Directors Guild of America Meets the Novo Camera

The featured presentation by Radiant Images, made at the request of the DGA’s Special Project Committee, provided visual proof to assembled filmmakers of the endless possibilities of Radiant’s new Novo. In the clip, the tiny camera is rigged to a drone, guided on a track inside a moving car, attached to the wheel of a skateboard for a flip and mounted under a turtle – all the while capturing clear, crisp images. View Radiant’s presentation athttp://www.radiantimages.com/html/novo.html.

“The power of the Novo is that it lets your imagination run free because you are not limited by size and weight. We wanted to show the possibilities,” said Michael Mansouri, VP at Radiant Images (www.radiantimages.com). “Our role is to collaborate with filmmakers to find solutions and provide the tools they need to achieve their vision without compromise. The Novo is an important new tool for us.”

The Novo (www.novocamera.com), developed by Radiant Images and View Factor Studios, is built with a GoPro sensor but offers key cinematic features. The camera, which weighs just 3.2 ounces and fits in the palm of the hand, includes a C-mount lens system plus a PL mount adapter, back focus adjustment, and exposure control capabilities that open up a wide-range of artistic possibilities for cinematographers and camera operators.

The Novo has been well received since its February release, used in such upcoming feature films as Transformers 4,Ten and Need for Speed as well as NBC’s Revolution. The camera also won a MARIO Award for innovation at NAB2013. The Novo is available for rental only at Radiant Images in the U.S. and European rental partner P+S Technik.

For Digital Day 2013, the DGA’s Randal Kleiser (Grease, The Blue Lagoon, Honey I Blew Up the Kids, White Fang), asked Radiant Images to come up with challenging shots that would be very difficult with any other camera and then show the results to members.

Here’s a shot-by-shot breakdown of what Radiant created:

Inside Outside

David Stump, ASC, helped Radiant execute its most difficult shot. The shot involved following in front of a man (Stump) exiting a building before the camera rises up and out of the building and into the air for panoramic aerial shots before circling around back to where it started, all in one take and without a Steadicam or Technocrane.

Radiant’s Bobby Mansouri started shooting while being wheeled backwards in a hand truck and carrying the Novo attached to DJI Innovations’ Zenmuse H3-2D gimbal head on an RC mini-helicopter from CopterX. Once outside, the helicopter is turned on and maneuvered up and out by John Pacitto, the pilot with CopterX.  Taylor Chien, the owner of CopterX, operated the head, panning and tilting, including 360-degree moves, for stunning visuals of the Los Angeles cityscape.

“We only had two hours to shoot it, so we had a dry run and a second take, which is what you see,” Michael Mansourisaid. “We simulated a Steadicam shot to start out, then pulled out like a crane shot and then as we floated about the building, it became a helicopter shot. But we achieved each of those things with the Novo on the same mount, without the time and expense of utilizing all that equipment…It’s all about what is possible.”

Skateboarder

For the second shot, Radiant Images worked with Ty Evans of Brain Farm Cinema, one of the leading skateboard directors and photographers in the world. Radiant set out to determine the most difficult shots the experienced Evans could imagine – and then resolving them.

Evans indicated that he got a lot of visual distortion, such as a fish-eye look, when trying to mount other small form factor cameras to skateboards. The versatility of the Novo floored him during the two hours spent shooting in an LA park, Mansouri said.

The Novo was mounted to the body of a skateboard – on top and underneath – and attached to a wheel just a few inches off the ground to capture a flip and the wheel turning on the pavement. It was also mounted close to a skater’s face.

“All those shots that Ty said he was most frustrated about, we made those shots happen,” Mansouri said. “And once those technical limitations were removed, his imagination and ours became free to explore and we came up with other creative shots he had never even considered.”

Driving in Cars

For the third shot, Michael Mansouri and his brother Bobby enlisted the assistance of filmmaker Brian Moghari, who is experienced with time lapse and motion control. Radiant prep tech Jason Jackson also contributed.

The shot involved the movement of the Novo from outside a moving car to inside, dollying on small tracks across the back seat before exiting the opposite rear window and tilting and panning on a track outside on the other side.

Radiant utilized the small, capable camBLOCK motion control system to program and then execute the camera movements. “Usually these systems are so big you can’t put them inside a car,” Mansouri said. “And most of the time you have to use a cutaway to get a shot like that. But we made it happen inside and outside a moving car in the middle of the day on a busy street in Los Angeles. And we got it done in less than an hour.”

Colors in Nature

Cinematographer Ciamac Parhizi, who is known for shooting extreme sports, assisted Radiant Images with its final shot – filming a range of colorful lizards and other little creatures to illustrate the crispness and clarity of the Novo.

“We wanted colorful, macro stuff,” Mansouri said. “We were able to get the camera very close to the animals without spooking them, something that would have been much more difficult and invasive with a larger camera and equipment. You wouldn’t get the same organic, intimate shots.”

Cinematographer Stump also made a presentation at Digital Day 2013 that utilized Radiant Images’ new comprehensive camera evaluation tool.

Radiant Images recently conducted a wide range of non-biased tests of all available digital cinema production cameras to provide filmmakers with a way to compare cameras visually rather than by technical specifications. It is the first rental house to perform such all-encompassing testing of cameras.

The DGA asked Stump, who shot some of the camera evaluations for Radiant, to evaluate five cameras:  Sony F55,ARRI Alexa, Red Epic, Novo and Blackmagic Design. Using side-by-side comparisons, he showed differences in the cameras in such areas as a color rendition, green screen, and dynamic range.

Radiant Images also shared information about its new camera comparison iPhone/iPad app, built from the ground up and released in beta testing at Cine Gear. The app is set for final release with a range of new features and enhancements. With this in-house, cutting-edge technology, users will be able to get information about or evaluate and compare digital production cameras on the fly from their phone or tablet.

“We were quite pleased and appreciative to be asked to be a part of this event as it enabled us to communicate with filmmakers in a visual way and share some of our solutions,” Mansouri said.

For more information about Radiant Images, visit online at www.radiantimages.com or call 323-737-1314. Find Radiant Images on Facebook and Twitter.

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Source: Radiantimages.com