Cinevision Blog

Bring on the Games

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Gaming Industry Production growth

We just can’t seem to get away from Gaming. Since producing a film about Gaming for Google and YouTube last year, we’ve already had a bunch of projects directly connected to this ever growing industry. Germany is definitely an international powerhouse in the field of Gaming and the trend towards more production work in this area is really starting to show.

First we did production service on a mini-doc about champion gamer, Fatih “Gob B” Dayik in locations all over Germany including Berlin, Cologne and Frankfurt. He and his team take part in eSport competitions which are held in huge stadiums sometimes with more than 150,000 spectators (bigger than the Superbowl) and streaming to tens of millions of viewers. You can see the finished film below.

Next was a Gaming project as part of an international shoot for game developer Cloud Imperium Games with locations including Paris, and London. We handled the Frankfurt shoot on a profile piece about their ground breaking computer game “Star Citizen”. We shot on two ARRI Alexa Minis and the film was directed by music video legend, Mickey Finnegan. Mickey directed the legendary LMFAO video – Party Rock Anthem which has over one and a half a billion views on YouTube! (thats billion not million). The DOP from the USA absolutely loved our German made GFM (Grip Factory Munich) dolly we supplied him. If GFM ever need an endorsement they should definitely give him a call! The film was destined for Gamescom, the biggest video games trade fair in the world held in Cologne every year since 2009.

This leads nicely to our other gaming project which was actually shooting a reality TV show at Gamescom for the gaming giant, Wargaming and their flagship game, “World of Tanks”. Yes, a reality show about gaming, it was inevitable, right?

 

Herzog

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We’ve got the look

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Camera Equipment – The Cooke Look

Ok, a lot of people think the Arri Alexa is the best video camera in the world. That’s a pretty bold claim to make, but if you look at how much it is used and beloved by many of the world’s top cinematographers it’s not hard to argue the case for it’s claim as the film world’s greatest. The guys over at  www.wolfcrow.com seem to think so, check out their article backing up the claim Arri Alexa Best Camera in the World. And just look at how many of the Oscar nominated films were shot on the Arri Alexa, they really leave the competition in the dust Oscar Award Cameras & Lenses. We use Arri cameras a lot and recently did production service on a shoot where we matched it with some of the nicest lenses available, the wonderful Cooke S4s. Together with the Alexa, the Cooke s4 lenses produce stunning images and you really get to see that optical magic called the “Cooke look”. So what is the Cooke look? Cooke have been in the an industry leader in the film business for over 100 years with their optics being used on innumerable films and the lenses are renowned for their distinctive look. They are very sharp lenses but at the same time users describe them using terms terms like the images, especially faces are rounder and more gentle. Other features that are mentioned are the lense’s fall off and the unique bokeh they produce. If you want to see a lovely tongue in cheek review of Cooke lenses check this out Cooke Primes Funny Review. We had a fantastic shoot getting out in the German sunshine utilising this marvellous match of best camera and (best?) lense combo. The pictures were gorgeous as always when using one of film-makings most beloved dynamic duos.

 

East Meets West

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German style, the Japanese way

When a big sporting celebrity decides to move to Japan what better way to give a heads up to his new home than an East meets West themed commercial? German football hero Lukas Podolski is on the move and he starred in this Cinevision produced spot. Shot on location in Poldi’s home city of Cologne this commercial features our star quite out of character undertaking all sorts of wild and wacky stunts. We provided full service production and crew including a hot shot German DOP to get just the right tone on the project.

Location, location, location!

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1970s location in Germany steals the show

Finding good locations is a crucial part of production services and sourcing a great location can sometimes make or break a project. When Honda came to Germany to shoot the reboot of their iconic Africa Twin motorbike we found them a location second to none. The Parkhotel 1970 www.parkhotel-1970.de a hotel built and decorated in the style of the day in 1970 that is perfectly preserved in all it’s garish glory. If Austin Powers had designed a hotel, this would be it! When you experience this place it really is like stepping out of a time machine. Thorough research and preproduction is paramount especially when production and crew are travelling overseas to so-called unknown territory. Never underestimate the importance of a great location so it’s vital to make sure the location scout or fixer at the other end can provide the goods.

The initial location brief for the shoot required a classic seedy motel in the Frankfurt region. The kind of classic motel you see in countless USA movie and TV productions at one time or another. But there are no motels in Germany (and most of Europe) only hotels. Nothing like what they were asking for in their treatment. So we thought outside the box and gave them a few suggestions and the Parkhotel 1970 stood head and shoulders above them all. Like I said they loved it, and it helps if the client has an open mind. We think they made the right choice and ended up with a very unique location. One that still fitted their storyline and provided the feel and atmosphere the director was looking for. In fact he loved the place so much he even rewrote scenes when he saw the location so it could feature more in the commercial. That’s what I call the perfect location.

2018 Bring It On

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Booming Year Ahead for German Production Service

production services munich

The German film and TV industry is on track to have a great year in 2018 according to this article about the strength of the German market from the IFTA (Independent Film and Television Alliance) Click here. Well bring it on! The start of this year has already been a boomer and we’re ready to take on even more exciting and challenging projects going forward in 2018. It was a stand out year in 2017 for Cinevision we had the good fortune to work with a lot of great people on a wide range of marvellous projects. Work was all over Germany but the usual hot spots like Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich and Germany’s location jewel Berlin were always in demand. We provided top quality production service to clients from all over the globe who came to Germany wanting a trusted partner and solid production support on their shoots. Oh, and we had a bit of fun as well.

New emerging trends we took away from last year included the predictable increase in demand for 4K. More 6K and even 8K shoots will be just around the corner for sure. Shooting and delivering on 4K is now a norm as broadcasters and online providers are able to handle these higher resolution images. It’s exciting times ahead satisfying the growing quality demands and expectations from communication professionals and the public alike. But geek talk and technology aside the thing we love about 4K is that the images we work with really are stunning to look at.

In the area of equipment and facilities there was a big hike in the demand for Drone shooting (interior and exterior). Drones are now more affordable than ever and some are so small and light that you can even take them on as hand luggage. That means occasionally productions want to shoot with their own drones on location here in Germany. But the local laws for drones changed a bit last year making it pretty difficult for international production crews to bring drones into Germany with the intention of using them for commercial filming. Cinevision to the rescue since one of our many wonderful super powers is aerial and drone shooting. That means we always have a good local solution on hand for any international producers wanting premium aerial shots and drone footage when they visit. It’s a win-win for all involved as we fly high into another year.

Shoot in Berlin

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Berlin, Production Paradise

Berlin is the place to be. People ask how can a large capital city be so laid back and relaxed but at the same time offer so many opportunities? In recent times creative types have been flocking to the German capital for this disposition and many other good reasons. Sure, it’s become a fashionable shooting destination but that’s not all, there is also an exceptional local infrastructure to satisfy the at times rigorous needs of international film and television production.

Berlin production is booming. The list of Hollywood heavyweights shot here include The Hunger Games, Captain America Civil War, The Bourne series and The Grand Budapest Hotel just to name a few. We loved how a stylised 80’s cold war  Berlin was all over Charlize Theron’s 2017 action spy thriller, Atomic Blonde. 2018 will also see the release of the latest film in the Cities of Love anthology series titled, “Berlin, I love You” – the name says it all. It’s not just movies either, the multi-award winning TV show Homeland came here for season five and more recently Netflix series Berlin Station and sci fi thriller Counterpart were shot on location in Berlin. To top it off the most expensive German TV show ever produced, Babylon Berlin spent most of it’s €40 million budget in the capital.

First class German crews, equipment, and production services are available which have long been acknowledged as being up there with the world’s best. This is complimented by the legendary Studio Babelsberg with its vast array of stages, backlots, and studios (if you need to take things indoor for a bit of green screen action or suchlike).

It’s not all business, the art and craft are celebrated here every year when the red carpet rolls out for the Berlin International Film Festival or Berlinale, arguably the most important European film and media event after Canne.

And if you are worried about Language barriers in Berlin, don’t. English is heard all through the streets of Berlin and some locals even gripe that it’s becoming difficult to order in restaurants if you can’t speak English. When you come here to shoot it’s usually reccomended to learn a couple of phrases in the local language but be warned you may not get a chance to use them!

Sharp Shooters

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Production Service on Harry’s Razors Commercial

If you’re searching for the most  stylish razors on the market, look no further than online innovators Harry’s. They manufacture their blades at a wonderful old factory in the German countryside. Cinevision gave the Harrys USA production team full service production on their TVC shoot on location in Germany. It was camera kit heaven with Arri Alexa kitted out with beautiful Master Primes and the images produced by DOP Michael Simmonds were knockout.

There was some behind the scenes horror on this shoot but not the kind you may be thinking of. Let me explain. Michael the DOP is a sought-after shooter who in 2017 completed cinematography on Halloween. This is the latest in John Carpenter’s classic horror franchise and stars series original, Jamie Lee Curtis. I’m a huge John Carpenter fan and love the original, it’s a legendary slasher movie and bonafide movie classic. How can you not love Carpenter’s iconic synthie soundtrack which is truly unique and bloody creepy as well. Michael’s Halloween is coming to screens in 2018, so I can’t wait to check it out.

New York filmmaking pair Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman from production company, Supermarché directed the Harry’s spot. They possess a unique creative style and it’s evident all throughout the finished film. On viewing you wouldn’t recognise it but these guys are actually horror movie directors of note responsible for Paranormal Activity 3. A film which on release had the highest grossing horror movie opening in movie history!  Wow, that’s quite a record. (Check out their imdb bio here).  So sprinkled all through the set of this shoot was some serious horror movie pedigree.  The Harry’s commercial was a super fun project for all production crew involved and we reckon the final ad is a real winner. I guarantee you’ll have a giggle watching it.

Pricey But Nice

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Back to France

We love repeat business and when Californian young guns Process Creative asked us for more production service on a shoot in France how could we refuse? The crew headed off to Lalique Crystal situated in a lovely remote village to film a piece starring a $7,500 bottle of Patron tequila. Judging by the finished film it looks like it’s worth every drop!

 

Google It

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It’s Game On with production for YouTube

 

Everyone knows that Google owns YouTube but I bet you didn’t know that Gaming is the second biggest YouTube channel after Music. Big deal right? Well, Google think so and with this in mind they set out to raise awareness about gaming and show the impact it has on society and our lives in general. We stepped up as German producers on the project and took a playful journey around Germany meeting (and filming) the likes of an actual Professor of Games along with a whole bunch of other people including young filmmakers, cutting edge artists, musicians, and of course the famous gamers themselves. It was quite a ride.