"Act of Valor" premiered this week on Sunset Blvd.   As you may know the film stars active duty Navy SEALs, and residents of Hollywood had themselves a momentary scare as the stars of the film parachuted down to the Red Carpet.  The film was Directed by Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh and the Cinematography was accomplished by Shane Hurlbut.

While there have been tons of HDSLR films out in the wild by now (a report stated that more than 70% of the films screened at Sundance in 2010 were shot on HDSLRs) Act of Valor should occupy a special place in HDSLR history books.    Mike, Scott and Shane were some of the first to jump onto the HDSLR bandwagon three years ago as they shot this film (and were forced to keep quiet about it as with any film in production – let alone one shot w/ the cooperation of the special forces) and what they pulled off is pretty spectacular.

Shane says that 75% of the film was shot on the Canon 5D MKII and the other 25% with film cameras.   This makes sense as it was nearly impossible to use the 5D MKII on remote/stabilized helicopter mounts in the early days of HDSLRs for example (there was no way to control the camera let alone start/stop it.)

While I’m sure there may be a little grumbling from some folks given the nature of the film – I would recommend ALL DSLR shooters go check it out.    Shane and the Bandito Brothers were generous enough to treat me to a screening of the film a little over two months ago.   I went in not knowing what to expect – my main concern was that the stars were active duty Navy Seals – not actors.   I was incredibly surprised at how well they came off on screen and how incredibly good the film looked on screen as well.    

There is a very good chance this will become a modern "Top Gun" for the Navy.  As you may know "Top Gun" led to an incredible surge in sign ups to the Navy’s fighter wing.   As the Navy and US Military moves more towards covert ops – expect signups to be way up next year thanks in part to this film (not to mention the recent news in Pakistan and Somalia.) 

I definitely hope you get to check the film out –   It is definitely one of the more masterful uses of an HDSLR I’ve seen – and the results are even more impressive on the large silver screen.

The film is out in theaters February 24th.  Head over to the film’s website to see some behind the scenes featurettes.

Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.

I came across this stunning video of a time-lapse from Earth taken from Space and I thought I would share with you.  The footage is absolutely mesmerizing and the detail you can see from orbit is incredible.  The lights from the cities at night are something else – and so is the footage of the aurora borealis.  We have all seen (or even taken) pictures of the aurora borealis before – but this footage shows it from an entirely new angle.  It stands as a testament to the fact that even something shot a thousand times over can take on new life from a different angle.  I also have to throw some attention to the sound design in this video, as it helps to support the absolutely other-worldy feeling of this footage.  

In equally astounding, also astro-photography related news, check out the following image of earth, which is the highest resolution image ever taken of our planet.  According to Gizmodo, the previous holder of this title was the image used for the default background of the iPhone (ha).  That image was originally 2048 x 2048 pixels.  However this new image is 8000 x 8000 and was made from several passes of the Satellite Suomi NPP.

It’s getting tougher and tougher to get noticed on earth these days given the competition (and talent) of both photographers and filmmakers – so I guess it’s off to space next to get noticed!    😉  

The Canon C300 is finally starting to ship, and so far the verdict seems to be that C300 = "Awesome" – see the linked video and you’ll get it…  You can also check out my initial review of the camera HERE.  And it’s true – in terms of imaging, the C300 is really quite impressive.  However,  you’ll quickly find yourself needing a rig to mount traditional cine/doc accessories to the C300.  The C300 was built as most camcorders are – without much thought to allowing for mounting points for accessories and that remains something that I hope they take into account with their next camera (besides not being able to over crank 60 fps or more at full resolution.)

Yes, the form factor is small, and quite nice.  And the optional side handle  helps bridge the gap between those who are moving from DSLR shooting into a true cinema system.  However, the rounded body still feels like a camcorder and not a digital cinema camera – (maybe its the inclusion of that view finder on the back as well).  Its irregular shape and lack of mounting points don’t make it easy to build out and customize your rig.  A baseplate on the bottom can provide Rod support, and the shoe mount on the top gives you another mounting option, but on the whole, the camera body is not designed for a full build-out.

Maybe this was a smart move by Canon – focusing all of their design on form factor and the sensor specs within, and allowing third parties to design modules that build around the technology and help integrate it into traditional cinema camera setups.  This is where Redrock Micro steps in with their new ultraCage, which they have designed in tandem with Canon.  The cage provides full baseplate support with a 15mm rod system, and is rock solid.  It has two places to screw into the base of your camera – with a 3/8"-16 and 1/4"-20 screw holes on the bottom, and another 14"-20 on the top. There are also rod mounts on top and bottom of the cage, without sacrificing the use of a top handle (always helpful in run n’ gun situations, or just moving your heavy rig around on set).   However, the cage is also built to be the correct height for 19mm rod support and cine lens use if you just mount the cage to a 19mm baseplate.  This came in handy on "Mobius" because we were working with Canon’s new cinema zooms almost exclusively.

The cage wraps 360 degrees around the camera body and doesn’t block any of the cameras buttons or features – including the side handle should you put to keep it on.  Throughout production on "Mobius" however, we hoped to remove the handle as it got in the way of other accessories.  It is also filled with numerous mounting threads both (3/8"-16 and 1/4"-20).  You have to love this – because this is what gives you the power to customize your rig so that it is comfortable to the way you shoot.  I typically mount an EVF, or Marshall Monitor on an arm to the cage for monitoring.  Also available are optional add ons, including an extension element that mounts to the back end of the rods and extends the cage behind the camera.  This gives you a whole other surface of mounting threads, as well as a place to mount the optional backPack, which can carry an external battery (such as the Anton Bauer Dionic 90s).

Which brings me to my next point – a powered cage.  I have been using a powered cage with my DSLR rigs for years.  Simplifying your rig by running everything off of one, reliable power source, is incredibly helpful.  While the batteries can add weight to your rig, they also minimize the points of power failure.  This is why it is extremely exciting that the ultraCage comes with an optional powerPack, that can take the power from the battery mounted to the back of the rig, and distribute to your camera and accessories via three outputs.  There is one variable output (5-12v), which is typically used to power your camera (the C300 is 8.4v), and two 12v output ports used for power accessories (such as an EVF or Monitor).

Of course, if you can’t front the $15,999.99 price tag on the C300 – but still want the use of a professional, powered support system for your DSLR rig, Redrock has developed a universal version of their ultraCage as well that works with all DSLR’s, as well as the Sony FS100 and Panasonic AF100 which makes this an even more attractive solution for all types of shooters with a wider range of budgets.

If you haven’t already seen it – check out Blake Whitman’s BTS video of "Mobius"  to see the ultraCage in action: