what a splicer is; it’s important to have a feel and a sense of how sound developed. I think that the teachers that I’ve seen at these schools are teaching them about signal flow and not overloading one stage of a preamp or any stages of the signal chain. That was one of the first things I learned, signal flow through a console. How to set up your line inputs and preamps on the microphones, keeping things all at unity so nothing would overload one stage or another.” He adds, “I’ve done a lot of lectures, at universities and schools like Full Sail, and I think the kids are pretty sharp. I love it when I see how enthusiastic they are. When somebody is enthusiastic and wants to do the job right, I get encouraged, because I see both ends of it. You can also tell the students that are not as enthusiastic and may have a tougher time with it. Then there are the ones that are really sharp and on top of it. That makes me realize, the industry will be in good hands.” w w w. m a r ke e m a g a z i n e .c o m

[Above] Avid Pro Tools creates a virtual sound studio on screen.

[Below] Sound Devices’ 970 records 64 channels of monophonic or polyphonic 24-bit WAV files from any of its 144 available inputs.

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Diffusion in the Digital Age:

CINEMATIC LIGHTING IN 2015 There’s something comforting in the knowledge that amid so many revolutions in technology, the actual physics of lighting will never change.

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Joel Holland, CEO, VideoBlocks

Memory cards, editing software, and LCD refresh rates all will get faster, and yet the speed— and nature—of light will remain constant. This is why the least realistic element from The Hunger Games franchise isn’t in its force fields, genetically engineered wasps, or capricious love triangles, but in its depiction of futuristic camera equipment that’s a giant step backward from what we have in place today. Those multi-lens cameras with small, subject-facing spotlights might make for great set decoration in the movies, but they’d result in some awfully hard and unflattering light if ever actually used—even in an age when editing might take place by way of hologram. No one can say for sure what the state of lighting will look like that far in the future—dystopian or not—but it’s not likely to take the form of precise camera-mounded LED cannons. Those would be ill-advised for most applications even today.

[Above Top] A scene from The Hunger Games, Catching Fire

[Left] A scene from Barry Lyndon w w w. m a r ke e m a g a z i n e .c o m

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Lighting

[Bottom] A scene from Eyes Wide Shut

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Ask what is actually trending in 2015 and you are bound to hear three words: the film look. Those are, of course, the same three words you might have heard 10 years ago, but their meaning has changed drastically over time, as has the modern face of film and the lighting processes behind it. In the days of Technicolor, achieving the film look meant flooding the set with enough light to mimic the surface of the sun—in terms of both heat and illumination. Splitting light between separate film stocks to capture red, blue, and green light individually meant abandoning the subtleties passed down from black and white pictures in favor of wall-to-wall brightness. Go back and watch The Wizard of Oz (1939) with an eye for hotspots, and it’s easy to understand why there are stories of those on set suffering permanent eye damage. Conversely, look toward most of the romantic comedies shot throughout the last three decades, and the film look changes to take on the meaning of heavy kickers and hair lights. The look many filmmakers are seeking across the board in 2015 and for the foreseeable future are neither of these. Instead, it’s a look of natural realism and believability. Perhaps more accurately, it’s not actually the look of film that’s become so popular today, but the look of lighting techniques that developed from classical painting, long before the advent of high-voltage floods. Behind the camera, this translates to fewer high-power key lights and a lot more gentle diffusion positioned in ways to mimic the temperature and direction of existing ambient light. If you had to describe the state of digital lighting in a single phrase, it would be “artificial lighting that doesn’t look like artificial lighting.” Instead of lighting for the script, more and more filmmakers are lighting for the actual sun and the windows it shines through, aiming not to modify or interrupt the existing light present on location, but to enhance its natural characteristics. In 2015, whether you’re using one light or 12, the path to maximum appeal through lighting is no doubt that of widespread diffusion. That doesn’t

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necessarily mean dropping your rim lights, but it might mean toning them down through an extra stop or two of fabric. This requires some delicate balancing, of course, when taking into account the rise of ultra-portable equipment such as the newest crop of LED panels. Sure, the softest and gentlest of light might come most easily from large surfaces, but it still can be achieved through other means. It’s for this reason that nearly as many filmmakers seeking the film look are simultaneously vouching for the utility of LEDs and rightly so. With its economy of power and portability, LED lighting is for many the next generation of digital lighting. Crucially, the best lighting for any scene is the lighting you actually have with you on scene, and this is where today’s LED options truly shine. Levels of illumination that formerly required a truck and a generator can now fit into a backpack. Add some strategic light panels to your kit, and you’re likely to find yourself shooting in times and places beyond the boundaries of your heavy, grid-dependent workhorse—and that’s a good thing. Even when the results are harder-than-optimal lighting, smaller sources are better than none. The current generation of stick-anywhere flat panels can bring light into new areas previously off limits. Don’t have the budget to slice a car in half or mask out windshield reflections? Placing a few small light panels on the dashboard can make the inside of a car camera ready in minutes. Add the dimming capabilities of LED lighting and the ability to alternate between lighting temperatures without gels, and it’s easy to see why LEDs have become the lights of choice for many filmmakers, and the secondary lights of choice for many more. Their versatility, once again, makes them particularly suited for the filmmaker shooting for stock who can benefit more than most from portability and flexibility. Still, some filmmakers are better served staying with more classic (e.g., Kino or Fresnel) options, as it takes something stronger than LEDs to light a football field or even a large room if mimicking daylight. While LEDs are admirably economical in power, their output is economical as well and simply can’t match that of more traditional light sources. Granted, today’s sensors work wonderfully in low-light scenarios, but another challenge of modern lighting is balancing ISO versus latitude and illumination. Fullframe and 4K sensors can yield phenomenally clean footage when pushed to high ISOs—most notably when paired with the power of RAW recording formats—but it’s often preferable to push the limits of your lighting equipment rather than pushing your film speed. Particularly when shooting stock, you want both minimal noise and enough latitude for others to grade your footage to suit their needs, which can sometimes require reeling in your film speeds and stopping down a bit. We’ve come a long way since the days when Stanley Kubrick used f/0.7 lenses designed for NASA moon missions to shoot the lowlight candle scenes for Barry Lyndon (1975), but Kubrick had a championship lighting team behind him and had to fight against some very shallow depth of field. When he shot the lowlight scenes for Eyes Wide Shut (1999) nearly a quarter century later, he still went without direct key lighting, but put less pressure on his camera and lenses by placing small sources of illumination all around. The results, in either case, are nothing short of “painterly,” and make great arguments against the constant need for assertive key lighting. If Kubrick was able to achieve soft realism by way of candles and Christmas lights, there’s no reason it can’t be achieved with today’s LEDs, or a Kino or two dialed down through some creative diffusion. There never has been a better time to add to your revenue by shooting stock footage or placing your outtakes into stock, which, by nature, must appeal to multiple uses and genres. Want to increase your sales of stock footage? Try increasing the degree to which it plays nicely with other footage. Even when expertly lit, the best high-key lighting often will take a back seat to the best soft lighting when packaged as B-roll, merely because the latter is adaptable to more types of use.

Joel Holland is the founder and chief executive of Reston, Va.-based VideoBlocks, a subscription-based provider of stock video and one of the fastest-growing tech start-ups in the region, according to Deloitte Technology Fast 500. w w w. m a r ke e m a g a z i n e .c o m

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THREE-STEPS TO GET

CLIENTS TO COME

TO YOU Regardless of how good you are at your work, if you can’t get clients to hire you, all your talent, hard work and experience are wasted. By Jay Huling

New business is the life blood for everyone from the full-service production facility to the solo professional with a camera, grip gear, or makeup kit. The good news? Your lack of success chasing clients is probably not your fault. You’ve simply been taught the wrong way to market your business; the way you’ve seen everybody else do it; the way that doesn’t work. Hoping word-of-mouth gets you more work is a prayer, not a plan. If you are sick and tired of the frustrating parade of pitches, networking, cold calls, and all-nighters preparing RFP responses that never lead anywhere, I’ve got three steps you can take to stop chasing clients and to start attracting them to you. It’s as easy as Who, What, and Where.

Step #1: Decide Who You Want to Hire You Who wants you, and why should they hire you? If you’re doing things the wrong way, you’re trying to answer that question through a proposal, a reel, or a resumé. That puts the focus on you. Forget about you. Yes, eventually you’ll need to show your stuff, if asked, but save it for later. This isn’t a beauty pageant or a chest-thumping contest. Your potential client honestly doesn’t care about you right now. w w w. m a r ke e m a g a z i n e .c o m

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Business “I’ve never gone into the office anticipating the next great resumé to arrive in my inbox, and yet I hire crews all the time for our projects,” says Steve McMillan, owner and director of photography at Advantage Video Production. “I expect your reel to be good. I expect your references to rave about you. Those things are prerequisites. The real trick is getting my attention in the first place.” You need to show up differently. That doesn’t mean you have to do anything crazy, but thinking that your reel, resumé, or proposal is “so good it sells itself” is fool’s folly. That’s what all the out-of-work people do. Instead of trying to sell yourself to everybody, what you need is specific “bait” to a specific somebody. For years, I’ve sold my marketing services with a piece entitled 5 Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Freelance Copywriter. It’s now a full-color brochure, but it started out as a simple black and white report printed and bound on plain paper. Yours doesn’t have to be expensive. What it does have to be is relevant to your prospect’s interests, wants, and needs. I suggest you use mine as your template and fill in the blanks appropriate for your business. For example: 3 Questions Every Producer Should Answer . . . 7 Mistakes Clients Make When Hiring a Film Crew . . . or 9 Secrets Your Video Editor Doesn’t Want You to Know. Next time, instead of listing all of your awards, clients, and experience in an industry directory, offer your free report. If yours has a compelling title that appeals to your prospects’ self-interest, they will ask for it. If you’re expecting your prospect to hire you on first contact, you’re asking them to take too big of a leap. But when you offer some kind of valuable information the prospect already wants, you set the stage for developing a relationship that will pay off with just a little follow up.

Step #2: Decide What Will Make Your Prospect Take Notice OK, you know whom you’re targeting—but what are you going to say? Are you just like everyone else? If so, your message will be easily ignored and soon forgotten. You need to be compelling, intriguing, and magnetic. “Realize that people judge you long before they meet you, so first impressions can make or break you,” says Genna Goodwin, production manager at Goodwin Production Services. “Production professionals want to work with people they know, like, and trust. So your first job—before you can think about even getting a job—is to earn that relationship so you’re taking away the natural risk people feel.” One of the unique messages that has served me well is my money-back guarantee—something unheard of from marketing professionals like me. Not only does no one else offer it, but most writers go out of their way to make excuses for why they can’t offer it. Yet, in my business, new clients often have this unspoken question in the back of their head: “What if we spend all this money and we don’t get any business?” My money-back guarantee assuages their fears. What’s your unique message? Regardless of whether or not others offer your exact same service, you can position yourself differently from your competition. Many writers could offer a money-back guarantee, but they don’t. That makes me unique. You can find that special something extra about you, too. What’s different about how you work, do business, create, or how you deliver your product or service? What industry norms do you break? Being good—or even great—simply isn’t good enough. There are too many other greats out there competing against you. You’ve got to set yourself apart. One way to create a more unique message is to narrow your market. Pick an exclusive niche and focus your marketing on it. Think about it; for example, if you specialize in shooting sales videos for banks, who do you suspect a 24 | Markee 2 .0

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bank is going to view more favorably—you or the guy who claims to shoot all things for everyone? If you’re trying to get noticed by anyone with a budget and a heartbeat, you’re watering down your appeal and making yourself just another vendor.

Step #3: Decide Where to Deliver Your Message When I was in kindergarten, my mother would pack my lunch and attach a little note on the dessert that read, “Eat me last.” Yes, she knew I’d want to dive into it first. Well, most professionals in the production industry have the same want. They first dive into the media they intend to use to deliver their marketing messages. They first create their reel, their website, or their presentation kit. Or, worse, they say, “We need more work. Let’s put an ad in the business journal.” That’s a big cart-before-the-horse mistake. There’s a reason this is step number three. After you’ve figured out who and what, you’re better equipped to make smart decisions about where. Let’s say you’ve chosen to offer a free report, and you know your message is something like this: “My free video production planning guide takes all the guesswork out of finding and hiring the right people to produce, shoot, and edit your next project. How to Make the Perfect Video Without Spending a Fortune and Without Getting Ripped Off gives you a step-by-step blueprint to make everything easy for you. To get your free production planning guide, simply call or email . . .” Now you can see how a simple postcard or display ad will work for you. Go ahead; use that copy as a template for your own messaging. Fill in the specifics of your offer and you’ll be off and running. Whether your message is more appropriate for print, broadcast, direct mail, or internet, your key to success is a well-thought-out follow up. “The last time we were looking to hire someone we received over 100 reels. Only two of those people ever followed up. We hired both of them,” says Brenda Kolb, president of TigerLily Media. “Sometimes taking extra steps to keep in touch in a non-pushy way makes all the difference.” If you’re not following up regularly and consistently, you’re losing projects to those who do. Those extra steps could be as simple as a friendly email every four to six weeks. Keep in mind, however, that everyone is getting increasingly more territorial about his or her email inbox and often resent it invaded with any kind of marketing message—even a friendly one. A good old fashioned letter in an envelope sent via the post office will work much better. Clip out an article in an industry magazine and send it along with a note that says something like, “Hey, John, I saw this article and thought of you. I think it’s something you’d like.” You can find non-irritating ways to keep in touch and keep your name top of mind when your prospect is looking to hire. Here’s the bottom line to all of this: Your prospects don’t owe you anything. They’re not required to pay any attention to you just because you want them to hire you. And they’re going to simply ignore the same old tired, empty, and ill-conceived attempts at marketing your services that they’ve seen a million times before. You need to walk in their shoes and present yourself to them using their wants, needs, and desires as your calling card. When you give your prospect the most relevant information he or she finds useful and memorable, you will convert more prospects into clients and get all the business you need.

Everyone is getting increasingly territorial about his or her inbox and often resents it being invaded with marketing messages.

Jay Huling is a direct response marketing specialist known as “The Consulting Copywriter” and has served as producer and scriptwriter for various corporate clients such as E! Entertainment Television, EverBank, MLB Network, and PitneyBowes. His popular marketing results newsletter The Huling Letter is published monthly. Click here to get a free copy of his audio CD How to Write Simple Sales Letters That Get Results Every Time.

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SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL CAMERA As digital moves toward higher resolution, slight movement is dramatically enhanced, and close-ups are ruined if there is the slightest shaking. Image quality improvements found in the various high-resolution digital formats—think UHD, 4K and 8K—demand higher stability of camera and lens. Any unintended movement is literally multiplied in the playback. Equipment companies have been working for years on enhancing their camera supports to compensate for this by employing the newest mechanical and digital technologies. When the camera is capable of defining every pore on the actor’s face, individual blades of grass in a field, or the pattern of a snowflake as it falls, the human element must be removed from the camera platform. We spoke with Boots, managing director of Egripment USA, to find out how camera support companies are changing their approach to make cinematography more stable. Egripment is a supplier of camera cranes, dollies, remote heads, and tracking devices with main offices in the Netherlands and U.S. offices in Knoxville, Tenn. Egripment received a Technical Achievement Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1983 for the design and development of the first modular crane system. “Technology is important when you want to make the shot,” Boots admits. “It’s easy to build inexpensive support equipment that may get you the shot you want—if you work long and hard enough—but the best supports have to be smooth and easy to use. Ever since remote heads came on the market about 25 years ago, we have ensured that ours have always been far smoother and more precise than any others on the market—especially at the slowest speeds where smoothness is critical.” We are seeing an increase in physically smaller cameras and compact equipment. “We have a full range of support systems—from very small jibs to 40-foot telescoping cranes—that we continually improve to keep up with the latest generation of productions,” says Boots. “Our main focus right now is to put more attention on the shorter-reach arms with lighter maximum loads, since that is the current direction in which camera and lens styles are heading. We’ve also seen an increase in demand for VR/AR [virtual reality/augmented reality] and we’ve developed full-scale encoded VR/AR systems.” He adds, “We do not add internal stabilization to our remote heads because we have found that other than for very specific types of moving shots, it tends to be counter-productive. Almost all remote-head stabilization systems are larger and heavier than necessary because they are trying to stabilize the entire package, rather than just the lens. While this is becoming more possible as the newer digital lenses are moving into cinematography, we will soon see a total changeover to internal lens stabilization. It just makes far more sense to stabilize only the weight of the internal components of the lens, rather than the entire remote head, camera and lens.” One of the first questions asked of any supplier to the industry is, “What’s coming that we should be aware of?” Information is critical to making decisions and you need to be ready for the newest products and enhancements. According to Boots, “The biggest thing for us right now is our new digital product offerings, which includes our VR/AR systems of cranes, jibs, remote heads, towers, tracking dollies and more. At NAB, we will introduce our new 205/D digital remote head, which can be used as a standard, standalone, manually operated remote head or fully integrated into our VR/AR systems. This smaller digital head can support many of the smaller digital cameras with the exact same precision as our 306/D and large analog heads.” w w w. m a r ke e m a g a z i n e .c o m

By Thomas H. Byrd

April 2015

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Spotlight

Southeast

TALES FROM TWO CITIES

Two Southern producers tell their stories with different approaches and timelines.

Producers tend to be different in how they approach their work, their stories, and their passions. Here are two that followed different paths to get very different stories out to the public, one in a feature, the other in a television documentary. Both worked hard and long, and both hope the results will get a message across to others.

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Special Delivery At Trailblazer Studios in North Carolina, Emmy-winning documentary producers Monica Lange and Bonnie Cutler-Shear developed and created Twice Born, a threepart documentary series for PBS. The series spotlights heartbreaking and life-affirming stories from inside the world’s leading fetal surgery center at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Lange served as producer/ director and Cutler as co-producer/editor. During the 14 months of filming, the Trailblazer crew was embedded at the hospital, capturing moments, conversations, and procedures that have never before been shown on television. It is the first series to be granted access inside CHOP’s Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment and its Special Delivery Unit. The title refers to the center’s procedures that allow doctors to operate on fetuses. “The idea to do a documentary about fetal surgeons had been in my head for several years,” recalls Lange. “When the right funders came along, I put it out there, and they bit right away. It took 10 months to get the hospital to agree to do the series, to negotiate access, and for the lawyers to work out all the details. We were also working on our contract with the network at the same time. It was a major commitment on the hospital’s part, and on ours.” How does a documentary crew deal with a long timeline when the events that are the basis of the program cannot be regulated? Lange says, “We were not on site all the time, but we made ourselves available on a moment’s notice during the 14 months. At one point, we spent 19 days in a hotel near the hospital waiting for a baby to be born. We had crew on call to be at the hospital and ready to shoot within 45 minutes—day and night—during that period.” Twice Born follows several families from around the country as they learn about medical challenges facing their unborn children, assess the options of prenatal surgery, and make decisions once their options are clear. Intimate medical consultations, decisions, and celebrations are part of each episode. The show also gives viewers a look at CHOP’s world-renowned medical staff as they navigate surgical team meetings, patient consultations, operating room drama, and their own sometimes-complicated home lives. “We had a very small crew,” notes Lange. “A cinematographer, soundman, and I were the ones shooting, and we had a production assistant/media manager with us who stayed in a ‘bunker’ that the hospital provided us as a kind of base. There were two cinematographers, Erin Harvey and John Rotan, involved during the 14 months due to scheduling demands.” A long-term project can make investors and the network nervous. Lange explains how they overcame that problem. “We did running post over the course of shooting so that the network could see what we were up to. It also helped us to figure out story: what we had, and what we needed. All the post-production happened at Trailblazers back in North Carolina. In addition to the editor, w w w. m a r ke e m a g a z i n e .c o m

[Above] The Trailblazer crew filming a fetal operation at CHOP.

Bonnie Cutler, we had a graphics person, four composers, media managers, and post-coordinators. Later on, a sound designer/mixer and online editor became involved. Editing and finishing took about 14 months.” Over the three-part series, viewers share in several touching stories: Lesly, a young, single mother, journeys to CHOP from California because her baby has developed an aggressive tumor in utero that threatens its ability to breathe or eat; Shelly and Bobby travel from Massachusetts after learning their baby has spina bifida, a debilitating condition that causes a range of problems including impaired mobility, hydrocephalus and a number of other lifelong challenges; Tina and Brion journey to the center from their home in Texas, seeking hope for their unborn twins diagnosed with the rare and dangerous twin-twin transfusion syndrome; and Geneva and Reggie travel from North Carolina after their unborn child develops a life-threatening urinary tract obstruction. “We filmed in the OR many times, including during fetal surgeries,” Lange says. “We observed the same precautions as the surgical staff. Most of the vérité shooting was done with the Sony F55 shooting in HD mode. We used the Canon 5D Mark III for the interviews. We only lit the interviews. The vérité was shot with available light.” April 2015

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Spotlight

Southeast

Common People, Dramatic Stories In Florida, two college students collaborated on MIAmi, a narrative feature film that follows the interconnecting lives of four young adults living in different neighborhoods of Miami, Fla. Tony, played by Greysun Morales, is a high school senior trying to figure out his next step in the midst of a rocky relationship with his mom. Laura (Laura Di Lorenzo) is a recent college graduate who has moved back home in the face of scarce job opportunities. Riccy Carabeo’s Juan is a telenovela actor balancing the comfort of local fame and aspirations for a greater career. And Marvin, as acted by Antonio Gonzales, is a through-and-through “Miami Boy” trying to become a rapper. All are learning what home means to who they are in a Miami where drugs, crime, and sunny beaches are all part of its complex nature. “The idea basically came together after realizing I wasn’t seeing any content in film and television that represented what I knew to be the reality of living in and interacting with the city of Miami,” explains Yesenia Lima, the producer. “Moreover, what I saw typically portrayed about being a Hispanic-American also didn’t line up with what I knew to be my experience and that of many others. So, given an opportunity to make a film, I knew I wanted to talk about those things and share an opportunity with others to join in on that conversation.” The film was shot on location around Miami with the help of local businesses such as Guayaberas Etc., The Bar Coral Gables, and Books & Books. All post-production work is being done with the assistance of University of Central Florida’s School of Yesenia Lima, producer Visual Arts and Design and Orlando Public of MIAmi Library’s Dorothy Lumley Melrose Center. Freelance director of photography Benjamin Michel wanted more creative expression than his first career path, drawing and painting, would allow and decided to begin pursuing film. “Film incorporates everything that I like about art,” Michel admits. “I became fascinated by images and how capturing images, especially moving images, can be such a powerful avenue of self-expression.” Michel earned a bachelor’s in Film from the University of Central Florida (UCF) and has been shooting films for seven years. At UCF, he met another film student, Yesenia Lima, with whom he has worked on a few projects over the years. Lima currently is obtaining a master’s degree in UCF’s Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema program. MIAmi was written to serve as her thesis film. When it came time to Benjamin Michel, shoot MIAmi, Lima asked Michel to be the cinematographer and DP on MIAmi film’s DP. 30 | Markee 2 .0

April 2015

[Above] Benjamin Michel, DP, follows one of the actors while filming MIAmi. The rig and small form factor of the camera helps in tight quarters.

“We had a production crew of 12,” recalls Michel. “They all had set positions but played multiple roles. We utilized two Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras for two-camera setups or splitting up into small teams to cover separate scenes or locations. During and after principal photography we had some 2nd unit photography done. Our principal camera was the Blackmagic Pocket but we also shot select sequences or segments using the Blackmagic Cinema Camera (2.5K model), Nikon D7000, Canon EOS 7D, and the Sony PMWF3. While there were multiple actors throughout the film, four were the main characters we focused on.” MIAmi was to be a feature film and therefore the two principles wanted it to have a “film feeling.” Michel acknowledges, “We wanted a filmic look where the viewer can’t tell that it was shot digitally. We thought the footage had the right feel and texture, and would help the film, which is about common people with dramatic stories, look more raw and real.” Michel used a Zacuto support rig with follow focus, a Sony V mount external battery for power on the A camera, several Pocket Cinema Camera batteries for the B camera and a small HD monitor. This small setup combined with the camera’s small form factor helped him shoot some of the film’s important scenes in the city of Miami. “There were many times where we had to be in and out of a situation quickly, or we were in a public space and we didn’t want to attract much attention,” Michel notes. “We didn’t want people stopping and asking us what we’re doing. For some of our more guerrilla-style shooting, the small form factor camera came in very handy. It was really discreet and it helped us keep a low profile when we needed to. It also handles low light well, changing digital noise to a film-like grain. This was helpful when we shot night scenes in the city where we utilized the ambient lights around us.” Whether using small footprint cameras to be less intrusive and more creative or larger units to get the best possible control over the shoot, producers and cinematographers all over the country have more choices than ever before to find a way to express their passions. Film • Video • A nimation • Audio • Locations • People

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Sarasota County Film Office

ILMMAKERS LOVE TO LEARN THAT SARASOTA COUNTY OFFERS A ONE-OF-A-KIND, UP-TO-100% CASH REBATE incentive program for projects of every budget. That’s helped to grow the number of productions served to over two thousand and the economic impact to more than $40 Million, since the Sarasota County Film & Entertainment Office (film commission) was created in 2007. Additionally, Sarasota County’s allure is its multiple “identities” of Paradise and The Cultural Coast of Florida, as productions often seek extraordinary locations and find those there. When it comes to “Paradise,” lots of places use the word without genuinely earning the title. What is Paradise? A place of beauty, extraordinary quality of life, enjoyment and delight, wonderful weather in a gracious environment, abundant amenities, stunning nature, stimulating arts and culture, plentiful pastimes and pursuits, recreation and relaxation, stunning visual elements…

In Sarasota County, Florida, on the west coast, they back up their “Paradise” claim with impressive reality, not just words. Repeatedly, geographic locations’ diversity surprises visitors. For example, Sarasota County’s #1 rated snowy white “sugar sand” beaches and miles of breathtaking sunsets into the pristine waters of the Gulf of Mexico along five barrier islands, draw devotees. A subtropical jungle with a winding river and a rope footbridge in the treetop canopy, surrounded by thousands of acres of hiking and biking, camping and exploring, as well as botanical gardens, fishing, boating, marinas, birding, kayaking and more, fill the hearts of outdoors/nature-lovers. Sports enthusiasts can find it all from more golf courses than they could ever likely play to tennis, cycling, swimming, baseball & softball, soccer, Bocce (even Pickleball!), to the more unusual pastimes of equestrianism, polo, cricket, skydiving, rowing, sculling, even the upcoming modern Pentathlon.

Architectural styles run the gamut from historic registry buildings to trapezoidal shapes, mid-century modern to 1920’s Venetian Gothic, Contemporary, Neoclassical, Georgian, Tudor and Mediterranean Revival, to pastel cottages and bungalows, bold ranches, mansions, and so much more. Sarasota County is also justifiably known as “The Cultural Coast.” Theaters and performing arts abound, feeding aficionados of circus, opera, ballet, Broadway, improv, contemporary and diverse live theater, orchestras and symphony, jazz, chorale, chamber music, classical, modern dance, concerts, and more. Festivals thrive, from film, food, wine, chalk street art, to multidisciplinary performance, Scottish Highlands games, and a parade of others. Embellish all of that with world-class Ringling Museum of Art, galleries, sculptures and statuary, and you have just a glimpse of Sarasota County.

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April 2015

Film • Video • A nimation • Audio • Locations • People

Ian Bryce kevin smith lee daniels tyler perry eva longoria brian grazer ilene chaiken danny strong gary lucchesi tracey edmonds bruna papandrea reese witherspoon marshall herskovitz