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THINKING ALOUD

Arri AMIRA

POSTED ON October 8th  - POSTED IN Info, Photography

The Arri AMIRA takes the ALEXA’s sensor and puts it in a lightweight and compact body, designed to let you pick it up and start shooting. Since the AMIRA’s sensor is the same as that of the ALEXA, you’ll get 14 stops of dynamic range, fantastic skin-tone rendition, a native ISO of 800, and EI range from 160 to 3200.

Recording in ProRes formats up to 4:4:4 in HD and 2K modes with frame rates up to 200fps, the AMIRA also includes all the standard frame rates of the ALEXA, in addition to some interlaced frame rates (59.94i and 50i), which are necessary for some broadcast applications. All recording is done to CFast 2.0 cards, which are fast and affordable. The camera features an internal motorized ND filter wheel with 0.6, 1.2, and 2.1 ND filters.

The AMIRA Premium is the highest-end of the AMIRA varieties, with the ability to shoot 4K UHD 3840×2160, 2K 4444 ProRes, up to 200 fps, and in Log C installed in-camera.

Features:

Same sensor and image quality as the ARRI ALEXA
Records HD 1080 or 2K
Dynamic range of more than 14 stops, low noise, beautiful skintone and natural color rendering
Records Rec 709 or Log C images using ProRes LT, 422, 422HQ or 444 codecs
Speeds of up to 200 fps
Single-user ergonomics – perfect shoulder balance
Build-in ND filters
High-res OLED eyepiece and fold-away LCD monitor
Comes with a number of preloaded 3D Lut-based looks
Rugged and reliable build

ARRI Amira

Leica 35mm Summilux-C

POSTED ON September 28th  - POSTED IN Info, Lenses

Leica 35mm Summilux-C lenses are a ground breaking new line of PL mount primes designed to deliver ultra-high optical performance for film and digital capture.

These new T1.4 close focus primes employ a unique multi-aspheric design and high-precision cine lens mechanics to provide unmatched flat field illumination across the entire 35mm frame and suppression of color finging in the farthest corners of the frame with no discernable breathing.

All Leica Summilux-C lenses share a uniform length, 95mm threaded lens front, advanced distance focus scales and similar location of focus and iris rings – which allow quick interchange of lenses in a busy production environment. Another unique feature is an integrated net ring threaded into the rear element.

Designed to be lightweight yet rugged, the mount and lens barrel are manufactured from high-strength titanium. Leica Summilux-C lenses weigh between 1.6 and 1.8kg (3.5 – 4.0 lbs).

Call one of our rental professionals for further details on 818 972-5000.

Leica 35mm Summilux-C Primes

VFX FILMING AT HOLLYWOOD CAMERA

POSTED ON September 15th  - POSTED IN DIT Tools, Info, Photography
Director Jonathan Heap and cinematographer David Stump, ASC, came in to Hollywood Camera to shoot VFX plates and some pick ups for the horror / thriller feature film The Unwilling. David Stump has chosen the digital Sony cameras F65, F55 and FS7 from Hollywood Camera Inc and our partner Bertone Visuals, that also assisted the production with digital acquisition systems (Dreadnought 4K Cart) for Color Management, Data Management and transcoding from 4K resolution to HD. The editor is cutting the whole movie in Adobe Premiere CC using proxy files AppleProRes 4:2:2. After the edit is complete, Bertone Visuals will be doing the color correction in DaVinci Resolve and the DCP (theatrical release master) in its grading room located on the second floor of Hollywood Camera’s building in Burbank, CA.

Sound Stage with ‘The Unwilling” Crew

POSTED ON August 20th  - POSTED IN DIT Tools, Info, Lenses, Motion, Photography

Cast and crew from ‘The Unwilling’ came into Hollywood Camera to film some special effects pick-up shots on our sound stage.

‘The Unwilling’ is a psychological thriller directed by Jonathan Heap, produced by Philip Morton and starring Dina Meyer, Lance Henriksen and David Lipper. If the tag line has any indication, we are in for an edge of your seat experience.

“6 family members gather for the reading of a will. Who will leave alive?”

David Stump, ASC, the cinematographer for ‘The Unwilling’, is a member of the ASC and his credits include some amazing films. Mr. Stump decided to film the principle photography in 4K with the Sony F65, F55 and FS7 and the Leica Sumillux C primes paired with Fujinon 25-300mm T3.5 and 19-90mm T2.9.

The F65 became particular useful with its 16 bit color depth and all the scenes that had to have visual effects were shot with F65 mounted on a Cinetech Capinera dolly also provided from Hollywood Camera. The Sony F55 was used as the camera car and hand held camera, whereas the FS7 was used for the Movi M15 scenes.

The special effects pick up shots today were for a mirror shot that was needed for a scene. Filming with the Sony F65, and the Fujinon 25-300mm they needed a more heavy duty dolly. We provided them with the Cinetech Falcon 2 that is usually available for rental to the customers that are shooting in our stage. David placed the camera on its side to give you the illusion the footage was vertical, yet the prop and actor were in a horizontal position.

Bertone Visuals, our partner company provided the digital acquisition systems (Dreadnought 4K cart) which allow the DIT not only to store and archive the whole film, but also, to take care of the color management and the transcoding on set from 4K Raw and XAVC to 2K Apple pro-res 4:2:2 codec. The editor for the unwilling is currently cutting the thriller/horror movie in Premiere CC.

Gianluca Bertone the president of Bertone Visuals participated as second camera operator and second unit DP, whereas his assistant Marco Paonessa worked as DIT.

The Unwilling is being edited at the new Bertone Visuals grading room located on the second floor of Hollywood Camera. The editor will import his cut via EDL to DaVinci Resolve where Bertone Visuals and Mr. Stump ASC, will grade the whole feature in P3-DCI (for theatrical release via DCP) and Rec 709 for Internet, TV and DVD applications.

We love having productions come over and use our facilities. Our 30 x 35 foot sound stage is available to rent for film, commercial and rehearsals. Call one of our rental agents to book you in for a walk through on 818 972 5000.

CHOOSE THE ALEXA, MATCH THE LENS

POSTED ON July 24th  - POSTED IN Lenses, Photography
For the month of July and August we want to offer an unbeatable deal at Hollywood Camera for the most reliable and professional camera in the market. Match any ARRI Alexa from our vault with one of our amazing lens sets.

Arri Alexa Plus – The ALEXA Plus is known for its exceptional image performance with 14+ stops of dynamic range. The ARRI color science in the ALEXA Plus provides natural color replication and excellent color separation. Our Alexa cameras besides capturing Apple ProRes internally are also capable of acquiring 3K Arri Raw with our onboard Codex M and S recorders.

Arri Alexa 4:3 – With the ALEXA 4:3 cameras, the full area of the sensor is used and a much higher image quality retained. In addition, the unique optical characteristics of anamorphic lenses the magic at the heart of anamorphic cinematography are rendered faithfully and fully in the digital image.

Arri Alexa XT – The ALEXA XT cameras add a number of significant and unique features: a Super 35 sensor with Open Gate and 4:3 sensor modes, in-camera ARRIRAW up to 120 fps, ProRes 4444 XQ, ProRes 3.2K, internal ND filter, Lens Data System, integrated CDL capture, ARRIRAW checksum, included anamorphic de-squeeze and high speed licenses, new viewfinder mounting bracket as well as a new, super silent fan.

Arri Alexa Mini – ARRI Alexa Mini combines a compact and lightweight form factor with the same unparalleled image quality that has made the ALEXA system a gold standard for the industry. Designed for specialized shot-making, the ALEXA Mini perfectly complements a full ALEXA shooting kit and allows the crew to keep a single system that is trusted all over the world.

MATCH THE CAMERA MATCH THE LENS

POSTED ON June 26th  - POSTED IN Info, Lenses, Photography
We take pride in offering exceptional service to our clients and building long term relationships. Our lens collection at Hollywood Camera ranges from some of the all time classics to the latest zoom, anamorphic and primes available on the market. All our camera packages are accessorized for the productions needs and budgets.

Arri Alexa Plus – The ALEXA Plus is known for its exceptional image performance with 14+ stops of dynamic range. The ARRI color science in the ALEXA Plus provides natural color replication and excellent color separation. Our Alexa cameras besides capturing Apple ProRes internally are also capable of acquiring 3K Arri Raw with our onboard Codex M and S recorders.

Sony F65 CineAlta 4K – F65 uses a unique 20 million photosite Super-35 sensor which has higher resolution than any previous digital motion picture camera. Although digital, it gives the feeling of a film based camera due to its mechanical rotary shutter.  Its 16-bit color depth together with 4K/6K/8K footage output make the F65 unmatched by any other digital camera on the market today.

Sony FS7 –  The Sony FS7 records in XAVC codec on internal XQD media cards in UHDTV 4K resolution (3840×2160), but it can also acquire 4K RAW footage when it is paired with the Sony AXS-R5 recorder and the HXR-IFR5 deck or the Convergent Design monitor/recorder Odyssey 7Q. The FS7 camera is capable of shooting slow motion at 60fps in 4K and 180fps at HD resolution.

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