Definition June 2023 - newsletter

PRODUCTION. THE BURNING GIRLS

and get the most options for the colourist and producer in post.” McCready opted for the V-Raptor 8K due to its Vista Vision large format sensor. “The camera can do 8K and 120fps without any compromises to the format,” she continues. “Physically, it’s also a very small camera, so it ticks every box for me. The fact it’s little means I can use smaller equipment to move it, put it on cheaper devices (gimbals etc) – except I still get Making The Burning Girls required depictions of various eras, such as the nineties and modern day, so McCready had to choose her kit accordingly. “The modern material with Samantha Morton benefited from the larger 8K VV sensor in that it enhanced the separation “The camera moves in a considered way, leaning heavily on the language of thrillers” all the frame rate options.” PAST AND PRESENT

FIRE AND BRIMSTONE Taking advantage of Britain’s grisly history, The Burning Girls flits between time periods to glorious effect

of subject over background. The camera was moved in a considered way, leaning heavily on the language of thrillers and suspense films to build tension. For this, we shot on Tribe7 Blackwing7 lenses.” For the nineties scenes, McCready wanted it to feel alive and reflect the characters in the period: mainly teenagers. “We went for a Super 35, more vibrant handheld feel, with some added grain for a stylised look. I could use the

small Red Komodo camera, which is tiny and natively 6K Super 35. Or I could use the Red Raptor cropped to 6K mode. We used Canon Sumire lenses for all the nineties shots.” A combination of the Komodo and entry-level accessories helped McCready achieve a cinematic effect. “We had a Steadicam-style unit with lightweight, cheap gimbal support, the Tilta Float and DJI RS 2 gimbal for the smaller camera,” she asserts. “It gave a unique and flexible visual style for particular characters.” For exterior shots, McCready and team had space to play with. “There was a chapel set built out on location which was an existing house for the vicarage,” she says. “It was a big, open landscape and there was a huge amount of night material to deal with. We wanted to do high-speed frame rates, so needed flexibility in our shooting directions. The trickiest thing was getting the lighting rig planned and set. It was a rural location, so the challenge was getting big machines on a field – ensuring they didn’t fall over – and being able to spin around and shoot quickly over few nights. We came up with a good solution with my gaffer Stuart King… and I was very pleased.” The Burning Girls is slated to release on Paramount+ later this year

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