SYDNEY, 9 December 2016 – 2015 ACS Best National Student Cinematographer Award winner Jovan Atanackovic recently chose the ARRI ALEXA to shoot his latest movie, a sci-fi epic called Amy Danzig: Terror Zone.
Here Atanackovic explains his choice of camera and how it is helping develop his craft, “Recently I shot Amy Danzig: Terror Zone, a female-driven action sci-fi set in a post-apocalyptic 1980s Sydney using the ARRI ALEXA. With lots of action and lots of special effects not many cameras would have been up for the job, especially considering how light we were on other gear.”
Being relatively new to the ALEXA world Atanackovic found himself impressed on many levels adding, “I now understand why it’s such a popular camera. The image, the dynamic range, the noise floor and just how user friendly it was has made me pine for it on every shoot since.”
The ALEXA certainly made an impression on the upcoming cinematographer particularly on one day of the shoot when the lights went out.
He added, “There was one scene in particular where I was really impressed with the ALEXA. We were meant to be shooting at dusk but due to a last minute location cancellation we spent dusk trying to find another elevated park with views of the city where we could shoot the scene. This meant that it was pitch black when we were due to shoot and the only lighting I had was a 2K which I couldn’t diffuse as it was too windy to put up the silk and a couple of cheap LEDs. With the shoot-off being the pitch black night, or the faint light of the city I was extremely concerned about noise. Also shooting 1080p ProRes without the ability to shoot RAW I was convinced the blacks would be nothing but ugly digital noise. To my complete surprise the final images turned out far better than expected. To get these results was very impressive.”
Atanackovic also recently attended the Camerimage International Film Festival in Poland where he saw the latest and greatest ARRI is offering cinematographers as he concluded, “There were many ARRI highlights at Camerimage including their involvement in the masterclasses that Stephen Windon, Marc Spicer and Joe Martinez, gave on innovation and creativity in the modern action genre. The ARRI party was also a highlight! For most of us upcoming cinematographers it’s mostly budget constraints which limit our use cameras but, based on my experience, I would strongly recommend trimming the fat to see if you can squeeze an ALEXA in whenever possible. I also love shooting with the AMIRA as it is a great camera to work with especially if you’re leaning towards doco or something a bit more guerilla.”
ACS Award Winner Jovan Atanackovic shoots Amy Danzig with ALEXA