High Voltage results with camcorders

Crank: High Voltage, the highly anticipated sequel to Mark Neveldine’s popular Crank (2006), is notable for the filmmakers’ experimentation with new recording methods and technology of the kind seldom seen before in Hollywood.

Co-directors Neveldine and Brian Taylor aimed to energise cinema-goers and succeeded emphatically. Shot almost entirely on a combination of Canon’s consumer and professional high definition camcorders, the filmmakers were able to create the fast-paced, aggressive and ‘amped-up’ visual style of the movie.

Neveldine and Taylor opted for the lightweight portability and excellent HD image quality of Canon’s XH A1 3-CCD camcorder and the consumer-level Canon Legria HF10 Dual Flash Memory camcorder.

“We always felt that we needed cameras that were even more versatile and smaller than what we used on Crank,” Neveldine said. “Because we shoot on roller blades, hang out of helicopters, and do lots of other crazy things, we needed cameras that are incredibly powerful but also really small and fun.”

“We keep the camera moving all the time, and on this film we moved it in ways it has never been moved before,” Taylor explained.

While digital cinematography is common in Hollywood thanks to the 24-frame capabilities of modern HD technology, the filmmakers of Crank: High Voltage had to make sure these cameras could deliver footage of sufficient image quality for transfer to 35mm film, which is necessary for theatrical exhibition.

“Knowing the size and mobility of the cameras we wanted, it was really just a question of which one gave us the images that we liked,” Taylor noted. “We did film out tests with several different brands of cameras and discovered that Canon’s new generation of small, lightweight camcorders provide the image quality we needed.

“Their images look just incredible when transferred to film. Ninety-eight percent of the movie was shot with Canon XH A1 and HF10 HD camcorders. They enabled us to move fast and save time. We feel like camera technology has finally caught up with what we do.”

Beyond traditional film-making

When filming Crank: High Voltage, director of photography Brandon Trost wanted to move away from the typical cinematic style seen in action movies. To achieve the distinctive visual flavour of Crank: High Voltage, Trost used Canon’s consumer and professional HD camcorders almost exclusively to create the surreal visual quality of the film.

“As DoP, I had as many as 25 cameras to govern on this film,” Trost explained. “We had three camera operators shooting, as well as Mark and Brian and myself. We never had a shot list. Instead it was ‘anything goes.’ Mark, and Brian, and I collaborated on seeing how many cool shots we could come up with in the heat of the moment, and that’s how we made the movie.”

Using at least 15 Canon consumer camcorders (the HF10) and five Canon professional camcorders (the XH A1), the production team was able to capture more footage in less time, in less takes, and at lowered production cost than if they were using traditional filming methods. A total of 270 hours of footage was captured over the 30-day shoot, which if shot using traditional methods, would have taken several months to shoot.

Shooting on the run

In order to create a dynamic feel to the scenes, the production team kept camcorders constantly on the move while recording. With the ambition to push videographic boundaries, the directors wanted many of the shots to be captured with the cameraman in full motion (e.g., filming a chase scene on rollerblades, hanging off a helicopter or jumping off the side of a building).

The solution was to introduce the use of smaller, but nonetheless powerful consumer camcorders to shoot these scenes – previously unheard of in the making of a big screen action movie. It also opened a whole new free-style of filming that was as liberating as it was enjoyable.

The Canon consumer HF10s were used almost everywhere –

mounted on remote control cars, hand-held while skating, or perched in awkward vantage points – to capture dynamic scenes that made up the overall look and feel of the movie. During the editing process, the team were impressed by how the footage of the consumer HF10 camcorder stacked up against the professional camcorders.

Though the film was shot primarily on professional XH A1, the small consumer HF10s provided the production team with a wider range of videography, allowing them to build their story with a freedom that has never seen before on the big screen.

Unleashing the power behind Crank: High Voltage For a theatre-scale display, the filmmakers of Crank: High Voltage needed to ensure that the camcorders could produce footage that was of high enough quality to be transferred to 35mm film. With the inherent capabilities of Canon’s HD technology, the consumer HF10 and professional XH A1 were ideal for use on the big screen. The XH A1 features a genuine Canon 20x HD video zoom lens and three 1/3-inch native 16:9 megapixels CCDs (1440 x 1080) for outstanding picture quality, highly accurate colour reproduction, and wide dynamic range with virtually no colour noise. The camcorder also features Total Image Control for customising image and colour settings. The HF10 dual Flash Memory consumer HD camcorder includes a genuine Canon 12x HD video zoom lens and a 3.3 megapixel Full HD CMOS sensor (1920 x 1080) for superb resolution and accurate colour. It also features a Program AE mode, which automatically adjusts its settings depending on different exposure situations. Both these Canon HD camcorders feature Canon’s proprietary DIGIC DV II HD advanced image processor to ensure optimum detail and clarity. “This collaboration between Canon and Lionsgate Films is testament to the superior image quality of Canon’s high-definition consumer camcorders,“ said Andrew Koh, director and general manager of Consumer Imaging and Information Division, Canon Singapore. “Crank: High Voltage not only shows that the quality of our consumer HD camcorders is good enough for the big screen, it also proves that with a little bit of preparation – and a lot of creativity – Canon’s camcorder users can create action-packed blockbusters of their very own,” Koh added.