RFV Highlights Sony's EX1 In 'Action'

Experiences gleaned from shooting the first movie to be filmed exclusively using Sony's new EXI cameras are set to feature in the coming September issue of Regional Film & Video.
RFV's Editor, Kirsten McAlpine, reveals how she joined a specially invited party "80 metres below the Essex countryside", where a recently decommissioned nuclear bunker was the location for filming large sections of the new British horror film 'S.N.U.B!'.
Invited along to see Sony's EX1 solid-state camcorder in action, she was able to see the making of 'S.N.U.B!' - the brainchild of father and son team Pete and John Adams and the first movie under the Angry Badger Pictures label - at first hand.
John Adams was inspired to write the film after visiting the bunker. He said: "I saw this location and thought it was like a film set from 'Aliens' or 'Doom' or something similar, but better because it's real."
He told RFV that 'S.N.U.B!' is set in Britain in the present day and details what happens when London suffers a nuclear terrorist attack. A small group of survivors make their way into a government bunker installation where they believe they will be safe - until they start to hear banging on the doors outside! Is it a rescue mission? Or something much more sinister...?
The exclusive report reveals that Adams was keen to use the EXI to shoot the movie when he read the 'specs on the internet.
"I noted in particular the low-light capability - we were going to be shooting 80 metres underground, so the low-light is obviously going to be a benefit and the CineAlta badge which Sony only put on if they think it's film quality.
"I thought it was affordable, easy to use and very simple for playback on set. It's also a smallish camera, so it would get into all the nooks and crannies that a big film camera can't get into."
The film's Director of Photography, Jordan Cushing also found many advantages to using the EX1.
"The goal was always to blow up to film, so we needed high resolution, progressive images, and the XD-CAM format allowed that.
"Second, the ability to shoot slow motion when needed with our main cameras, since we wanted to roll them both when we were doing squib hits and blood spurts and smashing glass and so forth.
"And finally, the low light capability of the EX-1, which was the deciding factor. The location and schedule were such that we needed a clean useable image from the available lighting in the bunker."
He also relates that "measured against the larger shoulder-mounted cameras, the compromise in comfort was more than offset by the smaller size and weight.
"I don't think we could have run around the corridors of the bunker for days as we did with the bigger cameras. Not without crashing into things or collapsing from fatigue halfway through the schedule!"
Cushing also praised the picture quality of the EX1, saying it was "as good as you'll find in this class of camera".
He said: "It was great to have virtually every picture adjustment conceivable, and to have it be finely tuned over 200 steps. I was able to tailor the detail and the gamma for our specific purposes.
"On top of that, there are interesting presets built in and you can customise to your heart's content. The image is also very, very sharp something I tried to knock back a bit with a touch of diffusion, just to cut the video edge a little.
"I don't think we could have made 'S.N.U.B.!' with any other camera," he added.
(BMcC)