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Posted (edited)

It's not attached to the main camera, it's in the hands of a set photographer, crouched in the lower center of the frame.

You can see her(?) right hand supporting it.

Feature films often employ a separate still photographer to generate all the publicity materials, and sometimes they photograph right along side the regular film crew. Though it's not as much as an issue today, in the days of film you wouldn't want to use a still taken from the motion picture camera - you'd have to cut (or at least dupe) the camera negative, and a 4-perf frame is tiny for a still.

This photo is from 2007, so the camera is likely a DSLR, either film or digital, and so it makes noise when it shoots. Hence the photographer has enclosed it in a blimp, which is why it looks so big an boxy.

 

 

 

Edited by Steve Switaj
  • Like 2
Posted (edited)

 

Also, I would note that sometimes there are auxiliary cameras attached to the main camera. I used to do a lot of VFX and it was common for a movie with extensive facial replacement to rig two small witness cameras out a few feet on either side of the film camera, converged a couple of yards in front  of the lens. These would be recorded and provided to the VFX people to help them understand what the actor was doing in the Z axis.

Edited by Steve Switaj
  • Premium Member
Posted

Yep just a stills camera for BTS images. This has been common practice on film sets since the advent of SLR cameras. You'll see similar blimped cameras going back to the 60's. 

  • Like 1
Posted

With the advent of mirrorless and silent shutters you won't see a blimped stills camera on set anymore. I'm selling my Aquatech blimp if anybody wants it! Ran when parked?

  • Like 2
Posted (edited)
On 3/26/2023 at 1:50 PM, Steve Switaj said:

It's not attached to the main camera, it's in the hands of a set photographer, crouched in the lower center of the frame.

You can see her(?) right hand supporting it.

Feature films often employ a separate still photographer to generate all the publicity materials, and sometimes they photograph right along side the regular film crew. Though it's not as much as an issue today, in the days of film you wouldn't want to use a still taken from the motion picture camera - you'd have to cut (or at least dupe) the camera negative, and a 4-perf frame is tiny for a still.

This photo is from 2007, so the camera is likely a DSLR, either film or digital, and so it makes noise when it shoots. Hence the photographer has enclosed it in a blimp, which is why it looks so big an boxy.

 

 

 

 

 

I meant it looked attached with a wire to the main camera.

Was it common that the still photographer would shoot right along the main camera on most scenes like this?

Edited by Daniel D. Teoli Jr.
Posted
2 hours ago, Daniel D. Teoli Jr. said:

Was it common that the still photographer would shoot right along the main camera on most scenes like this?

For some of the shows I work on, the Network asks for stills that look "in-scene" in addition to the BTS and posed stuff, so we'll see a stills camera sneak in beside our cameras from time-to-time.

Posted

In an ideal world one would capture the same frame as the cinema camera along with other images. In reality it can be impossible to get that near to the camera. However, I have yet to meet a DP who wasn't happy to help me get into a good place. I've met a few 1st Ad's that were a bit grumpy! For clarity, I shoot more unit stills than moving image.

 

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