16
CREATION
August 2016
Shot by the Red Bull Media House
production team in December last
year against the backdrop of the
Fisher Towers in Moab, Utah, USA,
Chain Reaction chronicles eightmanned flight disciplines in one
video in real time.
In order to create a cinematic
feel for the spectacular footage
and to transfer the excitement
of being airborne to the audience,
the production team decided to
shoot with Cooke Anamorphic/I
lenses.
Having been a long-time
user of Cooke prime lenses,
director Nicholas Schrunk was
not left disappointed with the
Anamorphic/I lenses. He explained:
“I love the Cooke anamorphic look.
You still have a sharp image with
very little distortion so you get a
natural-looking image. Everything
looks real and tangible. Older glass
has too much of a look and are
not sharp … the lens distracts from
reality — Cooke lenses take reality
and add to it, especially with skin
tones.”
The Cooke Anamorphic/I lenses
also overcame the elements, be
it extreme high desert cold or
being pelted by rocks and dust.
“We were in the elements, and
not really protecting everything
with each shot. But we had no
issues with the mechanics of the
Cookes — they are tightly sealed
and superbly constructed,” Schrunk
added.
All but one of the RED cameras
used in the production were
equipped with Cooke Anamorphic/I
prime lenses, instead of with zoom
lenses, as may be the case for most
sports productions, said David
Wilson, director of photography.
Wilson explained: “We really
wanted a shallow depth of field of
2.3, zooms are close to the 4 range.
We also didn’t want an X-Games
look, but an organic motion picture
Fujifilm offers 4K/UHD
recording with X-T2
Fujifilm has launched the X-T2
mirrorless digital camera, which
supports “clean” HDMI output for 4K/Ultra HD (UHD)
recording. The X-T2 also comes
with an ‘F-Log’ log-gamma
option, which takes advantage of the sensor’s wide dynamic range to record video
in wide colour gamut, thus
facilitating video production
workflows.
According to Fujifilm, the
Z-T2 is equipped with approximately 1.8 times the amount
of information needed to produce 4K/UHD (3840x2160)
or 2.4 times required for full
HD video (1920x1080). It supports high video bitrate recording of 100Mbps for both
4K/UHD and full-HD video,
enabling high-resolution footage with minimal compression
artefacts.
The X-T2’s Film Simulation
modes — popular for still images, says Fujifilm — can also
be applied to video recording.
For instance, users can use the
‘Classic Chrome’ mode to add a
documentary touch with subdued colours and rich tonality,
or the ‘Acros’ mode to produce
monochrome footage with
“smooth gradation” of tones
and deep black s.
The X-T2’s design is also
modelled after the central viewfinder style of the Fujifilm X-T1.
This form factor, said Fujifilm, is
“perfectly sized” with ergonomic
dials laid out exactly where
they are needed for intuitive
operability.
Other features include higher-speed AF and the faster
continuous shooting of approximately 900 still shots
and 10 minutes of continuous
movie recording at 4K/UHD
resolution.
Fujifilm’s new
X-T2 camera
offers 4K/Ultra
HD recording.
look. We shot 85% of the time
wide open at 2.3, with 4.5 for a few
shots.
“ The Cooke Anamorphic/I
lenses gave us all the advantages
and aberrations of a modern
anamorphic lens, as well as the
‘Cooke Look’ and the effects you
get when shooting wide open
with minimal edge and distortion.
They are really organic-looking,
especially when shooting digital.”
The Cooke Optics lens package
for Chain Reaction included 25mm,
32mm, 40mm, 50mm, 100mm and
65mm Macro. Wilson used the
32mm as the widest, and found
it the best for straight edges and
keeping the subject in frame with
big landscapes.
He detailed: “The crew would
handle POV camera mounting,
knowing the angles we wanted
… you hope for the best and see
what you get. Never trust that you
will get exactly what you need or
CREDIT: CHRISTIAN PONDELLA/RED BULL CONTENT POOL
Red Bull goes anamorphic
for Chain Reaction
Cooke Optics Anamorphic/I lenses were used in the shooting of Chain Reaction,
which chronicles eight-manned flight disciplines in one video in real time.
know if you’ll get the shot at all, so
we shot from two or three different
angles to hopefully capture what
we needed.
“Plus, we used a lot of ND
(natural density) and anamorphic
filters on the GoPros to get the
look that matched the RED/
Cooke packages the best that we
could.”
Lyon Video delivers Copa América in
4K/UHD with Grass Valley equipment
Lyon Video, a mobile production
truck facilities provider and video
crew provider, delivered the final
of June’s Copa América Centenario
football match between Chile and
Argentina in 4K/Ultra HD (UHD).
This year’s tournament took
place from June 3-26, with
Lyon Video delivering the
final to the host broadcaster, as well as other
international rights holder
networks and stations.
Key to the successful 4K/
UHD, and HD broadcast of the
event, was a wide line-up of
Grass Valley equipment. Chad
Snyder, COO of Lyon Video, said:
“The beauty of the Grass Valley
equipment is that it is flexible,
so we are able to deliver whatever format is needed. We are
in a real transition period in the
industry, which means we often
need to provide multiple formats
of HD for multiple clients, and
now even 4K/UHD at the same
time.”
For the tournament’s group
stage games through to the quarter-finals, Lyon Video employed
LDX 86 and LDX 80 series cameras
with XCU Universal XF base stations, a Kayenne K-Frame video
production centre switcher, a K2
Summit 3G production client, as
well as a K2 Dyno Universe 6X
and 4K/UHD switchable replay
system.
For the tournament decider,
Grass Valley’s LDX 86 Universe
camera helped Lyon Video
deliver the final of the Copa
América Centenario in
4K/UHD.
which was captured in both 4K/
UHD and HD, 14 LDX 86 Universe
cameras, 16 LDX 80 cameras, eight
legacy Grass Valley cameras, XCU
Universe XF base stations, two
Kayenne K-Frame switchers, a K2
Summit 3G production client and
K2 Dyno Universe replay system
were put to use.
After conducting extensive
proof-of-concept testing with
the tournament organisers and
having solved the network infrastructure challenges of delivering
various format streams, Lyon Video,
for the first time, used 14 LDX 86
Universe cameras to provide a
4K/UHD signal and high-speed
replay.
After the success of the Copa
América Centenario coverage, Snyder believes that more and more
clients will be looking for 4K/UHD
content, especially in the sports
and entertainment areas where
differentiation is key.
He elaborated: “4K/UHD enables a better viewing experience
in the right circumstances, and we
are always ready to increase our
capabilities, as we need to.”