An Albertan Wedding

Got the opportunity to shoot a wedding documentary this summer with fellow cinematographer Micheal Altman for Scott and Ann Mundell at Castle Mountain Ski Resort in south-western Alberta. It was a beautiful wedding and to add to the aesthetics I wanted to capture the whole wedding on super 8 film to give the documentary a nostalgic feel and look while the wedding party and speeches were mostly shot in a digital format.

Stock: Super 8, Kodak 7218 500T Negative (processed at Niagara Custom Lab)
Format: Super 8mm & HDV
Camera: Canon 814 Auto Zoom & Sony Z1U
Cinematographers: Noah Taylor & Micheal Altman

Editing in China

I am currently in Nanjing, China teaching an editing course for a month at the Nanjing Institute of Technology. The university is in a very beautiful area in Nanjing and is surrounded by an artificial lake full of golden fish, apparently which brings luck to the students that study here. I am teaching 25 students Final Cut Pro so they have adequate knowledge of the software upon graduation. I've been able to visit some rural areas in China so far and met some very interesting and friendly people. I may travel to Tibet after teaching in China to check out 'one of the most isolated countries' in the world. China is a fabulous country and I will be saddened when I will have to leave.

Planting Vines

Back in Toronto from another indie feature shot in Windsor called 'Planting Vines' directed by Nicholas Shields and the guys at Suede Productions. The feature was shot on the magnificent new RED ONE camera and was complimented by a series of Nikon lenses. I got the opportunity to light the feature with the help of a few HMI's, an assortment of 1K's and a full Lowel kit. The production had access to a lot of wonderful locations around Windsor and there's no doubt that the new RED camera will 'show-off' the beauty of these fantastic places. The film took three weeks to shoot plus another week of shooting to come in Montreal.

Feature: "Planting Vines"
Camera: Red One
Director: Nick Shields
Cinematographer: Cameron Hucker

Eumig Nautica

The Eumig Nautica is the latest addition to my super8 camera collection. It is one of the most consistently sought after cameras in the world of super8 filmmaking and I have spent almost 6 months looking for it! What makes this camera so special is its ability to submerge into water of up to 40 meters in depth without a waterproof housing. The Nautica is being shipped from Austria and includes a PMA Wide Angle Lens and a Zoom set. Once it arrives in Toronto I will have it modified to shoot at 24fps (unfortunately it captures at only 18fps!). The Eumig Nautica is simply the most robust super8 camera ever produced! Here is a sample clip that demonstrates what the Eumig Nautica is capable of capturing.

Fear's Plunge

I am currently directing an experimental short film called 'Fear's Plunge' set at various locations in Ontario. The 12 minute short follows a boy through a near drowning experience and his quest to conquer his fear of water. I decided to shoot on super8 film because of the depth of field, latitude and sharpness and other aspects that are better in film than video. I also love the look of the film materiality (grain, imperfections, colors, dusts, etc.) of super8 which will enhance the mood specifically for this film. All-in-all we have 30 rolls of Kodak Vision 2 500T (10 of which was sponsored by Kodak) to shoot the film! I have included a short clip of the RAW unedited footage from reel 1 - and yes... that's a dummy falling!! More to come soon.

Video: "Fear's Plunge" Short Film
Cinematographer: Noah Taylor
Camera: Bauer C Royal 8mm
Format: Super 8
Stock: Super 8, Vision 2 500T (7218)
Processing: Niagara Custom Labs
Transfer: Frame Discreet

Whatever It Was

Just got back from a month in Windsor filming an indie feature film called 'Whatever It Was', directed by Dylan Pearce. I worked closely with cinematographer Andrew Scholotiuk who filmed on the Panasonic Varicam in HD with a Canon 4.7x11 cine lens. The footage looks beautiful. We shot at over 30 locations around Windsor. I also got my hands on the new RED camera at Suede Productions in Windsor - its an amazing camera! Test shot in 120 fps at 2K... WOW! Whatever It Was is scheduled to be released in November in time for the Windsor International Film Festival.

www.whateveritwas.ca

Feature: "Whatever It Was"
Director: Dylan Pearce
Cinematography: Andrew Scholotiuk
1st Camera Assistant: Noah Taylor
Camera: Panasonic Varicam HD with Canon 4.7x11 Cine Zoom Lens
Format: 1920x1080 HD