On Act of Valor, we shot on 4 continents, 12 states and 5 different countries.  Our method was to land in a foreign country, get our boots on the ground, start to scout our locations for about a week, and then shoot for a week.  Both our scouting and shooting packages were aboard the plane in our overhead bin space. I took a small compliment of Panavision Primos, Canon L Series and Zeiss ZE primes. While we were scouting in Cambodia and heading to Kampot, I looked out the window and saw a river that led to these amazing mountains that resembled Fiords. We jumped out just as a long skinny boat was heading up river. We whipped out the Panavision 35mm Primo and slapped in on the Tripod and tilted up with the boat to reveal the mountains where our terrorist would be running his training camp. Go it. Let’s continue scouting.

These spontaneous moments are jewels and capitalizing on them is paramount. On the day when we were scheduled to shoot this, the water level had dropped and it was overcast.

The Scouting Locations Package

Soup to Nuts

My package for scouting locations.

2-1440 Black rolling Pelican Case

1-Canon 5D

1-Canon 7D

1-35-70mm Leica R Zoom

1-21-35mm Leica R Zoom

1-80-200mm Leica R Zoom

1-77mm WW ND Filter Set .3-2.1

1-Zacuto Z-Finder

6-Batts

4-Hoodman 16BG 600x CF Cards

2-Canon Battery Charger

2-Multi International plug

1-FireWire CF Card Reader

2-500GB bus powered G Drive

1-Mono Pod

1-Intervolmeter

1-Compass

1-Inclinometer

1-Lee Color Gel Swatch

1-Rosco Color Gel Swatch

1-Light Meter

1-Color Temp Meter

Scouting Apps

Helios	Artemis	pCAM
CameraOrder	Gel Swatch Library	Photosynth

What is in your scouting package?  What moments have you been able to grab while location scouting?

The HV mission: Is to create a collaborative think tank to inspire and educate filmmakers globally with practical storytelling techniques to improve their speed, expand their creativity and make them more marketable in the entertainment industry.

The pilgrimage to a small town in the Utah mountains has been going on for years. With creativity and wonderful storytelling, the Sundance Film Festival has grown to be the place to see new talent, to acquire films, meet and greet industry insiders and just enjoy the love of filmmaking.  I have been going every other year for about 12 years and it is a source of creative inspiration for me. Connecting with artists that choose the path of original stories, experimentation and just plain independent thinking and not CGI and flash bang is where my head space is.

Snowy Park City, Utah. Image Courtesy of chichi212.com

The parties are epic; the wine and drinks flow and the networking I find is a wonderful time to catch up with many of my directors, colleagues, producers and close friends that make the journey from all over the world.

Maurice Marable

Maurice Marable

This man is a creative force.  The brains behind the incredibly visual Six Feet Under, Entourage, Carnival and Boardwalk Empire promos.  Maurice and I have worked together for 14 years now  shooting promos and commercials and I have to say he is an inspiration to me and a wonderful collaborator.  You can always spot him in the crowd with his signature hat.

Greg Haggart

Producer extraordinaire.  Greg and I met on “Act of Valor.”  He was the line producer on the film and from there, we have done about 25 commercials together.  He has been my producer when I direct as well. This man knows how to produce DSLR’s.  He can get money from a stone.  A labor of love for both of us was Po Chan’s film “The Last 3 Minutes”. Greg used his incredible skills to bring Po’s story to life on a very limited budget.  I plan on seeing a couple of films with him by my side, along with many glasses of wine.

Jacob Rosenberg

Me with Jacob Rosenberg, Sundance 2012

Post production genius, talented filmmaker. He helms at Bandito Brothers, along with Scotty Waugh and Mouse McCoy, the directors of Act of Valor. Jacob and I have been collaborating for about 3 years now on many projects and he is one of the reasons AOV looks so good.  His post work flow on this movie will become the benchmark for all DCP prints in the future. Trail blazer, post innovator.

 Steven Poster

With Steven Poster at Sundance

Head of the Local 600 union. Amazingly talented cinematographer, still photographer, visionary leader and a good friend. This man donates tons of his time to lead a union that he believes in. He unites and inspires thousands. Thank you for all that you do for us and our families. Your hard work never goes unnoticed. We met on 1/19 to show him our new MCS (Master Cinema Series) gear platform for the Canon C300 before he headed up to Park City. Steven and I have had long discussions about the power of the DSLR platform in feature films along with Canon’s wonderful color space and sensor technology. Great conversations, amazing stories, just an incredible filmmaker.

Make a difference, believe in yourself and bring your story to life.  These are the things that I always seem to take away from the Sundance Film Festival.  It fuels me and gives me the ability to never get comfortable and always ready to veer.

The Cinematography interns and I grabbed our Hardware Store Action Packer and set out on our minimal lighting mission.  “What do you want to key him with?” I asked.  Derek held up a cool white florescent trouble light. “I like it.” We will make General Taylor a little green.  We taped that to a C-stand and armed it out overhead to mimic a desk lamp.  I said, “we will need some fill.” We just happened to have another one of these which we rigged back slightly camera right.  What are we missing?  How about a little warm backlight? Danny ran in with a 6” diameter clamp light. We added Rosco full CTS (http://www.filmandvideolighting.com/roecofust4411.html) to add some color contrast. We were getting flared from that light.  We didn’t have any flags so Freddie grabbed a piece of plexiglass that still had the brown plastic on it.  This worked perfectly.

The General was handled and our shot composition was set.  Background comes next.  Always line your shot up first.  Agree on the size and then see what your actors are doing.  Then light them accordingly.  Once this is done, you can proceed to lighting the background.  The reason for this is that many times you end up lighting areas that never end up in the frame or the actors block them the whole time, which is double the work.

Background lighting is one of my favorite things to do.  It gives your shot scope and dimension.  I wanted to go for small sources and moving imagery on monitors to give the background some energy as well.  We started with our first background light which was another “trouble light.” “Don’t we have anything else in that kit of ours?”

Freddie said, “Yes, but I think it will hang well on the shelves.” He was right.  It needed some warmth to separate our General, so we added some Rosco full CTS gel to the light. You can see it next to his left ear. The Camo net was going to dark; it needed an edge light.

An edge light is something that rims, rakes, brings out dimension and texture in something that is dark.  We set a 6” diameter clamp light so that I could pan and tilt it to get the light in the perfect spot.  You see that over his left shoulder hitting the Camo net.

I needed a colorful source, like it was some control panel, so we put a green bulb in a 12” diameter clamp light, which fell on the far left side of frame.  After we added all these specials, we needed a cool grey tone to bring out the texture in the camo net as well as the feel of moon light. I did this with a 2 bank fluorescent shop fixture with one daylight balanced globe and one tungsten balanced globe.

The background was complete. Now, it was time to get our actor warmed up and shoot this baby.  The video is not color corrected and the moire is NOT removed in After Effects yet. I wanted you to see what it looked like coming out of the camera.  We shot this with a 5D MK II with a Zeiss 50mm CP2. The goal was to have more contrast and a slightly cooler image for this, and they delivered.  Here is an excerpt from the spot.

McG selected a Mini Mart location that the SEAL team would raid in North Hollywood.  It was a total mom and pop style place, slightly unkempt, but cool.  The concept of the commercial was as follows.  A SEAL team raids a Mini Mart of all of it’s Mountain Dew game fuel to hopefully earn points from the bottle caps.  They hit this beautifully in the stack with their target acquired. One SEAL takes it upon himself to enjoy a Mountain Dew right then and there. We see him reach into the cooler, pull it out, see the bottle top and then slam it down.  When he brings the bottle down, we transition from Canon 5D to film. We quickly realize that the SEALs are really just 4 gamers out on a 2 am refuel.  It was all a gamer’s dream. 

During McG’s discussions with the Agency we all agreed it would be best for the footage to feel game-like. We went to an EFX house to pull this off.  They had done overlay tests on some existing footage and everyone really loved the look and feel.  When we told them we were going with the 5D, they had no issue with this.  The request was to keep the lighting flat and they would interject the contrast through their overlay process. I knew I also needed a large f-stop.  In MW3, everything is in focus, huge DOP.  I would have to light the Mini Mart to at least an 8-11 split.  This would require a huge amount of light added to the store interior.  I called on my Elite Team member, John Guerra, and his incredible team that did Act of Valor with me to pull this off.

HUD Display in MW3, endless Depth of Field

There were a total of 18 4’ 4 bank house fixtures in the ceiling.  I could not rig Kino’s in there because we were shooting with a 21mm Leica and I was seeing everything.  John would have to increase the level of each fixture by adding and hiding 4-bare T8 Kino tubes to every unit.  This would require a pre-light, which I knew production had not planned on.  These are the sticky situations you get in as a Director of Photography.  The concept seems so simple, but when you peel the top layer off, there is a pit about 120’ deep.  Most of this was driven by the concept as well as visual EFX’s wanting a flat look, a large Depth of Field and a very clean image.  So, we shot at 160 ISO to lower the noise and help the VFX’s layer.

For the night exterior work, I employed a 14K Balloon light that had 4-1200 HMI pars in it and 8K worth of tungsten. Mixing the color temps is a personal preference and you need to decide what works for you in the moment.  I flew the balloon overhead and flagged it off the front of the Mini Mart.  Then I took 2-18k’s with full and a half Rosco CTS to mimic the High Pressure Sodium parking lot lights and side lit the SEALs as they approached the Mini Mart.  I wanted to place these units fairly far away so that if I panned over and caught them, they would look like street lamps.  An 80’ Condor was required to elevate the lights to shoot over a car wash down the street.  Placing this light source was very important because McG had described exactly what he wanted to me. When the first person POV was moving in towards the Mini Mart, he wanted the SEAL’s POV to look up into the sky and catch another chopper that was flying overhead. When executed, I wanted to catch a flare, so that it felt real and in the environment. So, I crept over the 2 -18k’s in the Condor that was shooting over the Car Wash until I got a beautiful Leica flare in the right side of the frame.  I quickly balanced the outside to about a 5.6 and inside was about an 11.  I chose to use Technicolor’s CineStyle to pull this off.  The VFX’s house wanted the image flat to begin with, but the main reason was the hot fluorescents that were in the Mini Mart’s interior. When I went to my Leica picture Style, they were burning up, too hot.  So CineStyle gave me that extra overexposure latitude to make it work.

 Now that we were lit, it was time to rehearse with the SEALs to get the timing right.  This all had to happen in one shot, in 22 seconds.  We kept on creeping closer to the entrance of the Mini Mart to cut time, finally we got it in the right pocket for McG and the Agency.

The First Person Shooter perspective could only be done on a helmet cam, and the one I chose was Doggicam.  It puts the camera so close to the right eye, it feels like you are looking through their eyes.  We tried several rehearsals using the real guys and then McG turned to me and told me I had to take one for the team.  I would wear the 14.5 lb. helmet cam for 8 hours straight, never taking it off.  This is kind of dedication that we all have as filmmakers. We rocked this out about 25 times and then the words, “ moving on” were shouted.  Now, it was time for a hook up.  I did it all in one shot  until we got to the cooler door. On the wipe of the door with a little helmet cam noise injected, we seamlessly employed a hook up cut, so that it continues to feel like one shot.  I have to open the cooler, take the cap off, look at it to see the code inside and then slam the drink up high aiming down my throat.  Yeah right!!!!   I dumped so many of those bottles of Mountain Dew down my shirt, my arm, my back, you name it. That high caffeinated, sugary drink stuck to me like super glue.  We tried to minimize the impact by draping me in a blue plastic bag, and we had some success.  Once we did that, my Helmet Cam days were over and we slid in the Panavision Platinum camera to capture our Gamer coming out of his MW3 dream on 35mm motion picture film.  This gave us a beautifully lit store, which felt real and not generated like the MW3 overlays and the First Person had.

Yep, that’s me getting all jocked up for Mountain Dew Spillage

Looking back at the day into night shoot, I have to say that there was no other capture device that could have done this with as much grace and ease as the Canon 5D MK II.  It was the right storytelling tool.  Period.  Here is the spot:

When I was a kid, I had a fascination with Halloween. Our son, Myles, has inherited this same fascination. For four years straight, I created a Haunted House on my parents farm in Aurora, New York that scared the bejesus out of all of my classmates. Heads rolled; madmen escaped; limbs were sawed off, vampires sucked participants’ blood and at the end, a chain saw wielding lunatic came blasting out of the well house and scared everyone back to the main house for cider and donuts. When Bandito Brothers called and asked me to direct a Jeep job, I was very excited. I was traveling and assumed that it was a commercial. I was all in, and quickly found out that it was more than just a commercial. Smash cut to directing a live ride experience where you are able to create a story which is an obstacle course and the finale is meeting up with a SEAL team that takes you on a mission in the greatest Call of Duty haunted house you have ever seen? WHOA!!! That is different. I was clear on the Haunted House part but not the experience, until I met with Jim Lewin, Dan Lewin and Akash Khokha from Heavy Duty Productions. These creatives, along with Kamau Akabueze from Relevent, an events agency based out of New York, quickly described what they wanted to pull off.

To give you a little back-story first, Kamau, Jim, Danny and Akash have been known to play video games together online every now and then, specifically firing up various titles in the Call of Duty franchise. A few years back, while working together at another New York events agency, Jim and Kamau planted the seeds of what would become the Jeep Ops Experience when they pitched the idea of bringing other popular video games to life with such innovative concepts as the “Halo Intergalactic Carnival” and “Grand Theft Auto IV: A Street Musical.” Seriously.

Then, in the Spring of 2011, when Kamau saw the opportunity to present Jeep with the idea of creating a live test-drive experience set within the context of the Call Of Duty video game franchise, he called in Heavy Duty Productions to work with him on the pitch. Once armed with a kickass presentation, Kamau proceeded to dazzle the brass at both Jeep and Activision and sell the idea up the line.

As soon as Jeep green-lighted the project, Kamau officially hired the Heavy Duty guys to create/write the experience, orchestrate the production, and manage all the moving parts from concept to completion. While many of their core skills overlap, on this project Jim and Akash took on most of the production responsibilities, and Jim and Danny tackled the writing and creative direction. All three jumped into the trenches with Banditio Brothers and I, and we worked closely with them to bring the experience to life.

My first words, when I heard this story, and what we were about to attempt, were “Wow! We are going to scare the crap out of these GAMERS. This is going to be OFF the CHAIN!!!”

The day after the meeting, I realized what an extraordinary opportunity this was—the opportunity to design a course that would be a part of a two-day Call of Duty fan experience known as “Call of Duty XP 2011.” This immersive event gave enthusiastic fans a chance to experience Call of Duty in a way they had never experienced the game before. After two intense days, the Jeep sponsored obstacle course located on the 12-acre compound, proved to be just the type of experience.

The Jeep Call of Duty Course

I realized what a unique and extraordinary opportunity this was. After seeing Act of Valor, they said that I had the job. Never before had they, as moviegoers, been so immersed in an action movie. So, we set out on the mission to make this experience like no other. My first call was to Ray who stars in Act of Valor as the communications specialist on the SEAL team. I asked him if he felt he could get a few team members to stage the ultimate Call of Duty Haunted House. I told him that the new game was based in Somalia with tons of warlords fighting for control. Ray was all in and got 8 more of the Navy’s finest to run around buildings and yell RPG as the Jeeps get cornered in a fire fight. The SEALs swoop in and rescue the participants, bringing them to shelter in a cluster of palates. From there, they tell the riders that they need to help them look for intel, which is a laptop with a orange X on it, in this hot house. Once the brief gets laid down, they move out to hit the building. With smooth movements and calculated risks, they slide to the door, crash, grenade the entry room, huge explosion, flash and they are in, with lasers and M4s searching the lobby. A bad guy on the steps is taken down immediately. The house goes crazy inside, people moving around everywhere, loads of refrigeration fans, distant gunfire and screams are heard. Two doors present themselves. The SEAL team splits up and the riders split up as well. One SEAL moves to the door with his back to it, another sweeps to corner the opening. BLAM!!! The door is kicked open and immediately an M4 and the SEAL’s laser finds its first Somalian. BOOM BOOM Shells come flying out onto participants; ears are covered, screams fly from adult men and women’s mouths. IT IS ON.

The SEALs advance with a ballet of movement, clearing the hallways and rooms like you have never seen. The Gamers are losing it. These guys are the best. They are warriors to the core, with an intelligence that would rival most Harvard grads. This is our team. Quickly, they shoot 3 more bad guys and then apprehend two Somalians that surrender. They burst into the refrigeration/back office and meet another AK wielding pirate. The lead SEALs takes him out and yell “TOUCHDOWN”. They grab the laptop, hand it to a rider and then they hook up with the rest of the team in the lobby. The SEALs then brief the participants that they are going to make a hot extract into gunfire. They will cover them while the participants jump into the Jeeps. They run out and quickly their pace is heightened, when the M4 gunfire from SEAL guns and the HELO soundtrack comes in from above. This was only one third of the experience.

The Jeep Call of Duty Navy SEALs

The rest was this burned in, raw obstacle course, designed by John Marshall. He has been doing this for years, but this was his most elaborate design. Together, our Production Designer Robert Fox and his amazing art department, transformed a dirt lot in Playa Vista, California into a Somalian fishing village. The ride started at a K-rail checkpoint where the participants think they are going for a short test drive. All of a sudden, the wheels come off and they are sent into a hot zone to acquire intel about the enemy. Foot to the floor, 0-60mph, the Jeeps blast down the road to a flaming car that blocks their way. Detour, WOW! A 50 caliber strapped to a Datsun truck quickly approaches that engages the Jeep. A quick turn to avoid it and the gunfire ensues. Punch it into 2 hairpin turns. Rangers running. Next, the riders are in the cultural center of the Somalian fish market, Fish Mongers selling their wares; deep canals that takes participants into a firefight with the warlords and Rangers, grenade & RPG explosions, troop movements. The Jeeps climb up a 25 foot hill, then blast down subterranean under sea containers. Gunfire is everywhere. They climb another hillside and then plummet into a lake that is about 36” deep. The JEEPs tear this course up and preform flawlessly. While this is going on, the driver is getting instructions from OVERLORD on coordinates and the location of the intel. This was the middle of the experience. The beginning and end was briefing, jocking up, then getting de-briefed and stripped of gear.

Jeep Call of Duty - Explosions on Set

The SEALs in Action

Call of Duty Somalians

At Hurlbut Visuals, we put two members of our growing BTS crew, Hayden Houser (HV Rental Director) and Matt Macar in the line of fire to document this amazing alternative marketing concept. Then, I called on many of my Elite Team members, our HV cinematography interns, Kevin Anderson (HV Rental Manager) and several followers on Twitter to help me pull this all off — in ONE DAY.

The schedule for the day was to shoot the interior in the morning with the SEALS, then move out to the course to shoot in the afternoon, when the light was best. The best laid plans…That was quickly changed by a Maxim event that forced us to go down in the afternoon while we watched these strong men carry dummies through the obstacle course and the Haunted Hot House. So, Elite Team Mike Svitak, my co-D.P., and I had to harness the power of the Jeeps on the track in ONE HOUR. Dave Knudson, my Key Grip, had a Jeep rigged with 8 cameras to whip around and tear it up. Operator Andrew LaBoy loaded 8 contour cams in the Jeeps to get the participants’ reactions to the experience. Cinematography interns Derek Johnson and Danny Garcia and Kevin Anderson were driver over 5D cams, OTS of bad guys & Rangers. Matt Short came in and got into the middle of the Warlord firefight. Nick Rios, one of our Twitter followers, came all the way from Houston to help us out. He slammed on long lenses and grabbed tight coverage of wheels, etc. Jalal Pashandi was inside the Jeep to capture the rider’s POV. Garret Curtis was down by the canal, grabbing shots of the Jeeps plowing through. Freddie Fernandez (Cinematography Intern) was positioned at the guard booth that details the dialogue that ensues once OVERLORD changes the Jeep’s mission. Joseph Jang was on the OTS of the burning car as the JEEPs made a quick detour and finally Elite Team member Julien Lasseur was just out of harm’s way when the SEALs ran out and the RPG explosion went off at sunset. This was a rush! Mike Svitak commanded our Platoon perfectly getting them in just the right position to pull this feat off in an hour. We were all spent and this was just the rehearsal. Now, we have to do the live version on Friday and Saturday for 9 hours. We do this ride after ride, Somalians falling, SEALs running and breeching, shooting, Stunt players that Troy Gilbert, our stunt coordinator, orchestrated perfectly every time. 435 riders on Friday, 560 on Saturday. 6 riders per convoy. 10,000 rounds of ammunition fueled the gun fire, 20,000 gallons of propane and 3 highly trained Special Effects technicians helped the chaos creator himself, Dan Cangemi, to bring the grenade and RPG explosions to life. Forty role players gave us the cultural flavor of Somalia and a kick ass production staff headed by Elite Team Producer Greg Haggart. Kat King was the production manager that had to make monetary sense of all the craziness and her right hand woman, Sheena Dolce, coordinated it. Twelve stunt drivers took the riders on the thrill ride of their life. Wardrobe was so important and Mikey Dewinter pulled off the impossible with our limited funds. They had to look legit and he delivered in spades. Mikey was even able to transform my daughter,Kyra Hurlbut, and her best friend, Bella Salvatierra, into Somalian Fish Mongers. Sound design is so important in a Haunted House, as well as during a ride experience, so we were given all of the sound effects from the new game. Fernando Raigoza was our sound editor on Adobe Premiere Pro, cut together different tracks for all of the locals. The fishing village had Somalian bartering. The firefight was filled with AK and M4 gunfire, ricochets, explosions, yells, etc. The entrance to the building had distant gunfire and more yelling and ricochets.The Haunted Hot House was filled with screams, fans, chains, barrels pounding, Somalian whispers, and distant gunfire, which added to the ambience.

My Daughter, Kyra Hurlbut best friend, Bella Salvatierra as Somalian Fish Mongers

Now the ring leader of all of this, Kamau Z. Akabueze, was the creative at Relevent that orchestrated this interactive experience for JEEP. Nothing like this had ever been done before. The participants had to endure a 5 hour wait. When they returned, the first words out of their mouths was that it was worth it. Looking back at the carnage, the long days of coordinating, rehearsing, blocking, story changes, curve balls, monitoring smoke levels, we realized that you name it, we were thrown it. I cannot thank everyone enough for helping me bring this baby to life. This is the future, to immerse a consumer in your product in a way that they never thought possible. This was the hit of the event. The paintball courses laid dormant; the zip lines were ghost towns; but Camp Tread had a line around the block.

Technical Aspects:

Cameras: Canon 5D, 7D & Contour
Memory Cards: Hoodman RAW
Lenses: Zeiss CP2’s, Canon, and Leica R mount
Rigs: HV Man Cam, HV Shoulder Cam, HV Chipper Cam, HV Low Cam, HV Helmet Cam
Remote Focus: Bartech
Lighting Monitor: HP DreamColor
On-Board Monitors: Small HD DP-6

Over the past 3 years, my team and I have shot 2 feature films, 20 shorts and over 100 commercials on the DSLR platform, using Redrock, Zacuto and Cinevate rigs.  All of them performed well, but none of them seemed to fit me, my soul and how I liked the rig to feel on my shoulder or how it converted like film cameras.  I was missing that motion picture camera familiarity.

As a direct result of this exploration, Hien Tu Le, owner of the Letus Corporation, and I have been designing and engineering a new line of gear that gazes into the future of the DSLR platform.  This equipment is designed and priced for every filmmaker to enjoy, no matter what your budget.  Whether you are lensing a wedding, documentary, music video, commercial or a full length feature, this is your form factor.  Together, we are professionalizing this workflow based on how the industry masters have been shooting for decades, by marrying 20 years of movie making experience with 4 years of DSLR photography into one powerful gear system.

DSLR’s are never going away, In fact, the platform is just getting warmed up. In the fall of 2008, it was our first glimpse into the future of camera technology with the invention of the Canon 5D.  Everything will shrink to the point where it will be just a sophisticated chip on the end of a wonderful piece of glass.  The new DSLR’s that are coming out in the fall of 2011 and the spring of 2012 will rock your socks off! We are embracing all of them with our rig technology.

The owner and gear engineer of Letus, Hien Tu Le, his incredible team and I have designed a rig series that allows your camera to morph from one form to another effortlessly.  There is no other system out there that uses film production as its bench mark.  Video is still a baby whereas film has brought about decades of development and we have capitalized on these that fit the platform.

Why buy the Master Cinema Series over another rig?  SPEED — this system converts and creates more set-ups in a day than any other rig.  WHY?  Experience and understanding on what it takes. QUALITY DESIGN — we have incorporated the best from the best in the motion picture world. With a lifetime guarantee on the rig, we stand behind the product. BATTLE TESTED — I think that speaks for itself, we roll out in extremes.  QUICK TO CONVERT — the MCS baseplate is the lynch pin, you snap in and out. Fast and efficient; time is money.  FORWARD THINKING — this system is designed to grow with technology, advancements, new cameras, you name it.  But the precursor to this is that film has been around for almost a hundred years and that system is still what drives the production end of things and the Master Cinema Series is film.  No matter what Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc., develop in the future, this gear set will conform to fit. It is future proofed.

Why design a rig? There are plenty out there.  We waited and after 4 years of everyone making rigs, pieces and parts to turn the camera into a DSLR, which it already is, we designed gear to turn the camera into a system that looks and feels like a 35mm Motion Capture device.  So, whether you are using Still glass or Cinema glass, the Letus Master Cinema Series Rig is balanced. It puts the power back in the hands of the Cinematographer / Operator. You are now one with the camera.  Our forward thinking design incorporates EVF technology,to shrink your footprint. We have also adapted this form factor to handle Cineroid, Zacuto and the Small HD DP-4.

This is a system, one that has taken the best from Panavision and Arriflex and molded it into a form factor that works with the DSLR platform.  It deals with all the quirks and cons, as well as balancing a rig that fits your soul.

Our goal is to inspire filmmakers globally, with a form factor that will push your creativity, expand your scope and increase your speed. We’re turning a still camera into a movie making machine. Turning a still camera into a movie making machine.

ADVANCED FORM FACTOR FOR FILMMAKERS

Action Cam

Man Cam

ShoulderCam

StudioCam

“Have a safe flight. Someone from production will pick you up.” How many strange country codes have flashed across the screen of my mobile phone? Who will meet me at baggage claim? Can their vehicle handle the half dozen (or more) pelican cases traveling with me? Weather? Does it matter? The call came in at 6 am PST, but in Montreal its 9, well into the workday on the production of the movie “Kin.” I’ve been hired to shoot a snowmobile chase. My flight departs at noon.

I have a weather bag packed at all times on the top shelf of my closet that contains clothing for every climate my person has been tossed into over the past couple of years, from -20 below on a frozen lake in northeastern Canada, to 100+ desert heat of Yuma, AZ (in this case, only 4 months between the two). Over the past decade, I have had the privilege of working on shoots in England, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Ukraine, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Canada. Not to mention a handful of floats on international waters in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans

This post is a continuation of “The need for speed,” highlighting the necessity to prepare to be mobile on shoots regardless of location. The two bags that travel with me everywhere are my weather bag and AKS bag.

Here is what I keep in my personal weather bag (unless you are shooting someplace very hot):

• Patagonia down sweater (this goes everywhere with me)
• Heavy down jacket
• Insulated snow pants
• Snow boots
• Thermal top and bottoms
• Rain jacket
• Rain pants
• I also toss in an extra change of clothes (jeans, sweatshirt, socks, etc)

This may seem quite extensive, but you can accumulate it over time and base it on where you are shooting. It’s one bag you don’t keep light.

On to my best friend on set, my AKS bag. This consists of:

• Light meters
• Tool belt (as listed in “the need for speed”)
• Tape roll of assorted colors gaffers, electrical, paper
• Allen keys (standard and metric)
• 5′ of 2″ Velcro (both sides)
• Lens cleaning supplies
• Backup batteries for anything requiring them
• 16′ sturdy metal tape measure
• 1 Box 1 gallon Ziploc bags

I am always looking for little bits and accessories that allow me to be more prepared and move faster. These go in the bag too. One item that might stand out is the Ziploc bags. We have tried numerous approaches to protect the Canon cameras from the elements, but the one thing that is tried and true is Ziploc bags. With just a little electrical tape on the lens and the zipper seal in the back, you’re good to roll (but make sure you cut it so the text on the bag doesn’t cover the LCD screen).

Now, we will return to our story in Montreal. By the time I get through customs and to the hotel, it’s after 1 am. At 7 am, a driver arrives at the hotel to pick me up for a meeting with Shane Hurlbut and Director Stephan Ruzowitzky. We go through the storyboards and discuss specific shots to accomplish the next morning. The main unit needs to stay on course, but, with a snowstorm brewing, the decision is made to mobilize a second unit and send them three hours north to Saccacomie, Quebec where the brunt of the blizzard should hit. It’s hard to comprehend how I can be on a snowmobile rocketing across a frozen lake through a snowstorm when 36 hours ago, I was asleep in LA. Eight hours later, I’m thigh-deep in snow with the camera crew placing two high-speed Arri 35mm cameras and 8 Canon 5Ds to capture a huge stunt before lunch. A pair of police snowmobiles in pursuit must jump over a shallow river to apprehend the suspect. We can’t make any mistakes.

Enormous credit is due to the production team and stunt coordinator Jean Frenette for organizing a deft, hardworking crew! We captured the stunt on schedule and safely. The filmmaking process is a collaborative effort. All the cogs of the wheel are needed for it to spin properly, meaning everyone from top to bottom of the call sheet is hired to perform a specific task. To excel as cinematographers or camera assistants means having your equipment (especially your attire) ready and in good working order before the shoot. Because once the wheel of that machine is in motion, the best way to ensure it is perpetual is to be prepared to react quickly.

HOT ROD PL mounted 7D and 5D’s were used for the majority of the photography. The Kessler V3 Crane and Revolution head were used to give us this amazing top down shot of our runner blasting through traffic from a 6 story building that did not have an elevator. The crane was brought up buy the grip dept. in 3 soft cases and assembled in less than thirty minutes. The revolution head handled all of the extra gack mounted to the 5D’s to enable everyone to view it. Panning and tilting with the Oracle controller worked very well and gave us the breath of fresh air shot in the mix of all the action oriented shots. Elite Team members Marc Margulies, and Jose De Los Angeles rocked it out along with Hayden Houser on the Kessler V3 Crane. HV Intern Danny Garcia was on the Roller Blade Chipper Cam. Please enjoy the BTS of Sports Authority “SHOE.”

On the set of "Terminator: Salvation"

The basic concept of Line Producing is easy: break a script down into its various physical components, discuss with the creative team how these components will be captured on screen and then figure out what each item costs.

Simple enough.

But ask any professional Line Producer in Hollywood how they learned how to make a budget and they’ll simply answer, “You just know.”

For some, however, it may take years to develop that sense of just knowing, by working through the ranks as an AD, Unit Production Manager and Production Supervisor. Developing that sense of “just knowing” how much things cost comes down to filing away every experience and paying attention.

But what about the Independent Producer that wants to make their own movie now without years and years of set experience? How does one actually do a budget?

No matter what size the project is, the process is the same: Figure out the WHAT-HOW-WHO of the script.

The What-How-Who is all you need to know in order to create a budget and schedule that works.

First step is figure out WHAT each item is and HOW much it costs. Then find out what the additional costs are (for example, you could call up Cinemoves and get a standard rate quote for a 50′ Technocrane). Pretty simple.

Oftentimes the result of figuring out what each item is and how much it costs.

But then you have to keep in mind that the Technocrane is a significant piece of equipment that is more than just one item. It also comes with two techs, a trailer, fuel for the trailer, and possibly travel expenses for the techs, depending on where you are shooting. All the information is out there. Problem solving, logic and anticipation of needs are the basic skills needed for Line Producing.

Now that the WHAT and the HOW of the script is done, the only thing left to figure out is the WHO. It takes a lot of people to make a film. Your average studio feature project employs a crew of about 100-150 during production — a summer blockbuster might require somewhere in the neighborhood of 400+ — whereas a commercial or music video might require 25-40. Knowing the answer to the question of WHO is the part of the puzzle that requires logic and forethought. For example, if there’s only three or four people in your script and they are mostly in one location, then perhaps you won’t need as many Set PAs, Costumers, Props Assistants or G/E crew than if your story requires a military unit running through a crowed street. The HOW will guide you on the number of WHO.

Shane, as you know, is enamored with the Canon 5D and 7D. When it comes to shooting in an HD format rather than film, your first assumption is correct — it is cheaper. However, despite the connivence and portability of the cameras, the scenes should be treated with the same amount of forethought and artistic merit as film. Being a former film-snob, I’ve come to love the 5D and 7D for their ease of use and ability to handle a film-like image for a fraction of the price. When budgeting, don’t forget to throw in some funds for grip and electric or possibly even a remote controlled helicopter. You’ll be surprised at how far a little bit will go when dealing with such awesome advancements in the HD digital world. Use a fraction of the money you’re saving to up the production value and the audience will thank you.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, this blog is open for questions. So tell me: What would you like to know about breaking down a script, budgeting it and the actually making it happen?

What questions do you have regarding the WHAT-HOW-WHO scenario?

To be continued next time with a discussion and cost comparison of the Canon 5D/7D vs. 35MM film stock.

-Andrea Vestrand

Is an Independent Line Producer and professional Production Coordinator. She’s been in the “biz” since 1997. Learn more about her here andreavestrand.com

I had just wrapped “Kin” in Montreal and was in need of down time.  I had just started to re-connect with my family when a call came in from the production company Smuggler.  This call was so extraordinary that I could not say no. Imagine being the supervising Director of Photography to more than 125 cinematographers across our beautiful nation who were asked to capture that magical moment: sunrise on the Canon 5D. A moment that happens everyday but never seems trivial, always special. Our mission was a daunting task for any director and D.P. to undertake.

The concept from the Ad agency was absolutely brilliant.  It was so inspiring to walk into the control room on our test day and meet all of the people behind this concept. Here was the Droga5 (droga5.com) concept that they came up and the team behind it.

David Droga – Creative Chairman for Droga 5

Ted Royer – ECD

Kevin Brady – Creative Director

Graham Douglas – Copywriter

Ben Wolan – Art Director

Bryan Yasko – Group Account Director

Emily Brooks – Account Director

Ben Davies – Agency Producer

Here is an excerpt from the director Ringan Ledwidge’s treatment.

Turning Point is how this films taps into the idea of a shared moment. This story gives us that moment of pause, a chance to reflect on how every morning we all share this beginning of the day, and it happens to be this beautiful, awesome experience of a sunrise. There are not many things in this world that can just make you stop and be still the way a sunrise can. Even though it happens every day it is just a joy to sit and watch it.

Part of what makes it special is how you can be all alone but at the same time feel connected to a larger world and greater sense of humanity. In this way, it’s kind of like staring up at a starry sky or reading a really good book. The other part that’s so great about a sunrise is how it feels like a great beginning, a start of something wonderful, no matter how ordinary. There is a great sense of hope and inspiration and tranquility in this shared moment and we want to bring these emotional qualities to this film.

His treatment inspired me and I was so excited to be apart of this history-making event.

Ringan and I were up to the challenge.  We reviewed location folder after location folder. Ringan had chosen wonderful cameramen to deliver this vision.  Documentarians, still photographers, indie filmmakers, you name it, he found them.  We had 22 A units, then the A units had 3 to 8 B units.  We broadcasted all of the 22 A unit shots via the internet assisted by the Teradek cube WiFi device to a control room in SoHo where they were displayed on 3-60” color calibrated monitors.  This is the reason why the Teradek cube device works with the Canon 5D now.  Originally, the Cube would not handle the 5D down converting of the signal to Standard Def.  I didn’t want to go down this road unless I could lens all of these images with the 5D, which I feel is the ultimate capture medium in the DSLR platform. Teradek figured out a work around and made it happen on the 11th hour.  I never thought that the WiFi feed would be good enough to adjust exposure, color and picture style, but sure enough that is what we were able to do.  Imagine 22 cameras in all different locals, talking everyone through exposures, compositions, lens selections and picture styles on the fly. “OK Jersey shore, we need to lower the camera pan left and get those reeds in the foreground, Brooklyn Bridge, roll your window down, the tint is too heavy, Pittsburgh, we are too wide, go to a 50mm and push in, Ohio Valley, which bus is set to move?  Omaha, where is the sun?  Kansas City, let’s walk up handheld with the subway commuters, keep that sun in the center.”  It was controlled chaos, but so exhilarating for a cinematographer.

The design of the spot we felt should be serendipity.  It should feel like lightning in a bottle.  Every image that I expose has a purpose, a story, an emotional connection, in essence, heart. These images were not just vistas. Ringan and I wanted it to be personal and intimate.  We had our amazing team of shooters with a bus driver in Memphis on his morning route, with a farmer in a truck driving in Nebraska, in a car going over the Brooklyn bridge, with a baby and a father at breakfast in a home in Missouri, with wild horses running on the plains, a self portrait of a person’s hand in Monument Valley, with a farmer in California’s central valley inspecting his crop and a person taking a Tai Chi class in San Francisco, just to name a few.

We took a map of America and visually designed which lens would suit the geographic region the best.  Urban, ethnic neighborhoods received Zeiss ZE glass for their cool color and contrasty feel; the South, Reno and Ohio valley regions received Nikon AI glass for their yellow and softer look; the open plains of Kansas, Oklahoma and Utah received Leica for their lower contrast and warmer color tone.  The Cosmopolitan city centers received Canon lenses for their clean, colorful look.  This was our Mantra.

How did we even the playing field? I felt we had hired uniquely talented cinematographers  to do what they do best, but I wanted the image to have  consistency.  I sent out a document that I called the Rules of Engagement.  This became every cinematographer’s Bible.  Everything they needed to know about how to set up the camera and etiquette the way we wanted it to look.

We employed Technicolor’s Cinestyle on its maiden voyage.  This picture style seemed to work well in extreme contrast conditions and we had that in spades.  The sun had to be in the center of every frame about 2/5th’s of the way up the frame and a specific size, which required exposing more for the sun then the shade to keep the sun’s size consistent.  Imagine those old flip books where the stick figure guy walks across the frame, well Ringan’s concept was the sun rising across America.

How do you acquire this amount of gear in such a short amount of time?  I went to my amazing sponsors to help me pull this off.  Brian Valente at Redrock Micro supplied all of the Man Cams and Shoulder rigs to smooth out all of the shooters handheld shots.  Jill Conrad from Tiffen Filters helped supply all of the HV Tiffen Water White 77mm Neutral Density Indie Kits so that the shooters were able to keep the exposures all around a 4-5.6. To be able to make the Teradek Cube work so that the director and I could see the image in SoHo at Command Central as well as the cinematographer, Wes Phillips at Small HD supplied all of the on-board monitors for the Canon 5D set-ups. Eric Kessler was there to supply his Cine-Sliders to give cinematic movement to specific shots.

Now you have the gear, but who can pull this all together?  We call them “The Dream Team.”  Moira Hurley, Sally Humphries and Andy Coverdale were the Production supervisors.  Along with their amazing staff that shipped lenses, researched filters, arranged location folders till 4 am in the morning: you name it they did it.   In 5 words they “helped pull of the impossible.”  Allison Kunzman was the Executive Producer on this monolith and she delivered with grace. Here is the Dream Team from Smuggler:

Allison Kunzman – Executive Producer

Sally Humphries- Director’s Producer

Moira Hurley- Production Supervisor

Andy Coverdale – Production Supervisor

Danny Hillman – Production Coordinator

Alexis Del Prete – Office PA

James Coker – Office PA

Kelly Cirpriano – Office PA

Now coordinating this event on the test and shoot day as well as the conference call was all on the very talented Assistant Director John Lowe.  I will never forget the speaker phone to all of the units across the country, as well as the 16 hour conference call that John scheduled so that every shooters questions were addressed.  It was a rolling conference call from the Atlantic to the Pacific.  At one point John handed me the phone and I had another phone in my hand as well, I forgot who I was talking to and what I had previously said.  It was crazy, but this long day of prep was worth it on our shoot day.  Everything went pretty seamlessly.

The commercial is beautiful, intimate and inspiring, but the story behind it is what is truly unbelievable.  One day, one sunrise, 125 cameras across America.  This was out of the box thinking at its best.  Here are some still grabs from our test day.

I want to extend a huge thank you to the entire A teams and B teams that made this event possible. Without your expertise, instincts, compositional style and experience this would never have happened.  You inspired me and breathed life into an incredible commercial event.

A Screenshot From My Test Call Locations Version 4.0 Doc