THE TELEVISUAL FILM PROJECT TAILS FROM THE SET
FOX HUNT
The Fox Hunt is a short film about a dystopian
future where prisoners are hunted for sport by bored millionaires. It’s playful but played from a straight
bat. Although shot for HDR, the film has a deliberate
‘70s West Coast celluloid aesthetic and music that matches the plot. The
day was an opportunity for Mission’s Technical Director, Tom Mitchell to
try out some pre-release technology in a real- world setting including:
Sony’s new PVM-X on-set monitors; Symply’s new
portable on-set storage, Workspace; and backed up with an arsenal of G-Technology mobile drives
pulling focus, and we were shooting gorilla style as if for an indie short. Add to the day three interviews and lots of behind the
I
scenes footage and then add in the context that we were shooting on the 21st March – two days before lockdown. (And yes, barring a few of the action sequences both talent and crew maintained social distancing throughout the day with half the crew wearing face masks.) Take 2 Films supplied the two Venices and kit. Take
2’s John Brennan volunteered that we should try the new Vega lenses which at T1.5 are super-fast and super-sharp. The 16-blade circular iris has the most exquisite flare and personality and although we built up the flares later in VFX, the work was based on further articulating the in-camera effect. Up and coming DoP, Ben Margitich shot handheld
for much of the day. Margitich was supported by a small crew of two and by second camera operator, Leo Bund and drone and head of tech, Henry Bridges from aerial and grip company, Fly Through Films. The film day gained impetus from having one of
the Venices on the Ronin 2 gimbal for the whole day, switching between vehicle mounts, wire mounts and an impressively large drone (which became a prop) and all mounted by one operator without assistance, before being operated remotely from two stations. Director, Dominic Danson comments: “Creating a
sense of tension and drama, while playing into rather than against the ‘70s action stereotype, came with its own set of challenges. We knew that the grade and any visual effects work would really push the visual style and chose to shoot mostly wides and mids to give enough latitude to grade the environment. Sections like the burnt-out grass at the beginning or the hide-and-seek in our hangar benefited from having a built-in establishing shot, which was vital on such a fast turn-around project. “With everything shot in one day we were moving
quickly - almost run and gun, but with cinema cameras and fully loaded DIT cart. The crew put their shoulders to the grindstone and really delivered here. Coupled with the fact that our DoP was shooting BTS footage, sometimes simultaneously, it really is an amazing feat. “Directing a piece like The Fox Hunt is a little unusual.
The script was essentially reverse engineered from what I knew we’d have access to - a country house and grounds, a Humvee, military equipment, hangar, drone, and two Sony Venice cameras. Having bounced ideas back and forward and the producer’s insistence that the film be based around a chase, the idea itself took form.” The film was shot at 24p, 4K DCI (4096x2160) for a
later UHD and HDR delivery retaining the same aspect ratio to reinforce the ‘70s film theme and aesthetic.
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televisual.com Summer 2020
t was never going to be an easy day out. We were shooting an ambitious short film with multiple set-ups on two Sony Venice cameras shooting Full Frame 6K X-OCN XT (Sony’s largest recording format), which requires a high degree of discipline, particularly for
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