Two worlds, one camera

Just wrapped on two back-to-back productions that, conceptually, couldn't have been any more different.

First up was a high profile, verging-on-Vaudevillian television commercial with a conspicuous call to action:





After the commercial came a gritty urban western/crime drama shot over two weekends:

















Both were shot with the Canon 5DmkII, and by the same DP -- the inimitable David Hawkins:



The commercial is due to go to air this weekend, while the urban western -- a proof-of-concept short film for a proposed feature -- will be lovingly assembled over the coming weeks. For anyone interested in the latter project, stay tuned for periodic progress reports.

Poor-man's anamorphic

A steady diet of films shot with anamorphic lenses has informed my imagination, to the point where my mind's eye visualises everything through an anamorphic lens, complete with ovular bokeh and blue-tinged horizontal lens flares:




If I could, I'd shoot everything in anamorphic, but since it was a format designed to give people in the 1950s a good reason to switch off their TV sets and head down to the local cinema, the unique anamorphic look is inextricably linked with big-screen consumption and 1980s action blockbusters like "Die Hard" and the "Indiana Jones" trilogy.

It's also an insanely expensive format.

Until now.

Thanks to a fluke of technology, you can shoot anamorphic on a Canon 5DmkII, and without modifying your 5D for PL-mount Panavision or Hawk glass.

So how is this possible? Well, it's quite simple: the Canon 5DmkII uses a full-frame CMOS sensor that, in video mode, becomes a 16:9 (1.78:1) sensor. By combining a 5DmkII (in video mode) with one of these bad boys --



-- a Panasonic 1.33x anamorphic adapter designed to give those with 4x3-sensor Mini-DV camcorders a 16:9 image without a loss of resolution -- you get an image with the anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 (1.78 x 1.33).

Below is a compile of test footage I shot with our Canon 5DmkII, a 24-70mm Sigma F/2.8 lens, an 82-72mm step-down ring, and of course, a Panasonic anamorphic adapter.

Click on the still to view the test reel:

Bandwagoners!

Trevor and I have just completed work on a series of short documentaries for the Victoria Police's largest-ever recruitment drive.



The decision was made early on to shoot the documentaries using the Canon 5DmkII, which performed incredibly well and, given the enormous hype surrounding the camera, met our expectations.

It's a dream come true to be able to have an image acquisition solution that allows you to shoot 1080p with prime lenses and get that beautiful shallow-depth-of-field look for a fraction of the cost of shooting RED or Sony CineAlta. In fact, the cost to acquire and kit out a 5D is the same as what it costs us to rent a RED One camera and Zeiss prime lenses for two days.

Below is a selection of stills from a couple of the Victoria Police documentaries.

Season finale of "House" shot on Canon 5DmkII DSLR

Just finished listening to Philip Bloom's interview with Greg Yaitanes, the Executive Producer/Director of the hit TV show, "House", in which he discusses the game-changing decision to the shoot the season finale with a prosumer Canon 5DmkII digitial SLR camera.

That's right, an episode of "House" was shot using a DSLR camera anyone can buy from JB Hi-Fi. For those of you scratching your head, let me explain:

The Canon 5DmkII, like the Canon 1D and 7D, is a really nifty digital SLR camera that allows you to shoot 1080p video at 25 frames per second. It's a remarkable development in digital photography as it means you can shoot full HD video using 35mm prime lenses for under $5,000.



The DSLR look is all about a very high level of detail and extremely shallow depth of field. Because you're shooting with 35mm prime lenses at 25 frames per second, you're essentially getting a film look, but ultimately its own look thanks to ultra high speed lenses and an image sensor instead of celluloid, both of which enables you to see much more in low-light situations, kinda like the cityscapes in the Michael Mann film, "Collateral", which was shot digitally (but with the much more expensive and cumbersome "Viper Stream" digital camera system).

Compared to something like the RED camera, which has revolutionised the film and TV industry, the Canon 5DmkII has its drawbacks, chief among them the lack of uncompressed 2K or 4k HD video. When you use the Canon 5DmkII, the imagery is compressed as it's being acquired. This is perfectly fine and imperceptible for most people when viewed on the web and via normal HD or standard definition digital television, but the compression "damage" becomes perceptible in full HD (1080p) or when projected using a 2k or 4k digital projector.

But for people who want a filmic look but don't need to worry about uncompressed acquisition, the Canon 5DmkII is an incredibly cost-effective solution, and like the RED system, one that will incite its own revolution if it hasn't already.

"Machete" - trailer

Behold the trailer for the new Robert Rodriguez film, "Machete":

Official trailer link

There's a great story behind this film. As you may recall, several fake trailers were made for the Rodriquez/Tarantino retro film project, "Grindhouse", including one for a "film" called "Machete". The response to the "Machete" trailer was so overwhelmingly positive that the decision was made to go ahead and turn it into a real film.

The whole idea of producing fake trailers turned out to be a stroke of genius, whether intentional or unintentional, as it allowed the filmmakers and the studio to essentially get a well-informed public vote on ideas for feature films, and at the same time, cultivate awareness and generate excitement for one of the potential films with a lot more than a synopsis.

Panascout iPhone app

There have been some terrific iPhone apps developed for filmmakers, but one of the niftiest has to be the Panascout app by Panavision.

For those of you unfamiliar with Panavision, it's one of the oldest and most illustrious companies in Hollywood. It was established in the early 1950s as a result of the studios banding together to halt the eroding effect of television on cinema audiences. The studios decided the only way to do it was give audiences a bigger incentive -- literally speaking.

History of Panavision

The Panascout app allows anyone to scout locations and view locations through the eyes of a cinematograpgher. When you take a photo of a location using the Panascout app, you can capture your image metadata: GPS data, compass heading and the date and time. But the coolest feature is the ability to frame photos in a variety of aspect ratios, including 2.40 (anamorphic), 1.85 (Super 35mm) and 1.78 (16x9).



For more info, visit the Panascout website.

Welcome!

A warm welcome to the Holscope blog.

Over the coming days, weeks and months, we'll be endeavouring to populate this blog with company news, articles written by us, and links to industry-related articles that we think are informative, or at the very least, interesting.

Thanks for stopping by and we hope that our blog content will compel you to return on a frequent basis.

Best,

Matt and Trevor Holcomb