The Skylark

Last summer, as Keith and I were getting a little burnt out from rewriting our feature script, he had the idea of taking a small flashback and expanding it into a short film. Thus, our project SWEET NOTHING was born. Around that time, there were whisperings of an unexpected advancement in the HD camera world, unexpected because it started as a simple add-on to an “old technology” and evolved into a widely used tool in the industry.

This is a DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex Camera), specifically the Canon 5D. Like any other professional Canon or Nikon camera, it shoots beautiful pictures. This model came out in 2005:

In comes the Canon 5D Mark ii, which arrived in late 2008 and changed everything:

Although the two cameras look the same, there is one enormous difference. Canon had received many requests from photojournalists to add a simple video record option to their pro-line of photo cameras so that one could capture the odd video in the field and post it online. Canon’s photo department obliged, and without collaborating with their video department, virtually slapped in an HD video feature. Little did they know they had created a camera under $3,000 capable of shooting more cinematic images than most cameras five to ten times its price. The reason? The camera is based on full 35mm frame photography (like a motion picture camera) instead of small chip television/video camera technology.

I don’t want to get too technical, because there are already loads of information out there from many great bloggers (links at the bottom), but when the 5D Mark ii first came out it was lacking many vital manual controls. While Keith and I were prepping to shoot SWEET NOTHING, some of the key issues had just been resolved via a firmware update and so it seemed like the perfect time to give HDSLRs a go. So, I sold this:

And bought my beloved, tiny 5D Mark ii:

Me and mine

Like most of my friends, I’m a bit of gadget freak. It’s an addiction that both pushes my career forward and in many ways holds me back. I’m sure a lot of you know what I mean. For those of you that don’t, well, what I’m about to say may be the geekiest sentence I ever written, but I’ll write it anyway… The first gadget that changed my life was a PowerMac G4 with Final Cut Pro. It enabled me to be a one-man post-production team, and Apple’s user-interface just made sense. That was 2001. Cut to 2009, eight years later, and you have the Canon 5D Mark ii, the second gadget that changed my life.

Keith and I were very lucky when we went into production on SWEET NOTHING because our good friend and cinematographer, Alan Poon, was living in NYC at the time and agreed to experiment with my new camera. He had his own set of Canon lenses, which we were planning to shoot with, but since we couldn’t find a follow-focus to rent, we were forced to rent a Nikon lens package with its own follow-focus. (A follow-focus is a necessity when shooting a narrative film. It enables someone other than the camera operator to make sure the actors are in focus as they move around.) One of the wonderful things about the Canon DSLRs is that they have a lens mount that allows you to put pretty much any old lens on it with an adapter. The old manual Nikons wound up being a great choice because they have a sharper, lower-contrast look than the Canons.

Looking back, the interesting thing about our first shoot with the 5D Mark ii is that Alan and I were not yet ready to ditch our years of film training/brainwashing, and so we treated the camera like every old mammoth we were used to, thus erasing one of the great aspects of the 5D, its minimal size. We virtually never took it off the tripod or detached it from our two external monitors. Still, the camera performed amazingly well and we were ecstatic when we finally saw the footage on a big screen.

Alan with the 5D Mark ii on the set of SWEET NOTHING

Here is a little teaser I cut to give you an idea of the vibe and look of SWEET NOTHING:

Since that project, I’ve shot almost exclusively with the 5D Mark ii, and already a lot has changed. Canon has released three new HDSLRs, all of which have their positives and negatives and range in price from $800 to $5000. That’s right; you can buy a camera, the Canon Rebel t2i, for $800 capable of shooting video similar to the  5D Mark ii! And the body is even smaller! Professionals are using these cameras to shoot television shows, commercials, music videos, and feature films. When I shoot with mine now, I try to keep it as stripped down as possible – truly guerilla! And I’m not the only one. Many projects are being shot with several HDSLRs at a time since they can be had so cheaply. How you use it is up to you. Some people still attach every gadget imaginable to their HDSLR, some attach nothing, some mix and match.

Here you can see director Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, Spy Kids, Sin City) on the set of a music video with a souped up 5D Mark ii and then on the same set with a stripped down B-camera.

(images via philipbloom.net)

For my kit, after doing a bunch of research, I decided to invest in some old lenses instead of buying the far more expensive Canon pro-line L series lenses. Much of the old glass produces as good or better images and can be purchased cheaper. I decided to go with Contax Zeiss lenses, and managed to wing the deal of the century. I found someone selling a 28mm, 55mm macro (vivitar), 35-70mm macro, and a 135mm on craigslit for $600! Be jealous; I’ll probably never find a deal like that again… The Zeiss glass is amazing – a little cooler in tone, but tack sharp and with amazing bokeh (aesthetic quality of the blur). I bought an adapter to use these lenses from adorama for $28.

Two features sorely lacking from the 5D are a true viewfinder and professional audio controls/inputs. So I completed my kit with an LCDVF and a Zoom H4N. I recommend both of these devices without hesitation, but there are many other options out there. Putting your kit together is a very personal and, once again, addictive thing. Just keep in mind that if you go overboard, you’ll prevent yourself from enjoying the freedom of having such a small and simple device.

I carry my 5D Mark ii everywhere. It’s my photo camera, my home video camera, and my movie camera of choice. And now, I’m very happy to announce that Keith, Derrick, Alan, and I plan to shoot our first feature film THE SKYLARK with HDSLRs!

Feel free to ask me any questions. I could write a novel about my beloved Canon, but that would take time away from actually using it…

-blake

PS. My top 4 blogs on the subject:

Planet 5D

Cinema 5D

Philip Bloom

Hurlbut Visuals