Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/526086
www.postmagazine.com 6 POST JUNE 2015 CANON HELPS FILMMAKERS GO UNDERCOVER FOR CROCODILE GENNADIY DOCUMENTARY MELVILLE, NY — Amid the civil unrest in eastern Ukraine, pastor Gennadiy Mokhnenko struggles to operate "Pilgrim," his children's rehabilitation center for drug-addicted orphans rescued from the streets of the city of Mariupal. Direc- tor Steve Hoover, producer Danny Yourd, and DP John Pope have documented his efforts in their forthcoming film Crocodile Gennadiy, relying on highly-mo- bile cameras and versatile lenses to not only capture cinematic, creative im- ages, but also to maintain a low profile in dangerous areas. The team achieved their goals by using a combination of two EOS C300 digital cinema cameras, one EOS 5D Mark III digital SLR, and multiple EF-series lenses from Canon. Capturing that world was a challenge, Yourd explains. "We did a lot of shoot- ing at night, in available light for the most part. The low-light sensitivity of the Canon EOS C300 camera is great. We were even able to get some incredible shots using not much more than moonlight." "The EOS C300 is lightweight. It's designed as a 'cinematographic' cam- era, and it makes shooting on the fly easy," Pope adds. "We needed to move fast, given some of the situations we were in, so it was the perfect tool for the job. The ergonomics of the EOS C300 camera allowed us to shoot Crocodile Gennadiy non-stop all day, every day, and into the evening for 21 days. The EOS C300 also provides many convenient audio features, which made our lives much easier." The Canon EOS C300 cinema camera features two XLR inputs on its de- tachable LCD monitor unit/control panel for recording microphone or line audio independently to two linear PCM audio channels. The camera is also capable of recording via a mini stereo jack on the camera body. "The Canon EOS C300 camera was ideal for recording quality audio," Yourd explains. "We always had two tracks being fed into the camera's two XLR inputs from two separate sources: a shotgun mic mounted on the camera and our recordist's lightweight wireless transmitter. He was also capturing audio on his own separate CF card recorder. Doing it this way probably shaved a good month or two off of our logging, loading and organizing in post, which was a huge benefit." Yourd also notes that combining their two EOS C300 cameras with an EOS 5D Mark III camera enabled the team to operate as "a well-oiled machine." He adds, "The EOS 5D Mark III meant that there was always a camera with some- body...Without that I think we would have missed things and it wouldn't have- been the same documentary." According to Yourd, the demanding task of preparing and editing all of the footage gathered to tell the story was made easier by the EOS C300's use of the industry-standard Material eXchange Format (MXF) container file format, which provides compatibility with all major editing software and systems. In addition, the filmmakers shot in Canon Log mode, which captures the full exposure latitude that the camera's Super 35mm CMOS sensor is capable of delivering for film-style dynamic range between shadows and highlights. This is essential for achieving cinematic subtleties in post color grading. "The format the Canon EOS C300 shoots in and Adobe Premiere's ability to process and view it without transcoding shaved a lot of time off post produc- tion and helped streamline the entire process," Yourd explains. "You get a lot of flexibility in post with Canon Log," Pope adds. "The more latitude you have to work with in post, the better. We shot a lot of low-light scenarios for Crocodile Gennadiy and our colorist was able to do some amazing things with the footage." BITS & PIECES SMALLHD ADDS TO COMPACT MONITOR LINE CARY, NC — SmallHD (www.smallhd.com), which specializes in compact, high definition field monitors, has introduced the 501, a five-inch, full HD, on-camera monitor that's priced at $899. It joins the 502 monitor and Sidefinder viewfinder, which were introduced at NAB in April. The compact 501 delivers 1,920×1,080 resolution images with a high level of sharpness and detail. It differs from the 502 in its input/output capability — the 501 features a full-size HDMI in/out interface, which results in a $300 savings over the 502, thanks to the reduction in circuitry. Both the 501 and 502 measure 2.95x5.78x.80-inches, and both are housed in an aluminum frame with a rubberized coating. The 501's menu system is easily navigated with the flick of the thumb, and can display a range of features quickly. It offers framing guides, focus assist, false color and zebra exposure indicators, HD waveform, image capture and 3D LUT import capability. Like the 502, the 501 can be used as the display for SmallHD's Sidefinder electronic viewfinder, transforming it into a high definition monitor/EVF com- bo. The Sidefinder 501 (501 and Loupe) will be priced around $1,200. For more news on "Displays & Monitors," turn to our feature on page 34.