Posted by Joey Nathan on 8th Oct 2019
Upcoming Sony Venice Projects for Autumn
The Sony Venice CineAlta 6K camera is still considered a young model on the market, but it is starting to rack up some impressive credits. You may have seen Downton Abbey’s big screen debut last week, filmed on the Sony Venice for a cinematic experience. However, there are still many more smaller screen projects to come which promise to be equally as impressive. Below we decided to list 4 Films & TV shows we are excited to see shot in Sony Venice 6K format.
Snowfall (FX)
For season 3 of FX series Snowfall, cinematographers Elliot Rocket & Tommy Maddox-Upshaw were very enthusiastic about using Sony Venice. Set in the 1980s during Los Angeles crack cocaine epidemic, the show centres on several characters and how they are impacted by it in different ways. Both cinematographers worked previously on Snowfall with late John Singleton (Boys N The Hood), who co-created the show. Madox-Upshaw and Rocket knew Venice’s dynamic range was essential when filming the main characters, most of African American descent. Speaking about a particular scene, Maddox-Upshaw remarks:
“We have this dark-skinned black man and we use so much natural light,” he says, “and on exteriors, to see Damson’s face hold that type of skin tone so well in the foreground against hard-sun backlighting, without letting the blue sky and cloud details blow out, is a testament to the camera itself. This is a game changer.”
The show has been released in the US on the 10th of July.
Official Secrets
Earlier this year we wrote about DOP Florian Hoffmeister using Sony Venice for principle photography on political thriller Official Secrets. The film, starring Keira Knightly, is being released next week and is the first film shot on Sony Venice in the UK. Movietech (with initial supply from Top-Teks) supported production with a camera and lens package based around the Venice. Hoffmeister reportedly wanted to capture an authentic look when filming and decided Sony Venice’s specs were right for the job. As he said of the camera:
“As a true story, the agenda of Official Secrets was to tell the narrative in the most sensitive and accurate way and the Venice strongly fits with the cinematic, yet natural aesthetic we wished to achieve.”
Film release is the 18th October.
6 Underground (Netflix)
Netflix is no stranger to big budget productions. But their newest project is ambitious even for them. The new film 6 Underground, directed by Michael Bay, costs around 150 million dollars to make! The plot for the film reads “6 billionaires form a vigilante squad after faking their deaths in order to take down notorious criminals.” With 2 main cameras used for production, Sony Venice’s price only makes up half of the camera budget. Yet it is a vital one to the production. Michael Bay chose the camera to utilize its full sensor capabilities. The results of this project will be viewable on Netflix’s streaming site 13th of December.
Giri/Haji
This joined BBC & Netflix venture is set in multiple countries with an international cast. Filmed with the Sony Venice on-location in England and Japan, the story follows a detective from Tokyo coming to London to search for his missing brother. Piers McGrail & David Odd are the cinematographers for Giri/Haji, which states to be to be something never seen on British TV before. Sony Venice has been a favourite of Netflix since its release. Venice’s colour science and full frame sensor will allow production to add unique atmosphere to both cities which we can’t wait to see. The series will be released in the UK 17th October and internationally in 2020.
For more information on the Sony Venice CineAlta 6K package click here