nofilmschool » arrialexa

Want Some Free Aerial Footage Shot by the Arri Alexa? Neumann Films Has You Covered

Joe Marine — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 01:45:15 +0000

It might be possible to get higher quality aerial footage than ever before from somewhat inexpensive aerial vehicles, but getting a digital cinema camera into a real helicopter with a gyroscope is still the best way to get rock-solid footage. If you’ve been wanting to add some beautiful aerial footage to your own films, but you can’t afford the stock footage (or certainly the helicopter rental), you’re in luck, because Luke Neumann has put together some high-quality Arri Alexa aerial footage, and the best part of all: he’s giving away 5 shots completely Royalty Free on his website. (more…)

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Blackmagic Cinema Camera, RED EPIC, and Arri Alexa RAW Camera Test Part 3: Overexposure

Guest Author — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 20:16:44 +0000

This is a guest post by Cinematographer Ryan E. Walters.

Welcome to Part 03 of Some Like It RAW, where I am comparing the Arri Alexa, Blackmagic Cinema Camera, and the RED EPIC. My goal for these tests is to explore how each of these cameras handle real world shooting environments. Part 01 explored how these cameras handle IR pollution. In Part 02, I tested underexposure. And here in Part 03, I’m exploring the world of overexposure and diffusion filtration. Continue on to watch the 10 minute video, read my summary, and get the downloadable RAW frames from each camera. (more…)

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Blackmagic Cinema Camera, RED EPIC, and Arri Alexa RAW Camera Test Part 2: Low Light

Guest Author — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 07:37:37 +0000

This is a guest post by Cinematographer Ryan E. Walters.

Welcome to Part 02 of Some Like It RAW, where I am comparing the Arri Alexa, Blackmagic Cinema Camera, and the RED EPIC. My goal for these tests is to explore how each of these cameras handles real world shooting environments. Part 01 explored how these cameras handle IR pollution. In Part 02, I test the limits of low light levels, or underexposure. Continue on to watch the 11 minute video, read my summary, and get the downloadable RAW frames from each camera. (more…)

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Blackmagic Cinema Camera, RED EPIC, and Arri Alexa RAW Camera Test Part 1: IR Pollution

Guest Author — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 19:59:37 +0000

If you’ve been using a newer large sensor digital cinema camera, you may have noticed that your image takes on more reddish tones when using increased neutral density filtration. This is related to the way many of these ND filters block visible light, but let in more infrared light which can pollute the image. We’ve seen a few examples showing what IR pollution can do, and today, we have a video comparing RAW cameras, specifically the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, Arri Alexa, and RED EPIC, and how each of them handles black cloth when using IR cut filters of different strengths along with increased ND filtration.

This is a guest post by Cinematographer Ryan E. Walters. (more…)

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Arri Alexa Goes Internal RAW with Codex XR Upgrade, and Gets New In-Camera IRNDs

Joe Marine — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:10:07 +0000

There might be a lawsuit going on right now regarding compressed RAW, but Arri and their Alexa camera have avoided that business by sending out uncompressed, untouched RAW to third party recorders. Codex, maker of one of these third party recorders, has now partnered with Arri to design an internal RAW upgrade solution for all Alexa models called the XR Module that replaces the internal SxS technology, and takes a brand new 512GB card. From now on, the only new models offered from Arri will be the XT line with the XR upgrade, and the original Alexa with a 16:9 Super 35mm sensor. All new XT models will have the 4:3 sensor as standard. Check out the videos of the XR in action below. (more…)

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Film Looks the Easy Way: FilmConvert Now Supports Canon C300 and Arri Alexa, BMCC Coming Soon

Joe Marine — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 15:54:51 +0000

A solid color grade can very quickly take the edge off an image that looks “too digital.” If you don’t have much time to spend on said color grade, but you’d like to get a great look very easily, a film LUT that attempts to recreate some of the magic we get from Kodak and Fuji stocks could serve you well. We’ve discussed FilmConvert a bit before, but basically it’s either a standalone program or a plugin for the major Apple and Adobe products that uses the color science of the specific camera you’re using in order to precisely match the film stocks they have in their system. Now they’ve introduced another update, this time including support for the Canon C300 and the Arri Alexa. (more…)

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'FRED et marie' and 'Marie et Fred,' Painful and Beautiful Arri Alexa-Shot Films About Domestic Violence

Joe Marine — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 20:45:18 +0000

We’ve talked about how just because something is made as an advertisement, that doesn’t necessarily mean it can’t stand on its own as a piece of art. The same can be said for a film made for a particular cause, in this case domestic violence. FRED et marie and Marie et Fred were both commissioned by Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, or the French Community of Belguim, one of the three official communities in Belgium. The films focus on the abusive marriage between Fred and Marie, and they were both shot on the Arri Alexa — I mention this because they are two of the nicer-looking films I’ve seen lately. Click through to watch both. (more…)

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Choosing Neutral Density Filters with Infrared Protection: Necessary or Overboard?

Dave Kendricken — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 00:30:19 +0000

At this point, solid state image sensors have matched or exceeded film in a lot of ways, including light sensitivity, responsiveness to shadow detail, and overall dynamic range — but that doesn’t mean our chips aren’t susceptible to certain problems previously avoided by the nature of emulsion. Indeed, ‘sensitivity’ nowadays means something different altogether — and with the virtual necessity of neutral density filters as a result, this often means vulnerability to infrared pollution. Unless you like shooting at f/22 or you’re already using the Aaton Penelope Delta, you may also require an IR filter with your ND. AbelCine has recently shared a great rundown of which cameras suffer the most from IR pollution — and what filters work best to correct each. (more…)

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The Search for Osama bin Laden, and the Cinematography and Sound Design of 'Zero Dark Thirty'

Joe Marine — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 18:47:34 +0000

One of the more controversial films to be released this year (at least according to the news media and members of the CIA and U.S. Congress), Zero Dark Thirty is the story of the search for Osama bin Laden and the people responsible for finding him. The film is the first from Kathryn Bigelow since her Academy Award winning The Hurt Locker. The movie is getting attention for obvious reasons (and we’ve already got to hear from the screenwriter, Mark Boal), but it’s also being made in a way that few other Hollywood projects could even come close to replicating. We’ve got an in-depth look at the sound design, as well as some words from the Director of Photography Greig Fraser, ACS, about shooting on the Arri Alexa with practically no lights on set — plus, a bonus interview with one of the lead actors, Jessica Chastain. (more…)

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Watch Patrick Stewart the Poet in Angus Jackson's Short Film 'Epithet'

Joe Marine — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 14:25:14 +0000

Patrick Stewart has had a rather long and varied career, from the stage, to the screen, and literally everything in between (including a recurring role on Seth MacFarlane’s American Dad cartoon). In Angus Jackson’s short film Epithet, he plays a poet in the later years of his life who is keen on courting younger women. The film was shot on the Arri Alexa (which is completely inconsequential, but, you know, some of you may be wondering these things). Click through to check it out. (more…)

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Sam Mendes, Meet James Bond: The Making of 007's New Film 'Skyfall'

Joe Marine — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 00:30:12 +0000

You might have already seen the previous behind the scenes that we posted for the Roger Deakins-lensed and Sam Mendes-directed Skyfall, but now we’ve got a more traditional video blog/making of that goes beyond raw on-set footage, and actually gets into the entire process for the production of the film. While the videos are short, they’re a little under 30 minutes in total, so sit back, relax, and catch up on some Bond, James Bond. (more…)

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Sony Breaks Down the Modularity of the New F5/F55: How Does It Compare to What We're Used To?

Dave Kendricken — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 22:22:26 +0000

Some of you may have noticed something very, very interesting about the body designs of Sony’s upcoming F5 / F55 Cinealta cameras (they are, after all, nearly identical). These newcomers display something that the still rather-young F65, and for that matter, pretty much any other Sony cinema camera before now, has never featured (yes, aside from being shoulder-mount-friendly) — true modularity. Since its big announcement last week, Sony posted a video featuring Cinematography Product Specialist Richard Lewis demonstrating the level of modularity and extensibility built into the New F series — read on to check it out. (more…)

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On Set with James Bond: Behind the Scenes Footage from 'Skyfall'

Dave Kendricken — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 06:46:22 +0000

Have you you ever wondered what a twenty minute montage of making a James Bond film (and the first digital one at that) would look like? Fortunately, the web provides. I’m usually rather apathetic towards Bond movies before the fact — but this raw, unnarrated behind-the-scenes footage has got me pretty intrigued about the upcoming Skyfall. For one thing, there is some really exciting stunt-work going on in these clips, even with all the wires and safety cushions still un-rotoscoped away. And for another thing — actually, on second thought, we’ll get to that later — these videos have been going on and off-line, and being so clearly unstable, there’s really no time to waste. If you want to check them out, read on. (more…)

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Roger Deakins Talks About Using the Arri Alexa at IBC

Joe Marine — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 06:38:58 +0000

Roger Deakins (The Shawshank Redemption, No Country for Old Men) is arguably one of the greatest cinematographers of the last 20-30 years (if not one of the greatest all-time). His work is timeless in a way that is hard to describe, but much of it comes from his ability to paint with light. Deakins had shot all of his work on film up until Andrew Niccol’s In Time, which he lensed on a prototype Arri Alexa. We covered back in February of 2011 an interview with Deakins where he stated that “film had a good run” and that he wasn’t sure if he would ever shoot film again. Now he’s taken on a much larger project with the camera, the new James Bond film Skyfall, directed by Sam Mendes. Mr. Deakins recently sat down with Franz Kraus, the Managing Director of Arri AG at this year’s IBC trade show. (more…)

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Creating Arri Alexa Dailies with the Sound Devices PIX 240

Joe Marine — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 08:04:23 +0000

While many productions choose the Arri Alexa for its superior dynamic range, sensitivity, and color rendition, having the ability to record to high quality ProRes can mean faster turnaround times with a workflow that is already a standard. Any production that will rely on color correction will usually choose a log profile, but this also means that unless you do some sort of correction, the files will be very flat. Since the Alexa can output both log and standard gamma profiles, you can use an external recorder like the Sound Devices PIX 240 to record proxy files with a standrad gamma profile. The new 2.01 firmware for the 240 gives it the ability receive timecode and have identical file names to the internally recorded files from the Alexa, so those can be matched up perfectly when you want to re-link files later for color grading. Andy Shipsides from AbelCine gives a walk-through of that process in this video: (more…)

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A Rig for Filming with Two Cameras at the Same Time... Sure, Why Not?

Benjamin Dewhurst — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 18:45:13 +0000

Every once in a while I see a filmmaking product, and I can’t help but think “why didn’t I think of that?” due to the genius in the simplicity. Well, today is one of those days. Take a look at the new Cinemecanix C1-PRO-RIG, a two-level rig that allows you to film with two cameras simultaneously. See it in action in the video below. (more…)

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Why Can't We Have Beautiful Digital Cinema Cameras?

Joe Marine — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 15:50:37 +0000

The very notion might be preposterous for many individuals. Cameras are tools, why should it matter what they look like? Does one choose a particular hammer over another because of its aesthetics? Not usually, often with any tool, style gives way to performance. For the longest time, personal computers were nothing more than grey boxes. Apple was a big part of the movement away from boring, grey boxes. Not to give them all of the credit, however, since there is a large modding community in the computer world that feels the same way — and they’ve been creating beautiful PC cases for years. But what about cameras, specifically the digital cinema kind? The Yolk Y2 Digital Cinema Camera aims to address that pesky function over form notion, and truly design a camera that is aesthetically pleasing and functional. (more…)

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Which Camera Won the Zacuto Camera Shootout? The (Anonymous) Winners and Losers

Ryan Koo — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 20:21:44 +0000

A couple weeks ago Zacuto released their Revenge of The Great Camera Shootout, which pitted the Apple iPhone 4S, Panasonic GH2 (Hacked), Canon 7D, Canon C300, Sony FS100, Sony F3, Sony F65, RED Epic, and Arri Alexa against each other. This year, however, there was a twist — they didn’t tell you which was which. I ran a poll asking folks which camera they liked the most, and with over 600 responses here are the results, by camera letter: (more…)

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Need to Learn a Camera's Interface Before You Use It? These Free Camera Simulators Can Help

Justin Minich — Thu, 31 May 2012 13:46:14 +0000

So you just got hired onto a production as an AC or a Camera Operator, and you know that you have the knowledge, talent, and skill to produce some beautiful images. There’s just one problem: You’ve never laid a hand on the camera that’s being used in the production. It’s probably not going to look too good if you have to spend a lot of time fiddling around in the menus to find the settings you’re looking for, but not to worry. Canon just released a camera simulator for the C300, and there are also simulators available for the Arri Alexa, and the Sony F65: (more…)

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At NAB, the ARRI ALEXA Quietly Continues its Takeover of the Film and Television Industries

Ryan Koo — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:48:14 +0000

For all of the stellar spec sheets and newfangled doodads coming out of the RED camp at NAB this year, one look at the active production landscape will show you that one camera is absolutely everywhere: the ARRI ALEXA. From feature films like Drive to TV shows like Game of Thrones to seemingly every TV commercial in existence — seriously, almost every commercial is shot on an ALEXA these days — the camera is as ubiquitous on high-end productions as HDSLRs are for low-end shoots (though the latter is changing with the advent of “real” large-sensor video cameras). Why is the ALEXA everywhere? Because of its stellar imagery, ease of use, established workflow, and fast turnaround time. It is not a stretch to say the ARRI ALEXA is the camera that killed film, not anything from RED (or anyone else for that matter). (more…)

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