The first job that I ever shot with the Canon 5D was as Director and DP on a webisode series that Director of “Terminator Salvation” McG asked me to do.  We produced these webisodes as part of the “Terminator Salvation” marketing campaign to be used before the movie was released. When I saw how amazing the imagery from this camera looked and the way that it moved on someone’s head or in someone’s hands, I was sold.

First person perspective footage was taken to the next level when I signed on to lens the Navy SEAL action picture “Act of Valor” with the Bandito Brothers. Directors Scotty Waugh and Mouse McCoy wanted to think outside of the box for a new look and feel. I said, “What if we put the viewer in the eyes of the Navy SEAL. The film would feel like the video game ‘Call of Duty,’ with this first person shooter perspective.”

We set out on a mission to design and build a Hurlbut Visuals helmet cam that would be rigged on the right side of the SEALs’ heads and over their gun sights. It moved like you have never seen a camera move before. Jumping into rivers, running down tunnels, chasing bad guys in trucks, and going underwater was all do-able while using the helmet cam. The shots were intimate, visceral, and breathtaking.

When Hurlbut Visuals produced the critically acclaimed short film “The Last 3 Minutes,” (http://www.ojaifilmfestival.com/ and http://www.cinemastlouis.org/) the director, Po Chan, wanted a first person perspective that was different from the video game quality of “Act of Valor.” She wanted the footage to be elegant, smooth, and to transport the viewer through time. I knew that the helmet cam that we had designed for AOV was too far away from the wearer’s eyes and that we needed to outsource in order to get the equipment necessary. I called Gary Thieltges at Doggicam to see if he had made anything for this camera system that was closer to the eyes. I have used Doggicam on almost every one of my feature films. I have employed their body mount rigs, carbon fiber remote heads, and unique rigs on bikes and motorcycles. You name it, they can mount it. Gary told me that he had just made a helmet cam that he thought that I would really like. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. In one word, “WOW.” It is so well designed. He had taken a Baseball helmet and cut the right ear flap off. This gives you the ability to get the camera very close to the right eye, which was a more fine tuned version of my original helmet cam design. It uses all of Gary’s special 5/8” rods and rod clamps to mount the camera anywhere you like. This integrates incredibly well with a remote follow focus system and anything else that you might need to add like wireless video, a battery, etc. It has a very simple counter weight design that enables you to balance the rig on anyone’s head, and a neck support travels in the kit as well.
The Last 3 Minutes – Directed by Po Chan

In “The Last 3 Minutes” we slid into home plate with this helmet rigged to my Elite Team member Bodie Orman’s head. We were able to take viewers on a journey, showing them what it would feel like to slide into home along with the emotion that goes into scoring a winning run. We took all of the batteries and the wireless video transmitter and put them in a backpack for Bodie to wear so that we could reduce the weight on his head and neck as much as possible.

Bodie fastens the Doggicam helmet cam and is ready for action

Bodie speeds around third base

Bodie celebrates with his teammates while Elite Team member Marc Margulies plays the Third Base coach as well as the focus puller on this complex shot.

The Elite Team of Marc Margulies, Darin Necessary and Bodie Orman. Filmmakers to the core.

Bodie takes a break before we blow the bomb off.

Elite team member Julien Lasseur readies the slate while Bodie gets into character.

The Vietnam sequence was another example of taking this platform to the next level. As a bomb goes off, Bodie drops to the ground with his hands and M-16 in the bottom of frame. The viewer is emotionally involved, and again, it is a visceral experience.

Josh Pritz rolls out with the helmet cam - he is ready for a street fight with my son Myles.

We mounted the helmet cam on Josh Pritz’s head. He was playing our young William. Josh gets into a street fight with my son Myles.

The helmet cam was the only tool that could give us this unique first person perspective with the elegance and beauty that Po wanted.

Hurlbut Visuals helmet cam at work in the Dominican Republic

The Hurlbut Visuals helmet cam wired and ready for action

I assist the actress getting into the helmet cam.

Dominican Republic shoot - at the edge of the ocean.

When we were doing a Travel and Tourism spot in the Dominican Republic for AM Resorts, director Rob Lawe at Fresh Pictures wanted viewers to experience the resort through the eyes of the couple that was staying at the Zoëtry resort. We rigged the Hurlbut Visuals helmet to our beautiful model and she revealed footage of exotic room locations that transitioned right into the aquamarine color waters of the Caribbean, as well as relaxing spas and night clubs.

When you are shooting an intimate scene and you want to be in the middle of the action, a helmet cam is an amazing tool to meet your needs. It is powerful for two things: immersing you in the action and having a first person point of view. The mixture of the helmet cam and the 5D is very powerful. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on what equipment you have used to achieve this same type of effect.

Here are details from our EPK crew on “The Last 3 Minutes.” With this first person perspective, it is not like a scene where you do a wide shot and then go in for coverage. It plays out like a play where everything has to work. If you did a normal scene, there would be 5 takes on a master, 6 takes on over the shoulder, another 6 takes on over the shoulder, 4 takes on a close-up and 4 takes on another close-up. We did 10-20 takes so it all worked as one shot which was very challenging. One of the most difficult things in film making is to have it all happen in one shot and not breaking it up into individual set-ups. Here is how we did it.

EPK Director/Camera Operator: Tim Holtermann

“When Shane told me he wanted to shoot behind the scenes footage of “The Last 3 Minutes” I was very excited as I had only used the 5D MKII for narrative work. I knew that using the 5D for run and gun style documentary work might be a challenge and loved the idea of diving in head first.

Shane and The Hurlbut Visuals Elite Team

Prep: There was no real prep for this because of time constraints and schedules so I pretty much showed up on set day one and just started shooting. However, we had discussed some things ahead of time like shooting freehand (no rigs) vs mounting the camera on a RedRock shoulder mount rig with follow focus and a Zoom H4n for sound. What we found out after a few hours on day one was that free style was the way to go. It was light, nimble and easy to move around a sometimes crowded set. The less intrusive the better – especially for low key documentary style stuff.

Director Po Chan, Rudy Harbon, Shane and Marc Marguiles check out a shot

Crew: Shane’s Elite Team Members Marc Marguiles and Rudy Harbon helped me with delivering two different perspectives with their camera work. Not only was it a blast to work with Marc and Rudy but a privilege too. Nothing like a good group around you when you are pulling long days and nights.

Shane, Tim Holtermann and Derek Edwards With the Helmet Cam

Gear: Aside from the 5D MKII my lens of choice was the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L lens. This lens proved to be a great help in low light situations and is perfect for run and gun style shootings. I tend to stay around 24 for most hand held work because it just helps keep the image steady but there were occasions where I did zoom in, you just have to watch the motion. Marc used the Canon EF 24-105 f/4 with IS. The image stabilization seemed to work well when he zoomed in which was helpful for those times where we couldn’t get close enough. When we were shooting in low light he would be up in the 1600 ISO range where I was happy at ISO 640. So there are some trade offs.

For the most part it was just the 5D MKII and a lens griped with our hands. No tripods, no camera supports, no lighting, nothing at all.

Derek Edwards, Tim Holtermann, Antonio Soriano and Shane

Audio: I guess I could have included this in the gear section but I think audio is important so it gets its own special section. We did have a Zoom H4n and a Rhode microphone with us and if I had an extra sound guy to follow us around I might have had it rolling sound. The problem with recording sound like this is that you have to deal with it sooner or later in post. You either need to slate your shots or use some type of plug-in to help sync up the sound with the visuals not to mention the extra time you’ll need to catalog all of the sound files. Sometimes in run and gun style documentary shooting there is just no time or ability to shoot a slate so the question became, do we just roll the audio and attach the Zoom to one of us and hope for the best or should we just concentrate on the visuals and hope the camera mics hold up. We decided to let the cameras record with their own mics. We just didn’t have the time or crew to fuss with the Zoom in such a fast paced schedule. For the most part the sound from the cameras holds up pretty well except during any amount of wind or camera/hand shake.

If we had had the time before hand I would have tested a few more options – for example, mounting one of the smaller mics such as the Rhode VideoMic or Sennheiser MKE 400 directly to the camera which would have probably been a lot better than the on board mic and since they would feed directly to the camera we would not have to worry about syncing the audio up later. The other nice option would have been to try out the new audio control of the 24P firmware but there was no time.

Shane and Kyra Hurlbut

We wanted to get some dialogue from Shane to lay down as voice over as well as an introduction so when there were a few minutes to spare during lunch on one of the days we put Shane under a tree with a Sennheiser G3 wireless lavalier which fed into the Zoom H4n and recorded away. This was the only time we ended up using the second system sound.

So the bottom line – I was surprised the camera mics did as well as they did but would have loved to have improved upon this and will make sure to get some testing done before the next run and gun shoot.

Lighting: Well there wasn’t any – not by the behind the scenes crew anyway. We relied on available light. Outdoors we used the sun to our advantage but had to ND the lens most of the time. There were a few times where I just stopped the camera down past 11. Usually lenses show their weaknesses when you go into the 11+ range but since we were not shooting things for beauty I wasn’t too concerned. In fact the images look pretty good and it allowed me to keep focus more easily. The choice was – worry about a less pristine image due to the aperture or an out of focus image. I would rather have the focus, at least in this situation.

During the lower light scenes and night shots we tried to use the set lighting as much as possible. There were times where I was wide open at 2.8 and 640 ISO or higher but the camera held up fine. It’s just that pulling focus can be a problem at this point so I highly suggest getting use to using the cameras 10x magnification feature, finding a focus point and then hitting record quickly or using something like the Zacuto ZFinder.

Rudy Harbon, Shane and Derek Edwards discuss a shot

Marc Marguiles, Shane and Derek Edwards

Shooting the behind the scenes for “The Last 3 Minutes” was a labor of love. It was challenging, fun and exhausting all at the same time but that is what makes film making so rewarding. It was great documenting Shane and the rest of the crew at work as they are all so passionate about what they do. A true pleasure. If you have specific questions or want more details, my email is Tim@hurlbutvisuals.com.”

Marc Marguiles, Po Chan, Darin Necessary, Bodie Orman and Shane

EPK Camera Operator: Marc Marguiles

“When you tell a story it is important to have a beginning, middle and end. I thought of opening the case and ending it with putting the camera back in the case and the in between would be sequenced by a scene by scene telling a story within the story.

I preferred using the 5D over 7D and 1D because it was more familiar and we had done extensive testing with picture quality and noise reduction. The lens choice needed to be able to do a wide shot while also capturing closeups without being right in the middle of the action or in everyone’s face and getting in the way of production. I chose a Canon 24:105 zoom with a Tiffen ND .9 or ND 1.2 to decrease the depth of field while shooting at 160 ISO during the daytime to make it look more like film. The night shots were at 1600 and 3200 ISO because the t-stop was a 4.0 on that lens.

It was great to collaborate with Tim to compliment certain shots; we alternated with wide or tight angles. The overall vision was to have an educational how “The Last 3 Minutes” was made so the audience felt like they were actually present on the set. If you would like to discuss everything in more detail, my email is Marc@hurlbutvisuals.com.”

Shane, Darin Necessary and Bodie Orman

I saw one the other day that was bigger than the Genesis and that baby weighs in at 45-50 lbs in all. In  film the camera is huge and I have been in the mass moving business since I started in 1986.  The Canon 5D Mark II inspired me to throw out the mass and really break all the rules.

Man cam in minivan with backpack on the floorboard

Studio hand held mode in Washington

Studio hand held in Cambodia

Directors Mike McCoy and Scotty Waugh on Motorcycle Stripper

Rudy Harbon lensing with a Man cam with DC-3 Flyover off the Horn of Africa

Rigged stripper on diplomat's car in Phnom Penh

My camera is still very small for Studio hand held mode, Man Cam, and even smaller for Action Cam mode.  Keeping it simple is our motto at Hurlbut Visuals and one that the Elite Team members believe in as well.  What is the smallest, most compact set-up that delivers the story?

When I shot “Into the Blue,” I asked a lot of experienced cinematographers about their experience with shooting on water and what made them the most productive.  I listened to all of their advice and chose a hybrid route by using some of their ideas mixed with my own. When I discussed my plan, a few of the naysayers said that my set-up count would go down by 75%.  I was also told that Mother Nature would challenge us everyday. Unfortunately that would not be an option for us.  Our budget was tight at 53 million for 60 days of shooting topside and 99 days underwater. It seemed impossible to pull off the director’s vision.

So, we came up with a new master plan that we put into action.  Director John Stockwell loves to keep his crews small and intimate with the flexibility to change at a moments notice.  Having a large crew would not make this movie a reality, so what we opted for a very large camera pkg. that fit into one Catamaran. 45 people and one boat made the entire on the water sequences of the film.   If it was blowing hard and we could not go out, we tucked into a bay and shot to get the day.  Not a huge flotilla to navigate and anchor.  Just one camera boat, a picture boat and a few running support boats for divers and lunch.  We started at 28 set-ups the first day, and then ramped it up to about 35 to 40 a day.  This was ground breaking! But it was a very similar concept; lots of cameras ready in every configuration, small crew, small footprint. That equals speed, creativity, and the ability to capture serendipitous moments.

Our 10 1^st Unit camera pkg. consisted of 1- Arri 535B on a 30’ Technocrane, 1- Arri 435 camera in a AquaCam housing on a 20’ Foxy crane that had a moving fulcrum to submerge the housing, 2- Arri 535B cameras in hand held mode, 2- Arri 535B cameras in Studio mode, 2- Arri III cameras in Underwater housings, 1- Arri 435 for slow-motion work, 1- Arri 535B on the Steadicam.  This was all on the deck of a 45’ x 14’ Cat, that had below storage bays, a head and two supercharged Honda 350 outboard motors that blasted this baby across the ocean at 25 knots fully loaded. For further details you can read the ICG article at www.cameraguild.com/index.html?magazine/stoo0905.htm~top.main_hp

Rudy Harbon with big glass no gack

I am sharing this with you because it worked well. Now, it is your turn to make the decision for your shoot and it may have a variety of different solutions.  The same holds true for a smaller production. This camera can be huge. I chose to do it with glass but not with all the other gack.

There is one critical question to consider. Do I need to make the camera look like an impressive movie camera for me to be taken seriously?  The answer is NO!  If we are going to embrace this new technology, everything has to change.  The way we work will become more efficient; video village shrinks, people start to trust, re-invent, think out of the box, force their hands.  If we want to achieve this we all have to NOT function like it is business as usual or the camera will blow up to what I see on all the web sites. It is the monster of all monsters with cables, adapters, converters, switchers, battery packs, wireless transmitters, etc.

I worked on all the Navy spots without a video village because the agency watched the playback on my lighting monitor when the directors were happy with the performance and the shot.  If the agency wanted something different, we delivered it and then moved on.  The end result was increased productivity. What shows up on the screen increases in a cheaper, more eco friendly way.

Though it is not always possible, try to start with the simplest set-up and build from there. If you need an on-board monitor so that you can broadcast a signal, put it all into a backpack: an Anton Battery pack, MDR, video converter, cinetape, wireless video transmitter, or a hard line that comes directly out of your back, not near the camera.  Get another Marshall monitor with an Anton Battery back and run a hard line to the director first, then if you have to go wireless, again put it in the back pack. Just remember that adds time and things can fail, so the more you add the more it can go down.

Try out this idea, you go from Studio hand held mode to Man Cam by just plugging in cables to the camera, so you go onto a head where your back pack hangs on the dolly or your sticks.  If you need all this stuff, just don’t put it on the camera.  I would love to see your configurations that inspire and create.  Send some pictures!

Studio Hand Held Rig

The secret is weight and where it is placed.  This camera can be anything you want it to be.  It can be stripped down to a still camera or dressed up on a tripod with matte boxes and all the other bells and whistles.  But the fact remains that it is a 2.5 lb still camera, which just needs a little love in the right place for hand held work to shine.

Dressed Up To The Nines For Intense Long Lens Work

Dressed Up On A Head That Quickly Turns Into A Man Cam

A Gyro is one of the most unnatural pieces of movie-making gear you can put on this camera.  I made the mistake trying to use this device for the intense hand held action work on the Navy SEAL Project. I would back pedal down a hallway and try to pan slightly to frame a SEAL coming down an adjoining hallway.  The camera spun out of control, ruined the shot and it just felt wrong.  It added: more cables, more batteries, more weight (in all the wrong places), and the noise for sound was deafening so we scrapped it.  Chalk that up to having your hat handed to you. Now, for helicopter and ocean work, I think I would entertain the use of one of these beasts, but other than that I am not sold on this technology.

The 5D, 7D, and 1D can be steady with good operating or they can be shaky and intense if that is what is needed to help tell the story. They can glide on a steadicam, fly on a technocrane, soar in aerial photography and land precise choreographed smooth moves on the dolly.  You choose!

Man Cam on a Head

Here are a few ideas that have worked well for the elite team:

1.  Break down your project into all of the possible different modes that you might be shooting and plan to have at least one camera configuration for each mode.

2.  Get as many cameras as you can! They are cheap to rent and constantly changing configurations costs you valuable time when shooting. It can even make you look disorganized and unprepared because a director may be ready to roll and you are floundering getting a camera into whatever mode you need.

3.  Have at least one camera body assigned to each mode for shooting. For example, on the untitled Navy Seal project that I am currently shooting we have 13 5D bodies in all different configurations. Many have at least 2 in a particular mode for a multiple camera shoot.

The elite team and I had so much fun naming the different configurations that we decided to hold a contest for the best name. Mikey Svitak will be the judge, so please comment with your best idea for a name and we will announce it on our October 20, 2009 blog.

There will be a grand prize that goes to the winner, so let your creative juices flow and have fun with it! Here are a few of the names we came up with to get you started:

1.   man cam mode

2.  action cam mode

3.  helmet cam mode

4.  stripper mode

5.  steadicam junior mode

6.  studio handheld mode

7.  crash cam mode

Good luck! I can’t wait to hear your ideas and share those on the blog along with the winner.