Check out this (another) extreme cinematography project by director AJ Bleyer. Again, Bleyer was shooting inside an airplane, but this time he chose the RED Raptor and FUJINON Premista wide cine-zoom lens to catch some imagery full of adrenaline.
High-end camera gear for extreme commercial
After endless discussions about Gareth Edwards’s movie, ‘The Creator’, which has been made thanks to minimal cinema camera gear, here’s a case study for a commercial shot on a much more expensive setup. In his latest commercial for Red Bull Racing, DGA Director AJ Bleyer shows F1 fans how easy it is to sign up for the Oracle Red Bull Racing Paddock in the most ‘Red Bull’ way possible. As stated by Bleyer: “Equipped with a RED V-Raptor, FUJINON Premista, and our new eND RF to PL adapter, we team up with Red Bull Racing for a series of back-to-back jumps across California and Washington”. Bleyer used the gear to shoot inside an airplane. This is not the first time though. We covered his previous extreme project shooting inside a plane during freefall in order to get authentic zero-gravity shots. In that project, he utilized a DSMC2 body and a FUJINON cinema zoom. This time, Bleyer decided to go with the Raptor and Premista glass.
The Premista family
The Permista lenses were announced at NAB 2019. This FUJINON brand was developed for high-end cinema applications to be paired with large sensors. The first two lenses were the 28-100mm T2.9 and the 80-250mm T2.9-3.5. Make sure to read our article about Rhinestone Blue which is the first film shot on the Premista lenses (paired Sony VENICE). Then came the third lens in the family, which is 19-45mm T2.9 which deals with the need for a wide zoom cinema lens for full frame cameras. It appears that the Premista lenses were particularly useful during COVID-19, as they were mentioned in the VENICE Remote Operation Cinematography Guide, which recommends using cine-zooms to reduce the act of switching lenses (as opposed to primes). Yeah…now that sounds crazy. Anyway, rarely have we seen a Premista on a DSMC3 body. That’s why Bleyer’s setup is so interesting (Raptor combined with Premista 19-45mm). Note that Bleyer is an ambassador for FUJIFILM and RED Digital Cinema.
Compact setup, but demands two operators
Although the Premista is considered a compact cine-zoom lens when attached to a cinema camera, and with all the needed accessories (FIZ, screen, rig, and so on), it becomes quite heavy. Moreover, it needs two operators. This setup can not be managed by a sole operator. You need a 1AC to handle the FIZ engine. Hence, Bleyer has its 1st AC Rob Royds, who has to work fast, especially with this specific camera setup, and within a constantly changing extreme environment. Luckily, Bleyer didn’t jump from the plane with this camera setup, although he wore a parachute. Here are a few screenshots of the behind-the-scenes:
The final video is not ready yet. However, we’ll add it when it’s done. Let us know your thoughts about this camera setup. Do you think that the RED V-Raptor plus the FUJINON Premista 19-45mm is a solid solution for extreme cinematography?
Product List
Here are the products mentioned in the article, and the links to purchase them from authorized dealers.
- Red Digital Cinema V-RAPTOR 8K VV DSMC3 Camera
- Fujinon Premista 19-45mm T2.9 Large-Format Cine Lens
