Blackmagic Design announced that multiple Blackmagic Micro Cinema Cameras and Video Assists were used to shoot the web movie for new Lexus car, LC500. It was shot by Kei Takahashi, a cameraman and founder of Tokyo-based KID Co. Ltd., on location on and above the highways of California.
With power and comfort, the LC500 was born as a luxury coupé which symbolizes Lexus’ next generation. To bring out the attractiveness of the car, the production shot the car driving along the stunning Angeles Crest Highway in California. Shot using a number of cameras, including six Micro Cinema Cameras, the movie captured the intense nature of California and the LC500 powerfully running through the curvy road from various angles. Along with the Micro Cinema Cameras, Takahashi used two Video Assists for monitoring.
Takahashi said: “We temporarily blocked about 4 km of the road for the shoot, and let the LC500 run the 4 km. When the car came back to the starting point, we started shooting again. We repeated this several times. It took 15 to 20 minutes for each round, and we only had one day to shoot the entire movie. And since we were at an external location, we had to finish while the sun was out. It was a very tight schedule, so we wanted to capture as many angles as we could.”
The Micro Cinema Cameras were set using a single pipe across the car with grips. Tripod mounts were installed via the grips, where three Micro Cinema Cameras were mounted. Another Micro Cinema Camera with a suction cup was stuck to the window on the driver’s side, while the last was installed near the driver’s foot. With this setup, Takahashi was able to shoot five angles such as the speedometer, the driver’s hand, gas pedal and a number of other specific features of the car in action. Takahashi used another Micro Cinema Camera to shoot a vertical size movie.
“The director and I were thinking that it would be interesting if we put the Micro Cinema Camera rotated in 90 degrees on top of another camera when shooting the LC500 from the camera car. The idea just came up and we decided to shoot the vertical size movie in case we could use the footage for something,” said Takahashi.
Also, DaVinci Resolve was used for on set grading, with the final postproduction process completed in Japan.
“The Micro Cinema Camera’s advantage is its compact size. It can be installed where regular cameras cannot fit. The main advantage that allowed me to shoot the vertical size movie was that it can be rotated in 90 degrees. As the schedule for this project was very tight, it was very beneficial to shoot many angles at a time”
The Video Assists were used to set up the Micro Cinema Cameras. Takahashi talked about Video Assist: “It’s easy to connect and easy to see. It’s easy to use and compact and I like that I can use the Canon battery. The Video Assist is versatile.”
“I work with Murakami, the director of this project, for other projects. The Micro Cinema Camera has become a real stable for us for use on car related jobs. For car commercials, small cameras are often used by installing them in a car like this project or mounted on a head. However, the picture quality of those cameras usually did not look good, and is missing richness in the picture. We are shooting something luxurious, so we want the image to match that. The Micro Cinema Camera, on the other hand, can capture a rich image and is easy to match with other cameras,” concluded Takahashi.
Director Dag Johan Haugerud’s “Dreams (Sex Love)” Wins Top Prize At The Berlin Film Festival
A Norwegian film about love, desire and self-discovery won top honors at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday.
A jury headed by American director Todd Haynes awarded the Golden Bear trophy to "Dreams (Sex Love)" by director Dag Johan Haugerud.
Haynes called it a "meditation on love" that "cuts you to the quick with its keen intelligence."
The film focuses on a teenager played by Ella Øverbyer, infatuated with her female French teacher, and the reactions of her mother and grandmother when they discover her private writings. It's the third part of a trilogy Haugerud has completed in the past year. "Sex" premiered at Berlin in 2024, and "Love" was screened at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
The runner-up Silver Bear prize went to Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro's dystopian drama "The Blue Trail." Argentine director Ivan Fund's rural saga "The Message" won the third-place Jury Prize.
The best director prize went to Huo Meng for "Living the Land," set in fast-changing 1990s China.
Rose Byrne was named best performer for her role as an overwhelmed mother in the Mary Bronstein-directed "If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You." Andrew Scott won the supporting performer trophy for playing composer Richard Rodgers in Richard Linklater's "Blue Moon."
The climax of the festival known as the Berlinale came on the eve of Germany's parliamentary elections after a campaign dominated by migration and the economy.
The national election is being held seven months early, after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition collapsed in a dispute about how to revitalize the country's economy.
Efforts to curb migration have emerged as a central issue in the campaign — along with the question of how to handle the... Read More