Tech Column

Ihad a chat with Brian Young at Vistek the other day about sliders. No, not those mini patties on mini buns so often served at those chi-chi parties I never seem to get invited to, but those essential cinematographic tools. Like most things cinematographic, they’ve gotten smaller, lighter and, thankfully, more affordable, he said, pointing to the Kessler line-up as probably the most popular among clients for both rental and purchase. “It’s a well-known North American premier brand which we carry exclusively,” he said, noting the Duzi from Cinevate, a Thunder Bay company, is their bestselling, ultra lightweight slider. “The Duzi is light and made of carbon fibre and has a heavy payload with an ultra smooth action, like glass; it’s a rare combination.” Sliders are popular because they give cinematographers the creative flexibility of a dolly without the work or expense, though they are clearly much more limited in how far they will extend. “Performance and weight are the issues with sliders,” Young said. “You want them to be reliable, and what’s important is that they break out of the case and get to work and that they’re easy to transport.” Cost is also a factor, and sliders start well below $1,000 and top out around $2,000 until you get into the servopowered options, which run several thousand dollars. The average length of a slider is around two to three feet, he said, with some shorter or longer on either side of that range. They’re quick to set up, take an almost infinite variety of camera rigs, and just

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as quick to take down and set up for the next shot. Veravon from Korea is another entrant in the affordable category, Young said, with an option for an arch slider, which is useful for shooting jewelry or other objects where the shot calls for an almost 360-degree view without using a turntable to add more visual interest. “For a small figure or something like that you can have a fairly large arc which is very smooth,” he said. Moving up the range, the Redrock Micro One Man Crew Director is turning a lot of heads because it’s a powered slider, and though expensive at US$2,450, it really does add a lot of options, especially those making documentaries with second-camera interview setups. Redrock Micro describes it as a “motorized parabolic slider which transforms your static shots with beautiful cinematic motion and includes unique features for dramatically improving interviews and ‘talking head’ videos, all without a dedicated operator.” The One Man Crew Director is just as it sounds – a second camera that can be automatically programmed to slide in or out from a two-shot to a cutaway without the need for a second operator. In keeping with servo-motor advances, it’s quiet and unobtrusive and sits on a pair of machined and curved aluminum rails with a smooth action geared to camera rigs up to 22 pounds. It is remote controlled so once set up it can be directed without the operator having to move from the main camera setup position and gives total control over the timing of the slide, meaning it can be directed to move in during a poignant stage of the interview as pacing requires. The manufacturer claims it will replace “static shots with smooth professional camera moves” while “delivering smooth camera movements outside of interviews, for b-roll, insert shots, product beauty shots, anywhere you use a tripod.” Young notes it sets up in a minute or so and has a laser-assisted system that sets point of focus and memorizes it. “It’s very popular for those doing a lot of interviews or if, for example, you’re doing the sports intro with star players, it gives the shot a lot of movement,” Young said. “You can even do an outer arc and set it up to make a running pan of the city as a backdrop if you want.” Finally, he said, Varavon also makes a totally cool “slider-type” product which is a wire cam system with an incorporated stabilizer. “The Wirecam has the camera hang below a rope which you can run several hundred feet,” Young said. “It can travel back and forth on this rope which is pretty much the same kind of rope you’d use for mountain climbing.” It tilts and pans 360 degrees, he said, and can be easily and safely set up for concerts, for example, to get that swooping bird’s-eye shot from the sound board to the stage across the top of the audience. He said it’s similar to Defy’s Dactylcam, which carries a 50-pound payload at speeds up to 40 mph over a 1200ft span (with the upgrades). While those rigs are in the US$5,000 to US$10,000 range to buy, prices have come down considerably as the technology evolves.

Ian Harvey is a Toronto-based journalist who writes for a variety of publications and covers the technology sector. He welcomes feedback and eagerly solicits ideas at ian@pitbullmedia.ca

Daniel Grant csc What films or other works of art have made the biggest impression on you?

My first real inspiration came from the images of Vittorio Storaro asc, aic even before I was really aware of what cinematography was. That was when I started to see lighting in cinema as a form of artistic expression. More recently, the Alex Colville exhibit at the AGO [Art Gallery of Ontario] was inspiring. I find Colville’s work to be incredibly evocative, and it often creates the feeling that something unsettling is hidden in plain view, causing you to look more closely at images of the everyday, which can also be a powerful idea in film language.

How did you get started in the business?

My interest started with still photography, and in high school I built a darkroom in my basement, which is where I really got excited about making images. I loved film, and at some point I realized there was actually a job that combined those two passions. After film school I started shooting short films and documentaries, while working as an electric to try to learn what I could from experienced cinematographers (which usually made me a very distracted electric).

Who have been your mentors or teachers?

Torben Johnke asc was my cinematography professor at Ryerson University, and the first thing he taught us was that

it didn’t matter so much what format you shot in, it was lighting and composition that mattered. Coming up in the indie film world, we were often figuring out creative solutions for working with limited resources, and I think I’ve learned the most from the technicians and directors I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with over the years. One bit of good advice I had early on was to work with people who are smarter than you whenever possible, and that’s served me well.

What cinematographers inspire you?

Storaro’s work on Apocalypse Now and The Last Emperor is something I revisit often for inspiration, and a more recent cinematographer whose work I admire is Bradford Young.

Name some of your professional highlights.

Getting to shoot features with Bruce MacDonald and Patricia Rozema, who were both filmmakers I had studied in film school. Both are directors that love to embrace the unexpected, and collaborating with them on those projects was a major step in helping me find my creative voice. And receiving nominations from the Canadian Society of Cinematographers has always been a big highlight for me. Winning the CSC student award after I graduated Ryerson, and being congratulated by all these established DPs (many of whom had won the same award when they graduated from film school) made me feel like I could someday join those ranks, so becoming a full CSC member was a milestone for me that was very meaningful.

What is one of your most memorable moments on set?

A lot of my favourite images that I’ve made started out as mistakes. I remember a big setup I did in a bar, which I had spent a while lighting. Right before we rolled, a circuit was tripped and all the lights went off but one. While the gaffer scrambled to figure out what went wrong, I was looking in the eyepiece and realized it looked much more interesting with most of those lights off, and so I learned an important lesson in lighting that day, which is that simple is often better.

What do you like best about what you do?

Often the most exciting moment for me on set is just operating the camera on a close-up during a moving performance. Patricia Rozema once told me the human face is the most cinematic thing you can put on the screen, and if I feel like I’ve somehow helped create the conditions to make it possible for the actors and director to do their work, and then capture it in a cinematic way, that’s a pretty exciting moment.

What do you like least about what you do?

There’s not much; as far as I can tell it’s one of the most fun jobs you can possibly have. But if there is one thing that I (and probably every other cinematographer) agonize over, it’s the lack of control over the conditions in which a finished film is viewed. You do your best, and beyond that you try not to think about whether every projector the film is seen on will be properly calibrated, or it will drive you crazy.

What do you think has been the greatest invention (related to your craft)?

Whatever format you’re shooting on, for me cinematography begins and ends with lighting. I’m excited by all the new technology that is being developed with LED lighting, which is allowing us to put light in places we never could before, but I think there will always be a place for the tungsten Fresnel for many years to come.

How can others follow your work?

My most recent feature, Into The Forest, has just been completed and will be in festivals this fall. And some of my work can be seen online at vimeo.com/ user1951641.

Selected credits:

Into The Forest, The Husband, What We Have, The Messenger, Guidance, Hotel Congress, Following Stars