TECHNOLOGY | REMOTE PRODUCT ION
With workplaces the world over enforcing social distancing, what role does remote kit play in the world of production? We talk to the experts to find out GOING THE DISTANCE
WORDS LEE RENWI CK / P I CTURES BAL AZS BOLYGO, SONY, CAMERA REVOLUT I ON & TERADEK
Recently, he was asked to bring his skills to the climatic season finale of the Netflix fantasy drama Cursed . “We had a huge battle scene at the end of episode 10 to close out the series,” Bolygo explains. “We had four days to shoot this long sequence on a sandy beach, so trying to lay track and dollies and get the kit down there would have been so slow and laborious. Instead, we decided to go for the remote approach. “We used the Sony Venice in its Rialto mode [made possible by the CBK-3610XS Venice extension system]. We placed it on a Mini Libra head and moved the rig around with the Tyr Arm – both from Camera Revolution. That whole set-up was placed on top of a dune buggy. “With the Tyr Arm in particular, you can effectively get quite close to the ground from the top of vehicles. In this case, we were able to get some really dramatic angles and sweeping low shots.” When it came to set-up and action, things were pleasantly straightforward, according to Bolygo. “You just have to do a little bit of
he ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has shaken up the professional lives of those in virtually every
R&D work to make sure the Venice body has got a safe place to sit,” he says. “I feel the Venice really helps me work in the traditional way of gauging things by eye, and it’s never really caught me out on that level. I think I know that sensor well enough to know what I can and can’t get away with.” Of course, things were easier during the pre-Covid shoot of Cursed , but now, as Bolygo heads to another production, have his thoughts around remote tools changed in any way? “we haven’t entirely worked out what exact protocols and procedures we’ll have in place. One definite “It’s challenging,” Bolygo admits, factor with remote tech is that I’ll be operating the camera, so effectively, with me being DOP and operator, that’s one less person on set. “The one thing for me is that I quite like a connection to the floor. Personally, my number one rule of working with remote heads is that I need to be able to see what the head is doing and maintain that connection,” Bolygo concludes.
field. Quite rightly, maintaining social distancing has become the order of the day. But while many have left their offices to work remotely, it seems the world of film production has been doing some remote work of its own. Before we jump into the more technical world of kit and get up to speed with all of the latest developments, DOP Balazs Bolygo gives us some creative on-the-ground insight. Remote cinematography is second nature to Bolygo.
BELOW Netflix’s drama Cursed utilised remote forms of kit before the need for social distancing protocols on set
42 DEF I N I T ION | NOVEMBER 2O20
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