We considered many different camera options for the movie, and the Canon 5D hadn’t even been released when we started our search. It ended up being the right camera for the right job at the right time. If you roll back through Shane’s archives, you will find information on the Terminator prequel shoot, which was our first experience with DSLR filmmaking at a production level. There were still many obstacles in that process that needed to be worked out, both by Bandito Brothers and Shane’s Elite Team before we could shoot an entire movie that way. For a project that scale, we had to adapt our workflow to integrate Avid and come up with a solid naming convention. Improvements to the camera, in the way of firmware updates, also helped simplify the shooting process, but the 24p update wasn’t developed until we were basically finished. Here are more details on our approach to Preparing for Act of Valor.

The 5D camera package

I was the media manager for most of the larger shoot locations, which entailed using laptops to backup the few CF cards we had, so they could be cycled back to the camera crew. I would review and rename the media when time allowed, and my HP DreamColor review display eventually became one of Shane’s staple tools for DSLR production. Eventually we were able to have a full editing workstation in a trailer near set for reviewing shots and prepping them for our Avid edit. This allowed Scott Waugh to do the initial editing in between shoots. Here are more details about our experience Shooting Act of Valor.

Directors Mouse McCoy and Scott Waugh watching playing on an HP Dream Color

Director Scott Waugh watching playback

Based on our shooting style and the options made available by using the 5D, we shot nearly 200 hours of footage. Since there was no way to automate the syncing process between the different cameras and separately recorded audio, that became a labor intensive process for our assistant editors in Avid. Instead of using a Unity, we just duplicated the source media across our editing systems. As sequences came together, would get source lists to start Twixtoring the Canon source files in AE and link them into Premiere sequences using EDLs. We added the 2K film scans and scaled the rest of the footage to 2K to match. Here are more details about Editing Act of Valor.

While Bandito Brothers has always prided themselves in being authentic and real, we did end up with hundreds of visual effects shots in the movie. About half of them were in response to issues that resulted from shooting with the 5D, but we also needed to add blood hits and do fixes like painting out crew members. Additionally, we did a fair bit of motion graphics work. While the film based VFX shots were relatively straight forward, with 2K film scans at 24p, the Canon footage was much more challenging.

Twixtor is an amazing tool, but it is not perfect. Whenever there is too much motion in a scene for the software to accurately track what is going on, it gives some strange results. Since Act of Valor is a fairly dynamic movie, to put it lightly, we had our share of issues to fix manually. For complex visual effects shots, our artists had to do this cleanup process on nearly every 5D source layer before they could even start doing any regular VFX work. We also dealt with a number of different types of rolling shutter artifacts.

We also had over a hundred subtitles, due to the Spanish and Russian dialog of the bad guys. Our map graphics were rendered as overlay layers with alpha channels and composited over the backgrounds directly in Premiere Pro. Dust busting was done as a final step in Photoshop after our color correction and texture passes. Here are more details about the process of doing Visual Effects on Act of Valor.

The biggest challenge we faced in the finishing process was preparing for three different aspect ratios for our deliverable (2.39, 1.78 and 1.33) without sacrificing resolution. The traditional approach to this costs you resolution and detail, which we couldn’t afford to lose with DSLR source material. Doing the online edit in Premiere Pro CS5.5 gave us some interesting workflow options. By doing the work across a series of subsequences, we were able to synchronize changes across multiple cuts of the movie at different aspect ratios. We also did a full texture pass in Cinnafilm’s Dark Energy software to match the DSLR footage to our film footage. Our final delivery of DPXs was used to make film prints, DCPs, and SR tapes. I have many more details on my site about Finishing Act of Valor.

2.39 aspect ratio tape marks on the 5D

Anyhow, it was quite the process to get the final product on the big screen, but the results have been well received. The good news is that many of the limitations we faced, like 30p frame rates, have been solved, but the same principles can be applied to other obstacles that are sure to be faced when pushing the envelope of traditional filmmaking.

“There’s smoke in the hills”

The first diffusion I go to time and time again, whether it is film or HD, is smoke.  This is a very powerful tool.  Having the patience to use the right smoke to get your levels consistent can infuse a mood, transport you back in time, create style, and a cream effect on a woman’s skin.  One tool.  My go to smoke/diffusion is the DF-50 by Reel EFX.

DF-50 Smoker

This is a fairly inexpensive machine and can smoke a very large area.  It looks small, but it packs a wallop.  This hangs for hours and gives you that consistent level.  This is mineral oil, and SAG contracts do not permit this smoke.  The Rosco 1500 has been approved by SAG to use. The problem with this smoke is that it doesn’t hang, which requires you to use 10 times the quantity.  Go figure.  But it has been deemed safe.

Rosco 1500

To encapsulate a TIME PERIOD:

THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED:

The early 1900s was such an exciting time period to shoot in this film directed by Bill Paxton.  Oil lamps, fireplaces, gas lamps, and the recent invention of electricity were my brushes. Smoking day interiors is one of my favorite things to do.  This morning breakfast scene doesn’t reveal shafts, but it creates that gauze.  Remember to be obsessed with the subtleties.  The texture was perfect for our intro to young Francis.  It also gave it a feel of excitement, but yet uncertainty.  Francis’ dad’s condescending nature came across immediately, but notice the light on the mom.  She becomes the guiding light in Francis’ journey.  Shooting through thick smoke and strong back light gave her an ethereal presence.

To impose a MOOD:

TERMINATOR SALVATION:

My vision for this film was that the world was always smoldering, never having been put out from SkyNet’s extermination.  So the use of smoke was everywhere in this film.  The mood that it infused was one of neglect, uncertainty and determination, which I felt was perfect for this world that McG had created.  The resistance would rise to fight, and like a burning ember, it can be stomped on, blown up, but the smoke, the resistance, will remain smoldering.  Maybe I am thinking a little too deeply, but this is how I think when I make a decision.  It cannot be there just because it looks good. It has to help tell the story and transport the audience into an uncomfortable world that is unstable and on edge.  The mine field was one of my favorite sequences to shoot.  Lighting 25 acres at night, with smoke, fire, bombs and debris flying.  Yeah!

To create a STYLE:

ACT OF VALOR:

The reason Act of Valor seems so filmic, and not like HD, is because I diffused all of the interiors and most night exteriors.  It wasn’t just Dark Energy adding grain. It was the texture of smoke that helped us cross cut seamlessly from 35mm motion picture film and 5D. The sense of style that the directors, Scotty Waugh and Mouse McCoy, wanted to convey is one that was immersive, real, a visceral experience.  Using the smoke in the Costa Rican compound gave it that realistic feel. It took the edge off of the HD capture and added a grain texture that was not 5D noise but diffusion.  Getting a consistent level when there were so many open windows was a challenge, to say the least, but well worth the effect. Using a heavy level of smoke once the crash grenade went off created confusion, so the audience did not know where the bullets were coming from and if our heroes had been hit.  Just this simple organic tool can really help push your story forward, and that’s what it is all about.

To cream a WOMAN’S SKIN:

WE ARE MARSHALL:

The diner scene was one of my favorite locations on this film directed by McG.  Creating all of the different times of day was challenging because it wasn’t a set.  This is one thing that I pride myself in doing.  At all costs, make it practical.  There is a reality that is conveyed when you have the limitations of a real location.  You cannot just blow the wall out to get the camera in the right place. You have to embrace the limitations. I do that by turning a challenge into a positive.  The night at the diner when they got the call that the plane had gone down with all the players, coaches and boosters on it was a very long shooting day.  We had started during the day with a couple of scenes. Then it drifted into the night.  This was such an important scene, but as always, delays happen, and we didn’t get to January Jones’s close up until the end.

I always try to make it a priority to shoot our female cast’s close-ups early. It is just good practice to build that into your daily schedule.  So here we are at 3 am, and it’s January Jones’s close up. She had just done several emotional scenes prior and was exhausted. She had to look alive, luminescent, stunning.  I turned to my EFX team to up our smoke level and use it as my diffuser, instead of pulling the glass out.  We shot the medium with a little heavier smoke level, then kept that consistency when I went to the longer lens. By using the longer lens and the heavier smoke levels, it softened her face and gave her this inner beauty.  The compression of the glass compresses the smoke and makes it look thicker.  That is why when you use smoke you cannot do wides and tights at the same time.  Your wide needs thicker smoke levels, but your longer lens work needs lighter.  January is one beautiful woman, and that night, I thought we knocked it out.  Her expression when she realizes her husband was in that plane – it was magic.

How do you use smoke?

Next week, we will discuss the art of using female stockings to add a glow, a pearlescent quality and transport you to a time period that had a sense of glamor, when movie stars were king.

The Challenge

The running scene in “The Ticket” that uses my song “Those Kisses” reminds me why I got into the business of making music for films. I’ve created music in a lot of forms, for a lot of different purposes. But there’s something special that happens with music in film that rarely happens in a concert hall, or a rock club, or on a record.

Simon Beins

When Po Chan and Shane Hurlbut invited me to contribute music to “The Ticket,” I knew that I’d be getting to work with a strong story and powerful footage. And, if you’re a composer, that’s the best. You’re starting off on good footing. Po also envisioned music with lyrics, which is a rare treat – yet another element that could communicate with the viewer. I knew it would be a challenge to match the stunning kind of film they were making, but I was up for it!

The Lyrics

Po and I initially began trading ideas about the script and the music long before “The Ticket” was actually in production. She knew that there would be room for a big song with lyrics, in a big scene, so I immediately began sketching ideas. I knew that overly literal lyrics would stifle the story (and potentially spoil the ending), but entirely unrelated lyrics would just create noise. After days of back and forth with Po, I finally landed on a set of lyrics that evoked the themes and emotions of the story without encroaching on it. Take a look at the first few lines:

Like I’d passed through a thousand deserts
And come upon a mountain stream,
I was blind for a thousand sunsets
Then opened my eyes to see

The lines start to form a narrative, albeit a metaphorical one, and suggest we’re about to hear a story: not unlike the beginning of the film, in which Emma emerges from the hospital room intact after a seemingly horrendous car accident.

The next few lines add a new dimension:

My angel is coming closer
I feel her breath on me
Lipstick in the mirror
Blowing kisses in a dream

Here the lyrics take on a stranger quality and start to play a little bit with reality: the theme of two lovers reuniting emerges – just as Vince renews his commitment to Emma – but it’s also clouded by the surreal imagery of the “lipstick in the mirror” and the “dream,” which foreshadows that all might not be as it appears.

The Music

As the dynamics of the scene that uses “Those Kisses” crystallized, we quickly realized that above all, the music needed to be simple. As much as I love making lush studio creations, I had to rein it in and leave room for the picture, the climactic scene of Emma and Vince running to the Santa Monica Pier in beautiful slow motion. So Po and I settled on an arrangement with a simple acoustic guitar and vocals at the core. My initial inclination was to add a pedal steel to help tug on the heartstrings, but Po felt a special affinity for the combination of violin and piano, which I knew would also do the trick. I decided to layer just a few other elements to give the scene the right vibe: a balance between celebrating the love between Emma and Vince and suggesting that their bliss may be temporary.

Since I’m based in Brooklyn, I enlisted my friend and engineer Gary Olson, of the great band The Ladybug Transistor, to record the track at his studio in Ditmas Park. I love working there – it’s relaxed, comfortable, and Gary has an endless parade of vintage mics, amps and keyboards to find just the right sound. I also got two other players on board: Elana Arian, a superb violin player and singer/songwriter, and Arthur Lewis, another fantastic singer and songwriter, to tickle the keys. We added a couple of other elements to round out the sound – some subtle chords on a Hammond organ, a tremolo electric guitar – but maintained the sparse, aching arrangement throughout.

To add a very minute detail, we recorded a piano-only version of “Those Kisses” in a “loungey” feel, to play quietly in the department store scene right before the big song – just a hint of what’s to come musically.

The Results

I couldn’t have been happier with the product of combining the music with the picture. It brings a unique kind of joy to hear your own music accompany such a beautifully envisioned and executed film.

The first time you hear my voice singing, as Vince and Emma exit the department store, is a key moment. Introducing a new element – the singing voice – allowed us to solidify the transition to a new and very different kind of scene. And there is so much that is important about that moment.

Of course, the slow motion style of filming is principal change that the music accompanies. Such stunning, epic, visuals make this the kind of scene that a composer dreams about scoring!

When my voice comes in, you hear the sound of a lone car driving away, and then the film loses all ambient street sound. That single car racing off into the distance signals a kind of departure of the “real” world, and really gives the sense that you’re seeing Vince and Emma envelop themselves even deeper into their own reality, disconnected from the world around them.

Further, it’s the first time you’re hearing an outside voice, drenched in reverb, clearly not coming from anything on the street. It gives the scene an otherworldly quality. It heightens both the meaning of the words and the imagery on screen.

There are so many other subtle interactions between the music, lyrics and picture that I love:

When Vince and Emma look at each other as they’re running, you hear the lyric “I was blind for a thousand sunsets / then opened my eyes to see.” It reinforces the idea that, for the moment, Vince is re-envisioning his relationship with Emma.

The moment you first hear the violins, which help take the intensity of the song up a notch, is the amazing shot of Emma’s billowing dress. At this point, the emotional sound of the violins, coupled with the flowing fabric of her dress, embodies the passion of their relationship.

When Vince and Emma run in front of the chandelier store, I sing “I can’t see anything but I can feel your hand.” Even though they’re right in front of a store that sells lights – a symbol of vision – Vince and Emma are so wrapped up in their own world that the touch of each other’s hand is all they need to truly “see.”

I could keep going and going… Almost every moment has something that catches my eyes and ears – some intentional, some accidental. It’s why I love making music for films! It’s an express lane to the heart; a shortcut to the soul. It has the ability to heighten any emotion in a film. And in “The Ticket,” we get to see and hear – and ultimately feel – the results.

“Those Kisses” on iTunes
View “The Ticket” on a previous post.
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“How is editing more than just ‘cutting’? What role does a colorist play in evoking emotion and meaning? How does a director bring the story to life and propel it forward by means of camera position and moves? What role does light play in breathing life into the film?

This interview of Po Chan by Chris Fenwick provides insight and commentary on these questions. You will enjoy the scene by scene breakdown by Po Chan as she explains her thinking – why it was framed, lit, shot, edited and graded as it was.

The Digital Convergence Podcast team thanks Po Chan for taking the time to talk with us and share her conversation with our listeners.”

Download (iTunes AAC):
Digital Convergence Episode 71 – iTunes/AAC

Download (MP3 version):
Digital Convergence Episode 71 – MP3

Here are some screen grabs, BTS stills, and video to accompany the discussion during the podcast:

5:20 Still frame of Emma’s flowing dress.

Story Board of Emma’s dress while she is running

14:50 Extreme close up of Vince’s eye

Story Board of the opening shot

18:55 Mirror shot in the hallway of the Hospital

21:00 Vince tying Emma’s shoes

22:55 Exiting the Hospital as the Taxi pulls up

23:45 D.P Shane Hurlbut, ASC getting ready to film in the back of the Prius

22:52 Director Po Chan sitting on the floor of the Prius

25:00 The Boutique Location

25:55 Building the ramp for the hand off shot

D.P Shane Hurlbut, ASC handing off the camera to operator Chris McGuire

Operator Chris McGuire standing by on the ramp for the hand off

Storyboard of the hand off sequence

29:37 Wide shot of Vince and Emma running in front of the chandelier store

30:15 Vince and Emma ripping the tags off of their clothing

37:45 Dutch angle of Vince in the ending hospital sequence

You can view “The Ticket” on a previous post.
Like “The Ticket” on Facebook.
Rate “The Ticket” on IMDB.

Now, we are at a wonderful crossroad, where we can do what we have done for decades or try a new way to light, a new way to create. Both roads are valid, but I do find pushing the limit and trying new things exciting. I find that any time I get comfortable, I need to challenge myself. On this film, the lighting was a challenge because we used natural, available light and shaped it. I turned lights off, then added accent lights to bring out the depth of a location.

The Hospital

At the Northridge Medical Center, we were able to use all the available lights that were in the ceiling, which were 4’ cool white flo’s. Po and I wanted to go for a very sterile, antiseptic feel. So I baked in the look with a Neutral picture style with the color temp set at 2700 degrees. This gave us the starting point with this cold, minty green feel. Po described the hallway as cold and representative of death because this is what Vince was expecting after the intense car accident. I loved that idea, but I said what if we make the rooms feel alive. So, I purposedly lit them with Kino Flo Tegra units and pushed warm white flo’s out of the rooms and into the hallways.

Lighting the actors in the hallway was done with a single 4’ Kino Flo Tegra, which I absolutely love. It dims down perfectly and gives you that ability to adjust without gels, which saves time and money. In front of this light was a 4 x 4 Rosco 1/2 tough white diffusion frame, and for close ups, Rosco full white diffusion. On the lens for Emma’s coverage, I used digital diffusion to help smooth the skin and help with this 4K capture. The result was a beautiful light that glowed in Emma’s eyes when Vince hugs her for the first time. We were able to shoot the whole scene at 400 ISO because there was plenty of light. It gave us a very clean look at this location.

4’ Kino Flo Tegra

4’ Kino Flo Tegra lighting through a 4 X 4 Rosco 1/2 Tough White Diffusion

Emma’s close up

The Exit

When Vince and Emma exit, I wanted to use color contrast to help tell the story of them leaving that cold world and moving into the warm light. We did not want to inject a lot of color, just cool and warm so when they hit the streets that multi-color feel would be that much more powerful visually. We used the existing flo’s in the ceiling to light them as they came around the corner and headed out the door. They were immediately basked in two Kino Flo Celeb 200 LED lights that we rigged on a speedrail goal post just out of frame. The rest of the warm light was existing from can lights built into the ER overhang.

Kino Flo Celeb 200

The Taxi

Shooting in cars at night is always difficult, but in this scene, I wanted to use the 1DC’s sensitive sensor to bring the outside light in. A perfect example of this was on Crazy Beautiful, which had a scene where Kirsten Dunst picked up Jay Hernandez in their Bronco, but without a top and driving around the streets of LA. I had to put the Bronco up on a process trailer and pull this with a camera car and a generator. I created this pulley system to have overhead light sources like the street lights that they would drive under. I pushed the film stock one stop to try and bring up the ambient light that existed. This was a massive lighting gag that looked very cool but not as real as what I was able to do on the Ticket, which was inside an enclosed Prius. Using one single Rosco light panel, I was able to shoot at a 1.3 on the Canon 24mm cinema prime. Driving on Sunset Blvd gave us the natural light to expose inside the car. You need to check out these light panels. They are amazing, so soft and tungsten or daylight balanced. All on battery and use hardly any power.

Rosco Litepad Kit

The Taxi Cab Pull Up

Po’s vision was for the camera to slide from our Cab Driver, who is giving Vince advice to get out because it will be faster. This image was one of those movie poster moments. You look through the lens, and you know this is it. So we catch the Cabbie, and he is bathed in red/orange light from the brake lights of the cars in front of them in this traffic jam. I achieved this look by setting up 3 Celeb 200 with Rosco medium red color on them. This infused this wonderful soft light into the car and all the way to Emma and Vince in the back seat. Derek Johnson was on a 650 watt Fresnel that wiped across Vincent when he checks his watch. This was to wash the interior with white light to color contrast against the red. The blue light was my plan to shift Emma’s focus from that stare out of the window to her looking in the direction of the moving blue light that is the Boutique. You can see that reflection in the bottom of the frame in her close up. I loved the way the multi color collage looked and felt.

Cabbie and Vince being lit by 650 watt Fresnel Lighting Gag

Cabbie and Vince being lit by Kino Flo Celeb 200’s

Using 3 Kino Flo Celeb 300’s in front of the Taxi

The Store Front Window

One of my favorite shots was when Emma exits the car. She looks so beautiful, the moving blue light playing on her face. She looks like a little kid in a candy shot. I wanted to light this section with an urban feel. I embraced the orange sodium vapor lights on Sunset Blvd. and flagged a couple off of her so that the light came from one direction and that was from the right side as a back light. Lumisys Systems supplied the 400 watt High Pressure Sodium that we put on a Mambo combo. Then, I used 3-200 Celeb’s at 5000 degrees on a goal post above the window to create cool soft light that felt like it was emanating from the window so that the spinning pattern contrast wasn’t so stark. I felt that the side angle shot looked very cool with the light falling off on Vince until he walks into the pool of light that comes from the window. The Canon 50mm Cinema Prime did an amazing job bringing the out of focus lights in the background forward.

Left: 400 watt High pressure sodium on mambo combo Right: Vince and Emma backlit by the 400 watt High Pressure Sodium

Kino Flo 200 Celebs on the goal post

Vince’s Close up

You can view “The Ticket” on a previous post.
Like “The Ticket” on Facebook.
Rate “The Ticket” on IMDB.

We have had an outpouring of positive feedback on Po Chan’s film “The Ticket.” Everyone at Hurlbut Visuals wanted to give you an inside look at how we used the power of this incredibly flexible, lightweight, DSLR platform, the A camera system that is the 1DC. It gives any filmmaker the ability to dream.

Examples on how this small footprint aids in your creative aspirations:

The Visual Landscapes of “The Ticket”

The Hospital

Due to the small size of this camera, we were able to get the camera incredibly low while Vince sat on the floor.  Po and I wanted to use a 50mm to show Vince’s perspective, not a wide angle distorted view.  He is on the floor. With a large footprint camera, we would have had to put Vince on several apple boxes to get this low angle perspective, which would have raised his head very close to the ceiling.  With this new camera, we only had to raise him up on a 1/4 apple box, and we kept it real.

Using the Canon 50mm Cine Prime for a low angle shot

Chan and Hurlbut watching playback on HP Dreamcolor

The low angle wide shots on Vince and Emma once she asks “What time is it” for the second time were very easy to get, once again because of the short length.

Chris McGuire, steadicam operator, completing the low angle wrap around shot

The low angle wrap-around shot, where we are shooting through Emma’s legs with Vince on the floor in the background, was done on the Revolution Steadicam Rig.  The 1DC weighs only 6.5 lbs., with the camera and lens. Chris McGuire,  our operator, pointed out that this shot would have never been possible with other larger cameras.

Closeup of Canon 1DC and the Revolution head

The shot of Vince back in the hospital, which is right after the Ferris Wheel scene, would have never happened without the lightweight compact nature of this 1DC.  We had it on the Revolution Rig again and rotated it 90 degrees so it felt like his head was lying down.  Where Vince was located, we only had a small doorway for Chris to navigate in.  He was able to pan and tilt his rig to find the nurse as well as the doctor, once he arrived.

Dutching the Revolution head to translate Vince’s disorientation

The Exit

Running backwards with a very heavy camera system on the Revolution rig would have been impossible.  Chris was able to back peddle, putting the 1DC right on the deck as they ran out, then boom up to reveal the taxi sliding into frame.  We were able to take in a very low angle perspective in the hospital hallway with all the fluorescent lights overhead and then merge into the warm world of the ER pull up.

McGuire running backwards with the Revolution rig

The Taxi

We purposely cast the Prius Taxi Cab to not only be eco-friendly, but to showcase the power of the camera’s size and its sensor.  We loaded our three actors; Po, our director; Mike Svitak, our 1st AC; and me into the cab and drove around the streets of Los Angeles.  I was in the hatchback of the Prius on a Kessler Cine Slider, using a Small HD DP-4 to gauge my exposure and frame my shot.  The lens was the new 24mm Cinema Prime at a t1.3.  I was able to get the camera nice and high in the slanted hatchback to see all the depth out the windows.  Using the incredible sensitivity of the 1DC sensor, we were able to drive around and take all the exterior light that existed on the street and bring that low light into the Prius.

The only light I used was a Rosco Light panel.  The reason that it worked so well is that it is a small LED that lights up a white board in either daylight or tungsten, with multiple sizes and is easy to mount, or as in our case, hold.  Emma was able to hold the light and assist in the lighting of Vince in the center of the vehicle.  A cinematographer tries to create a ballet of moving light while driving.  Usually, this is done with moving lighting gags, pulleys, etc. In this case, no camera cars, no process trailers and no generators were required.

1DC in the back of a Prius on a Kessler Cineslider with Canon 24mm Cine Prime

Chan sitting with the actors in the back of the Prius

The Boutique

Po’s vision was to fly with Emma and Vince once they decide to steal the clothes and run.  She wanted the camera to be energetic and alive.  We are off.  We once again used the 1DC small footprint to start low on the floor, where we tilt up and reveal Vince and Emma’s hands. We did not do this with cable cams or technocranes, but with an old school camera hand off.  We then quickly move with them and fly over the glass wall, where Chris McGuire pops up from our ramp, courtesy of my Rigging Key Grip Kent Baker.  Chris grabs the camera and flies down the ramp right alongside our actors.

Notice the picture of the camera rig we built.  It consisted of an MCS cage, a Bartech remote follow focus, a wireless sound device, a Small HD DP-6 monitor and an Anton Bauer battery to power it all.  Did you notice the back LCD screen, as well as the on-board monitor? This is a new function called mirroring.  It enables you to have the back LCD sceen as well as other monitors or EVF’s.  This was absolutely crucial in capturing this shot because I was able to operate off the DP-6 in low mode, and Chris could operate off the LCD.

Key Grip Kent Baker building the ramp

McGuire standing by for the camera hand off

Close up of hand off rig

The hand off

The Arcade Area of the Pier

Using this lightweight camera, we were able to achieve the low angle whip-around of the roller coaster overhead, then down to Vince and Emma running through all the color of the gaming area.

Low angle shot in the gaming area of the pier

The Ferris Wheel

You would never take your actors, your director, focus puller and your DP up in a Ferris  Wheel basket 57 feet above the Pacific Ocean and shoot an emotional scene, but that is what we did.  Using the sensitivity of the sensor, I was able to light Vince and Emma with just 3 lights and 4 amps.  I used the new Kino Flo Celeb 200 LED light to key and then back light both of our actors, plus a DIY Christmas light board that was chasing and flashing to match the Ferris Wheel in the background.  The 1/2 mile of depth was lit courtesy of the city of Santa Monica.  The performance I was able to get from Emma, with the wind whistling in her hair and the tears welling up in her eyes because of the cold, never would have been possible on stage in a green screen environment. Using this wonderful device took our story that much higher, our visuals that much higher, and delivered emotions that would never have been possible with any other device.

Chan and Hurlbut with the actors in the Ferris Wheel bucket

I will be leading a hands on session with the 1DC and the new Cinema Primes for the Canon Live Learning Center at the LA Film School on April 25th at 6pm. Please sign up from this link. Spaces are going fast, and I want to be able to show all of you the 4K projection and discuss why I think this tool is so special. A very in-depth Q and A session will follow. Support staff from Revolution Cinema Rentals will be supplying all the latest rigs that turn this still camera into a movie making machine. I look forward to seeing you there!

Thank you to Steve Tobenkin and the shooters from Reel to Reel for delivering an amazing BTS.

You can view “The Ticket” on the previous post.
Like “The Ticket” on Facebook.
Rate “The Ticket” on IMDB.

Canon 1DC

NAB show floor

At a trade show such as NAB, you can get caught up in looking at all the camera technology, gizmos, gadgets, etc. so quickly. But the story seems to always ground me. Today, Hurlbut Visuals launches a short film written and directed by another very talented woman, Po Chan. “The Ticket” is her follow up to “The Last 3 Minutes.” Please enjoy!!!

The Elite Team and Talent watching playback on an HP Dream Color Monitor

The Ticket

Director Po Chan on location at the Santa Monica Pier

The right tool for the job has always been my mission. Whatever camera helps tell the story, aids in character development, helps deliver emotion and transports you to a unique cinematic world for you to experience — wouldn’t you say that is the primary goal of a cinematographer?

The 1DC on a Master Cinema series rig with Tiffen Glimmer Glass

Getting in close with the 1DC with Canon 50mm Cinema Prime with MCS action cam rig

When Canon approached me to test and shoot a short film for their new 1DC 4K DSLR, I was more than excited. This is the world that I have been trailblazing for quite some time. When the camera was delivered to Hurlbut Visuals, my Elite Team and I sent it through various tests, using what we had learned from our collective experience with the Canon 5D MK II. After the first night of testing, one word came to mind. WOW!!!

Steadicam Operator Chris McGuire operating the Steadicam with the revolution head

Close up of the revolution head

When you harness 4K into the small footprint of a 1D, give it the processing power to record to little CF cards with no external recording devices needed.  Now that is where the WOW factor comes in. I can blind you with tech specs, wine and dine you with test footage, but this is not what I am about. If this unique device transports you and rivals 35mm film, then my job is done.

Elite Team Member Mike Svitak

Everything about this camera will blow your mind. The image stands alone, with not even one competitor entering the playing field. What you are going to see on the web will never do this camera justice. You need to run out, knock down doors and demand screenings of this camera on a 4K Sony or Barco projector. I have walked up to 6 inches from the screen, and you cannot see a pixel. If there were only one booth, you could visit this week, that booth would be Canon. This is a company that I believe in, not because they make the best DSLRs in the world, but because they are coming from R & D that is about replicating film, not HD video. This is a big difference. Canon is delivering DIGITAL FILM, now in 4K, and in this creation, they combined both divisions – Video and DLSR. So you are getting the collective brain power of two huge engineering monoliths. This is a big step for Canon.

This is as Techie as I get

Out of the gate, the camera functions just like a 5D, 1D. It uses the same menus, and it is easy to navigate. You can save all your favorites and settings on a CF card and pass them from camera to camera. It records 23.98 at 4K at a size bigger than super 35, which gives you a shallower depth of field. It has a mirroring function so that you can view the back LCD screen, as well as an external EVF or monitor. 4GB equals 1 minute of 4K. Lexar cards that process at 1000 mb/s, UDMA 7 are the only things that can capture this baby. 60p at 1080 Full frame sensor, so you gain all the benefits that the 5D’s full frame sensor gave you. Rolling shutter was less apparent. Moire did not exist. Picture styles are like on the 5D, so you can go in there and make your own.

Canon Log was one of the most exciting functions of the 1DC. At 400 ISO, it will give you a dynamic range of 12.5 stops. The log looks unbelievable. You can expose it easily, not like Cinestyle or other flat files. No h.264 codec here. This records to motion jpegs, and the WOW factor goes up when you see how the slight compression to the cards makes it look just like film. This compression, that I have embraced and love, softens the highlights, skin and rounds the 4K capture.

The contrast ratio feels more like a hill than a cliff. Skin tones are absolutely beautiful. Vitality abounds with the Canon’s sensor and color space. I could care less that it is 8 BIT color. I am getting it very close, and Dave Cole, our colorist at Technicolor, had a huge range to deal with. Canon’s 8 BIT feels like 12 BIT with its color space and reproduction.

ISO Range

The effective native ISO of the chip is 400 ISO in Canon Log. There are no native ISOs like the 5D, 7D, and 1D. Through testing, I was able to go to 6400 on the Neutral picture style as well as Canon Log and see the noise that I saw at 1600 ISO on the Canon 5D, which is what 70% of the night photography was shot at on Act of Valor. That noise is minimal. It doesn’t look like the C300 at 6400 ISO, which looks very noisy and a grain texture equal to 5219 pushed two stops, which is marginal. Shooting at 6400 ISO, with minimal noise/grain will shake things up. I felt that it handled the highlights of night photography wonderfully on Canon Log. Holding all detail in color on neon, flo’s, street lamps with no hot burning video looking boca. There was no evidence of sensor pattern in the out of focus highlights that you get from every other camera. It just plain looked like film. This is an A Camera system. Period!!!!

This is just the beginning of a 5 week series about the inner workings of The Ticket. There will be a BTS post, two lighting posts, a producing post and texture process post, so stay tuned. Thank you to Simon Beins and The Three Fishermen for the original song “Those Kisses” on “The Ticket.”

“Those Kisses” on iTunes

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Rate “The Ticket” on IMDB.

D.P. Shane Hurlbut, ASC and director John Krueger discussing a shot.

We scouted two stores and settled on the one in Long Beach with many windows and orientation to the sun. John wanted the look and feel to be fresh, filled with early afternoon sun. My lighting package consisted of:

El Pollo Loco exterior

Paskal Lighting Truck

 

HMI lights
1) 18k complete
2) 6k pars complete
2) 4k pars complete
2) M18 complete
2) 1200 complete
1) 400 watt joker w/leko
1) spare 18/12/6k ballast

KINO
2) image 80′s globed 5500
4) 4′x4 globed 5500
2) 4′x2 globed 5500
2) 4′x1 globed 5500
2) 2′x4 globed 5500
2) 2′x2 globed 5500
2) 2′x1 globed 5500
1) box (24) 4′ 3200 kino tubes
12) 2′ 3200 kino tubes

TUNGSTEN
1) 150w dedo kit
2) 750w leko
2 of each lens) 19, 26, 50 degree
6) par 64 par cans 3) med. 3)narrow
Spare par 64 bulbs) 2)med. 2)narrow

DISTRO
2) 900 amp distro box’s
4) 100 amp lunch pails
2) 100amp gang box
10) 50′ 100amp bates
4) 50′ 220v bates
8) (2 sets) 3fers
2) ground squids
2) male turn-a-rounds
2) female turn-a-rounds
25) 50′ stingers
15) 25′ stingers
6) 50′ 5 wire banded
10) 100′ 2/0
10) 50′ 2/0

STANDS/ MISC.
1) super crank
1) low crank
8) junior stands
4) low junior stands
12) baby stands
2) primi stands
2) 2k variacs
4) 1k variacs

72) 4′ T8 5500 tubes

EXPENDABLE
10) 150w long neck practical bulbs
10) 100w or 150w outdoor flood bulbs

SHANE HURLBUT EQUIP
2) 8′ Baton strips
2) 4′ Baton strips
Shane’s asst. of bulbs

My approach was to keep the light natural and real. This spot was pushing it with its visual concept, so keeping the lighting based on reality was paramount. I used the 6K pars to blow through 8 x 8 Full Grid diffusion frames to create the window ambiance that existed in the store. Then I used the 4K and 1200 watt pars inside to create hot streaks of sun. This worked out nicely because we cooled down the soft source a little so that the sun streaks felt like early afternoon light. Daylight balanced Kino Flo’s were used for the key on the shoes when THE HONCHO walks thru the door.

The Breakdown in Lighting on each character:

THE HONCHO
2-6K HMI Par lights blasting thru a 16’ long by 8’ high Full Grid diffusion, which is his key light on his left side. A 1200 HMI Par light is streaking the warm tile wall and hitting the white tile wall to add contrast. Rosco 1/8 CTB was added to the 6K pars, and Rosco 1/4 CTS was added to the 1200 par. A 4K Par was then added with Rosco 1/4 CTS to bring in sunlight on his shirt. The grips then added a top chop on the light so that the raw 4K would not hit his face.

 

THE MAESTRO
2-6K HMI Par lights blasting thru a 16’ long by 8’ high Full Grid diffusion, which is his edge light on his right side. I added a Kino Flo Image 80 on his right side to wrap the light around his face, then from there a 4’ 4-Bank Kino Flo over camera for more wrap. The flames from the grill would be his fill light on his left side. To help give depth to the shot, I used 150 watt incandescent practicals in the hood, which filled in the chicken from above. Then an 18K blasted thru the drive thru window to burn our employee in the background.

 

THE MUSCLE
2-6K HMI Par lights blasting thru a 16’ long by 8’ high Full Grid diffusion, which is his key light on his right side.  4K HMI par streaks the back warm tile wall with sun, 18K gives depth blowing thru the drive thru window and grazing the stainless steel.  Warm glow reflection is the 150watt practicals in the hood.

 

THE BLADE
2-6K HMI Par lights blasting thru a 16’ long by 8’ high Full Grid diffusion, which is his key light on his right side. Since she was turning out of the big soft source, we added a daylight balanced 5500 degree Kino Flo Image 80 thru a 4 x 4 Rosco Half White Diffusion frame.  Then for her fill side, I added a 4’ 4-Bank Kino Flo with Full grid on it again with daylight balanced globes.  I added an 8’ Shane Hurlbut Baton light on the chicken in the BG to bring up the texture of the background.

 

This was the maiden voyage of the Master Cinema Series with our new C300 cage. It felt really great on my shoulder, and I put myself in some interesting positions. Check out this shot when we gave The Blade her intro. I am up on the counter cork screwing down with the MCS shoulder rig, while my package is getting steamed from the rice and bean warmers. Whew! It was hot up there.

 

Shane Hurlbut, ASC with MCS shoulder rig and Canon C300

 

Derek Edwards and Marc Margulies pulled focus and were getting used to a new platform once again. They felt really positive about the focus on the job, and I was constantly at an f2.0 most of the day.

 

Elite team member Mike Svitak slating the shot

Elite team member Marc Margulies checking distance.

Elite team member Derek Edwards checking focus.

 

Here is the finished spot. I think it has a fresh look. Vashi Nedomansky did the edit on Premiere Pro, and Matthew Macar did all the graphics. Thanks to Derek Johnson for the BTS photos in the post. Enjoy!!!

“Find us on Facebook.”  “Follow me on Twitter.” We see social media everywhere these days and rightly so. Tools like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+ and more can help small businesses, one man shops, and large brands grow and expand their contacts with clients and customers. This includes filmmakers. The opportunities are great for both raising funds online and for distributing your work.

“But I don’t have time for anything else!,” you say. We often need to make choices about where to best spend energy and resources, but social media is a “must do.” What it has done is to allow us to connect with thousands of people in new ways. We’re actually having conversations and engaging friends and followers on an individual basis while others peak in.

It’s about building relationships and telling your story. When done in the right way, people feel like they know you in some way, so be genuine. Be you, not a sterile corporate-like presence. They are much more likely to support the project of a friend, rather than a stranger. That’s why it’s important to start building your social media presence early, long before you will specifically call on people to open their wallets for you or spread the word about your work.

Another piece of social media’s power is that of word of mouth. Your followers will be evangelists for you. A retweet, Facebook share or a Google+ click pushes out their endorsement of you to all of their online friends. That means an even greater reach for you.

So where do you start? Although the accounts are free, your time is the premium. In terms of reach, Facebook and Twitter are the two places to begin. As a filmmaker, you will also want to use YouTube and Vimeo for video content.  Create accounts on LinkedIn and Google+ to at least see what others are doing.

Zeiss Lenses on Twitter

Twitter
This is a micro-blogging service in which you send text based “tweets” of up to 140 characters. When you create an account, upload a photo that represents you or your business along with a description that includes important keywords.

Using the search function, find other Twitter users to follow who share your interests. Many will follow you back. Find influencers in your niche to follow as well. You will also want to follow those who you might view as competitors to see what they are doing. Check it out first to see how others use it and model what they do.

Tweet about anything that is of interest in your business – new blog posts, video clips, what you worked on that day, seminars attended, etc. Also throw in a few things about events in your personal life, but don’t be tedious.

Retweeting is a key to success on Twitter. This is when you send someone else’s Tweet along to your followers. You will want to do this for your friends when a Tweet is particularly interesting, but also do this strategically. Do it for influencers. Do it for people you want to get to know. You can build retweeting relationships and reach more people this way.

Hashtags are used to mark specific topics in a Tweet. For example, we used #ActofValor and #ActofValorFilm when talking about the new movie release. The hashtags make it easier to find the topic in a Twitter search and are measured to see what topics are trending.

Another good example is use of the #Canon hashtag. A search at hashtags.org shows steady use, an increase with the Act of Valor release and a discussion of the  use of the Canon 5D Mark II, and then it exploded with the new release of the Canon 5D Mark III camera.

#Canon trending on Twitter

Answering any questions that come your way is also important. For example, Zeiss, Small HD and Tiffen do a great job of helping followers use their products and decide what to purchase by interacting on Twitter. You will also see that they are able to promote their lenses, monitors or filters by talking about films or filmmakers who utilize these products. This is a great way to promote what you are doing, but not make it one big sales pitch.

This is important. You obviously want to use social media as a promotional tool, but just posting about sales or requests for money is not the way to go. You need to be part of the conversation, rather than treating this as an announcement service.

Tiffen Filters on Facebook

Facebook
With more than 845 million active users, Facebook is the second most visited website in the world (after Google). It is a social networking service that allows individuals to connect with friends, family, colleagues and long lost school buddies. Its power for you is also in Facebook pages designed for companies or public figures to interact with followers. As an individual, the limit is 5000 “friends.” As a page, the sky’s the limit, so make sure to create both and use them differently.

Facebook allows you to post with more text than Twitter, so don’t make the mistake of treating it like Twitter. No need to concatenate. You’ve got enough space to expand on your message as well as post links, pictures and video.

Try to post questions or topics that will get your followers involved. Sweepstakes and contests are also great ways to encourage new people to “like” your page as a means of entry. HP is a large corporation (and we are fans of the HP Dream Color monitor), but they are still able to use Facebook to interact on an individual level.

HP Sweepstakes on Facebook

Not all posts are created equal on Facebook. Your followers won’t always see your posts, since the newsfeed is prioritized by something called EdgeRank. The more shares, comments and likes your posts receive, the more likely they will be seen in your followers’ newstreams. This makes it all the more critical to be engaging and engaged. Photos have been shown to be a great way to do this as well.

Small HD interacting on Facebook

This has been a quick rundown on the how’s and why’s of Twitter and Facebook. Tons of tips and information exist out there on the web, but it can be a little overwhelming. If you are totally new to this world, we suggest asking a friend or colleague for help in setting up accounts the first time the right way. If you don’t know anyone who has used these tools for business, get some help from a social media professional. Posting on Craigslist can be a good place to find a few hours of consultation at a reasonable price.

If you don’t have time to devote to social media, and it can take a lot of time, you may want to consider outsourcing it if you can fit that into your budget. You should be posting at least several times a week to maintain your contacts. Some is better than none, but make sure to add social media to your work schedule as a priority.

Look for more information later on other social media outlets.

Let’s look at how the crash cam world has changed because of the Canon 5D. It has replaced the eyemo that used to be a clapper of a 35 or 16mm with bad lenses. It could be blown up, bashed into, driven over, or you could even have a car land right on it.  I used them on Terminator: Salvation, the Arri III Crash tube that Michael Bay perfected for Bad Boys back in the day.  It is an Arri III with very expensive Panavision, Cooke or Arri glass in an aluminum tube that can take some serious abuse.  This was my go to Crash Tube for all the bashing in the Moto Terminator chase, as well as in Act of Valor when we shot a missile at the truck and blew it up. That car slid right into that baby.  Obviously the Arri III is essential for high speed work. It will go to 120fps, which  was employed on both films.  But what about 24fps crash cams?  We used up to 6 at a time on AOV, whether we were aiming mini guns, 50 cal or just plain driving the camera over it. We put the Canon 5D in a Pelican case and then shot it or blasted it.  Canon or Zeiss ZE glass was sacrificed for the art form of camera placement.

Front of the crash cam housing rigged to an RC bus

We cut out an 80mm hole for the still lens, and then a small portion of the back was etched out so that you could view your shot, press record and run like crazy.  This became an intricate part of making Kin in Montreal last year.  Our stunt was a Town Car losing control after hitting a deer at dawn.  The camera slides, spins a 360 and then hits a bank. The car spirals though the air and lands, killing the driver, but Olivia Wilde and Eric Bana seem ok.  I used 8 Canon 5Ds to pull off this crash, and I have to say it is a crash sequence that you have never experienced before.  It’s intimacy with the Canon cameras once again that allowed for immersive coverage, so you feel like you are in the car.

Back of the crash cam housing rigged for a shot where the bus flies off of a ramp

To break this down, we had several different shooting environments.  Inside the car after it hit the deer was practical on location. We used a 5D with a Panavision 35mm rigged in between the front seats.  On the road where the car spins out of control, we used 35mm cameras in fields to show the wide spectacle of it all, along with rig shots to the front and rear tires to show the brakes locking up and the front wheel turning.  My favorite camera was the one that we placed on the road naked, no crash housing, just a 5D with a Zeiss ZE 21mm.  We placed a water bottle on the road, and the stuntman slid right over the top of it, which was the shot.  Director Stefan Ruzowitzky said, “Action!” and the car slid and headed right for the camera. BAM! The 5D was blasted about 50 yards down the snow covered road into a snow bank while still recording.  YEAH BABY!!!  Take two didn’t go any better, but the camera survived it. Unfortunately, all of its brains were scrambled, and it lost all of our saved settings.  After take 3, the camera did not come back.

Crash cam housing rigged to a bus for Trane AC commercial

The next location was inside the car, back on stage with a rig that we called the BBQ spit rig.  Imagine a car put on a rotisserie rig that spins the actors upside down in the car as it flies through the air.  We employed 3 Canon 5D’s in low angles embedded in the car to take in the experience of flipping upside down. The one in the back seat showed Olivia Wilde getting tossed all over, her hair flying, her beautiful body being slammed up against the door and glass shards flying through the air. It was spectacular.

Zeiss glass being used in a crash housing on "Act of Valor"

The last location was back at the practical location at the base of the bank where they originally flipped over. This is where the Pelican case gave us  the ability to put the camera in many places.  The stunt and special EFX’s team had a good idea where the car would land, but we only had one shot.  So I placed 6 cameras in Pelican cases with all 24mm L series glass in an array where they estimated the car would land.  I put some of them a little short so the car would roll right over them, and 3 others right where they said the impact would be.  We didn’t miss it.  We had coverage on a crash that was unique. Up to this point in time, we would never be able to afford doing this on a small budget psychological thriller. Mike Svitak and I had a blast covering this crash. On a side note regarding lighting,we had a 20 minute window of light to shoot this whole sequence.  What challenges have you had when shooting action sequences?

Crash cams in the back window of a pickup truck on "Act of Valor" using Canon L lenses

Crash cam housing being used to film the SEALs shooting a "Mike Mike" missile

Thank you to Patrick Moreau, Justin Devers and With Etiquette for the song track used on the crash cam video.

The concept was to shoot Keith Urban and his band on the same dry lakebed that the Navy SEALs used for recon during the film.  This would be the start of intercutting AOV footage with Keith’s performance.  When Scotty and I discussed the look and feel of the video, we immediately looked at each other and said, “anamorphic on mixed platforms.” The C300 had just come out, and we wanted to use this tool in Man Cam mode to resemble the shooting style of the film, as well as the Arri Alexa with C series Anamorphics.  We thought it was timely that we started with the infancy of the 5D on AOV, and now we were embarking on a new journey with the infancy of the C300.  What anamorphic lenses have you tried?

This project also gave us the opportunity to launch our new production arm at Hurlbut Visuals with a behind the scenes of what it takes to shoot 6 different platforms in a 10 hour day and have them intercut seamlessly.

On a side note, I want to personally thank-you for all of the comments in support of this movie. The Elite Team and I are touched by the overwhelming positive response.

Keith Urban “For You”

Behind the Scenes

BTS video credits:
Produced and directed by Julien Lasseur
Edited by Vashi Nedomansky
Camera Operators – Nick Kramer, Julien Lasseur
Sound – Brad Flick, Gene Martin
Original Music – Vashi Nedomansky
Stills – Doug Leigh
Produced by Hurlbut Visuals
Special Thanks to Jacob Rosenberg

The panel included (sitting left to right):

Fred Schruers – Moderator
Scotty Waugh – Director
Shane Hurlbut – Cinematographer
Kurt Johnstad – Screenwriter
Jacob Rosenberg – Producer

Thanks again to Mitch Aunger at planet5D, Barry Anderson and Julien Lasseur for joining us and filming!

Shooting Nestor Serrano and Roselyn Sánchez in Act of Valor

We’ve had a ton of questions via Twitter, Facebook and the hurlblog about shooting Act of Valor, so I thought I would share them in a Q&A format. Thanks so much to everyone for your support and kind words about the film!

Q: How much of the film was shot on the Canon 5D Mark II?

A: 70% 5D, 20% film, and 5% F950 for aerials.

Q: How much of the film was lit with natural lighting?

A: 60% natural light.

Q: How did you light that scene at night when they are in the jungle/forest on their first mission?

A: One 12 lite Maxi brute on 80′ condor. One mini nine light with FCX globes bouncing into 12x ultra bounce.

Q: What picture style was used on Act of Valor?

A: Neutral.

Q: Was that you holding the gun with the camera mounted to you at times?

A: No, that was one of the SEALs.

Q: How in the world did you get the scenes in the dark without noise?

A: Dark Energy by Cinnafilm is a tool that strips all 5D compression off of footage and then layers 35mm grain.

Q: Did they let you fire a weapon?

A: Yes!

Q: Did you jump with the SEALs?

A: No!

Q: What lens did you use for the helmet mounted shots?

A: 18mm Zeiss ZF with a Fotodiox adapter.

Q: What camera did you use for the HALO jumps?

A: Canon 5D

Q: In Act of Valor, was the out of focus shots during dialog scenes intentional or a result of the 5D’s shallow depth of field?

A: This was intentional. I wanted to use the shallow DOF to illustrate Christo’s world closing in on him.

Q: Was the live fire just for that scene with the mini gun?

A: No, we did live fire on San Clemente Island as well.  50 cals in H860 helo’s and on the ground.

Q: Is the visual quality difference between full-frame sensors and APS-C sensors noticeable on the big screen?

A: Full-frame looks best, but APS-C holds up well if you use good lenses. Check out this post for more info:  http://www.hurlbutvisuals.com/blog/2010/02/06/still-lenses/

Q: The new 5D announcement is days after Act of Valor drops. Did you have access to new body?

A: No. Just great Canon marketing.

Q: The CU on Keith Urban in the music video – that was the Alexa, right?

A:  Yes, the CU was Alexa. The CU shots of the drummer were C300. We also used 5D and 7D.

Q: Any chance of a solid BTS on the Blu-ray down the line?

A: Yes, there will be tons.

Q: How was the sound synced, since there were multiple cameras?

A: We used the 5D mics as a scratch to sync with our double system sound.

Q: Panavision is hyping the 435 and Primo’s on Act of Valor. I thought just the funeral scene was film. Is the movie 50% DSLR, 50% film?

A: Only 8 shots were film in the funeral.  70% 5D, 20% film. Primo primes on both platforms.

Q: Did you ever get to reuse any of the 5Ds shooting Act of Valor, or were they all obliterated?

A: We only lost 6.

Q: Was Act of Valor pretty fun to make?

A: Difficult but an amazing life experience. I always have fun.

Q: When is Act of Valor opening internationally?

A: Here are the dates we have so far:

Canada – February 24
Singapore – March 1
Kuwait – March 1
Italy – March 16
Ireland – March 23
UK – March 23
Spain – April 27
Australia – May 3
Netherlands – May 10

Q: Are there any books you suggest for students of cinematography?

A: Writing with Light by Vittorio Storaro, Painting with Light by John Alton, and Cinematography by Blain Brown.

Q: Are there going to be any more BootCamps?

A: Another boot camp is in the works for later this year. Keep checking the hurlblog for updates.

Q: Are you going to be at NAB?

A: Yes, we will.

Thanks again everyone!

Filming through the eyes of a Navy Seal

We viewed the tools that were available to assist us to tell this story. I had just completed a web series for Terminator: Salvation, where I used the Canon 5D as a helmet cam. The members of the Resistance were getting blown up and carrying the camera around broadcasting back to base in hope of help. None arrived. What I learned from the web series was the versatility of this little still camera and the unique ways it could move. I immediately started to push the ISO, create picture styles and test the resiliency of the camera. It held up and with the right care and glass, a 60’ screen was headed the 5D way.

Screen grab from T4 web series

What is so inspiring about Scotty and Mouse is that they’re fearless; they go for it and believe someone will be there to catch us. This fearless quality was what brought out the highest level of creativity. Scotty’s role is to remain true to the story, and we worked on a shooting style and a visual landscape that would last and hold the audience’s attention. When the Seals were hanging with their families, shooting the breeze, or getting briefed, we shot 35mm motion picture film. When the bad guys were planning and conniving, it was also film. When the SEALs went into operational mode, we were all 5D, no matter whether it was a wide shot or a close-up. Aerials were going to be a huge part of the scope of this film. Together, we chose what would be best for the story, and that was the Sony F950 with Cineflex housing. It would give us hours of shooting time without having to reload every 10 minutes and provide the ability to showcase the Navy’s impressive assets.

We had unprecedented access, which made the movie extraordinary.  Mouse was all about the back-stories, what got the characters to this point.  He was very conceptual, and I truly believe helped get the best performances out of the active duty Seals.  He is also an incredible action shooter. He is a DP is his own right, and we divided up to take on the huge work load in Stennis, MS as well as El Centro, CA.  Mouse and Scotty just inherently know where to put the camera when shooting action.  We collaborated together in this unique hybrid of action storytellers, and I think the film’s beauty is just that, STORY.  Without this, our action would just be a lot of M4 fire.

Directors Scott Waugh and Mouse McCoy in the streets of Cambodia

With the visual style for the film set, now we had to figure out how to do this with a very limited budget and crew. Coming off of Terminator: Salvation, where I had probably 190 lighting, grip, and camera crew members working alongside me to bring that film to life, we had maybe 80 total in all departments. Most of the time it was an Elite group of 5-10 people making the movie. We coined the term “Elite Team” because each filmmaker was so versatile and talented; they learned to do five jobs, three below their pay grade and two above. Coming up with a small footprint, while keeping a BIG vision was paramount. I cannot think of any other camera platform than the Canon DSLRs at that time in 2009 that could deliver it all.  We moved out like a Seal platoon, and this was our recipe for success.

The scope of this project was12 states, 5 countries and 4 continents. Greg Haggart was our amazing producer. He could find ways to get money from a stone and quickly adjusted to our unique shooting style, which effected the budget on every line, in a good way.  When we would head overseas, he would arrange for a liaison in whatever country we were going to.  I would take at least two of my Elite Team members with me.  This was absolutely crucial because when we would land and then go to the camera prep and open up our cases, the crews from foreign lands would look at our 5D package like an alien spaceship had just landed.

Greg Haggart line producer

Traveling with our 8-15 camera DSLR package in our overhead bin space was impressive. Panavision Primo primes, Canon L series, Zeiss ZF, and Leica R glass were used in every aspect of filming.  We landed in Cambodia and walked right through customs with our cases.  Immediately off to the rental car where Mouse would drive and be on the lookout for our location list.  Greg Haggart would be navigator, set up casting, book hotels, and buy craft service, etc., while Scotty and I would discuss story details, view casting tapes, submit camera, lighting and grip orders, as well as book our rocking cuisine for the evening. This movie was so different in every way.  If a location worked better than what had been written in the script once we got boots on the ground, then we would change it.  The story was constantly in development.

Fleet of Canon DSLRS

I would say that Cambodia was one of our favorite locations that we visited. It was doubling for the Philippines. It was too hot politically over there when we were filming, so we opted for Phnom Penh. Wow, what a location! The people, culture, and the food were terrific. Moving from there to Kiev, we were pleasantly surprised to find one of the best production crews and gear pool I have ever worked with.  Thank you Radioaktive Productions in Kiev for delivering in a huge way for us.

Cambodia

Kiev, Ukraine

Remember this film was shot in the spring of 2009. All 30fps, a beta test of manual and not much help from anyone that really understood the Canon 5D and its potential. My team of assistants were fearless as well and took this camera that was not made for image capture and quickly turned it into a movie making machine. Darin Necessary was McGyver; there was nothing that he could not fabricate back in his shop to make these cameras function better in the field. Mike Svitak was the menu brains and a very talented operator. He started as a second assistant and ended up operating on some of the most memorable shots in the film. Marc Margulies gave his incredible experience of 20 plus years as a focus puller. With hawk eye accuracy, he took the Canon 5D large sensor and conquered it with sharp images at a 2.8 in an action sequence, not talking heads at a table.

Rudy Harbon was my B camera operator as well as 2nd unit DP. He was essential in keeping the aesthetics of the film and exposures consistent as well as adding an intensity to the South Side Slayers, their handle on the walkie, in El Centro, CA .  Bodie Orman rounded out our crew as the only loader on the project. While we shot film on 3 units, he ran between them.  In Stennis, Bodie was running a magazine to the Pursuit car/crane, and he stepped in a massive fire ant hill.  Within seconds they were stinging the crap out of him.  Mouse turned to him in a very direct voice, “You are going to have to lose the pants.”  When Bodie got to our 40 mike missile set up, he asked where the film was for him to load, I just looked down and said, “Where are your pants?”

Darin Necessary

Mike Svitak

Marc Margulies

Rudy Harbon

Bodie Orman

Every day the rigs would evolve; the crew would never settle for good enough. They wanted excellence. Imagine working on 30 commercials, and every day you came to work and you had never used this camera system before.  I describe it like being punched in the face, hit in the head with a shovel and buried alive every day. That was what it was like making AOV with this still camera.

The film took almost 2 years to complete, but only 48 days of principal photography. We would prep for a week in LA, then fly to our location, scout for a week and then shoot for a week. When we went to Stennis, Mississippi in August of 2009, I thought, “Why Stennis?” They said that it would double for the Costa Rican jungle, and it was a live fire range. “What, LIVE FIRE, what was that?” This was Scotty and Mouse’s concept from the beginning. They wanted to be real and authentic. This is how the Navy SEALs trained, and there would be no substitute.

This live fire brought about an intensity and focus, not only when viewing the film as an audience member, but for our shooting style as well. You had to be on your game, no room for mistakes. It was awesome seeing those SWCC boats round the corner at 30 knots and then start unloading mini guns at 2300 rounds a minute into the bad guys’ vehicles. Swiss Cheese was all that came to mind as we walked up to the trucks after the malay. While all this LIVE FIRE was going on, we were all in helmets and flack jackets. But the hero of this whole live fire exercise was my trusted underwater assistant, Andy Fisher, armed with only a swimsuit, a water noodle and a 5D AquaTech shallow water housing. He captured some of the most immersive angles while bullets literally flew over his head and hot shells rained down.  BRAVO!!!

Andrew Fisher

I wanted to thank all of the vendors that believed in us to deliver this groundbreaking film.  Richard Schleuning at Zeiss was there at the infancy of production, supplying us with 3 sets of ZF primes that we then adapted the Nikon mounts to Canon.  These sets were essential in our ability to put cameras in harm’s way again and again – mini gunfire, explosions, submerges, etc.  Brian Valente with Red Rock Micro was crucial in giving us the necessary bits and pieces to build our unique rigs for the movie.  Dan Donavan at Panavision/Hollywood, along with his amazing team of lens experts and fabricators, gave us the film cameras and their wonderful Primo Primes to take the Canon 5D to new heights in quality.  Evan Green and Tony Blue at Paskal Lighting supplied lighting and grip gear so that I could create this unique palette.  Tim Smith and Jung Ahn at Canon supplied us with a beta version of manual as well as 2 cameras for production, and Scotty Howell at Cinemoves supplied all of our 30’ and 50’ technocranes, always with the attitude of how can we make this better.

I also wanted to thank all of Jon Guerra’s electric crew and Dave Knudson’s grip crew for going the extra mile every day. As Dave said, “This trail blazing shit is exhausting.”  My amazing camera department that never said die, as well as the technicians across the world that made this possible – you were an intricate part of making this movie shine bright.  Thank you.  All of this awareness of this film would never have been possible without the amazing marketing engine that is Relativity Media; they knocked this out of the park.

I think the power of the Bandito Brothers did not stop at production. Jacob Rosenberg was the brains behind the post production process, which evolved with us. His visionary quote sums it up perfectly, “We use the best tool to tell the story, no matter what it is. If an iphone puts you there, then that will be our choice.” We were like a united 12 cylinder engine. Mike McCarthy and Lance Holte were essential to the media managing, creating a workflow etiquette that would become the benchmark for all 5D footage captured to date. Using the unique abilities of Adobe’s CS5 to unlock more information in the highly compressed h264 codec was one of the most liberating things for me as a cinematographer. Once I saw what Jacob and his amazing team could do with our footage, we took even more risks with exposing the Canon 5D footage.

After we completed our color correction process at Laser Pacific with Dave Cole, we then put the finishing touches on the film. We brought in Cinnafilm and their Dark Energy Tower to do something that no other plug in or de-noise software could perform. Ernie and Lance supplied us with the hardware and software to take this movie to another level. Because we had shot so much mixed media from shot to shot, I needed consistency, a look that would be delivered on the DCP (Digital Cinema Print) as well as the Fuji film prints, and this was the Cinnafilm de-noise and texture management system.  Imagine being able to strip all 5D compression off of the image, then add film grain to every inch of DSLR footage that matched the film grain in the movie.  If I shot 5201, I would mimic that grain structure on the day exteriors.  For night exteriors, I shot 5219, and Cinnafilm was right there with the exact grain texture.

This film was an experience of a lifetime. It changed the way I shoot. It expanded my creativity to view things differently, through another lens, a very lightweight, portable, nimble tool that became one of the most powerful arrows in my quiver.

I wanted to end with an intimate inside look at the crew, gear, SEALs, and a style of production that I believe will change how movies are made. As Mouse said, “The chains have been moved forward,” and as an artist, my eyes have been opened.  Please enjoy over a hundred BTS shots of our unique journey.

I wanted to make all of you aware of a Tweet Up for Act of Valor being organized by Barry Anderson. It will take place on Saturday, February 25th at the following location:
Regal LA LIVE Stadium 14
1000 W. Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90015

5:10pm – Act of Valor begins

7:00pm – Act of Valor TweetUp and In-Theater Q&A with Director Mouse McCoy, Cinematographer Shane Hurlbut and Post-Production Supervisor Jacob Rosenberg.

Direct ticketing link:
https://www.fandango.com/transaction/ticketing/redvines/ticketboxoffice.aspx?row_count=0&date=2/25/2012&mid=146457&tid=AAVPA

We encourage you to join us.

Prod. Dir. DP - Julien Lasseur
Cam Op – Kevin Anderson
Sound - Patrick Lamm
PA – Jamie Thalman

In November of last year I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Steve Tiffen. From the moment I sat down, I could tell he was a natural at interviews. Mr. Tiffen had some wonderful things to say about the history of the Tiffen Company as well as some great advice for aspiring filmmakers. After the interview my crew and I were invited to join the other employees as well as Mr. Tiffen for their Thanksgiving lunch. Everyone at Tiffen Glendale welcomed us graciously as we all crowded into the break room to share a meal. All in all, it was a fantastic experience that led to this Hurlblog Interview video. I hope you enjoy and please share your thoughts or comments!

On Act of Valor, we shot on 4 continents, 12 states and 5 different countries.  Our method was to land in a foreign country, get our boots on the ground, start to scout our locations for about a week, and then shoot for a week.  Both our scouting and shooting packages were aboard the plane in our overhead bin space. I took a small compliment of Panavision Primos, Canon L Series and Zeiss ZE primes. While we were scouting in Cambodia and heading to Kampot, I looked out the window and saw a river that led to these amazing mountains that resembled Fiords. We jumped out just as a long skinny boat was heading up river. We whipped out the Panavision 35mm Primo and slapped in on the Tripod and tilted up with the boat to reveal the mountains where our terrorist would be running his training camp. Go it. Let’s continue scouting.

These spontaneous moments are jewels and capitalizing on them is paramount. On the day when we were scheduled to shoot this, the water level had dropped and it was overcast.

The Scouting Locations Package

Soup to Nuts

My package for scouting locations.

2-1440 Black rolling Pelican Case

1-Canon 5D

1-Canon 7D

1-35-70mm Leica R Zoom

1-21-35mm Leica R Zoom

1-80-200mm Leica R Zoom

1-77mm WW ND Filter Set .3-2.1

1-Zacuto Z-Finder

6-Batts

4-Hoodman 16BG 600x CF Cards

2-Canon Battery Charger

2-Multi International plug

1-FireWire CF Card Reader

2-500GB bus powered G Drive

1-Mono Pod

1-Intervolmeter

1-Compass

1-Inclinometer

1-Lee Color Gel Swatch

1-Rosco Color Gel Swatch

1-Light Meter

1-Color Temp Meter

Scouting Apps

Helios	Artemis	pCAM
CameraOrder	Gel Swatch Library	Photosynth

What is in your scouting package?  What moments have you been able to grab while location scouting?

Tegra 4Bank from Kino Flo

The new Tegra 4Bank from Kino Flo takes the features of the 4ft 4Bank and adds the onboard controls you would find on the Diva-Lite 401. This includes onboard dimming, onboard switching, and remote hand-held dimming. It produces as much light as a 1,000 Watt tungsten softlight, using only one tenth the amount of power. High output, flicker-free, and dead quiet. It also has built-in barndoors with new hinges, honeycomb louver and center mount system that is lightweight and useful for handheld shots, and rigging in tight locations. I love Kino Flo lights because they’re small, easy to rig and hide, and the onboard controls are perfect for dialing in your light.

Full specifications and product information can be found here on KinoFlo.com.

PRIME LED from Lowel

LED lighting has been around for a while, but recently has greatly improved for film production use. The Lowel Prime LED is a testament to that. With a 70+ foot candles at nine feet, 50 degree beam angle and a high Color Rendering Index of 91+ it solves the issues of the past with LED lighting. It has both tungsten and daylight balanced bulbs and is ideal for run and gun shooting without a large lighting crew and generators to support it. These lights are where it is at in LED technology.  Never loved the feel of LED in HD before using the Lowel PRIME.  They always seemed magenta and not organic. Very excited about this product.

Full specifications and information can be found here on Lowel.com.

Croma from Litepanels

The Croma is a small camera-mounted LED lighting fixture that provides a softlight with variable color temperature output. It has a 9 watt draw and produced light comparable to a 40-90 watt fixture. It can be powered off of 6 AA batteries or can be used with a 2-pin to D-tap power cable and powered off of Anton Bauer batteries for extended periods of time. These work great as handheld lights or stashing them in tight spaces where other lights can’t fit. These work great for a little extra kick or fill.

Full specifications and information can be found here on Litepanels.com.

The HV mission: Is to create a collaborative think tank to inspire and educate filmmakers globally with practical storytelling techniques to improve their speed, expand their creativity and make them more marketable in the entertainment industry.

The pilgrimage to a small town in the Utah mountains has been going on for years. With creativity and wonderful storytelling, the Sundance Film Festival has grown to be the place to see new talent, to acquire films, meet and greet industry insiders and just enjoy the love of filmmaking.  I have been going every other year for about 12 years and it is a source of creative inspiration for me. Connecting with artists that choose the path of original stories, experimentation and just plain independent thinking and not CGI and flash bang is where my head space is.

Snowy Park City, Utah. Image Courtesy of chichi212.com

The parties are epic; the wine and drinks flow and the networking I find is a wonderful time to catch up with many of my directors, colleagues, producers and close friends that make the journey from all over the world.

Maurice Marable

Maurice Marable

This man is a creative force.  The brains behind the incredibly visual Six Feet Under, Entourage, Carnival and Boardwalk Empire promos.  Maurice and I have worked together for 14 years now  shooting promos and commercials and I have to say he is an inspiration to me and a wonderful collaborator.  You can always spot him in the crowd with his signature hat.

Greg Haggart

Producer extraordinaire.  Greg and I met on “Act of Valor.”  He was the line producer on the film and from there, we have done about 25 commercials together.  He has been my producer when I direct as well. This man knows how to produce DSLR’s.  He can get money from a stone.  A labor of love for both of us was Po Chan’s film “The Last 3 Minutes”. Greg used his incredible skills to bring Po’s story to life on a very limited budget.  I plan on seeing a couple of films with him by my side, along with many glasses of wine.

Jacob Rosenberg

Me with Jacob Rosenberg, Sundance 2012

Post production genius, talented filmmaker. He helms at Bandito Brothers, along with Scotty Waugh and Mouse McCoy, the directors of Act of Valor. Jacob and I have been collaborating for about 3 years now on many projects and he is one of the reasons AOV looks so good.  His post work flow on this movie will become the benchmark for all DCP prints in the future. Trail blazer, post innovator.

 Steven Poster

With Steven Poster at Sundance

Head of the Local 600 union. Amazingly talented cinematographer, still photographer, visionary leader and a good friend. This man donates tons of his time to lead a union that he believes in. He unites and inspires thousands. Thank you for all that you do for us and our families. Your hard work never goes unnoticed. We met on 1/19 to show him our new MCS (Master Cinema Series) gear platform for the Canon C300 before he headed up to Park City. Steven and I have had long discussions about the power of the DSLR platform in feature films along with Canon’s wonderful color space and sensor technology. Great conversations, amazing stories, just an incredible filmmaker.

Make a difference, believe in yourself and bring your story to life.  These are the things that I always seem to take away from the Sundance Film Festival.  It fuels me and gives me the ability to never get comfortable and always ready to veer.