DEFINITION June 2018

Definition's June issue shamelessly profiles the most popular movie of the year so far, Infinity War and also to a lesser degree Solo: A Star Wars Story. We look at the data story, which is big like everything else with the MCU. We also look at the shooting of You were never really here, Lynne Ramsay's first digital movie. We have our first talent compilation with our ascending stars of cinematography; a look at the cutting edge of augmented reality capture with reviews from DMG Rosco; G-Tech; Sony and Fiilex. Oh and also a very big article about the latest in lens design.

CINE GEAR 2018 YOUR SHOW GUIDE SEE PAGE 12

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June 2018

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ROSCO DMG MIX LIGHT GTECH T3 RAID STORAGE SONY A7 MKIII CAMERA FIILEX TRAVEL LIGHT REVIEWS

INFINITY WAR AND SOLO

The cream of large format cinematography

WERE YOU HERE? Lynne Ramsay's dark tale BBC 2.0 How the BBC reinvented itself LENS FESTIVAL SHOOTER STARS Our first talent compilation SPACE RACE 2 Augmented reality bites

CINE GEAR EXPO Definition goes to Hollywood: our first official visit to the show.

Bright Publishing Ltd, Bright House, 82 High Street, Sawston, Cambridgeshire CB22 3HJ UK EDITORIAL EDITOR Julian Mitchell 01223 492246 julianmitchell@bright-publishing.com EDITOR IN CHIEF Adam Duckworth CONTRIBUTORS Phil Rhodes, Adam Garstone SENIOR SUB EDITOR Lisa Clatworthy SUB EDITORS Siobhan Godwood, Felicity Evans ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Matt Snow 01223 499453 mattsnow@bright-publishing.com SALES MANAGER Krishan Parmar 01223 499462 krishanparmar@bright-publishing.com ACCOUNT MANAGER Harriet Abbs 01223 499460 harrietabbs@bright-publishing.com KEY ACCOUNTS Nicki Mills 01223 499457 nickimills@bright-publishing.com DESIGN DESIGN DIRECTOR Andy Jennings DESIGN MANAGER

Welcome For this issue we welcome a whole lot of new readers; this is the first official issue where we are taking Definition to Hollywood. Well, Cine Gear Expo to be exact, but how much more Hollywood could that be, with the Expo populating the backlot of Paramount Pictures? As you enter the gates you can see the bench that Forrest Gump sat on and mused over chocolates, to your right is the huge wall seen in The Truman Show , there’s Bronson Gate, and then you enter the New York City backlot where the show is based. Definition has been around for 15 years and for sale in the USA for only a year now, but maybe this part of LA is our spiritual home. This is where the art of production is cherished most in the world – not to denigrate other worldwide production hubs, but just for sheer numbers of productions, it’s hard to argue with. If you’re going to the Expo please look out for us; hopefully you won’t be able to miss us. Pick up a Slush Puppie when you pick up an issue and stay for a chat. We’ll see you there.

Alan Gray DESIGNER

Lucy Woolcomb AD PRODUCTION Man-Wai Wong PUBLISHING MANAGING DIRECTORS

Andy Brogden & Matt Pluck MEDIA PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS OF

Definition ispublishedmonthly byBrightPublishingLtd,Bright House,82HighStreet,Sawston,

CambridgeCB223HJ.Nopartof thismagazinecan beusedwithoutpriorwrittenpermissionofBright PublishingLtd. Definition isa registered trademarkof BrightPublishingLtd.Theadvertisementspublished in Definition thathavebeenwritten,designed orproducedbyemployeesofBrightPublishing Ltd remain thecopyrightofBrightPublishingLtd andmaynotbe reproducedwithout thewritten consentof thepublisher.Thecontentof this publicationdoesnotnecessarily reflect theviews of thepublisher.Pricesquoted insterling,euros andUSdollarsarestreetprices,without tax,where availableorconvertedusing theexchange rateon theday themagazinewent topress.

JULIAN MITCHELL EDITOR

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TITLE SEQUENCE 06 ALL THE FUN OF THE FAIR ITV announces Vanity Fair drama. NEWS 08 CINE GEAR EXPANDING The laid back Cine Gear expo in Hollywood is expanded to Georgia. 12 CINE GEAR PREVIEW If you’re going to this great show take a look at our selective preview. SHOOT STORY 24 SUPER HEROES AND DATA Infinity War and Solo: A Star Wars Story needed massive data plans. 28 NEVER REALLY HERE Director Lynne Ramsay’s first digital movie goes dark and shadowy. 38 WALK ON WATER DOP Chris Probst retells his early experiences with RED Monstro. Six months on from the TV Centre return, the BBC is now resurgent. 52 GEAR GROUP Lighting is the leading the re- invention race, we have examples. 58 THE LOOK OF LENSES We summarise some of the new lenses and formats this year. 70 SPACE RACE PART 2 We carry on the series which looks at new types of camera recording. GEAR TESTS 76 DMG ROSCO MIX LIGHT This new light mixes a unique user interface with high end lighting. 81 G-TECH SHUTTLE WITH 3 The Thunderbolt 3 version of this popular mobile storage product. 85 SONY A7 MKIII The new version of Sony’s full framed camera handles better. 90 4K CAMERA LIST Keep up to date with the latest. FEATURES 42 BBC 2.0

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As part of its autumn schedule ITV Drama is serialising Vanity Fair on a grand scale, with shooting in and around London Fun at the Fair

scene from ITV’s Vanity Fair , which airs this September. Pictured is from Episode 4 in which Becky Sharp is teaching Rawdon Crawley to dance, and a small crowd gathers to watch. Camera operator is Roger Tooley and his Steadicam is holding a RED Dragon camera with Panavision lenses.

Director is BAFTA winner James Strong and DOP is Ed Rutherford. Filming started in Budapest, with the shoot then continuing in locations in and around London. The series will premiere on the channel internationally before premiering as an Amazon Prime Exclusive in the USA.

IMAGE Becky Sharp (Olivia Cooke) in a seemingly reluctant embrace with Rawdon Crawley (Tom Bateman) on the sea front at Deale, Kent.

08 NEWS INTERVIEW

THE ATLANTA STORY Cine Gear LA is the trade show that doesn’t feel like a trade show, but now Cine Gear Atlanta is beckoning. We get the low-down from Cine Gear’s Julianne Grosso

Definition: What do you attribute the continued success of Cine Gear to? Juliane Grosso, Cine Gear: People really seem to like the atmosphere and appreciate the fact that we hold a show about the industry in an industry landmark location. Every year brings high-quality industry professionals together. So vendors and professional filmmakers and tradespeople alike can reap the benefits. Our top-notch educational programme continues to get great

and regular guests. In addition, we received so many requests from vendors and crews that work in Atlanta who could not attend Cine Gear Expo Los Angeles due to work schedules. And many of our vendors who have offices in Atlanta have been requesting an event there for years. After weighing it all up it was pretty clear that a lot of industry professionals would benefit, so we decided to go for it. JG: Naturally Atlanta will start out as a smaller and younger sister show to the one in Los Angeles – more of a regional show to start. However, the quality of offerings and expertise will be the same and who knows with time, what it will turn into? After all, the original Cine Gear Expo started out as a social event and look at us now. Def: How will the Atlanta show differ from the LA show?

reviews year after year. Sales are made. Deals are struck. New tools of the trade are introduced. It’s friendly and fun and brings out the best in our industry. Def: What is different for Cine Gear 2018, are there more seminars for instance? JG: Every year we expand our show by adding more exhibitors, educational seminars and industry events. We try to stay up to date on technology advancements and invite industry influencers to help unveil and introduce it to the production world. Def: Tell me about the thinking of extending Cine Gear’s reach to Atlanta. JG: With the recent rise of production in Atlanta, and the rest of the south, we decided to explore an idea. We put the word out and started talking about it with our exhibitors

ABOVE Atlanta’s the place to be: Cine Gear is expanding in the ‘Southern Hollywood’.

PINEWOOD BRINGS TOGETHER THE BEST IN BENEFITS OF A EUROPEAN STUDIO AND AN AMERICAN COMMUNITY

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INTERVIEW NEWS

Def: The rumour is that the show will move to Universal for next year due to occupancy in Paramount, is this true? JG: There is nothing to yet confirm about the next year’s site, but we have moved locations in the past. No one knows what the future holds.

THIS PAGE Cine Gear is coming to town – all thanks to Atlanta’s growing

attraction for productions.

Def: What has been the interest so far from your customers about the new show? JG: No one can deny that Atlanta is becoming the ‘Southern Hollywood’. With so many television and features filming, a huge filmmaking population is building and they are very excited about the prospect of Cine Gear Expo Atlanta. Def: Back to Cine Gear LA, what are the plans going forward for the show. Can you grow it even more? JG: The expo has been growing each year since it started, no reason to stop growing now, after all, it’s only natural.

Def: Detail the perfect person who will hopefully visit Atlanta for Cine Gear. JG: Like in Hollywood it will be working crew-members above and below the line of any department from shows shooting in the area and businesses that work for production. Plus, we envision professionals from nearby cities and possibly some folks from Europe that might find it easier to travel to and from Atlanta. Def: As Atlanta productions have huge crews that then disperse when the productions finish, how do you plan engaging as many crew as possible in the city for the show? JG: It is a small world and word travels fast. Like Cine Gear started in LA, we will contact folks through the local vendors, guilds, societies and other industry organisations. Our print and online ads are already starting to get the word out. We feel that when you have studios like Pinewood invest in an area like Atlanta it really shows that the locale has come into its own. Yes productions start and end just like they do everywhere. But now there is infrastructure there to keep them coming back. Def: Where do you plan to hold Cine Gear Atlanta? What will that site offer? What does the city offer visitors? JG: We will be at one of the leading studios in the world: Pinewood. It brings together the best in benefits of a European studio and an American community. Atlanta itself is a diverse community with great food and a vibrant nightlife.

According to Georgia’s Department of Economic Development, “Georgia’s Entertainment Industry Investment Act provides a 20 percent tax credit for companies that spend $500,000 or more on production and post-production in Georgia, either in a single production or on multiple projects. 10 percent Georgia Entertainment Promotion (GEP) uplift can be earned by including an embedded Georgia logo on approved projects and a link to their website.” WHY ATLANTA, GEORGIA IS BECOMING THE SOUTHERN HOLLYWOOD

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NEWS INTERVIEW

TOP NEWKIT COMES TO LONDON f you couldn’t make it to Las

Vegas for a hands-on with all the new kit, then make sure you get to London to see all that’s hot in filmmaking. Now in its third year, The Media Production Show (MPS) takes place on 12-13 June 2018 at London Olympia, and is ideally timed for some of the biggest names in the industry to present their latest products, technologies and services, many in their first UK outing. Changing formats and standards are impacting on the way that content is acquired, moved and stored. UHD, HDR, ProRes Raw, the transition to IP workflows and so much more will be covered in the free seminar stream, as well as on the show floor. Top names including Panasonic, Ikegami, Canon, Avid, Cooke Optics, Fujinon, Sharp and Rotolight are in attendance with their latest equipment. Many of the UK’s leading resellers and distributors such as XTFX, CCK, Jigsaw24, Digibox, Holdan, Altered Images and Global Distribution will also have a vast array of kit to pore over. The free seminar programme is one of the highlights of the show and goes from strength to strength each

Some of the most innovative ideas can be seen by hunting out some of the smaller stands at the show. This is often where you will find a genius gadget or fledgling technology that is set to revolutionise the industry, or make production life a little easier. Register for your free pass and keep up with the news at: www.mediaproductionshow.com

year. There are leading experts across production, post, broadcast and live production lining up to share their experiences and advice. The programme includes masterclasses from cinematographer Kate Reid, documentary filmmakers Ed Perkins and Jim Greayer, and wildlife cameraman Hecktor Skevington-Postles. On the audio side you can pick up tips on what sound editors and mixers need from sound editor and AMPS Fellow Chris Roberts, plus freelance dubbing mixer, ADR recordist and sound editor Emma Butt, and production sound mixer David Lascelles.

ABOVE Get to London’s Olympia to see the latest products and technologies at The Media Production Show.

UHD, HDR, PRORES RAW, THE TRANSITION TO IP WORKFLOWS

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08 NEWS CINE GEAR

THE ONES TO WATCH

Started last century but now evolved in to a cutting edge technical and educational event, Cine Gear is increasingly a ‘not to be missed’ event in the sunshine of LA CINE GEAR EXPO 2018

draws the most dedicated specialists from all major department including Digital Media, Film, Entertainment, Post Production, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Government and Military, Sports, Live Events and even the academic world. Initially the Paramount backlot was the home for the hardware but slowly less sunshine laden spaces have been needed for workflow software, monitors and other tech that isn’t sunshine friendly. But the meat of the Expo is still content capture hardware, support equipment and the latest production services. At its centre Cine Gear is a ‘try-out’ event and increasingly a ‘knowledge’ festival. Invitees get hands-on training, gain knowledge and skills from world technology leaders and network with peers all within a professional and comfortable studio environment. The Expo is winning plenty of friends.

ine Gear Expo first broke ground in 1996 and especially in the last few years has grown to become one of the

premier events for the technology, entertainment and media industries. Cine Gear Expo attracts over 16,000 professionals from more than 60 countries over the annual four-day conference. For those that exhibit and those that visit, they know that this is a different type of trade show. Compared to the huge events like NAB in Las Vegas, Cine Gear is a laid back super-networking event out in the Californian sunshine in the glamorous setting of Paramount’s backlot. You could call Cine Gear’s an organic growth. The Expo was created by people from the industry not professional event organisers. The event is more about focussing on the needs of the community and

ATTENDANCE AT CINE GEAR EXPO IS NOW AROUND 16000 AND GROWING

ABOVE Cine Gear 2018 is again at the Paramount backlot.

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CINE GEAR NEWS

1. ARRI Celebrating its 101st year in the film business, ARRI will be showing its range of digital cameras including the new LF large format camera with the new range of Signature lenses that have been designed for exclusive use with the new camera. Also on show will be their new wireless system, high-end lenses, professional camera accessories and growing stable of lighting including the latest SkyPanel S360 LED light. Products include the ALEXA 65, ALEXA SXT, ALEXA Mini and AMIRA cameras, Master Anamorphic lenses and SkyPanel, L-Series and M-Series lights. A major new software update for the Skypanels will also be on show with updated FX and extended colour control. There is also a new stage mode with smooth dimming to zero. www.arri.com 2. BLACKMAGIC DESIGN There was a time a few back that Blackmagic launched a new camera nearly every year, maybe those times are back as they have just updated their pocket cinema camera with a 4K version. The all new Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K has a similar handheld form factor to its predecessor with full 4/3 HDR sensor, automatic dual native ISO with up to 25600 ISO for low light performance as well as a claimed 13 stops of dynamic range. The new camera is looking to eliminate external recorders, as it features a USB-C Expansion Port, this allows customers to record using the internal SD/UHS-II and CFast recorders or directly to the same external disks they will use for editing and colour correction. The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K will be available from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide later this year for only US$1,295. www.blackmagicdesign.com 3. CANON There is only one camera to see on the Canon stand at Cine Gear. That’s the new Canon C700 FF. The FF stands for full frame and we can welcome Canon in to this exclusive club. Being able to downsample in full-frame format with high frame rates is key to keeping the full-frame aesthetic with FF. Also the size of this full frame camera is significantly smaller than its competitors. Other products lined up to be displayed on the stand include the EOS C700, EOS C200 and a range of high-end lenses such as the CN E18-80mm T4.4L IS KAS S and CN-E70-200mm T4.4L IS cine-servo lenses, as well as professional reference display monitors. The EOS C200 is the first Cinema EOS camera to feature Cinema RAW light format. It’s been designed to take the complexity out of delivering high-quality footage, with benefits including an advanced AF system that provides reliability and accuracy when shooting 4K, and a high-quality LCD panel and Dual Pixel CMOS AF. www.canon.co.uk 4. COOKE For over 100 years, Cooke has been at the centre of the filmmaking business. This is a company steeped in tradition that has been listening to the community it serves for generations, and while it’s hugely aware of its legacy it’s also remarkably forward looking and is constantly pushing the frontiers of technology to offer new and innovative products. On the stand at Cine Gear will be one of these, /i Technology, which enables film and digital cameras to automatically record key lens data for every frame shot and provide it to post-production teams digitally, a process that is invaluable to post-production teams and which greatly speeds up the editing process. Visitors will be able to handle and experience the likes of Cooke S7/i Full Frame Plus and Cooke Panchro/i Classic prime lenses, Cooke S4/i, Cooke Anamorphic/i, Anamorphic/i SF (‘Special Flare’ - pictured) optics and the Cooke S4/i and miniS4/i lenses with and without coatings. www.cookeoptics.com

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NEWS CINE GEAR

5. CW SONDEROPTIC CW Sonderoptic will be demonstrating three new focal lengths of super large format Leica Thalia lenses for the Cine Gear crowds in LA. The 24mm, 55mm, and 120mm lenses bring the set to nine lenses that offer character-rich and emotional images on any camera from Super35 to Full Frame and beyond. The lenses will soon be available in ARRI’s LPL mount as well. Also on display will be the full Leica M 0.8 series of iconic, compact, high-speed lenses. Now a set of nine lenses, from 21mm f/1.4 to 90mm f/2.0, the M 0.8 series offer a look with some vintage characteristics like field fall off and flare quality. CW is delivering a mount to allow use of the lenses on ARRI’s Alexa Mini and Amira cameras. A mount for RED cameras is already available and a mount for the new Sony Venice camera is in development. cw-sonderoptic.com 6. DUCLOS Duclos Lenses is a great destination for high quality motion picture lens service, sales and accessories. It’s a quality service to the industry’s professionals who own and rent top-of-the-line cinema optics. They also have the test equipment and experience required to optimise and maintain all of your lenses. It’s a family owned and operated business who not only appreciate and respect customers in a way only a small business could, but also thrive off of our customers satisfaction and repeat business. The Duclos Lenses booth will be showcasing it’s brand new Duclos 1.7x Expander, as well as their line of professional motion picture lens accessories and solutions. A brand new array of optics designed from the ground up, the Duclos 1.7x Expander effectively increases the image circle of the taking lens, providing a narrower field of view while maintaining resolution throughout the field. www.ducloslenses.com

7. FUJIFILM Fujifilm UK is showcasing its entire range of cine lenses, which cover all types of shooting, from high-end cinema down to independent documentary. The PL-Mount Premier HK lenses are the ultimate cine zoom lenses, with super-fast T-stops and a generous range of focal lengths. Meanwhile the Cabrio ZK and XK series are also PL-mount lenses and are ideal where smaller, lighter lenses might be preferable, or where you need a lens with a huge variety of focal lengths all in one package. Finally, weighing less than 1kg each and boasting T2.9 throughout, the E-Mount MK lenses bring all the quality and character of the Fujinon Premier and Cabrio lenses to an entirely new audience of independent production and emerging filmmakers. Also on the stand will be a GFX medium-format stills camera with a full range of GF lenses, and visitors are very welcome to come along for a demonstration. www.fujifilm.com 8. LEE FILTERS Lee Filters ProGlass Cine range of neutral-density filters has been designed to meet the needs of all cinematographers —whether shooting digitally or on film. They are very neutral, eliminating infrared pollution and ensuring all colours remain accurate and true. This simplifies workflow, saves time and enables cinematographers to focus on their creative goals. Martin Fuhrer, BSC —Director of Photography commented. “I recently got the opportunity to test the new LEE Pro Glass Cine IRND’s in snowy mountain landscapes. I was extremely impressed by the true stop every ND gave me throughout the whole range right up to ND2.1 Every time I changed the filter I deliberately preset the stop to check the accuracy and it was always spot on without fail.” www.leefilters.com

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NEWS CINE GEAR

9. NBCUNIVERSAL LIGHTBLADE The LightBlade LB800 is the latest professional lighting tool from NBCUniversal in partnership with Cineo. The LB800 represents the latest technological advances within the LightBlade product line, with new features and even greater flexibility. Like all LightBlade fixtures, the LB800 uses proprietary phosphor- converted white light LEDs, as well as phosphor-converted saturated colour LEDs. These work together to create a balanced, natural- looking spectrum featuring Cineo’s deep-red colour rendering technology. The saturated colour LEDs use the exact same dies as the white LEDs, so all light emitting elements of the LightBlade products carry identical thermal stability and perform over time with consistent colour quality. Additional features include support of both 8-bit and 16-bit DMX data, as well as multiple colour space personalities. LightBladeLed.com 10. MOTION IMPOSSIBLE Set up in August 2014 by BAFTA award-winning cameraman Rob Drewett and experienced product design engineer Andy Nancollis, Motion Impossible (MI) is an equipment manufacturer and production company that has as its remit a passion to create new and innovative ways to move cameras in film, TV and 360° VR. The company is the creator of the Mantis Dolly system, which moves and stabilises VR/360º and film cameras, and MI’s filming side, MI Films. At the show they will be showing their new Agito platform. Whilst the Mantis has already made its mark within the VR/360° market, Motion Impossible has made it its mission to continue the development of the product for the broadcast market. This has culminated in the launch of Agito – a robotic dolly system that can make recordable If only there was a service where you could design your own foam for a new case or even just buy the foam as you have a case already or design a piece of foam with exact measurements. My Case Builder is offering just that with their own online App but you’re not restricted to using their App, you can get them to import your technical drawings. You can also choose what foam you want, whether it’s black PE foam (polyethylene) or charcoal ester foam (polyurethane) this one’s best for delicate light item where PE foam is more dense. You can even choose what cutting method is best for your case. Water jet cut, knife cut, die cut and wire cut are the methods, it depends what you want your case for. My Case Builder will even design your case foam for you and of course they sell cases as well. www.mycasebuilder.com 12. PAG PAG will spotlight its unique and revolutionary intelligent linking batteries for high-end cameras and accessories. PAGlink is one of the industry’s most technologically advanced portable power system, available in V-Mount and Gold Mount formats. Linking batteries combines capacities for longer run-time and a higher current draw (12A) - ideal for powering a camera and multiple accessories simultaneously. The 150Wh PL150 battery offers 50% more capacity than the 96Wh PL96, with no increase in size. Two linked PL150s provide 300Wh. PAGlink means no more time-wasting camera reboots on set. Linked battery charging, developed by PAG, is more efficient and results in smaller, travel-friendly chargers, such as the new pocket-sized Micro Charger. PowerHub is a power distribution plate for camera accessories. It is used sandwiched between 2 PAGlink batteries. PowerHub is smarter than built-in battery D-Taps because it lets you choose the outputs: D-Tap, Lemo, Hirose or USB, and it keeps accessories powered-up when you hot-swap batteries. paguk.com moves on the ground. motion-impossible.com 11. MY CASE BUILDER

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NEWS CINE GEAR

13. PANASONIC Cine Gear Expo 2018 will see Panasonic display the latest innovations in film and TV production. Panasonic will showcase the full VariCam line-up – the flagship VariCam 35, the compact VariCam LT and the VariCam Pure, which provides 4K uncompressed Raw at up to 120fps, all of which can be configured to meet a variety of production scenarios. In 2017 a number of productions shot with VariCam aired, including ITV Studios’ The Moorside in the UK and The Deuce for HBO. The VariCam is also proving popular with Netflix, with productions including Orange is the New Black and Master of None all being shot with the VariCam series. The recently launched AU-EVA1 will also be on show. Thanks to its newly-developed 5.7K Super 35mm sensor, dual-native ISO sensitivity and lightweight design, EVA1 fulfils a wide range of run-and-gun and handheld shooting styles. www.panasonic.com 14. PANAVISION Panavision is one of the leading camera rental facilities in the world. Dedicated to supporting the future of film, the company provides service to features, TV, commercials and music videos. Panavision is dedicated to growing and supporting the future of cinematography with new products and innovations, and at this year’s Cine Gear it will be showcasing its latest technologies, including new products from its camera, lens and grip departments. Focusing on 8K large format, the DXL 2 will be on display and available for demos. Visitors will be offered the opportunity to shoot with newer, wider focal lengths from the range of T Series anamorphic lenses, which offer a large sweet-spot and closer focus. Meanwhile Grip and Remote Systems will be demonstrating the revolutionary SuperTechno 75, with motorised base and triple telescopic column. panavision.com

15. P+S TECHNIK P+S TECHNIK will show their anamorphic lens series ‘Evolution 2X’ as well as their scope of lens rehousing to visitors of Cine Gear Expo 2018. “NAB Show 2018 showed us already that the demand for anamorphic lenses is still increasing”, says MD Anna Piffl. “We are ready to provide professional solutions here while keeping in mind larger sensors.” Since 2017 they have delivered the Evolution 2X anamorphic lenses (for S35 format). Over 100 lenses with the focal length 40mm, 50mm, 75mm and 100mm have already been delivered. The success of the Evolution 2X lenses, which are matching the look of the original KOWA, encouraged them to make the 135mm a perfect match. The 135 mm has new front anamorphic elements, to reach the light intensity and a compact design. www.pstechnik.de 16. QUASAR SCIENCE In just a few years, Quasar Science has become an essential brand within the Motion Picture and Photography Industry. With the rise of RGB-enabled fixtures, this Lighting Technician created company has been working on its own full colour system, ‘RGBX’. This five colour mixing system adds high output RGB diodes to Quasar’s Crossfade 2000k and 6000k white light diode set to produce both high quality broad spectrum tunable white light, and bright ultra-saturated narrow spectrum colour. The first fixture in the lineup to utilise RGBX is the new Rainbow Linear LED Light. This slender, high output light source is ideal for everything from 3 point lighting setups to assembling massive arrays and large area lighting rigs. Unbeatable in tight spaces, the self-ballasted Rainbow comes in 600mm 1200mm and 2400mm lengths. Digital control interface, Wireless and wired DMX connect, Lead/Follow mode, Auxiliary DC input, Onboard FX, and much more. www.quasarscience.com

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NEWS CINE GEAR

17. RED Red Digital Cinema will be showing their range of cameras and sensors. The company has settled on a hardware solution with the DSMC2 Weapon body now carrying their 8K sensors as well as a new sensor called Gemini. Aptly named as Gemini has an automatic dual sensitivity. The Gemini was designed to shoot in space so has this low-light ability but the company wanted to evolve the camera for more normal lighting conditions. It’s a S35mm sensor with a 5K performance and will be able to take advantage of the Weapon hardware and shoot Redcode RAW as well at the same time Apple ProRes or AVID’s DNxHD/HDR. The new camera forms part of the Red Epic-W range and is available online from red.com. www.red.com 18. SCHNEIDER Visit the Schneider-Kreuznach booth at Cine Gear Expo and you’ll be able to find out more about the company’s extensive lens and filter portfolio. Learn how to handle new filter lines like the Radiant Soft or RHOdium Full Spectrum ND, and find out how it’s possible to tell your story in a new emotional, sensational or technical way.  This is also a golden opportunity to get hands on with the highly innovative Xenon FF-Prime Cine-Tilt, which has just been voted best prime lens in our sister title Pro Moviemaker ’s Gear of the Year Awards 2017. Unleash the focus with the first dynamic tiltable lens set and pay attention to the creamy and organic out-of-focus areas of the six-lens Xenon FF-Prime set. Schneider works closely with DOPs to provide great and useful tools to create individual possibilities of storytelling, so go along and say hello and find out what the company might be able to do for your business. schneiderkreuznach.com/en 19. TERADEK At Cine Gear 2018, Teradek will be showcasing the latest in zero-delay wireless video systems: the Bolt XT. Completely reimagined, the XT combines great wireless performance with smart design to give cinematographers incredible flexibility on set. Real-time 1080p60 video offers pristine image quality, and powerful software features like a built-in 5GHz spectrum analyzer and 3D LUTs allow professionals to monitor the feed with complete confidence. The Bolt XT receiver features a newly-integrated NATO rail, while the transmitter includes an ARRI Pin-Loc for fast and easy mounting on set. Available battery plates include Gold or V-mount for the Bolt 1000/3000 XT, as well as Sony L-series or Canon LP-E6 plates on the Bolt 500 XT. Bolt XT is compatible with all 3rd-gen Bolt 500, 1000 and 3000 models, as well as 703 Bolt, 10K, and Sidekick II units. teradek.com 20. ZEISS At Cine Gear this year Zeiss will be showcasing a large portfolio of full-frame lenses, including the Cinema Zoom CZ.2 range and new Compact Prime CP.3 XD range. Thanks to their interchangeable mounts and full-frame coverage, these lenses are believed by many filmmakers to be as close as it’s possible to get to the ultimate future- proof investment. The Zeiss Cinema Zoom lenses feature exquisite optics in a robust, durable package. Affordable, flexible and offering the highest quality, the Zeiss Cinema Zoom lenses are an invaluable addition to any film set. Meanwhile the new Zeiss CP.3 and CP.3 XD lenses offer the perfect combination of high image quality and reliable usability. They exhibit the clean, crisp characteristics Zeiss is known for, together with ground-breaking lens data technology in the XD versions, designed to speed-up and simplify the workflow on set and in post-production. www.zeiss.com

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As Canon enters the full-frame cinematic world with the new C700 FF camera, Pro AV organised a full demo day to introduce the newmodel and format IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FOCUS

Now the professional video world is more legitimately investigating full-frame or large- format cinematography. Pro AV is at the forefront of this new era for cinematography with the introduction of Canon’s latest full frame camera, the C700 FF (as in ‘full frame’). To show customers exactly what the FF might mean for them, Pro AV’s Hemel Hempstead branch threw open its doors after it secured one of the only C700 FFs available in the world. PRO AV ADVICE Nick Millen from Pro AV explained the excitement of the new full- frame camera. “The C700 FF is the most economical entry into this burgeoning large-format club and interestingly the camera trumps a lot of the others in terms of spec. Being able to downsample in full-frame format with high frame rates is key to keeping the full-frame aesthetic. Also the size of the camera is significantly

en years ago Canon introduced a full-frame stills camera that shot video – the video world promptly turned on its axis. Shooters

THE C700 FF IS THEMOST ECONOMICAL ENTRY INTO THIS LARGE-FORMAT CLUB

wanted the full framed 5D Mark II look so much they would forgive the camera’s video shortcomings like its lock-in to 30p and its total lack of focusing and exposure aids. Also the way it ‘binned’ pixels to produce a H.264 file was brutal and a H.264 post route wasn’t workable.

BELOW Director and DOP Brett Danton with the new Canon C700 FF.

smaller than its competitors.” This is an important point for people who are eyeing up this new format market. You can achieve the full frame at the full resolution of 5.9K, but you can also have a 4K from the full frame or even a 2K from the full frame. Other cameras require a crop of your image. As the experts at Pro AV also reminded us, Canon has all its glass, which is large-format ready if you choose the Cinema range or maybe the L Series range. You could look at the new CN-E20mm T1.5 L F, which has been designed with the C700 FF

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camera in mind. The L Series glass is there if you want a special shot as you have focal lengths from 11mm to 800mm. With the wide nature of the new sensor at 38mm you also can look to anamorphic use, and indeed, at Pro AV, there were Cooke /i Technology lenses available to open the camera out to more character lenses and the emotional world of anamorphics. FOCUS IS THEWORD At their large-format open day, Pro AV designed their set with a number of elements in mind to demonstrate to their high-profile clientele the benefits of the new FF camera. By far the most important was the increased need for careful focus with large-format cinematography. The set therefore thrust lights in front of the camera to layer a shot through to the scooter and dining tables behind it. Play with the FF’s focus and you could easily produce some beautiful bokeh moments, but then imagine those moves with a fast lens wide open and how you would then deal with the focus issues. Canon’s ace up its sleeve for the new camera is its widely accepted Dual Pixel autofocus system. In the movie and high-end drama world the phrase autofocus is almost unheard

placing sensors on actors to improve their electronic focus systems. Pro AV’s experts explain: “The preconception of autofocus by high- end cinematographers is based on the legacy of autofocus using contrast. The only way that system knows it is sharp is to go beyond the point of maximum contrast and gives you an image that hunts. Canon’s Dual Pixel system doesn’t use that and is based on phase difference. Every pixel is split into two, the left eye and the right eye and the processor works out

of, with focus pullers evolving their art with hugely technical systems that currently involve

the phase difference between each half of the pixel and then determines whether the lens needs to be driven towards infinity or to near focus to achieve the maximum sharpness. It can do that dynamically thousands of times per second so as your subject moves, if you’re in autofocus, the lens can move to track. There’s no other system that has the same level of sophistication or accuracy.” One of the high-end crew at the C700 FF demo day was director and DOP Brett Danton. He is sure that Canon’s Dual Pixel technology will win many people over from the movie and high-end drama world. “It’s crazy to know that this type of autofocus is achievable, if you’re going to monitor the 5.9k down sample in HD then you might have a problem seeing focus, with the Dual Pixel system you have this amazing eye tracking ability that should really help – at the end of the day it’s going to all about the focus but also the conversion of crew to this technology.”

TOP AND ABOVE Pro AV held a full-frame open day to introduce users to the format and to the Canon C700 FF.

MORE INFORMATION:

www.proav.co.uk

ABOVE The new remote panel for the Canon C700 FF.

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SHOOT STORY INFINITY WAR

WORDS JULIAN MITCHELL IMAGES DISNEY As the number of Super Heroes and Star Wars films increase so does the camera data Beyond Infinity

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INFINITY WAR SHOOT STORY

f you're even a little bit invested in the MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe for all you non-believers, you would have already seen Infinity War and maybe more than once. The idea here in play is basically more - more action, Super Heroes, plot twists, deaths (sorry) and of course cameras and camera data. As I write this, the film is touching on a billion dollars income worldwide and we’re not even passed a week yet. Everything is maxed out in the MCU. We’re also on the edge of the newest Star Wars movie, Solo: A Star Wars Story . Shot again with the ARRI Alexa 65 by DOP Bradford Young but this time with ARRI’s Prime DNA lenses. Infinity War was shot with Panavision's Ultra 70 series. Bradford was poetic with his love for the ARRI glass on Solo, “Lenses and format have to be ready to adapt to my particular taste. DNA glass is a revelation and revolution in my journey to anchor my artistic residue into a particular story – truly my way of seeing, thus my way of feeling. No other glass has afforded me this opportunity. It’s a true game- changer!” Marvel has always been big fans of the ARRI Alexa 65 look and lens choice, it’s the biggest camera sensor out there after all. They demand of their suppliers like Pinewood Digital that the amount of data is dealt with, that’s over 30MB per frame and of course with digital you always shoot more than you need. Pinewood have been here before and well versed in scaling up what they already have. That mainly means more ways to transport and receive the data and then to process the data and pass it on, it’s a data factory. But ironically beating that 30MB per frame is the way Pinewood manage their film scans which now come out at over 100MB per frame being scanned at 4K 16-bit. The great thing for Pinewood here was that much of the shooting was done at Pinewood Atlanta so having control of the process inside their own studios made it that much easier, it was just more data than they had ever processed before. 65 THE MAGIC NUMBER Here are some interesting facts that show that the Alexa 65 is doing its bit to keep cinema alive. The 65 now has 72 feature film credits in three years, with 41 of them using Alexa 65 as the main unit 'A' camera. Also since

1950 there have been roughly 160 theatrically released 70mm films of which Alexa 65 now accounts for 33%. Since Alexa 65's inception 70mm analogue film production has also grown, illustrating an overall growth in the larger format in general. Also Ant-man and the Wasp is also using Alexa 65 and ARRI DNA lenses and there’s a new Spiderman movie coming next year. As the number of large format cameras increase you may think that productions would look elsewhere for their new camera aesthetic especially as the number of lenses out there are huge now. But if you have seen previous Alexa 65 productions like The Revenant or Rogue One: A Star Wars Story you will appreciate the medium format look and that shallow depth of field that someone at Marvel and LucasFilm is so in love with. So who is the winner here? Probably ARRI Rental as Infinity War’s main camera unit shot with 14 Alexa 65s and the other unit shot with nine. For Infinity War nearly half the Alexa 65 cameras in existence were in use. Hold on, weren’t there only around 30 cameras in the whole world! “That day was the biggest on-set data shoot ever,” commented Thom Berryman from Pinewood Digital, “The biggest day that we had was getting on for 40 TeraBytes for the two units. But we had planned for this as we could see there were

ABOVE The latest Star Wars, Solo , shot on the Alexa 65 camera and used the ARRI DNA lenses. LEFT Infinity War at one point used 23 Alexa 65 cameras across two units.

THE BIGGEST DATA DAY WE HAD WAS GETTING ON FOR 40 TERABYTES FOR THE TWO UNITS

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going to be some very data heavy days quite far out. We were able to plan with Marvel and then push through some huge capital expenditure and buy multiple SANs. We then operated a new workflow where we had to run two SANs simultaneously which were striped together to deal with the amount of data for rendering and playback. 40 TeraBytes became 80 TeraBytes in the processing which seems a strange way of going about things, the last thing you’d expect to do when you have more data than you’d ever had before is to double it. But that worked out quite well for us.” The cameras did record to Codex recorders and the production did have four Codex Vaults but all they used those for was for off-loading data in to their system. “So DITs and data wranglers on-set were passing transfer drives to us which we ingested. When we were in Atlanta and they were shooting on the stages there were deliveries of drives twice a day. We also have a 4K DCI screening room and the Directors, the Russo brothers, came over at wrap to review the morning’s rushes.” LAS VEGAS WRINKLE The workflow at Pinewood Atlanta was going very well from the theory of the new workflow to the way transfer drives were being ingested, WE HAD TO MOVE 40TB A DAY TO THE MARVEL DATA CENTRE IN LAS VEGAS

TeraBytes a day across to them, Marvel store all of their own digital negatives there and then use it for VFX pulls.” It was lucky that Pinewood had that connection so they could put the media in the right place on the other side of the country. Pinewood were also managing the grading of the dailies and the archiving to LTO tape. What was different about this production was that they were dealing with other films’ productions at the same time, this is the MCU after all and other films like Guardian of the Galaxy 2 and Black Panther were also in the system or parts of them were. Edits and VFX approval was needed by the other side of the country from the executives in Atlanta. To come are Ant-man and the Wasp which is still in production and the new Spiderman movie is starting up as well as a new Avengers production. If you’ve seen Infinity War you will recognise the beautiful city of Edinburgh in some of the scenes. Pinewood had to pack up their technology and take it on the road to Scotland from Atlanta. To deal with the location Pinewood had to take over a whole floor of a hotel in the city, this couldn’t be any hotel but one that had doors big enough to fit it all in. Amazingly everything was managed on location to duplicate what people were used to in Atlanta. Everything but the Las Vegas centre transfers which were handled by sending LTO tapes to Atlanta and then on to Vegas.

but Marvel forgot to tell them a certain extra step. “We actually had to move the data every day across the country to a data centre in Las Vegas. We had a 10GB connection between our facility and this data centre and were sending up to 40

ABOVE Apart from Infinity War being shot and processed, there were other films going through Pinewood.

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SHOOT STORY YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE

It’s a testament to the creatives involved in YouWere Never Really Here that a warped time frame produced such a great looking film WORDS JULIAN MITCHELL IMAGES WHY NOT PRODUCTIONS In Plain Sight

interruption just to see what would happen. I think she mildly regretted it when she came to the edit. If she’d had the discipline of film imposed on her the natural breaks would’ve come with that. “From my point of view I don’t treat them differently from each other, I meter everything, but interestingly 800 ASA on a light meter does not automatically translate into the correct exposure as it should be on the Alexa. Why that is I don’t know. It’s a guide at any rate. We only ever had one monitor on set which was Lynne’s and my monitor, and I would occasionally look just for some sort of assurance of what it was we were shooting. “The ARRI Alexa was a budgetary decision that was foisted on us from on high. The production happened very quickly so there weren’t many decisions made on the look we wanted. I’ve known Lynne for twenty years, in fact she was leaving film school just when I was joining. In no time at all we were scouting for locations so in a way the discussion was not so much about a look but more about, does this location work for both our needs? There was no obvious reference film we both wanted to emulate, it just kind of happened, and it happened so quickly that there wasn’t time to do the usual navel gazing as you usually do in big productions. I think this had to do with how well Lynne and I know each other.” The quickness of the production decisions were down to lead actor Joaquin Phoenix, who initially couldn’t do the movie but then had a hole in his schedule – only if the film could start almost immediately. The novella the film is based on describes Phoenix’s character as someone who is hiding

ot the most prolific director, Lynne Ramsay last made a full-length movie in 2011 (the horror-parenting film We Need to Talk About Kevin) . Back then the gear list almost encapsulated the period setting with Panaflex Millenium and Platinum film cameras with C and E series lenses, and an appearance from Canon’s 5D Mk II DSLR, which was the digital camera of the moment. Her and DOP Tom Townend’s initial feeling for You Were Never Really Here was 35mm and anamorphic lenses – that’s until the accountant got involved and the ARRI Alexa, with a myriad of glass, became the more affordable choice. “I wanted to persuade Lynne that digital could easily emulate film and the only difference between the two was that the camera wouldn’t have a mag of film on the top of it.” That film-to-digital- conversion conversation was commonplace around five years ago, but Tom still fields the ‘I want to make it look like film’ question all the time when shooting on digital. However, Tom reckons that digital is 80% of what he shoots now. “Lynne was resistant to the idea initially because it was not what she was used to. We actually shot a test on Kodak 500T film alongside the Alexa, day and night, just on a street corner and took that into a grading suite to really prove that the look of 35mm could be emulated, and we added grain as well. That satisfied Lynne and I promised her there was no difference in working practice. As it happened, of course you don’t have to re-load every ten minutes and the camera will keep on rolling, something that she really embraced. It suited her and Joaquin Phoenix to shoot without

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YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE SHOOT STORY

LEFT Joaquin Phoenix showed admirable lack of vanity, and was not concerned by how he was lit.

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We had to go with what was there and then build on that. It was really a case of finding a location and seeing if it worked. For instance, there was an office location on the second floor of this building and we knew that we wouldn’t be able to light through the windows, so it became a scheduling issue more than anything else – could we guarantee we would be able to shoot the scene during certain hours of the day and not get stuffed by the sun going down, things like that. So it was all kind of pragmatic, but there were happy accidents along the way – there’s a scene in a spa, and when we first went to look at it we knew we needed a single light bulb (in the script it described a single light bulb dissolving through to a midday sun

in plain sight, looking completely anonymous and blending in with his surroundings. “When you’re filming someone walking along the street they’re obviously the focus of the shot and there is no real way of making them blend in with their surroundings, and I guess an equivalent of that is to keep them in shadow. One of the really liberating things was having a lead actor who doesn’t really have any vanity. There was never a question of presenting him in his best light, he simply didn’t care. A lot of the time Lynne encouraged the fact that his face would be in shadow, it would help the story as you wouldn’t know what was going on with the guy.” HAPPY ‘LOCATION’ ACCIDENTS The film was around 90% location shooting; the only builds had to do with tax relief. “They were a couple of builds, which was one way of accessing the tax break money that New York offers if you occupy stage space for two days out of your production. As it happened there were a couple of scenes that it made sense to build rather than to look for a location. “A fair portion of the film is night exterior and that look was further dictated by what resources we had.

IT WAS ALL KIND OF PRAGMATIC, BUT THERE WERE HAPPY ACCIDENTS ALONG THE WAY

in another location). When we got there it was indeed a single light bulb, but it was one of those super blue energy-saving light bulbs. We liked the fact that a sauna or spa was a very intense, cold blue colour; we liked the fact that it was not what you’d expect. When we shot there we just added blue lighting, which was fun to do.” Night scenes in a 24-hour city like New York are always going to be difficult to shoot with the high ambient light spillage, but then perhaps useful to avoid noise from pushing the sensor. “I never went above 1280 ISO but that was really just to get a healthier stop. I had no desire to shoot anamorphic to really test the mettle of the focus department. If I gave them a 2.8/4 split at night, that seemed a better bet than shooting wide open. A lot of the lenses we were using just wouldn’t perform at below 2.8 anyway. “It was an alphabet soup of lens choices. Panavision Anamorphic

ABOVE Judith Roberts shares a scene with her screen son Joe (Phoenix).

BELOW Night shoots took

advantage of New York’s potentially tricky ambient light.

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