Shooting the short film "BOX" on the Sony F65 camera

Whenever I sign on to shoot a short film, I see it as an opportunity to try out a new camera I haven't used yet.  So I was ecstatic when I was able to acquire the fancy new Sony F65 camera for my latest film BOX.  The best camera ever made, the biggest deal about this camera is it shoots true 4K resolution, but I actually don't care too much about resolution.  I care what the image looks like and what I can DO with the camera, which is why we all love the Alexa so much.  When I tested this camera at the Sony training center in LA last month, I was astounded at the Dynamic Range that resulted from shooting in 16bit RAW.  We measured 15 stops!

But the 4K files are just way more data than we need as an indie film.  The storage requirements and the post needs are unrealistic for most indies or even TV series.  So far the only other films shooting with this camera are big studio films.  So with Sony & Technicolor's involvement, and with the expert guidance of Abel Cine who is providing our package and lots of expertise and training, we decided to be the first film to shoot in the camera's HD mode, which shoots in the new SR codec (just like HDCAM SR tape, but tapeless.)

I shot a Dynamic Range test earlier this week, in this mode & confirmed my suspicion that the 10 bit SR codec wasn't going to equal the range of the 16 bit RAW. (Mathematically, higher bit depth equals more stops.)  It's certainly enough range (11-12 stops) for the majority of the movie, but for the scene where I am most worried about range, (a daylight driving sequence) I plan to shoot that in the 4KRAW mode to maximize that dynamic range.  It's pretty cool that you can switch between the 2 depending on your project's needs.

I'm excited to start shooting tomorrow, and for all the publicity we are already getting.  Follow me on twitter & Facebook for more updates, including links to press.

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For more info about the film, check out
www.indiegogo.com/box