Just three short weeks ago, I started working on a feature film, and as of last Tuesday, we officially wrapped it! The journey so far has been extremely exciting, but also incredibly challenging, and I am extremely grateful to everyone in our cast and crew for their hard work and dedication to this project. We are a very small team and everyone on board works their butt off to make this happen.
As I mentioned in my previous blog post, Over the coming weeks and months, I will be publishing a series of articles outlining how we made this guerrilla-style micro-budget feature film a reality. I’ll be covering the entire process – from casting to production to post – and everything in between… and this post is actually the first in a series.
First, I want to start with a topic that I know many readers of this blog will appreciate: our camera settings.
So let’s jump right in and look at our camera options –
Bear Mini 4.6K
As many of you know, I am a huge fan of Blackmagic and own many of their cameras. At the same time, I regularly shoot with a number of other digital cinema cameras, prosumer cameras, and digital SLRs depending on the needs of my work. Going into this project, there was no clear answer as to which camera we were going to shoot with, and in fact, it took us the better part of a month to finally decide on the URSA Mini 4.6K.
There are a lot of things to consider when you’re choosing a camera for any particular project. Image quality is almost always the first thing people consider, but other factors such as ergonomics, size, features, audio capabilities, etc. are equally important.
My biggest considerations for this project were quality, speed, and camera size. These were top of mind because we would be shooting almost the entire film guerrilla style and I wanted to make sure we could move quickly and work unobtrusively while still maintaining a very high level of image quality.
I knew the URSA Mini 4.6K would easily deliver the image quality I was looking for, and since I already owned the camera, it was a natural choice from the start. That said, I did consider other options, including the high-end Arri Alexa Mini and RED Epic Dragon, and even some low-end DSLRs. Ultimately, I tried to find the right balance between image quality, cost, and field usability, and although I was pulled in many directions, I ultimately came full circle and settled on the URSA Mini 4.6K.
Of all the options, it seemed to offer the best of both worlds while also helping us keep costs down.
One drawback of this camera (and this goes for any other movie camera) is that it’s not as inconspicuous as a digital SLR. On at least two occasions we were almost kicked out of the location – but luckily we were able to capture the footage we needed. I’m sure with a smaller camera this would never happen, which is why I first considered shooting with a DSLR…but for me, the difference in image quality the URSA Mini 4.6K brings is worth that risk.
Let’s move on to lenses…
Sigma Theater Zoom
Choosing the right lens for this project requires as much thought as choosing the right camera. All the same considerations came into play; features, quality, size, etc… After weighing the many options, it became clear that the best tool for the job was the new Sigma Cinema Zoom Lens. We exclusively use 18-35 and 50-100.
These lenses are certainly the cine equivalent of Sigma’s excellent art lenses (designed specifically for still photography) and they are truly impressive. Normally I only shoot with prime lenses on narrative projects, but in this case I made an exception and decided to use a zoom lens. There are several main reasons for this –
First of all, these aren’t just old zoom lenses. These lenses are very fast at T2.0 and deliver extremely high quality images across the board, comparable to many cine lenses that are much more expensive to purchase… at least in my opinion. More importantly, however, they allow us to work very quickly without having to sacrifice quality. We didn’t use any other glass on this project, which meant every shot in the film was shot on one of two lenses. In fact, I’d say about 75% of the movie was shot in 18-35 hours!
This way of working allows for faster set-ups between shots, allowing more time for extra shots and extra shots that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. Every logistical choice for the project was based on efficiency. It’s all about how we maximize our shooting time, capturing as many shots as possible with minimal downtime that fit perfectly into the frame. Not to mention, the documentary-style aesthetic of the film is further enhanced by the use of zoom over prime.
filter
I knew from the beginning that we would need to use an IRND filter to remove any infrared contamination that would otherwise affect the URSA Mini 4.6K footage. I have used Schneider IRND filters on this camera in the past with great results, so naturally these were my first choice. Three ND filters were used throughout the film: 0.6, 1.2 and 1.8, covering almost all of our scenes. I also have a 1/4 Black Promist filter on set (which we never use because it looks a bit too extreme), and a polarizer that I use occasionally to help bring out detail in clouds, or in shots. Eliminate glare when shooting through clouds.
These filters are used in conjunction with a Chrosziel matte box, which attaches via rails to the URSA Mini shoulder kit.
vocal
Our main location sound was captured by our amazing sound engineer (Scott Vanderbilt), but we still needed to consider other onboard audio considerations to ensure our workflow was seamless. First, we mounted a shotgun microphone on the camera body to capture our reference audio. Of course, the camera does have a built-in microphone, but the superior quality of the shotgun also allows us to simultaneously record an additional channel of audio (directly to the camera) as a backup.
The shotgun is run to channel 1 on the URSA Mini 4.6K, channel 2 receives the signal from the mixer – basically all the mics (boom, lavalier, plant, etc.) are mixed together into channel 2. The protector is located on the side of the camera with Velcro tape and remains there throughout the shoot.
On top of that, we mounted a small timecode sync box on top of the camera, which fed into the TC input of the URSA Mini 4.6K on the back of the camera. This will jam the timecode with the audio recorded to the mixer, which will make synchronization very easy.
Although we shot most of the shots using traditional slates, having the same timecode on camera and recording meant synchronization was just a click away. Syncing via timecode is faster and more reliable than manually syncing in post or using multiple eye/waveform based options, which is ultimately why we went this route. Not to mention, it’s a lifesaver in those situations where we can’t manage our time (either because we’re working too fast or have to remain unobtrusive).
monitor
When we started production, my plan was to operate the camera myself, which meant additional monitoring wasn’t relevant since I would always be looking through the EVF. Early in production, though, I quickly realized that if I was also operating the camera, I wouldn’t be able to focus on the story, actors, and overall direction as much as I’d hoped.
A few days later, I brought a long-time collaborator (Andy Chin) to shoot the film with me, which meant I needed a director’s monitor. Initially we used a Small HD 502 which worked great and didn’t draw too much power from our V-mount, but we eventually switched it to a BMD video assist. There are several reasons for this, the first being its size.
The extra space on the Blackmagic 7-inch screen was ideal as I couldn’t be next to the camera in many shooting situations and the screen on the Small HD 502 was a bit too small. But more importantly, BMD Video Assist also records redundancies. As the shoot progressed, this became increasingly important since we didn’t have a dedicated DIT on set. I handled all the data management myself, and (thankfully!) there were no hiccups or lost files along the way. That said, it still gives me added peace of mind knowing that nearly everything we shoot on the monitor has ProRes redundancy.
Every night when I back up all my footage I also back up the redundant SD card and wipe it the next day. I record HD video (not 4K) to the monitor so we can scroll all day on one card. This also means that when the 4K RAW footage is backed up to my RAID at night, I can plug the SD card from the BMD video assist into my laptop and watch the dailies.
what’s next
I’ll be sure to continue to push out updates, behind-the-scenes stuff, and more on the project over the next few weeks. If any of you would like to know or hear more detailed information, please leave me a comment below and I will try to answer it in a future post.
Now I’m going to give you some screenshots from the movie!
Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and twitter Stay tuned for more updates as things develop!
