On Final Destination Bloodlines (New Line Cinema/WB/IMAX), my Blackmagic Design URSA Mini Pro 12K and my two Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pros were instrumental in capturing cool additional angles, as well as essential shots of extensive blue screen stunt sequences. Also, major special effects scenes need their coverage.
We built a large exterior/interior cabin set in the woods. Spent several days outside and inside shooting scenes, and eventually exploded the whole thing. Although we were in the middle of a forest, we were allowed to create a massive 80’ tall fireball that we captured with eight cameras at speeds between 48 and 96FPS, three of them Blackmagic cameras. With the outstanding quality of the built-in Blackmagic RAW codec, every single shot is indistinguishable from the Sony Venice 2 cameras we also used, and this was an IMAX release!!
The Blackmagics were also invaluable for compact car interior driving shots, as well as a stunt, when our family RV at night is crashing through a large metal gate our art department built. It was so substantial that no RV would have survived that crash, so our SPFX department. exploded and opened the gate, right before the vehicle impacted. The URSA Mini Pro 12K was buried in the road for the RV to drive over right by the gate, and the 6K Pros were mounted on the RV (in places where they couldn’t get destroyed).
For the sequence when our stunt performers in the restaurant scene are falling 400’ to their death, many shots were accomplished on a blue screen set. The Blackagics were instrumental there, and even were used handheld by a stunt person sliding down with the stunt performers on a large 30-degree tilted set toward huge glass panes that they eventually (in other angles) break through.
The compact 6Ks allowed for many camera mounts on a revolving glass hospital entrance door (built by our construction team and motorized by SPFX), a nerve-wracking and funny sequence where our heroes struggle to get through, amongst motor issues and sparks from above.
A sequence where an MRI Machine sucks in and distorts an unfortunate hero character, many BMD camera mounts above and inside helped ‘beef up’ the scene to hilarious and excruciating visuals. Stay away from MRIs…
For a tight hand-held camera interior in a small driving vehicle, we used my custom-built handheld rig (the “Asteroid”) with a Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and a 25mm lens from our main Primes set (Leitz Primes). When necessary, all my cameras always had remote aperture and remote focus control, fitted by my remarkable First AC, Tyler Woeste. At all times, we had HD transmitters, so the directors, I, and the crew could monitor the shots.
The tattoo parlor scene is funny but also terrifying. We got great shots with the Blackmagic cameras, which amplified the tension when a Rube Goldberg sequence delivers unexpected events, that eventually burn the place down and kill our hero - or did it??
Another very clever Rube Goldberg sequence that our very inventive and fun directors, Adam Stein and Zach Lipovsky, came up with takes place during a BBQ sequence in a family’s backyard.
There are many shots we wanted to mislead the audience with, and the BMD cameras were hidden all over the place to build suspense. A beer bottle, a water hose, a rake, ice-cold drinks, a Jenga game, a trampoline… What could possibly go wrong there? “DEATH IS COMING FOR US” – the Final Destination franchise is back!
