Blackmagic Design has announced that DP Toby Oliver, ACS used two Pocket Cinema Camera 4Ks to shoot the suspense/thriller Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island (Columbia Pictures). Sr. colorist Alastor Arnold of FotoKem then used DaVinci Resolve Studio to grade the film.
In Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island, the enigmatic Mr. Roarke makes the secret dreams of his lucky guests come true at a luxurious but remote tropical resort. But when the fantasies turn into nightmares, the guests have to solve the island’s mystery in order to escape with their lives.
From the producers of Get Out and Truth or Dare, Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island is directed by Jeff Wadlow, written by Wadlow, Chris Roach and Jillian Jacobs, and is produced by Jason Blum, Marc Toberoff and Wadlow.
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Oliver used the Pocket Cinema Camera 4Ks to capture wide angle shots throughout production and as action cameras during the film’s intense fight scenes.
“A lot goes into choreographing a big action scene, from special effects to stunts to wardrobe, so you really need to make sure you capture as much as possible during a take to avoid having to reset. The more cameras you can fit in the better,” said Oliver. “Due to the Pocket Cinema Camera 4Ks’ small form factor, we could easily position them within an action shot to capture unique angles while not having them appear in the other cameras’ coverage, which really helped us make the most of each take.”
The cameras’ internal recording capabilities were crucial for Oliver, since he could keep their footprint small and easily tuck them into tight spots to capture the action. “In one scene, there’s a big battle featuring a dozen or so actors and gunfire. A mercenary falls into a pool during the combat, so we positioned a Pocket Cinema Camera 4K below him in the water to capture a unique angle of his plunge. During a later scene, one of the actors falls during a skirmish, so we positioned a Pocket Cinema Camera 4K under a table for a different vantage point,” Oliver explained.
“By leveraging the cameras’ size and ability to record internally, we were able to get the shots we needed. Moreover, their dynamic range and ability to shoot high frame rates allowed us to easily match our main cameras’ footage so everything intercuts seamlessly in post,” concluded Oliver. “Within a limited budget, we needed to have reliable, affordable, all in one cameras that we could use to cover more ground and expand our reach, and the Pocket Cinema Camera 4Ks delivered just that.”
FotoKem’s Arnold worked with Oliver and director Wadlow to develop four distinct looks for the film, with each guest’s fantasy having its own tone that matches their journey.
“Working on a tight deadline to create the distinct looks in the film was equally challenging and rewarding. Grading in DaVinci Resolve Studio made experimentation and auditioning different color concepts with Toby and Jeff effortlessly fun,” added Arnold.
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More