microRemote On Set in The Big Leagues

The microRemote has been getting great reviews, but naturally people may wonder how a remote focus system priced at a fraction of similar systems performs in high end productions.

David Dowell, a top-notch 1st AC in Hollywood who has worked on many television shows throughout his career, had the opportunity to use the microRemote in his work as first AC for the ABC Family show “Pretty Little Liars”, a primetime hit show that shoots with three Red Scarlet camera packages. David and the crew has been using Preston wireless focus units for most of the show, and anything less than perfection is unthinkable for a show of this caliber.

David sent us this writeup:

My name is David Dowell, and I am currently the Key 1st Assistant Cameraman on ABC Family’s hit series “Pretty Little Liars.” I have been a 1st AC for over 20 years working on episodic television, feature films, commercials and music videos. Additional episodic television projects include Key 1^st Assistant on ABC Family’s hit series “Greek” and ABC’s hit series “Ugly Betty.” I was also a 1^st AC on WB’s hit series “Angel.” (IMDB Page)

"The microRemote compared
favorably to the Preston, [and]
performs better than the Bartec"

The camera package we use on “Pretty Little Liars” is the Red Scarlet camera. We use Zeiss Ultra Prime lenses on all our three cameras. Additional equipment we use includes Steadicam, Technocrane, swing and tilt lenses, Hot Gears and the Preston Fizz for our remote focus shots.

“Pretty Little Liars” is the most popular TV series on ABC Family network, with every episode shot with feature film production values. The entire camera crew on “Pretty Little Liars” are all seasoned professionals with high level credits from big budget feature films and top rated episodic television.

We have recently used the Redrock microRemote and quickly became impressed with how well it works. 

We found the microRemote responsive, accurate, easy to use and quick to set up. It compared favorably to the Preston and found out we could also use the microRemote with the Preston motors. We liked the microRemote better than the Bartech: it performs better, sets up faster, and is smaller and more compact. I also found it easier to use.

Overall I found the microRemote a great solution to many situations and I can recommend it for both professionals and amateurs.

Watch David's video below:

For more on David Dowell's work, check out his IMDB page. For more on the microRemote, check out the microRemote landing page at http://store.redrockmicro.com/microremote.

Why Go Remote on Your Focus?

There are a lot of skills on any production, but none is so central than pulling focus: accurate focus is a requirement on literally every shot. DSLRs and other large-chip cameras and inexpensive fast lenses have made shallow focus affordable, and focus all the more important. Accurate focus can make or break your production. Shane Hurlbut, ASC has often said, focus is the anchor for your entire project. With the new microRemote from Redrock Micro, remote focus control is now affordable for everyone, costing a fraction of traditional wireless focus systems: price is no longer a barrier. Having access to remote focus is really exciting for a lot of filmmakers. But what advantages are there to using a remote system? Turns out, there are plenty:

Advantages of Using Remote Focus

1. Better Focus

A remote focus unit can actually deliver better, more consistent focus results. First, because it's wireless, you are not touching the camera, eliminating any shake that could result. Second, the motors give you just the right amount of assist so changing focus is effortless. It's like power steering in your car; smooth easy movements. There is a reason power steering is now standard on virtually every car sold. Finally, if you are using still lenses on your DSLR or other camera, the remote focus expands the focus ring from a tiny amount (often 45-60 degrees) to a whopping 270 degrees. It does it for all your still lenses. This means when you change focus, you have a lot more room and precision to hit your focus marks.

2. Use It On Any Shot

Filmmaking today often calls for a lot of specialized setups and gear to make the cinematography interesting, and to better tell the story. This means jibs, cranes, Steadicam and handheld, in addition to tripod work. A remote focus system is the only focus controller that works on all these setups. Whether you are pulling focus on sticks, or on a 20' high crane shot, you can pull focus accurately and consistently. A popular choice is to outfit a camera with a cage (such as the Redrock ultraCage series), which gives the camera top rails and multiple mounting points. This enables a remote focus system to permanently live on top of the camera, and can be moved from setup to setup without changes. This is a huge timesaver when moving between setups.

3. Owning One Makes You Better

And by better, we don't just mean a better person. The advantages of owning gear isn't just minimizing rental fees and having more flexibility to shoot at a moment's notice. You know your gear intimately, and have the opportunity to use it all the time. Like any gear, familiarity and practice means you get better. Better at setup, configuration, and calibration. Better at hitting your focus marks. As you improve, you will be able to shoot with increasingly shallow focus for more impact.

Hollywood's Future Vision: HDSLR + Redrock Micro

This inaugural blog post is just in time for the release of the new feature film "Real Steel" starring Hugh Jackman. Real Steel opens today (October 7th) to nationwide theaters: the movie looks pretty good and is getting great reviews.

This movie is significant for HDSLRs, but not in the usual way. Yes, it's a blockbuster Hollywood film, heavily promoted, yes it has big named actors, and yes Dreamworks is behind it. But no, it's not about using DSLRs to shoot some portions of the film as a crashcam, bodycam, or insert shots. DSLRs are actually *in* the movie, as in, part of the scene design. Dreamworks thinks a future that includes fighitng robots will be covered by people shooting with DSLRs.... and Redrock rigs.

Redrock's history with this movie goes back two years. An assistant to the propmaster emailed saying they were working on an upcoming movie with Hugh Jackman and could they borrow a bunch of Redrock DSLR rigs. This sounded a little outlandish, but when  the propmaster called and discussed their vision of a DSLR-centric futuristic world, about a dozen rigs were headed to the desert for their filming. When asked 'why Redrock?' the production said they really liked the look of Redrock rigs more than anything else available, and Redrock gear can be configured in any number of ways.

If you haven't already seen the movie, here's an early cut of the trailer (no longer generally available) where you can see some of the HDSLR rigs

here's a screen grab showing the always-identifiable Redrock blue accent colors:

You can check out the production credits on the Real Steel IMDB listing - as of right now the rating is 6.9 and trending upwards. Not bad for 'rock em sock em robots'.