Awardee: Shane Slattery-Quintanilla
Semester of Award: Fall 2016
Materials Awarded: Blackmagic Design Micro Cinema Camera, Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm f/2.8 Asph. Lens, DaVinci Resolve Color Grading Software
Project Description:
The Super 16mm BlackMagic Micro Cinema Camera has opened up exciting possibilities both pedagogically and creatively for faculty and students affiliated with the Film Department. Marc Schreibman, Film Department Media Specialist, has been crucial in figuring out how to make the most of this new technology. Here are some highlights:
* The Micro Cinema camera has a Super 16mm sensor. By using a simple adapter we were able to use our existing inventory of vintage 16mm cine lenses with the Micro Cinema camera’s micro four thirds mount system. This has given students and faculty the chance to see in real time (through an HDMI monitor attached to the camera) the aesthetic potential of each of these prime lenses. One filmmaker, Anna La Roche, decided to shoot her senior film project with the Micro Cinema camera with adapted 16mm lenses because the vintage cinematic look suited her concept.
* Unlike the Canon 70d and the Canon C100 cameras that the students use for their primary film projects, the Micro Cinema camera offers the option to shoot in 12-bit log—an uncompressed format that allows for a more robust and creative color grading process. This has opened up the possibility for faculty and students who are particularly interested in the art of color grading to experiment with the included DaVinci Resolve software.
* The small form factor of the Micro Cinema allows for easy use with the department’s gimbal. If the department decides in the future to invest in a high-end drone system, we can potentially mount the Micro Cinema camera for drone cinematography purposes as well.