Shot On Varicam Issue No. 4 by Panasonic Cinema

SHOT ON

ISSUE NO. 4

OZARK DP BEN KUTCHINS SHOOTS NETFLIX SERIES

SPOTLIGHT

EVA1 PROJECTS

BLOCKBUSTER FEATURE

CRAZY RICH ASIANS

CLASSIC REDUX

FAHRENHEIT 451

Welcome Letter It’s been two years since we launched the first issue of Shot On VariCam and the number of VariCam and EVA1 projects has greatly increased with each publication. For the Fall 2018 issue, we’re covering our most prestigious projects to date, including a box office blockbuster and Emmy®-award nominated projects for cinematography. Crazy Rich Asians, shot by DP Vanja Černjul, ASC, HFC in 4K VRAW with the VariCam Pure, has grossed more than $170 million at the domestic box office and is now the highest grossing romantic comedy in ten years. Černjul, who also shot HBO’s The Deuce on the VariCam 35, explains how the VariCam Pure’s versatility helped him in rough weather conditions and a very short shoot schedule. Cinematographer Ben Kutchins was recently nominated for an Emmy for his work on the season finale of the Netflix hit series, Ozark, shot on the VariCam 35. Kutchins created a unique look by designing a LUT to mimic an old Fujifilm stock that he shot stills with as a teen. HBO’s Fahrenheit 451 was nominated for Outstanding Cinematography For A Limited Series Or Movie and was shot by cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau, ASC. Morgenthau was impressed by the VariCam 35’s ability to capture extreme detail in low light. For one scene in the film, he explains how he lit actor Michael B. Jordan’s face with a single match. Earlier this year, we launched CineLive for the VariCam LT. The free firmware upgrade brings VariCam image quality and color science to multi-camera environments for live, or near-live, productions. DP Greg Wilson recently used four VariCam LTs with CineLive to capture Karate Combat: One World, a martial arts competition that was shot and broadcast live on the 102nd floor of New York City’s One World Trade Center. Utilizing the VariCam’s Dual Native ISO technology, the production was able to

capture a cinematic-looking sports event while still exposing the New York City skyline in the background. For the past year, the EVA1 has been one of the hottest cameras for indie filmmakers. In this issue, we’re covering several high-profile productions, including SAGE, filmmaker Gabe Dinsmoor’s short social justice documentary, which covers the Ceasefire Movement in Baltimore, Maryland. According to Dinsmoor, EVA1’s “image is cinematic and film-like, the color science is natural and pleasing, and the camera is lightweight, so you can go for hours shooting handheld run-and-gun style.” SAGE went on to win the top prize for non-fiction in our EVA1 “Share Your Vision” short film contest. A recent EVA firmware update enabled RAW output and with the release of ProRes RAW – a new format created by Apple and Atoms – the compact and lightweight EVA1 is even more powerful. We profile filmmaker Mike Steidley, who uses his EVA1 and Atomos Shogun Inferno to capture 5.7K ProRes RAW files that he works natively in Final Cut Pro X. With ProRes RAW and Atomos recorders, EVA1 proves to be one of the most affordable solutions for higher than 4K RAW capture. I can’t wait to see what projects 2019 has in store for the VariCam and EVA1 family.

Carter Hoskins

Director Broadcast/Cinema/Professional Video Systems

FREEDOM TO CREATE “Once you experience the flexibility and freedom the VariCam provides, it’s hard to go back. I no longer have to worry about light levels and I can quickly adapt to the changing environment or the project’s creative requirements.”

Vanja Černjul, ASC CINEMATOGRAPHER OF VARICAM-SHOT THE DEUCE, AN HB0 SERIES SHOT IN NEW YORK CITY, AND THE WARNER BROS. FEATURE FILM, CRAZY RICH ASIANS.

The VariCam lineup of professional cinema cameras is the ideal solution for cinema, television, commercial, documentary, and live event production. The lineup, which includes VariCam 35, VariCam LT, and VariCam Pure, features exceptional 4K image quality, accurate colors, 14+ stops of dynamic range, Dual Native 800/5,000 ISOs, and more.

CONTENTS ISSUE 4 4

6 12 18 24 28 34 40 42 44 46

OZARK

DP BEN KUTCHINS CAPTURES NETFLIX SERIES, OZARK, WITH VARICAM 35 CAMERAS

CRAZY RICH ASIANS

DP VANJA ČERNJUL, ASC, HFC CAPTURES CRAZY RICH ASIANS WITH VARICAM PURE

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

DP PATRICK STEWART SHOOTS NETFLIX SERIES, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, WITH VARICAM LTS

KARATE COMBAT: ONE WORLD

TV TECH MANAGERS USE CINELIVE WITH THE VARICAM LT TO BROADCAST KARATE COMBAT: ONE WORLD

FAHRENHEIT 451

DP KRAMER MORGENTHAU, ASC SHOOTS HBO FEATURE, FAHRENHEIT 451, WITH VARICAM 35S

DEMON

DP DREW DAWSON SHOOTS SHORT FILM, DEMON, ON VARICAM 35

2 AMIGOS

DP JAY LAFAYETTE CAPTURES NETFLIX SPECIAL WITH SEVEN VARICAM 35S

BRAINCHILD

DP JOE GABRIEL CAPTURES NETFLIX SERIES BRAINCHILD WITH VARICAM LTS

40 AND SINGLE

DP PIETRO VILLANI SHOOTS UMC TV SERIES, 40 AND SINGLE, WITH EVA1

SAGE

DP GABE DINSMOOR’S EVA1 AWARD WINNING SHORT DOC

SOUTHERN

SYNDICATE DP Ben Kutchins captures Netflix series, Ozark, with VariCam 35 cameras { photos courtesy of Netflix }

Ozark, created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams, is an American drama/crime series that tells the story of a financial planner, Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman), who is forced to relocate his family from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks after a money laundering scheme goes awry. To make amends with a powerful drug cartel, Byrde is forced to operate a much larger money laundering operation, which he runs with local criminals. The critically acclaimed Netflix series, now in its second season, is shot by cinematographer Ben Kutchins (The Dangerous Book for Boys, Crown Heights) with Panasonic VariCam 35 cameras.

Kutchins grew up in Northern California where he started out as a still photographer. As a teen, he landed an internship at Lucasfilm where he was able to see how movies were made. “That was an eye-opening experience,” explains Kutchins. “I saw a cinematographer lighting a set one day and I sat there for four hours just watching him work. I thought, ‘That’s exactly what I want to do.’” For Ozark, Kutchins became involved because he had previously shot a film together with actor Jason Bateman, who has directed several episodes of the series. “He’s an incredibly intelligent filmmaker,” reveals Kutchins. “His ability to have a relationship with the camera was something that I haven’t seen from a whole lot of actors. When Ozark came up, we jumped at

the opportunity to work together again.” Ozark is shot in Atlanta, GA. In developing the look of the series, Kutchins worked with Bateman and cinematographer Pepe Avila del Pino, who shot the first two episodes of season one. “Traditionally, a DP will come in and shoot the pilot and then someone else will come in and replicate that look for the series,” says Kutchins. “This was a unique situation in that I was invited to be a part of the process of developing the look. It was me, Jason, and Pepe talking about the show’s look and testing out different cameras and lenses.” The team used a lot of visual references for different elements for the look and feel of Ozark, including the 2010 Australian feature, Animal Kingdom, which they were influenced

by the film’s camera movement, blocking, and use of minimal coverage. They also watched films by director David Fincher as reference for tonal qualities. “One of the things we were most interested in early on was how little coverage we could get away on a TV show without getting fired,” says Kutchins. “It was all about pushing the cinematic boundaries for television.” With Netflix’s 4K mandate, the production tested out the latest RED and Sony cameras, but according to Kutchins, the VariCam 35 had the filmic qualities they were looking for, as well as the ability to capture in low light. “We almost went with the VariCam Pure for the second season, but we ended up just doing what we did before,” reveals Kutchins. “We were really happy with the look that we achieved in season one.”

“We switched the native ISO to 5000 and I was really impressed with the results. When I went into the DI to finish it, I would be hard pressed to figure out which shots were done at 800 or 5000.” DP Ben Kutchins

Kutchins captured 4K DCI (4096x2160) 12bit 4:4:4 AVC Intra files in V-Log at 23.98-fps. For exhibition, they went with a 2:1 extraction. For season one, Kutchins and Avila del Pino worked with a D.I.T. to develop a viewing LUT, which Kutchins developed further throughout the season. “The LUT lifted the blacks a bit, added contrast in the mids, brought down the highlights, created deep cyan in the shadows, and a little warmth in the highlights,” reveals Kutchins. “What I was trying to do was mimic an old Fujifilm stock that I used to use back when I was shooting stills. Working at Lucasfilm, I inherited a huge box of expired film and it was one of the discontinued films in that box.” For lensing, Kutchins shot mainly with a set of Cooke S4 prime lenses, as well as older Zeiss Super Speeds. “The Cookes perform really well close to wide open, which I preferred for the look. I like the idea of not knowing what’s happening in the background focus-wise, even on a wide lens because it adds to the danger and mystery of the show. I also like that the S4s are simultaneously sharp yet have enough flaws and character to bring another element. I’m mixing and matching the S4s with the Super Speeds for the extra grittiness that they bring and lack of depth of field. Sometimes I’m looking to get

something a little dirtier than I can get with the S4s.” Kutchins used the VariCam’s native ISO 5000 sparingly but was impressed with the results when he did use it. “I’m a bit of an old school cinematographer and I find things that I like, and I continue doing that,” he says. “I don’t really feel the need to shoot things at 5000 just because it’s there. A couple of times, I used it for a surveillance look. I was hoping it would be grainy but there was no grain at all, so I had to add a ton of grain in post. There were a few times that I had a crazy setup on a crane and didn’t have quite enough light, or enough time, to add a bunch of light. We basically switched the native ISO to 5000 and I was really impressed with the results. When I went into the DI to finish it, I would be hard pressed to figure out which shots were done at 800 or 5000.” In lighting Ozark, Kutchins believes each scene has its own heartbeat. “As a lighting strategy, I tend to use a single soft source, whether it’s sun, or a practical base like a single lamp in a room,” explains Kutchins. “I’m using small LEDs to augment, generally soft light to wraparound and get a little glint in the eye, or to give that little suggestion of a silhouette. It’s the idea of using big, broad strokes and then small

touches to accent where I want you to look in the frame. Jason and I don’t mind if the actors fall off in the shadows. We like to leave just enough information out there to let the audience wonder what’s happening.” Kutchins takes that idea even further in post and according to Kutchins, this is one of the VariCam 35’s biggest strengths. “There’s been a few times where I wanted to bring up a shadow,” says Kutchins, “and I tend to underexpose ¾ of a stop to 2 stops as a baseline. With the VariCam, if I want to bring up a shadow in post, it’s been very rare that I’ve been limited on how much I could bring it up before the image got noisy.” The color grade is performed at Company 3 by colorist Tim Stipan, who graded both season one and two. “It’s his first TV show and I think he brought a really cinematic look to it,” says Kutchins. “For the grade, I don’t think we’re changing the look, but I think we’re taking it 10 steps further in post than we’re able to on set. On a TV schedule, you don’t have time to do all the tweaks you want to do and I’m taking all those ideas into the DI. Fortunately, Tim is a great collaborator and a great artist. Things can be as dark as you want them to be as long as there is somewhere for you to look and the audience feels comfortable looking at the frame.”

VARICAM TECH SPECS

CAMERA: VARICAM 35 RESOLUTION: UHD (3840X2160) ORIGINAL CAPTURE FORMAT: 12-BIT 444 AVC INTRA LENSES: COOKE S4 PRIMES AND VINTAGE ZEISS SUPER SPEED PRIMES Offical trailer for Season 2 of Ozark https://youtu.be/0vHziRrCYqA

For more information on the VariCam 35, please visit http://us.panasonic.com/varicam

ROM-

-COM REVIVAL DP Vanja Ä&#x152;ernjul, ASC, HFC captures Warner Bros. feature, Crazy Rich Asians, with VariCam Pure { photos courtesy of Warner Bros. }

Crazy Rich Asians is a romantic comedy-drama film, which is based on the best-selling novel by Kevin Kwan, and tells the story of an Asian American woman who meets her boyfriend's family, only to find out they are one of the richest families in Singapore. The Warner Bros film was directed by Jon M. Chu (Now You See Me 2, G.I. Joe: Retaliation) and features an all Asian cast, including Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Ken Jeong, Michelle Yeoh, and many others. It is the first Hollywood studio film to feature Asians in leading roles since director Wayne Wang’s 1993 film, The Joy Luck Club. The film was shot by cinematographer Vanja Černjul, ASC, HFC (The Perfection, The Deuce, Marco Polo) with VariCam Pure cinema cameras. Černjul discovered cinematography at film school at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. After graduation, he became a cameraman for international news outlets like the BBC, CNN, and NBC during the conflict in ex-Yugoslavia. “There was no internet available to us in 1991, so we had to distribute all the footage from the location to the networks via a satellite link, which was very expensive,” explains Černjul. “There was also a great time pressure because it didn’t matter how amazing your footage was if it wasn’t delivered before deadline. That taught me a lot about incamera editing and shooting under various conditions, always utilizing available light.” It was Černjul’s experience working in South East Asia where he had shot two seasons of the Netflix series Marco Polo that played a role in getting Crazy Rich Asians. During the Marco Polo shoot, he met producer

Tim Coddington who got involved with Crazy Rich Asians right after production wrapped. “I fell in love with that part of the world and was looking forward to going back,” says Černjul. “Tim connected me with director Jon Chu,” explains Černjul, “and I loved Jon’s approach to the story. Jon was very passionate about the project and told me he wanted Crazy Rich Asians to be the most beautiful film he ever made. He is a visual director and I was excited by the challenge. It turned out to be one of those rare experiences that were both pleasant and fun to shoot and turned to be a successful film of cultural importance that exceeded everything we hoped for. It was not easy to make, but the camaraderie and good vibes inside our very international crew made it enjoyable.” According to Černjul, it was essential to capture and heighten the beauty of the locations. “I knew from my previous experience that the weather in that part of Asia dramatically changes throughout the day, especially during the monsoon season,” he explains. “We ended up with 38 locations in 42 shooting days and we had to move around quickly with a large cast, who had to look their best and were dressed in amazing costumes all the time. You can imagine that the heat, humidity, and daily storms weren’t going to be helpful. Luckily, our production designer extraordinaire, Nelson Coates, found ways to protect us from rain as much as possible.” Chu collaborated with Černjul, as well as production and costume design, to create a visual portfolio for all the departments with specific guidelines how each part of the story should look and feel. “The color palette for

“ After that experience, I knew VariCam was the right tool for the challenges of Crazy Rich Asians because of its versatility and robustness, especially with the Codex V-RAW2 recorder for the VariCam Pure.” DP Vanja Černjul, ASC

New York had to be contrasted with the tropical megacity of Singapore,” reveals Černjul. “Within Singapore, there were different cultural and socio-economic environments that also needed visual distinction. I am very happy how coordinated we all were despite a very short prep. We looked at a lot of classic Hollywood romantic comedies from the genre’s heyday, specifically because we didn’t want Crazy Rich Asians to look anything like that. We wanted a timeless cinematic look for the film.” Černjul discovered the VariCam a year before starting on Crazy Rich Asians while working on the HBO series The Deuce, which he shot with VariCam 35s. On The Deuce, Černjul was impressed with the VariCam’s performance on high ISO settings which were going to help him for the series’ low-light shooting style. “After that experience, I knew VariCam was the right tool for the challenges of Crazy Rich Asians because of its versatility and robustness, especially with the Codex V-RAW2 recorder for the VariCam Pure,” says Černjul. “The option of capturing the film in 4K V-RAW on a sensor I trusted and knew well made this choice a no brainer.” Černjul captured uncompressed V-RAW 4K files in anamorphic that was de-squeezed to 2:39:1 aspect ratio. He worked with his longtime collaborator D.I.T. Matt Selkirk and following advice from colleague Dado Valentic, they decided early in the preproduction to work in the ACES color space. Selkirk created a bulletproof ACES LUT that they used for the entire film. “Matt’s partner from Frame Logic Digital, Nick Kay, had some fresh experience with ACES and VariCam, and his input

“It was liberating not being held hostage by light levels from practical sources.” DP Vanja Černjul, ASC

was very valuable since we had very little time to figure things out,” explains Černjul. “Once we had the LUT, we tested it under different ISO settings and decided that the range between 800 ISO (from 800 Base) and 2500 ISO (from 5000 base) was right for the look we were going for. I felt comfortable mixing different ISO settings from within that range even inside a single scene. It was liberating not being held hostage by light levels from practical sources.” Working with the Pure’s V-RAW flexibility, Černjul wanted to capture widescreen cinematic images and having an anamorphic feel was important. “We didn’t want to crop the image and lose the resolution, which we would have to do if we went with full 2:1 anamorphic lenses,” explains Černjul. “The only choice left was the Hawk 1.3x Anamorphic lenses. Fortunately, I had a lot of experience with those lenses and I was very comfortable working with them.” The film’s finale was shot in Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay, which according to Černjul, is an amazing landmark and was a privilege to work in. The entire cast was in the scene, as well as hundreds of extras in black tie and heels. Since it was a major tourist destination and pride of the city, the production was only allowed a limited amount of time to shoot at the location. For Černjul, it was important that Chu and the actors had maximum freedom to move around. They also wanted to see as much of the environment and the city behind it,

so the light levels had to be low and fine-tuned – both in intensity and color. “Our great gaffer Julian White and his best boy, Nico Kalimerakis, came up with a great solution,” says Černjul. “They mounted 12 moving lights on the catwalks between the Super Trees (iconic tree-like vertical gardens, measuring between 25 and 50 meters tall) all fully controllable via an interface on Julian’s iPad. The whole scene was shot with a combination of existing light coming from the environment and the pre-rigged moving lights. We would still be shooting that scene if they didn’t come up with this great idea. I never used moving light before, but now they are a standard part of my package.” The film was graded at Company 3 by colorist Stephen Nakamura. During principal photography, Černjul lit the film with the ACES LUT and Selkirk applied CDL corrections to every shot. This made their color grading sessions more efficient and gave Nakamura more time to work on creative color decisions rather than fixing inconsistent looks. Overall, Černjul was very pleased with the way Crazy Rich Asians turned out. “Besides being an important milestone on the road towards more equal representation in Hollywood, the film was received overwhelmingly positive by both audience and critics so far,” he says. “I am happy I had a chance to be a part of what is being described as not only a film, but a movement.”

VARICAM TECH SPECS

CAMERA: VARICAM PURE RESOLUTION: 4K (4096X2160) ORIGINAL CAPTURE FORMAT: V-RAW LENSES: HAWK 1.3X ANAMORPHICS

Official trailer for Crazy Rich Asians https://youtu.be/ZQ-YX-5bAs0

For more information on the VariCam 35, please visitÂ http://us.panasonic.com/varicam

FAMILY MATTERS DP Patrick Stewart Shoots Netflix series, Arrested Development, with VariCam LTs { photos courtesy of Netflix }

“The nice thing about the VariCam is that you don't need as many photons." DP Patrick Stewart

With its handheld doc-style camerawork, voice over narration, and quirky humor, Arrested Development revolutionized the television sitcom look. Created by Mitchell Hurwitz with Ron Howard serving as one of its executive producers, the ½ hour comedy series follows the Bluth family, a once rich SoCal family that continues to live above its means. At the center of the family is Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), who does his best to keep his dysfunctional family intact. The series aired for three seasons on the Fox TV network for three seasons (20032006) but was canceled due to low ratings. In 2013, Netflix brought the series back to life with its fourth season. In May 2018, the fifth season began streaming, shot by cinematographer

Patrick Stewart (Curb Your Enthusiasm, The League, Flight of the Conchords) with VariCam LT cinema cameras. Stewart followed a unique path in becoming a cinematographer. Growing up in Los Angeles and graduating with a degree in finance from the University of Santa Clara, he got his start in the industry when a friend called him up and asked if he’d work on a commercial as a dolly grip. “I did it well enough where they called me for more jobs,” reveals Stewart. “I started as a dolly grip and then I did sound, worked as a tape op, and then started working in the camera department. I also worked with the best gaffers in San Francisco, who showed me how to look at the light, understand it, and either augment it or

recreate it. It was the best practical film school I could have ever attended.” Not wanting to stay “in a small pond with big fish” Stewart decided to move back to LA and started working for MTV, which brought him into the low budget handheld world, as well as interview lighting where he lit celebrities like Barbara Streisand, Mick Jagger, and Paul McCartney. “At that point I got to light every single amazing musician, actor, famous person you could imagine,” reveals Stewart. “This practice afforded me the opportunity to understand how to light people who were getting older, and how to make them look their best on camera.” In 1999, with a reputation as one of the best

handheld cameramen in the business, Stewart received an offer to shoot Mike Figgis’ film Time Code (2000), which was one of the landmark films of the DV/Film revolution. “It was groundbreaking not only in the digital realm but the fact that Time Code was shot with four cameras from beginning to end, 93 min, without stopping, shown in a quad split with no edits – all handheld,” explains Stewart. “It was an amazingly difficult project, because having no edits meant you couldn’t make mistakes. I was very fortunate to work with a brilliant renegade director like Mike Figgis.” When hired for Arrested Development, the first request Stewart approached Hurwitz with was to add a third camera. Shooting with three

cameras with multiple characters can be a logistical challenge, but Stewart felt he could get through scenes more quickly, and effectively, to get the actors out on time. “I call the C-camera the center camera and the A and the B are screen left and screen right,” Stewart explains. “C covers the center P.O.V., while A and B cover the scene from their left and right side P.O.V., which usually starts with overs. As we continue to shoot the scene, each camera will get tighter and tighter. If there are 3 or more actors in the scene, C will get tighter on whoever is in the center. After that, C camera might cover the scene following the dialogue with ‘swinging’ singles. If no swinging singles are appropriate, the center camera can move over and help out

coverage on the right or left side. “I’m on walkie – either adjusting the shots during a scene for either of their framing or exposure, or I’m planning ahead,” he continues. “You give me three cameras and I’ll shoot a show really well for you and get it done efficiently, and with cinematic style.” Because it is primarily a handheld show, Stewart needed lenses that would not weigh down his operators during long takes. He employed Fujinon Cabrio zooms (15-35mm, 19-90mm, and 85-300mm), which are all f/2.8 lenses. For camera settings, Stewart captures 10-bit 422 UHD (3840x2160) AVC Intra files at 23.98-fps. He also captures in V-Log but uses the V-709 LUT.

“To me, you can create all the LUTs you want,” says Stewart, “but more than likely you get to color correction and end up changing things. I think the basic 709 LUT is really nice and gentle on all the colors.” Much of Arrested Development is shot on stage, so lighting can get complicated, especially when there are multiple characters in a scene. To makes things less complicated, Stewart provided a gentle soft light from softboxes covering the top of each stage set, using 4 by 8-foot wooden frames with Tungsten-balanced Quasar tubes dimmed down to 50%. His motivated lighting explanation is that the unseen source could basically be a skylight. If characters are close to windows, he uses HMIs creating “natural sunlight” punching through to light the scene. “The nice thing about the VariCam is that you

don't need as many photons and I did pretty extensive tests during pre-production on how to do it,” explains Stewart. On stage, Stewart sets his ISO to 5000 base and dials down to 2500 and generally shoots at an f/2.8 and ½. He even uses one level of ND on top of that. “You can imagine 27-foot candles at one level of ND at a 2.8 and 1/2 – that's a pretty sensitive camera and I noticed very little noise. My biggest concern was mid-tones, so I did a lot of testing – shooting at 5000, shooting at 2500, 800, 800 pushed up to 1600, and 2500. Sometimes with certain cameras, you can develop this midtone noise that you don't really notice until you're in post. I felt like shooting at 5000 knocked down to 2500 was giving me the benefit of lighting the stage at these beautifully low-lit levels where we would never be hot. I could also easily put 5Ks

outside the windows to have enough sunlight to make it look like it’s overexposed a bit. I felt that the 5000-base knocked down to 2500, the noise level was negligible. At native 5000 ISO, there was a little bit more mid-tone noise, even though it was still acceptable. For daytime exteriors, we usually shot at ISO 800, dialing down to 500 or below.” Stewart and Arrested Development director Troy Miller have known each other for many years since working together on the HBO series, Flight of the Conchords. “There was a shorthand between Director and DP that really came in handy,” says Stewart. “Troy knows that I know what I’m doing, and I know on his end that he’s trying to figure out this really complicated script and have us shoot it. Hand in hand, we were really able to support Mitch.”

VARICAM TECH SPECS

CAMERA: VARICAM LT RESOLUTION: UHD (3840X2160) ORIGINAL CAPTURE FORMAT: 10-BIT 422 AVC INTRA LENSES: FUJINON CABRIO ZOOMS (15-35MM, 19-90MM, AND 85-300MM) Official trailer for Arrested Development https://youtu.be/gXg2_yExgVY

For more information on the VariCam LT, please visitÂ http://us.panasonic.com/varicam

LIVE 24

ON TOP OF THE

WORLD TV Tech Managers use CineLive with the VariCam LT to broadcast Karate Combat: One World { photos courtesy of TV Tech Managers }

Karate Combat was founded to promote the sport of Karate worldwide by creating the first professional, fullcontact league. Held on the 102nd floor Observation Deck of New York City’s One World Trade Center, Karate Combat: One World took place on September 27th and was broadcast live through Karate Combat’s website, www.Karate.com. The sports event was shot by cinematographer Greg Wilson with support from TV Tech Managers on VariCam LTs set up for CineLive. Released in early 2018, VariCam LT’s Ver. 6.0 firmware enables broadcast shading and multicamera control plus tally and return video management to the cinema camera. This allows a production to create a cinematic look with excellent low-light performance for live and near-live productions. For Karate Combat: One World, TV Tech Managers were tasked with providing technical services to the production. With initial conversations coming from line producer, Rob Cooper and VER, they wanted to improve upon previous versions of the event. “They’ve done this event around the world using various cameras, trucks, fly packs and workflow,” says Brett Dicus, Tech Manager, TV Tech Managers. “TV Tech managers were given the opportunity to provide a turn key version of what the production has done in the past.” According to Dicus, the production had several challenges. The first obstacle is that Karate Combat: One World is a sports show with a sports truck workflow, that now needs to take place on the 102nd floor of the One World Trade Center. The workflow includes features like playback, slo-mo replays, and animated graphics - all the normal broadcast challenges that are typically provided by a sports truck. “Since we were on the 102nd floor, we couldn’t do a cable run down the side of the building 1776 feet down, or through a stairwell,” explains TV Tech Managers Shader JM Hurley. “We basically had to build truck facilities with a fly pack solution that could be installed quickly on that floor to support a sports workflow.” The second challenge was that the producers wanted to see the New York City skyline in the background, which presented challenges with window reflection, light levels, and angles in composing shots. After consulting with Wilson, they knew they had to shoot at a higher ISO, so Wilson pushed for the VariCam LT with CineLive to accomplish this. Since the windows were tinted, the ability to use the VariCam LT’s native 5000 ISO setting was essential. To control the cameras, the team used Panasonic AK-HRP1000 remote operation panels connected with Ethernet via Multidynes. “We wanted to go above and beyond on what we had access to in the sports workflow and go with a larger sensor cinema camera that looks good at these high ISOs,” says Dicus. The other advantage was to be able to record in VLOG and perform a live “shade” of the Rec.709 output. Normally, TV Tech Managers would bring a 4K signal back to the control room, or back to the fly pack for back up recordings. For the broadcast, 4K was not required since they were streaming in full HD (1920x1080). “We were simply doing a 4K acquisition (10-bit 4:2:2 AVC Intra at UHD 3840x2160) for the archive and post workflow,” reveals Dicus. “However, we did shoot at a higher frame rate of 59.94 to accommodate slo-mo replay. Part of this jigsaw puzzle was to get a camera that had the high ISO sensitivity that could still output a 3G 1080p 59.94 signal.”

“ This kind of remote control and remote monitoring, and access to the camera is something we have to solve for every project. It’s something we’ve been waiting for and it’s finally here, and we’re very excited about it.” TV Tech manager's Brett Dicus

VARICAM TECH SPECS

RESOLUTION: [FOR BROADCAST] HD (1920X1080, 59.94), [FOR ARCHIVAL] UHD (3840X2160) ORIGINAL CAPTURE FORMAT: 10-BIT 422 AVC INTRA LENSES: FUJINON CABRIO PL-MOUNT LENSES Karate Combat: One World broadcast https://karate.com/fights/one-world-nyc/

For more information on the VariCam LT, please visit http://us.panasonic.com/varicam

The camera output 1080p 59.94 via the VariCam LT’s SDI output into a Multidyne Silverback, which would then feed the control room. “We chose the Multidyne system because of the single SMPTE fiber cable run from the camera to the control room.” explains Dicus. “The Multidyne system provides many bi-directional video and audio paths such as timecode to the camera, as well as audio to and from the camera.” The Multidyne offers several video paths to the control room so production can take both the clean and dirty (viewfinder output) feeds from the camera. The dirty feed is for the control room to view key character data of record tally, iris position, record time remaining, audio metering, and more. Also, some cameras had two monitors on them – one monitor was used as the viewfinder, and the other one was the line cut so that the operators could see what the other cameras were doing. The production used four VariCam LT CineLive set-ups. The master shot, or Camera One, was a camera on a jib arm on 15 – 18 feet of dolly track, that would give them a high and wide angle looking down on the fighters. Camera Two was on a Steadicam that was the mobile camera that did all the walks from the locker room to the ring, as well as shots of the interviews between the host and the fighters. Cameras Three and Four were handheld on Easyrigs capturing closeups and other ringside shots. There was also an ENG camera floating around the location capturing b-roll and locker room scenes. For lenses, the team went with Fujinon Cabrio PL-mount lenses (20 – 120mm T.35 and 14-35mm T2.0 zooms) based on their ease of integration for lens and iris control. “Cabrios gave us the built-in functionality that we had access to based on the HRP1000s,” says Dicus. “That integration is what we are typically looking for in a broadcast set-up, where lens control data can travel through the data channels through to the camera, versus having external 3rd party hardware. It’s a minimal integration for controlling the lens and the camera from one central device that we used on this job.” Besides the ability to shoot in low light to capture the New York City skyline, the other reason CineLive was chosen was its ability to capture shallow depth of field with the VariCam’s Super 35mm sensor. “They desired to shoot this in 23.98, however the EVS does not support 23.98 for our slo-mo replays and all of our playback,” says Dicus. “We honored the desired the cinema look by choosing a camera with a larger sensor but decided on a higher frame rate of 1080p 59.94 instead of 23.98, to accommodate the slo-mo replay.” For TV Tech Managers, it was their first time integrating the ROP over Ethernet to control the VariCam camera, with the recently released access to all the controllable parameters they needed. “Now that it’s been added to the workflow, it’s certainly a new frontier that will allow us to consider VariCams more often,” says Dicus. “This kind of remote control and remote monitoring, and access to the camera is something we have to solve for every project. We’re now able to achieve that with very few extra parts. It’s something we’ve been waiting for and it’s finally here, and we’re very excited about it. I will likely encourage my clients to choose the ROPs and the VariCam LTs more often because it gives us the remote access that we’ve desired to have with this camera.”

LIGHT IT

DP Kramer Morgenthau, ASC shoots HBO feature, Fahrenheit 451, with VariCam 35s { photos courtesy of HBO }

“Ramin wanted to freely move the camera 360-degrees and shoot exteriors in urban areas at night. I had heard a lot about VariCam and my gut instinct told me that it was the way to go because of its low light sensitivity.” DP Kramer Morgenthau, ASC

Written during the McCarthy era and published in 1953, Ray Bradbury’s classic dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451, is set in a society where books are outlawed, and firemen are charged with burning them. The novel has had many adaptations, most famously in François Truffaut’s 1966 film, which starred Oskar Werner and Julie Christie. In 2018, Ramin Bahrani co-wrote and directed the film adaptation for HBO, starring Michael B. Jordan, who also served as executive producer. The stylized film was shot by cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau, ASC (Game of Thrones, Thor: The Dark World, Terminator Genisys). “I’m a huge fan of the book and a big fan of Truffaut in general,” says Morgenthau. “I’m also a big fan of films that have deep messages, or socio-political meaning to them. That’s what originally attracted me to making films and documentaries.” Morgenthau grew up in Cambridge, MA and started out shooting documentaries in New York

City. He attended the University of Rochester majoring in film studies. “I came out of school bright eyed and bushy tailed and wanted to make films that could change the world,” he says. For Morgenthau, Fahrenheit 451 brought him back to his early roots as a filmmaker and awakened his artistic sensibilities, as well as his passion for film. “Literature and art are a valuable part of our culture that we sometimes take for granted,” he explains. “There are things that should be cherished and protected. Also, Ramin is a passionate filmmaker and has made a lot of amazing independent films like Man Push Cart, Chop Shop, and 99 Homes – they’re all strong films that are purely about story and character, not spectacle. When reading the script, Fahrenheit 451 seemed to me like one of those films.” The biggest challenge for Morgenthau was building a new world from scratch. (He joined the production 10 days before the start date.) With so little time, he relied on his filmmaking instincts

DP Kramer Morgenthau, ASC

instead of watching other movies or looking at art and photographs. “There are technology and the science fiction elements, but it’s not really a futuristic film since it happens in the present in sort of an alternate universe. Just to capture all of that and build a world from scratch and build it in a short period of time.” Morgenthau shot the film with VariCam 35 cameras, capturing 12-bit 4:4:4 AVC Intra files in 23.98-fps. HBO does not have a 4K mandate, but 2.40 widescreen is not allowed so he captured UHD (3840 x 2160) in the 16x9 aspect ratio. “I literally got off the plane and started scouting locations and talking with Ramin about what he wanted to do,” says Morgenthau. “He wanted to freely move the camera 360-degrees and shoot exteriors in urban areas at night. I had heard a lot about VariCam and my gut instinct told me that it was the way to go because of its low light sensitivity.” Since shooting digital, Morgenthau had primarily shot with one camera system and he thought the VariCam would be a challenge to himself to try something different. “I wanted to give Ramin the most freedom as possible,” he explains, “especially being able to shoot at super high ISO settings – from the 3200 – 5000 range.

I tested it and was absolutely blown away by the VariCam’s low light capabilities. It also has a different look that helped with the technology aspect of the film.” During production, Morgenthau captured in V-Log and he used a simple Rec709 LUT that was created by Technicolor-PostWorks NY. “On top of that I used CDLs,” he reveals. “We had no colorists at the Lab – it was just a straight transcoding and conversions from what we were doing on set. D.I.T. Jasper Vrakking did a great job with color.” When Morgenthau was shooting on stage, he generally shot at 800 ISO. For most low light night exteriors, Morgenthau did not utilize native ISO 5000, but instead chose base 5000 and dialed down to 3200 because he felt the 3200 matched the clean 800 best. “I didn’t need that extra 2/3rds of a stop,” explains Morgenthau. “There’s so much light at 3200 because I was shooting with very fast lenses that could open to a 1.4.” Morgenthau shot with a Panavised set of Super Speeds from the ‘70s and felt the vintage glass was a good way to combat the sharpness of digital when compared with film. He generally shot at a T-2. “Shooting fire scenes were trickier than I

was expecting,” he says. “I wanted to pick up the most light I could at night but at the same time I had to hold the detail in the fire, so it was a constant dance between holding fire detail and keeping enough light on the faces. We had to ride the iris on the fly a lot. When I shot on set and when I shot outside, I did very little background lighting. I let all the existing lighting play and I would turn off all the existing lights in the foreground and I did localized lighting on the faces using Moon boxes with a lot of Sky Panels and LEDs at very low levels to balance to the ambiance.” One of the most complex sequences to shoot took place in a “VR bar”, which contained several panels and video walls. Morgenthau lit the scene with LEDs that were being fed video media. Morgenthau also had several tube-shaped fixtures that were shaped like fluorescent tubes but were pixel mapped. “They’re called Sceptrons made by Martin,” explains Morgenthau. “We just tried to rise to the level of the script and the actors, so we came up with something that looked different. I was happy with that sequence. It was challenging and exciting.” Since it was a futuristic world, production design and gaffer Mike Hall built RGBAW LEDs

VARICAM TECH SPECS

CAMERA: VARICAM 35 RESOLUTION: UHD (3840X2160) ORIGINAL CAPTURE FORMAT: 12-BIT 444 AVC INTRA LENSES: PANAVISION SUPER SPEED PRIMES Official trailer for Fahrenheit 451 https://youtu.be/mNKwe9k55fs

For more information on the VariCam 35, please visit http://us.panasonic.com/varicam

into many of the sets. “I lit this differently, more of an ambient look, not because of the camera’s sensitivity,” continues Morgenthau, “but because of the style of the movie. I was embracing the technology. I lit the opening scene of the movie with just a match with our lead actor’s hands. He lights it and it lights up his whole face. There’s a couple of LEDs that are built into the room that are glowing but I literally lit Michael B. Jordan’s face with a single match at a 1.4 at 3200 ISO. It was blooming hot and beautiful.” Fahrenheit 451 was graded by colorist Tim Stipan at Company 3. The grade resembled the dailies for the most part, although Morgenthau reveals they did do some “massaging and shaping” of the image. Overall, Morgenthau was extremely happy at how the project turned out. “It’s one of my favorite things I’ve shot,” he says. “The VariCam sees colors different from other camera systems and has a very different color space. I use a lot of very saturated colors again using RGBAW LEDs that were built into the sets – a lot of deep saturated reds and blues and greens. I really thought it saw the colors in a more true and naturalistic way. Really gorgeous.”

MOONLIT DP Drew Dawson shoots short film, Demon, on VariCam 35 { photos courtesy of Drew Dawson }

DP Drew Dawson

Premiering at the 2017 Austin Film Festival where it won Best Narrative Short, Demon tells the story of a desperate man emerging from the night where he encounters a solitary shack in the middle of the desert. It is in this night setting where he discovers a dark secret that the property owner possesses. The supernatural drama/thriller, directed by Caleb Slain, was shot by cinematographer Drew Dawson with the VariCam 35 camera just outside Joshua Tree National Park. The Demon script had the setting as a desert landscape with a full moon. According to Dawson, the goal was to capture the entire film with moonlight, practicals, and minimal film lights. One of Slain and Dawson’s biggest influences for the look of Demon was the Dogme 95 filmmaking movement from the ‘90s. Created by Danish filmmakers Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, Dogme 95 was a collective where filmmakers would take a "vow of chastity" by rejecting visual effects, post modifications, or technical gimmicks. “Every choice in the cinematography needs to adhere to the story and the characters,” explains Dawson. “It was a great experience for me because I learned so much about story and working with actors. I think it was just a working style that we knew

was adhering well to the way we wanted to tell a story. It was just reverse engineering everything to approach a project.” Along with Dogme 95, another big influence for the look came from Pablo Picasso’s Blue Period. In the color grade, colorist Chad Terpstra added some green to the moonlight which was captured at 4250K in camera. According to Dawson, by shifting the moonlight to be a little greener gave them the feel as if there was a kind of sickness out there in the desert. Dawson and Slain tested many cameras, including the Sony A7S and A7SII, before selecting the VariCam 35, which they rented out of Panavision Hollywood. During prep, Dawson did a bracketed exposure test at different ISOs to see how far he could push the image. He also took the camera out to Joshua Tree to shoot a moonlight test. “I sent the footage to Chad and he took our 12-bit 444 V-Log files and graded them in Da Vinci Resolve and sent me ProRes HQ files back,” explains Dawson. “I screened the footage on my D.I.T.’s cart and was able to figure out what settings yielded the best image, including the signal-to-noise ratio, grain structure, where was the color landing, and how Chad could massage it,” reveals Dawson. “We decided not to go with native 5000 ISO, but instead setting

the camera to 5000 base and dialing down to 3200. We found that was the sweet spot for our lighting environment. Chad de-noised a little bit, but only the chroma, not the luma noise. The result is a more textured image while removing some of the dancing color snow. We left a little of that texture because we wanted to embrace a rougher image – more gritty. It was very much like film grain structure in the end, which Caleb and I both like. The VariCam can really handle these extreme lighting situations, so Chad had a good digital negative to work from.” For the shoot, Dawson captured AVC Intra 4K DCI (4096x2160) in 23.98 and finished the film in the 2:1 aspect ratio. “I had been playing with the idea in creating a viewing LUT,” explains Dawson, “and I was using the low-contrast curve at first, but a lot of time, I was monitoring in V-Log because of the extreme nature of the exposure. I wanted to make sure we weren’t clipping the flames and bright headlights, but also getting enough exposure in the tow for all the shadows of the scene. After a couple of setups, I viewed V-Log for the rest of the shoot. That way I could monitor the waveform and know that we had a healthy digital negative to work from later.” For lenses, Dawson used Panavision Ultra

VARICAM TECH SPECS

CAMERA: VARICAM 35 RESOLUTION: 4K (4096X2160) ORIGINAL CAPTURE FORMAT: 12-BIT 444 AVC INTRA LENSES: PANAVISION ULTRA SPEED USZ PRIMES Official trailer for Demon https://vimeo.com/283506046

For more information on the VariCam 35, please visit http://us.panasonic.com/varicam

Speed USZ lenses. He typically set the T-stop one line closed to wide open to try and pull out chromatic aberrations and some of the softness rather than shooting fully wide open. “They’re an interesting set because the Ultra Speed Z’s were the only collaboration between Zeiss and Panavision,” explains Dawson. “They were made in the ‘80s and they have some characteristics of Zeiss lenses, but also characteristics of Panavision so they’re a really interesting hybrid.” For lighting the interior of the cabin, Dawson wanted to motivate light from above so wherever the camera was, he would retain some detail on faces. He used a single LITEGEAR LiteMat1 with ¼ CTS wrapped in bleached muslin with a lighting control grid, as well as two LITEGEAR

LiteStix in the ceiling. “LiteStix are these single pixel enclosures of Lite Ribbon. I had two six inch bi-color sticks, and a one foot bi-color stick,” says Dawson. “We dialed them down to almost the lowest input they could give us.” For an ambitious Steadicam shot where the character walks out of the cabin and into the desert night exterior towards a truck, Dawson lit the entire sequence with a six-inch LiteStick that he placed in the interior of the truck’s dome light, as well as practical light coming from a handheld lantern, fire pit, headlights and the moon. “We could have simply turned the dome light on,” reveals Dawson, “but I decided since we had an extra stick, why not use it? The beautiful thing about LiteStix is that they’re so small. It’s hard to notice, but that stick is in the shot. When the car

drives away, it reveals the great desert expanse. We were able to shoot a deep night time desert scene with a great amount of detail. These are images that we’ve never seen before in a movie.” Demon was finished in 2.8K so they could do post zooms and re-frames. For Slain, if he saw something special in a performance, but maybe the camera was too wide, they were able to push in 10 or 15% to get the exact framing he wanted. “The main attribute that I love about VariCam is the richness of the color and the ability to grade the image,” concludes Dawson. “The camera has a really unique sensor, and for me, that opens up creative avenues. For this project, it was the only camera that I could shoot and light with.”

FREEDOM TO CREATE “The VariCam’s 5000 ISO has completely changed my lighting package. Instead of using a 2K, I can now use a 200-watt light. The VariCam’s extended dynamic range also requires less light to balance day interiors. To have that capability without any loss of image quality is remarkable!”

William Wages, ASC CINEMATOGRAPHER OF THE VARICAM-SHOT WARNER BROS. TV SERIES CONTAINMENT, CMT’S SUN RECORDS, AND INDIE FEATURE THE FORGIVEN

THE VARICAM LUT LIBRARY Create your unique look

Whether you’re creating a high contrast black-and-white look, a stylized bleach bypass look, or a warm morning light feel, VariCam LUT Library can help you create a unique vision for your production. The free suite is loaded with 35 individual LUTs for both on set looks, or in a post color grading environment. The VariCam LUT Library includes 35 3D LUTs offers an on-set look management tool for all kinds of productions. When acquiring in native V-Log/V-Gamut, the VariCam lineup of cinema cameras capture

imagery with more than 14 stops of Dynamic Range and a very wide color spectrum, both parameters often exceeding that of 35mm film. To store this wide range of exposure in the recorded image, a Log (Logarithmic) contrast curve is utilized. However, displaying this huge range of image contrast (the darkest shadows to the brightest highlights) in Log format on a conventional monitor will result in an image that looks flat and dull to the eye, with colors appearing desaturated and flat in tone. These Log recorded images are used to provide the greatest

possible flexibility for later color correction; they are not intended to be viewed directly. Adjustment for viewing Log-encoded content can be accomplished using a 3D LUT (3D Look Up Table). A “Conversion” LUT will translate the flat Log material to a more restricted, yet contrasty Dynamic Range and shift the color space to match the monitor, bringing both parameters to a technical standard for viewing such as Rec. 709. These conversion LUTs can be considered technical LUTs, as they provide a neutral matching of the signal to the monitor.

An artistic “Look” LUT combines the technical conversion with creative changes to gamma, contrast, saturation, bias and other aspects for stylistic visuals such as soft blue dusk, golden magic hour, or harsh desert sun. 3D LUTs can be loaded into VariCam cinema cameras. These LUTs separately can be applied to monitor outputs, the camera’s viewfinder, recorded proxy files, or even the camera’s master recording. Please note that “baking in” a LUT to the master recording is generally not recommended as it restricts the ability to adjust

the image in post-production. The VariCam Pure records strictly RAW images without grading but can apply a LUT to the monitor and viewfinder outputs. A LUT to a monitor or viewfinder can aid in lighting and exposing, and a proxy with a LUT applied is helpful for editing. LUTs can also be loaded into third party LUT boxes for converting Log images on set during production. The VariCam LUT Library includes 35 3D LUTs, providing options in both display Conversion LUTs as well as artistic Look LUTs. The Library includes three separate LUT format

variants, each offering the same appearance but used for different purposes. It is important that these LUT formats not be confused, or an incorrect image may be displayed. Note that the EVA1 Compact Cinema Camera can record in a matching V-Log / V-Gamut format, so the VariCam LUT Library can also be applied to EVA1 footage.

Download the VariCam LUT Library https://info.panasonic.com/varicam-LUT-library.html

2AMIGOS

DP Jay Lafayette captures Netflix special, An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life, with seven VariCam 35s { photo courtesy of Netflix }

Emmy Award-winning Director of Photography Jay Lafayette selected seven VariCam 35 4K cameras and two VariCam LT 4K camcorders for the live shoot of Steve Martin and Martin Short's Netflix special, An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life, recorded at Greenville, SC's Peace Center Concert Hall earlier this year. In the special, the longtime pals and comic icons share quips, musical numbers and conversations about their lives in show business. For the past two years, the VariCam 35 has been Lafayette's camera of choice to shoot numerous Netflix comedy specials with such headliners as Dana Carvey, Tracy Morgan, Fred Armisen, Jim Jeffries, Norm Macdonald and many more. Late last year, the DP also used VariCam 35s for NBC's A Pentatonix Christmas Special, featuring the popular a capella singing group.

Lafayette's introduction to the VariCam 35 was through his colleagues at VER's Television and Cinema Division. “I was very curious about the 35's capabilities and, with several Netflix projects pending, I needed to shoot true 4K,” the DP recounts. “I loved the image right out of the box—it was much more cinematic than other 4K option. “Having the option of a native ISO 5000 is invaluable for these comedy specials, which are almost always shot in a live performance environment with paying audiences,” he continues. “We can't make things brighter in the theatres and undermine the audiences' experience. Having such a clean image to work with at that exposure index is a game changer.” Lafayette notes that he always hires a D.I.T. on these live performance productions, and routinely performs a thorough first pass color

grade on set. “Another incredibly useful asset of the camera is the Panasonic ROP, which enables the remote operation of each camera from a central location,” explains Lafayette. “This gives us full control of iris, roll, cut – every menu item – from the video village.” The DP typically uses between seven to 12 VariCam 35s to shoot a stand-up performance, and often adds one or two VariCam LT 4K camcorders for Steadicam work. His lensing selections vary from project to project, but his go-to choices are often Fujinon Premiere and Angenieux zoom lenses. Official trailer for An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life https://youtu.be/KQlpjJ-hA0Q

For more information on the VariCam 35, please visit http://us.panasonic.com/varicam

Brainchild is an educational variety show aimed at middle and grade school students and was shot by cinematographer Joe Gabriel with VariCam LT 4K camcorders. The show is executive produced by hip-hop artist Pharrell Williams and Mimi Valdés, as well as Atomic Entertainment’s Jerry Kolber and Adam Davis. Kolber and Davis are the creators of Brainchild, as well as the creators and executive producers of the Emmy-nominated 50-episode hit series Brain Games, which was also lensed by Gabriel. In addition to the series on Netflix, the show also offers free curriculum for middle and grade school teachers for each episode, developed in accordance with STEAM and Common Core standards, available at www.BrainchildShow. com. The 13-episode series, imparting entertaining

lessons on topics ranging from germs to emotions to social media, was shot on location and sound stages in New York City and New Jersey last winter. The production utilized three VariCam LT cameras, with Gabriel operating the A-camera and two ACs and a media manager on hand. “Our A-camera was built-up studio style, the second LT lived on our MoVI gimbal and we used the third as our B-camera,” explains Gabriel. “We shot 4K (4096x2160) internally capturing 10-bit 4:2:2 AVC-Intra files. We went for a lot of looks, requiring different lighting, and made significant use of the LT’s dual native ISOs.” The DP also brought in an EVA1 for pick-up shots at the end of the 45-day shoot, recording 4K (4096x2160) ProRes files out to an Atomos Shogun recorder. “Having previously shot a

MIND 42

similar series, I found that Brainchild was much more ambitious than I’d expected, with a wide variety of styles and set-ups that I knew would push the cameras in a lot of different directions,” reveals Gabriel. “I’ve always liked Panasonic’s color science, and I was impressed by how well the LT performs in low light.” Some of the inherent cinematographic challenges on Brainchild were handling the skin tones of a repertory company of raciallydiverse young actors, as well as recreating divergent classic genres – film noir, soap opera, high school musicals and Friday night football. Each episode opens with a cold open in the style of Saturday Night Live. “In retrospect, I’d say I treated ISO 5000 like a film stock," says Gabriel. "For instance, dialing down from 5000 base to 3200 for more grain, or dialing down from 5000

base to 2000 while shooting 60p, which meant we didn’t have to light for slo-mo,” recounts Gabriel. “We were shooting during winter months and pumping up the ISOs on some very short days would give us an extra 30-60 minutes of shooting. The dual ISOs really helped to maximize our lighting package." Regarding lenses, Gabriel used Cooke S4 and Mini S4 primes and Fujinon Cabrio zooms. The DP owns both a VariCam LT and EVA1; the production rented the additional LTs from TCS New York. Post-production was handled by SIM Digital in New York City. “Ultimately, we could do a lot more with the VariCam LT – it supported our mix of scripted/unscripted content and really let us do things on the fly,” Gabriel said. “Most importantly, it elevated our visuals to a whole new level.”

VARICAM TECH SPECS

RESOLUTION: 4K (4096X2160) ORIGINAL CAPTURE FORMAT: 10-BIT 4:2:2 AVC INTRA LENSES: COOKE S4 AND MINI S4 PRIMES AND FUJINON CABRIO ZOOMS Official trailer for Brainchild https://youtu.be/U2WK7PjeVYs

For more information on the VariCam LT, please visit http://us.panasonic.com/varicam

BLOWN

DP Joe Gabriel captures Netflix series Brainchild with VariCam LTs { Photos courtesy of Joe Gabriel }

NEWAFRICA DP Pietro Villani shoots UMC TV series, 40 and Single, with EVA1 { photos courtesy of Pietro Villani }

Written and directed by Leila Djansi, 40 and Single is an UMC (Urban Movie Channel) television series that tells the story of a bisexual, mixed race, single bridal fashion designer as she maneuvers life and business in post-colonial Africa. It recently won the Audience Award at The LA Film Festival for Episodic Pilot and was shot by cinematographer Pietro Villani with the EVA1 cinema camera. According to Villani, the biggest challenge in shooting 40 and Single was shooting in Ghana, which has no production infrastructure. Because of this, he needed a camera that was compact and lightweight for run-and-gun shooting, could capture in low-light environments, and had wide dynamic range for uncontrolled lighting environments. “You sacrifice having your usual gear and crew in trade for a beautiful country and a hardworking crew,” says Villani. “We had a fair amount of night exteriors and I needed a camera that could use the existing street light as a base. Condors were not in the budget – they don’t really use them in Ghana – so a camera that could handle that amount of low light was necessary. In the daylight shots, I had a cast with mixed skin tones – dark, medium, and light – to deal with in an uncontrolled environment with small HMI heads.” Due to the show’s modest budget, Villani knew he had to be creative in his approach to the visuals. He and Djansi had previously shot a feature film in Ghana and wanted to create a completely different look. “I did tests on dark skin people here in the U.S. and tried different looks,” explains Villani. “For this movie, we just touched on references in the film and art world, but we tried to approach it as if it was the first time anyone had shot in Ghana, or Africa.” With the EVA1, Villani shot in UHD (3840x2160) at 23.98-fps in 10-bit 422 LongGOP 150. (The ALL-I 400Mbps codec had not been released at the time of shooting.) “I was shooting mixed skin colors, so I need the most range I could get,” reveals Villani. “I like the Panasonic V709 LUT because it’s a little aggressive, which gives me safety since the blacks are very crushed and the whites are pushed. I did many tests back in LA with my D.I.T., Dino Dumandan. I would always look at the V-Log before we shot and gauged it there.” For many of the night exteriors, Villani shot under street lights and added his own small fixtures to accent the feel of the sodium vapor lamps in Ghana. “I set the ISO at 2500 base and then dialed down to 1600,” he says. “There was no noise. It is hard to get used to cranking up the camera and shooting that way. Old habits die hard and new ground is sometimes scary, so you could say I played it safe.” For lenses, Villani went with Canon Cinema EOS primes. According to Villani, the Canon lenses felt right with the EVA1 and had the speed he needed for night exteriors. One of the most difficult scenes was shot in a bridal shop, which had tinted windows that were an ND 12 and were like ½ CTO. “I had two 4K HMI pars that I would blast through windows, but I had to gel them to 1/2 CTB to combat the tint,” says Villani. “I didn’t get the push I wanted so I had to get creative with exposure and placement of interior heads. Because of this, there wasn’t as much ambient light in the room, so I had to place small lights inside to bring up the ambient and help the windows wrap. I have to say that watching the footage you would never know the issues I had to deal with. People will watch the scenes and say, “Oh, that daylight interior with plenty of windows must have been easy to shoot.” 40 and Single was posted at Simmerly Post Productions. Villani set his looks by grading still images on his own computer and would send them to his colorist for reference. “I like sending stills that I corrected because it gets them thinking about the grade before I arrive,” explains Villani. “The way this show was posted, I could spend some time in the suite coloring like a feature, but not to the full extent. “The EVA1 really lived up to and surpassed what I thought it would be capable of doing,” continues Villani. “Great latitude, image, workflow, and capabilities. As Dino said many times, ‘I can’t believe how great this camera is.' I’m still floored at seeing the footage that came out of this little camera."

EVA1 TECH SPECS

RESOLUTION: UHD (3840X2160) ORIGINAL CAPTURE FORMAT: 10-BIT 422 LONGGOP 150 LENSES: CANON CINEMA EOS PRIMES Official trailer and website of 40 and Single https://umc.tv/40andsingle

For more information on the EVA1, please visit http://bit.ly/2SWBFMm

STOP THE 46

Winner of the EVA1 “Share Your Vision” short film contest for non-fiction, SAGE, directed and shot by filmmaker Gabe Dinsmoor with the EVA1, tells the story of Errika Bridgeford, an activist who heads the Ceasefire Movement, which organizes ceasefire weekends to stop street violence in Baltimore, MD. Dinsmoor’s career began to take off while filming the protests during the Baltimore Uprising movement while working as a freelance video journalist for The New York Times, The Guardian and Esquire. “I remember I had to make the decision to either take photographs, or film the protests, and I felt like film was the best medium for communicating what was happening on the ground,” says Dinsmoor. “I teamed up with [actress] Sonja Sohn, producer Nate Mook, coproducer Mahrya Macintyre, and DP Cliff Charles to spend two years as a cinematographer and associate producer on Baltimore Rising, a feature documentary for HBO that followed activists and police during the trials for the officers involved in Freddie Gray's death.” For Dinsmoor, it was a big transition going from multimedia journalism to working on an HBO feature as a cinematographer and he had to learn quickly on the job. “One thing that is a common thread throughout my work is being involved in storytelling in my community and having a commitment to social justice,” says Dinsmoor. “There are great stories that need to be told right in our own backyard. I think there is a misconception that you need to travel to find great stories and that's not necessarily true.” For SAGE, Dinsmoor first captured Erricka while shooting for VICE News Tonight while they were reporting on one of the first Ceasefire weekends in 2017. He was immediately taken by her passion, warmth and grit. “It wasn't until 2017 became a record-setting year in terms of homicides per capita in Baltimore that I felt like this was a very important story that needed to be told,” explains Dinsmoor. “I saw that Erricka was on the front lines doing the work of building a

grassroots anti-violence movement.” Dinsmoor shot with a Canon C300 Mark I when working on Baltimore Rising but decided to upgrade to a “future-proof 4K cinema camera” which lead him to the EVA1. “The EVA1 looked appealing for the kind of work I was going to do,” reveals Dinsmoor. “The camera being lightweight was very important to me. The Dual Native ISO also sold me as a documentary cinematographer who often uses only available light. With SAGE, there were times when we were on dark street corners with little to no light and I absolutely had to make use of the native base 2500 ISO and fast lenses because there was zero possibility of lighting the scene.” The biggest challenge for Dinsmoor was being a one-man-band for the production (director, producer, sound op, editor, and DP). He was able to accomplish this with tremendous support from the local film community. “People believe in Erricka and her story and want to see the film come to fruition,” explains Dinsmoor. “I also knew that I would be filming Erricka in extreme low light situations that would be a challenge for any cinema camera. Combined with fast lenses, the EVA1 gave me the right kind of gritty cinematic look I was going for.” In shooting on dark streets with very little practical light – often locations where someone had been murdered – Dinsmoor employed fast zoom lenses, including a Canon 17-55mm f/2.8, Canon 70-200mm f/2.8, and a Canon 24mm f/1.4 prime. He also used the EVA1’s Native 2500 ISO. “At times it was necessary to push to 5000 ISO depending on how dark the scene was, but I tried to not go above 4000 unless absolutely necessary to get a good exposure,” says Dinsmoor. SAGE was captured at 4K DCI (4096x2160) at 23.98-fps. Since the ALL-I codec had not been released at the time of shooting, Dinsmoor recorded in Long-GOP 150Mbps. According to Dinsmoor, it was amazing to watch how much flexibility the EVA1 VLOG files had for the color grade, which was finished on

Premiere Pro by Dinsmoor and his friend, Andrew Capino. “Andrew raved about the dynamic range, color science, and the ability to match with other even higher tier cinema cameras such as the ARRI ALEXA and RED cameras,” says Dinsmoor. “This was a quick grade, as this was originally a sizzle tape before we submitted to the contest. I think we spent a day on the whole grade.” “Overall, I'm very happy with how EVA1 performed while filming SAGE,” continues Dinsmoor. “The image is cinematic and film-like, the color science is natural and pleasing, and the camera is light weight, so you can go for hours shooting handheld run-and-gun style. The Dual Native ISO feature is super useful in so many situations that I feel confident EVA1 was the right camera choice for my film.” Currently Dinsmoor is in post-production for a longer documentary chronicling Erricka Bridgeford's efforts of building a grassroots anti-violence movement in Baltimore. “We are preparing the film for a festival run and are looking for distributors,” says Dinsmoor. “We hope the film will start a dialogue about gun violence in cities across America.”

EVA1 TECH SPECS

RESOLUTION: 4K (4096X2160) ORIGINAL CAPTURE FORMAT: 10-BIT 422 LONGGOP 150 LENSES: CANON 17-55MM F/2.8, CANON 70-200MM F/2.8, AND A CANON 24MM F/1.4 PRIME Watch SAGE https://youtu.be/19PULj3o2K8

For more information on the EVA1, please visit http://bit.ly/2SWBFMm

VIOLENCE Gabe Dinsmoor shoots EVA1 Short Film Contest nonfiction film contest winner, SAGE, with the EVA1 { photo courtesy of Gabe Dinsmoor }

SUPERCHARGED Filmmaker Mike Steidley captures 5.7K ProRes RAW with EVA1 and Atomos recorders { photo courtesy of Mike Steidley }

ProRes RAW is a new format – created by Apple and Atomos – that combines the flexibility of RAW video with the efficiency of ProRes. With the EVA1, you can output 5.7K ProRes RAW recording via 6G SDI (up to 30-fps) to an Atomos Shogun Inferno or Sumo19 monitor/recorder. Filmmaker Mike Steidley is an EVA1 shooter, who has recently produced several projects captured in ProRes RAW to Atomos recorders. Growing up in Guilford Connecticut, Steidley grew up racing mountain bikes and stunt riding, winning over 12 National Championship Titles. Traveling the globe with his cycling career and filming commercials with his sponsors led him into creating his own content during the rise of social media. With the EVA1 and the Atomos Shogun Inferno, Steidley has completed several productions, shooting in similar environments that he had shot with his Lumix cameras. One of his first EVA1/Shogun Inferno projects was shooting a performer who specializes in fire juggling. For this project, Steidley wanted to see how much detail he could capture with ProRes RAW and the EVA1’s Native 2500 ISO. Steidley recently completed a commercial for Ocean City Jeep Week in which they had 200 jeeps driving across the beach in Ocean City. “That was a good test for ProRes RAW because there’s a lot of cloud detail that I wanted to be able to retain,” explains Steidley. “I was shooting in early morning and I wanted to showcase the colors of the cars and all the details in the shadows just because a lot of these cars have lift kits and lots of things done to them. I also knew I wanted to be able to shoot at any angle.” In setting up his EVA1, Steidley uses the

Zacuto VCT Pro baseplate so he can quickly move from a shoulder rig to his Manfrotto tripod. “I like to shoot a lot of angles, so I really love a camera that I can throw at anything,” explains Steidley. “My AC probably hates me because I’ll be on the shoulder rig one minute and then I’ll get the motion slider out and get a motion slider shot. I need to be able to set my camera up quickly to tackle any situation.” For lenses, Steidley employs a combination of zooms and primes, including the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 zoom, Canon L-series primes, and a Canon 70200mm 2/2.8 zoom. Steidley makes the most use of EVA1’s Dual Native ISOs when he uses the camera on a gimbal. “I can use a longer focal length lens and then I can increase my aperture to make focusing easier, especially when using the gimbal as a solo operator,” he says. “Also, a lot of my mountain bike content, even though it’s in the middle of the day, is deep in the woods so sometimes we need to have that higher ISO to be able to get the exposure where we need to be.” Steidley’s entire post workflow is done in Final Cut Pro X, including color grading with the new color wheels in the Color Inspector. For more advanced work, he uses Color Finale, a Final Cut Pro X plug-in by colorist Denver Riddle, which gives him many of the same features he would get from DaVinci Resolve. According to Steidley, a big advantage for ProRes RAW is the ability to capture 5.7K files. “For a 4K delivery, I can re-frame my image if I didn’t get my horizon line perfect,” he explains. “I have that extra resolution so I’m not compromising my image. I also think you get less compression artifacts when using the

Atomos.” Another ProRes RAW advantage is that with a couple of clicks, Steidley can change his workflow to suit his needs. “For a quick turnaround, you can import ProRes RAW and convert to V-Log,” explains Steidley. “You can then use the VariCam LUT Library and make all of your clips look great. On projects where I’m handing off video files, I’ll go through that workflow and I’ll quickly get everything into a LUT that I like and make a couple of tweaks and then do an XLM export, which I give to the client.” According to Steidley, the EVA1’s ability to fit a wide variety of shooting situations with a robust codec make it a winner for his production company. “My projects all have unique needs and I need a camera that can be like a chameleon and go from a small solo operator job one day, to a full on commercial shoot the next, and the EVA1 gives me just that,” reveals Steidley. “All of this would be off the table without great image quality. Combined with the Atomos recorder and ProRes RAW, I can get everything I need in a single camera package.”

EVA1 TECH SPECS

RESOLUTION: 5.7K (5720 X 3016) ORIGINAL CAPTURE FORMAT: PRORES RAW HQ LENSES: SIGMA AND CANON ZOOM AND PRIME STILL LENSES

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