Moviemaker - CA (2019 Summer)

ROTOLIGHT NEO
2 EXPLORER KIT

THE INNOVATORS

TOP: COURTESY OF LEE FILTERS / BOTTOM LEFT: COURTESY OF ROTOLIGHT

kind of kit you can get producers to rent

from you and that makes them an invest-

ment opportunity. Currently the system

is built around the 2mm thickness predom-

inantly used by still photographers, but the

rep from LEE told me the more traditional

4mm holders are on the way. Starting at

$90 for just the LEE100 holder, there are

also kits featuring neutral density grads

and a circular polarizer.

ROTOLIGHT NEO 2 EXPLORER KIT

Lastly, I really liked the new offerings

from Rotolight—in particular, the three-unit

Rotolight NEO 2 Explorer Kit. This LED

kit of heads, stands, cables, and soft case

goes for $1,400 retail, and my only gripe

is that barn doors are extra. The lights will

run off house power, D-Tap and AAs (NiMh

or Li-Ion), so you can take them anywhere.

They have a great CRI rating of 96 and with

the built-in display you can dial them from

3150-6300 Kelvin. This kit could certainly

do a lot of your day-to-day traditional three-

lighting set-ups, but I could see it as being

that go-to kit for tight locations and end-of-

day exteriors, car interiors, etc. Additionally,

the lights have a built-in high-speed strobe

mode, for stills, and cinematic effects set-

tings, like lightning, television flicker, fire,

and paparazzi.

If you use the “Low budget, small crew,

out of pocket” mantra as a way of consid-

ering the huge assortment

of gear spanning four

soundstages, the

tank, and all of the

streets on the

New York backlot,

it brings to light

is a great choice to own is the Blackmagic
Pocket Cinema Camera 4K.
The BPCC 4K falls into the “improved”
category as this is the second iteration, with
a new handheld-style body, an improved
dynamic range of 13 stops and dual native
ISO (400 or 3200) and can go up to 25,600.
Full disclosure: I’ve shot with the original
BPCC as well as the other Blackmagic cam-
eras, plus I use Resolve for post, but I’ve also
shot with everything from ARRI Alexas to
65mm and learned to edit on liner systems
and film. This camera makes beautiful 4K
images in both Blackmagic RAW
or Apple’s ProRes 422.
The new Blackmagic RAW codec in
either Q0 (3:1 compression) or Q5 (5:1)
is stunning. It’s not a compromise. Being
part of Blackmagic’s family of cameras,
hardware, and software has allowed the
engineers to figure out how to build part
of the compression and encoding process
into the camera itself.
The BPCC 4K has a full set of professional
connections and controls, including a full size
HMDI output and a USB-C so that you can
simultaneously record out to a second drive
for a real-time backup. The camera is built
around the Micro Four Thirds (MFT) sen-
sor and lens system, so it’s the 16mm versus
35mm debate, if you like debates. I like that
for $1,295 I can own the heart of a feature
film camera system.

LEE100 FILTER KIT

Another piece of kit I would put in
my bag is the LEE100 Filter Kit. I own
a variety of filters in various sizes, and
many of them are duplicates. Many
of them have not been pulled out of my
bag in years. LEE Filters has created
a solution where you can start to buy
professional 4x6.5mm filters
and use them on any lens
with a simple screw-in
adapter. This is a huge
boon for indie cin-
ematographers.
Filters are the

LEE100 FILTER KIT

20 SUMMER 2019 MOVIEMAKER.COM