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One small footprint, one giant leap… Sci-fi smash The Creator made a big impact on a relatively small budget – and Atomos had an important role to play
F or all the talk about technology ‘democratising’ filmmaking, it has also led to another revolution: introducing new degrees of creative freedom. Ideas and entirely novel ways to make films which would have been impossible (or impossibly expensive) are now achievable, and they’re changing the face of filmmaking at every level. The Creator is perhaps the best example of this newfound freedom. With what, in Hollywood circles, is considered to be a small budget, the film has blown viewers away with its fresh approach, ambition and spectacular quality. Behind the scenes, there’s an intriguing and surprising story, even more so when you realise that you
can watch The Creator in the ultra- critical viewing environment of IMAX theatres – traditionally thought of as the highest-quality format for cinemas. IMAX inevitably makes you think of ‘traditional’ Hollywood-type cameras, expensive lenses, massive crews and powerful, energy-sapping lighting rigs. And it also makes you think big budget. The Creator dared to change all of that. The film is unconventional in a variety of ways. Made on location in Thailand for the most part, there were neither the finances nor logistics to shoot conventionally. What made it all possible was the combination of an inexpensive Sony cinema camera and an Atomos Ninja. The nimble combination meant
that the co-cinematographers on the project, Oren Soffer and Greig Fraser, could get right in among the action without the encumbrance of a traditional camera rig. They could take in both the feel and sensibility of being on location without the strictures normally imposed by a conventional set-up. The creative team chose the Sony FX3 cinema camera. It’s likely there has never been a more modest-looking camera packing such a massive performance. The £4000/$4000 off-the-shelf device inherits some of the sublime colour characteristics of its distant but direct relative, the lauded Sony Venice, and has extraordinary low-light capability. At approximately 1/14th the cost of a
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