One of the best things I ever did was buy a Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera. This is the original and while the latest models are light years ahead of what the original was in terms of features and functionality, there is something endearing about the tiny power house that can shoot cinema quality footage.
This series was born out of me fiddling with it while working on a feature film in Mumbai. The first film was shot during a break between the schedules and the cinematographer and his crew were going for a short road trip. I accompanied them and shot some footage. I decided to try a 4:3 format as a change; a call back to when I used to shoot on 3CCD camcorders and tape. Something clicked and I found inspiration in that aspect.
The camera itself is compact, non-intrusive and lets the filmmaker get up close and in person. the 4:3 format took it further in giving me the opportunity to express a very intimate point of view of my surroundings and the way I felt being in that environment. A lot of people do get the Metabones converter to open up the focal length and view angle and to use canon EF lenses. But I feel that it changes this personality of the camera. The lenses I used were a 12-35mm f2.8 Panasonic and a 15mm f1.7 Leica Summilux.
The second film was when I decided to go in with a plan. Over the course of my academic year in Vancouver, I shot snippets across the city. While the first one had no goal as it was spontaneous and an experiment, the second was deliberate in maintaining that outlook. I did not set any formal parameters. Instead I went with my instinct. I shot what I felt looked interesting, leaving the editor's brain at home. There was no brand, no purpose, no client, no ulterior motive or quest for something ground breaking. It was just a man with a camera and the world around him. This was also exciting because along with the 12-35mm lens, I used a 45mm f2.8 macro lens, to capture the visceral details of my surroundings.
When I would step into the edit, it changed and evolved. Again instinct was my guide as the footage came in. It became an exploration rather than a destination I knew I was heading towards. I used Davinci Resolve to edit and grade both films. Whenever I visit a city, I try to think of a colour palette for it. For me, Green, Grey and Pink seem to define Vancouver. So I worked a very slight tint of green into the shadows, pink in the high-lights and left the mid-tones neutral.
I am a huge Deftones fan and when I used 'Be quiet and Drive' for the first film, I went back to them for the tone of the second with 'Teenager' (the Robert Smith remix).
All in all, I had a lot of fun making these and hope to add more to the series, maybe a Deftones trilogy. As I use the camera more, I feel like we are establishing an artistic bond, like it understands what I hope to achieve and I understand what it is capable of. It's not about having 8K sensors and unlimited dynamic range or instant auto-focus and high speed frame rates. It's about the tools you have and the relationship you cultivate with them in your journey within this craft of film making.
