Shane is the pioneering leader of the team who first recognized the creative possibilities of the Canon 5D Mark II camera for shooting film. He describes it as a “game changer” because the platform is uniquely suited to both commercials and features due to its small size and infinite versatility.

Shane and the elite team have used the Canon 5D Mark II in the following ways: in handheld mode for long periods of time without fatigue, mounted on sticks and dressed up with a mattebox, as a crash cam in a two hole magazine case, and mounted on a helmet to fast-rope out of a helicopter. The ingenious possibilities are endless.

A wonderful sense of humor and memorable personality are Shane’s most endearing traits. He is passionate about making moving images come to life, thinks quickly to generate a solution to the myriad of challenges that arise when shooting and is always able to make it work.

Shane recognizes the importance of collaborating with a team of highly skilled filmmakers, technicians, engineers, and developers. Together, they are creating a wave that is centered around a few critical values: financial responsibility with a smaller work footprint, environmental awareness by choosing a camera that does not use chemicals and has reusable flash cards and vulnerability to re-learn HD technology and think out of the box to make it work for features.

Rudy and Shane have worked together since 2002 after originally meeting on the film “11:14” starring Hillary Swank. Rudy is a director of photography in his own right and has an intuitive sense for composition, camera movement and creative ideas that gel with the Canon 5D platform. With the small footprint work style of the elite team, Rudy has the expertise to splinter off to increase set up count.

Rudy was born and raised in France and brings a European flare to the group. He is passionate, even-tempered, hardworking and never gets flustered when doing an “impossible” day.

Mikey, as he is known, has been working with Shane since 2006 where they met on the film “Semi-Pro” when he was a loader. Mike has a phenomenal eye and passion for filmmaking. He received the Emerging Cinematographer Award from the International Cinematographer’s Guild in 2008 for a short film, “Noisemaker” shot on 35mm.

Mike and Shane have worked closely together to continue to fine-tune the Canon 5D into a movie capturing machine. He routinely does the job of 7 people with accuracy. Mike has been known to pull focus, operate, adjust his own exposures, download the data, give a tutorial on camera operations, clean the gear and do 2nd AC duty by prepping for the following day. He has boundless energy, enthusiasm, a giant smile and the heart to see each task at hand as a new adventure.

Darin lives up to his surname. Even though he is the newest member of the team, Darin is absolutely essential to ensure the success of any project. One example is when the team put the Canon 5D on a Technocrane for the first time, there was a dilemma of how to turn the camera on and off. It has no remote switch. Darin quickly engineered a remote on/off switch for the Canon 5D by using a fiz unit. With every new obstacle that arises while shooting, the squad collaborates and innovates to increase the production value exponentially.

Darin has a positive attitude and experience of a true filmmaker. He is incredibly hard working, goes to the end of the earth for every project, manages to stay cool under pressure and loves what he does.

Marc met Shane as a 1st A.C. in 2005, on the film “Waist Deep.” Marc has been surrounded by the film industry since birth as his father was a director-cameraman. He brings experienced film knowledge, innovative thinking and a desire to be on the visual cutting-edge.

Marc worked with Mikey to design the follow focus system and a cine-tape focusing system in a backpack design as well as a lighter weight system that attaches to the Canon 5D. On the team’s current feature project “I Am That Man,” directed by Scott Waugh and Mike McCoy for Bandido Brothers, Legendary Pictures and Warner Brothers, Marc has worked closely with Panavision to design a new crash cam system for the Canon 5D. It is so lightweight and small that it gets you into places that have never been achievable before.

Marc brings wisdom and grace to the elite team. He operates, pulls focus, designs and brings new ideas to this “game changing” technology. His positive attitude along with a mountain man common sense approach is exactly what is required to make movies in this format.

Shane and Gary have been collaborating together since 1988. Gary and Shane enjoy innovating and pushing the envelope. In film, they made different cocktails for shooting reversal film stocks, super 8mm and sound recording film.

Gary has been at the forefront with Shane in designing the way the Canon 5D SLR camera becomes a movie-making machine. On the Terminator:Salvation webisodes, the concept was that the Resistance soldiers were documenting their events through the use of their helmet camera, we embraced this new uncharted territory with the motto of (KISS), keep it simple stupid. Gary and Shane designed a Helmet cam for the project that for the very first time you were in the first person POV of a soldier at war with the machines. Gary used Starbucks wooden coffee stir sticks that he taped to the lenses for us to keep the actors in focus.

Gary thinks on his feet and can react to any situation with ease and grace. He is a mountain climber from Colorado, runs like the wind, is strong as an Ox, goes underwater, and straps himself to speeding cars for the love of making moving images come to life. Gary has the most positive attitude and treats each day as if it was the first time he was given the chance to create.

Bodie is the newest member of our elite team. He grew up in Alaska where his favorite meal was grilled otter. Then, he moved to Hollywood and started as a prep tech at Panavision/Hollywood with the ultimate goal of becoming a cinematographer. Bodie shot music videos on his days off to hone his craft. Now, Bodie is the 5D conversion master and behind the scenes still photographer. Running and doing 4 to 5 jobs on the set is his specialty. He has amazing energy, always smiles and comes to work everyday with a positive attitude.

Bodie is instrumental in increasing our speed and accuracy with the HDSLR platform. He wears multiple hats as a film loader, 2nd assistant cameraman, and still assistant. Keeping the 5D’s clean and well tuned is a very big job, especially when your camera package now consists of 15 5D Mark II bodies!

Dave and I have worked together for 12 years. We started in commercials together before the transition into features. Dave was the Key Grip on “11:14,” “Waist Deep,” “Semi-Pro,” and “Terminator:Salvation.” He is an experienced photographer in his own right which is a perfect fit with the HDSLR platform.

Dave is incredibly intelligent and brings ingenuity to his camera rigs. It is not about speed rail and cheese plates but little grip heads and baby pins with 1/4 -20 screws that insert into the bottom of the 5D, which he is able to put anywhere. Screw rigs for trees, tent stake rigs for low angles, and small still photography heads that give even more maneuverability.

Dave has a small footprint crew size that enables us to be lean and efficient. He owns a grip company and has designed it to be small and nimble. Instead of a 48’ truck he has embraced a 28’ box and 3-ton Stake bed that it tricked out like Jed Clampet. It allows us to be fast and make company moves in a blink of an eye.

Dave has an amazing work ethic and positive “never say die” attitude. His crew posses a pioneering spirit that motivates them to blaze new trails into unknown territory. They care deeply about every project and are moviemakers at heart.

John and I used to be gaffers together in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. We have reunited as cinematographer and gaffer extraordinaire on this untitled Navy SEAL project. He brings 30 plus years of lighting experience to the HDSLR platform.

John is a writer and an illuminating genius. Lighting with the Canon 5D Mark II is a whole new game. The sensor is so sensitive that the style and execution for film lighting is thrown out and replaced by a smaller, sleeker approach.

On the Navy SEAL movie, we have to light 360 degrees with mood. John and his team do that by carefully placing practicals and strategically choose when to imbed certain lights into a given location. He makes Home Depot runs instead of passing that off to production and packs our truck with lights that do not resemble any form of a movie light.

John is calm under pressure and leads a unique team. They work harder than anyone I have ever seen and are all natural filmmakers. When John needs to push his crew, it is always done in a way that is motivational and inspiring. They also collaborate well with production to keep costs down. I can always count on John to show up each day with a schoolboy excitement to venture into uncharted waters.