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Why Kubrick used Moviecam SL on EWD ?


panagiotis agapitou

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Kubrick used the BL II on Garett Brown's steadycam on the shining .. except the fast shots of the maze .. as Brown says on "the steadycam and the shining article" :" Now the maze became an unpleasant place in which to work. It was hot, corrosive and a difficult spot in which to breathe. The speed of the shots stepped up, since everything now happened at nearly a run. To lighten the load we switched to the Arri IIc from Joe Dunton Cameras and constructed a special underslung cage for it."  

Kubrick used arri 535B on eyes wide shut ... which is lighter than the BL II ..

And i am wondering why the ultimate perfectionist he prefered the Moviecam SL on steadycam ?? 

Theoritically the 535B isn't better than Moviecam SL ?? 

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Well, technology changes. 

The Arri BLII in 1998 was an antique camera and super heavy, not something you'd want to use on a steadicam. The alternative of the time in the 80's was the Arri 2C or Arri 3 a few years later, both super loud MOS only cameras. For Eyes Wide Shut in 1997, the Moviecam SL (super light), was the smallest semi-quiet pin-registered camera on the market. It wasn't quite enough for very close audio recording, but at a distance, it would work fine and considering much of Eyes Wide Shut was ADR and/or limited dialog, one could get away with shooting on a camera that's considered MOS. For close dialog scenes, he'd switch to the Arri 535, which came directly after the BL4S. The 535 being a sync sound camera, so it's super quiet, which is what ya need for close dialog scenes. Sadly the Aaton 35III was just new on the market at the time and wasn't fully tested to the point where someone like Kubrick would ever consider it an option because it weighs A LOT LESS than the Moviecam SL.

As a side note, the 535A weighs considerably more than the BLII. The 535B is around the same weight as the BL4, which was weighed down over the years. Both are around 60lb with a 1000ft magazine and film on board, so really only used on a tripod or dolly. When you see people hand hold them, it's mostly 400ft magazines, which are still around 50 - 54lb in that range. I never weighed mine with a full roll of film, but just the camera body weighs 24lb. The magazine itself is very heavy without film and once you add the lens and accessories, the weight gets up there super fast. 

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3 hours ago, Tyler Purcell said:

For Eyes Wide Shut in 1997, the Moviecam SL (super light), was the smallest semi-quiet pin-registered camera on the market. It wasn't quite enough for very close audio recording, but at a distance, it would work fine and considering much of Eyes Wide Shut was ADR and/or limited dialog, one could get away with shooting on a camera that's considered MOS. ..Sadly the Aaton 35III was just new on the market at the time and wasn't fully tested to the point where someone like Kubrick would ever consider it an option because it weighs A LOT LESS than the Moviecam SL.

Moviecam SL is rated at 25dB, similar to an Arricam LT, and quieter than an Aaton 35III. I wouldn't consider that MOS at all. 

From an old list of camera weights I have, an SL with 400 ft mag in steadi mode is only about 4 lbs more than the Aaton.

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5 hours ago, Dom Jaeger said:

Moviecam SL is rated at 25dB, similar to an Arricam LT, and quieter than an Aaton 35III. I wouldn't consider that MOS at all. 

From an old list of camera weights I have, an SL with 400 ft mag in steadi mode is only about 4 lbs more than the Aaton.

Yea, 25db is an estimate based on many figures, including lenses. The SL was not marketed as a silent camera, neither was the Aaton 35III. I hate to say it, but the SL isn't any quieter than the Aaton 35III as I've worked with both quite a bit. 

It's not 4lb difference because you've gotta factor in power. The Moviecam is 24v, which is a much heavier battery system than the 12v Aaton system. In fact, I don't even run the battery on the sled, I run it on the camera and run power the opposite way through the sled from the camera into the monitor. Can't do that with an SL, you've gotta run the two, 12v V mount batteries on the sled and nobody made an adaptor to run one battery on one side of the sled and one battery on the other. So you actually have to add more weight to the steadicam in order to balance it out. 

Again, I just shoot stuff with film cameras, so I know what things feel like and how much more difficult it is to make a Moviecam work, than the Aaton because I've done it. 

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Also Kubrick used Moviecam on steadycam when Tom Crouse meets and chat with Domino prostitue on NY streets 

An outdoor scene with lots of street noise 

And kubrick always prefered to record live dialogue even on noisy places 

There is a backstage photo of that scene but i can not find it

Edited by panagiotis agapitou
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Ah memories...

From my memory, the Aaton 35mm camera was noisier than a typical Moviecam SL.  Of course an SL in poor tune will get louder ?

Weight wise, the SL was light enough for Steadicam.

a 535B was heavier than a BL II and also required 24v, yes? But it was more quiet.

 

Until the Moviecam SL, the BL I or II was the lightest sync sound camera available for the Steadicam if one couldn't get a lightweight Panaflex, which were in very short supply.  Panavision was still trying to get everyone to rent a Panaglide, to get the lighter camera at the time.

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