Twin brothers Philip Adrian Booth and Christopher Saint Booth have been making films together since the mid-80s, and are the CEOs of “Spooked Television” for the Sci-Fi Channel. The Booth Brothers got their start after moving from England to Los Angeles, and landed a job working for Playboy. It was there that they gradually learned the craft of filmmaking, and made roughly 59 films for the company. But their true passion is ghost stories. In 2005, they made the horror film Death Tunnel, based on the actual reports of ghost sightings at the Waverly Hills Sanatorium. The brothers chose to shoot the film at the real sanatorium, and made a documentary about its history on the side. It was this documentary, Spooked: The Ghosts of Waverly Hills Sanatorium, which attracted the attention of the Sci-Fi Channel. Since then, they have made a number of films that investigate real life ghost stories, most recently The Possessed, which was released in May 2009.

“I think the story is the most important thing. I’ve been doing seminars in LA on the subject of keeping independent filmmaking alive. Horror films like the Saw franchise do well because of the gore. We’ve assimilated their style in films like Death Tunnel, but the difference is that with Saw, there’s no story. Everyone dies and that’s it. I’ve been living in America for about twenty years. I love America, but everyone here thinks that the great tragedies in history have taken place in Europe or Serbia. America has its own share of tragic tales, and we’ve found success in telling uniquely American stories. We find the actual places where things have occurred, and ghosts have been sighted, and we shoot there. We also make sure that every one of our shows ends with a positive message in which good prevails. In Saw, everyone dies at the end, and all it does is glorify serial killers.” ~ Philip Booth

The Booth Brothers have become big fans of Zacuto equipment. According to Philip and Christopher, “The future of this industry depends on the relationship between the people who use camera equipment and the people who manufacture it. That’s why we admire both Jens Bogehegn and Steve Weiss.”

“Zacuto has the smoothest, most solid-locking knobs out of everything I’ve used and let me tell you, I’ve used a lot of people’s stuff, from Redrock to K-Vision, or any third party spin-off. I’ve been through them all, and I’ve bought cheap, though I wish I didn’t. I’ve wasted my money when I should have bought the better quality product in the first place, but you live and learn. Zacuto offers the smoothest gliding and tightest locking equipment available. It’s so smooth and well-crafted that it feels like it comes from a German supplier. I don’t think people understand the quality of Zacuto. It’s an investment that will benefit you for a really long time. Why would you choose to buy something two hundred dollars less and live the rest of your time regretting it?” ~ Philip Booth.

For more information on Spooked TV and the Booth Brothers, visit www.spookedproductions.blogspot.com

Behind the Scenes Images:

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A New England native, cinematographer David Wexler’s first experiences behind the
camera were with his parent’s Super 8 camera. The journey into film began after he
discovered the journal American Cinematographer and received encouraging words from
a professor who believed David could make a life of this- even when David himself had
doubts. This ultimately led him to California to pursue a Masters degree in
Cinematography from AFI.

“Lighting was my background coming up into the cinematography ranks,” says Wexler.
Hired as a loader and P.A. on the Wes Anderson film Bottle Rocket, David was attracted
to working with D.P. Robert Yeoman (Drugstore Cowboy, Rushmore, The Darjeeling
Express). This experience helped David choose to pursue cinematography by moving up
the ranks in the electrical department. David stresses how important it is to understand
what light does in real life situations. David compares cinematography to being a fly on
the wall observing people, places, and mood. A cinematographer will notice how the
light falls on someone’s face in a coffee shop or the mood it creates.

David is wrapping up production as D.P. on two documentaries. The first being an
untitled nutrition documentary and the other, “The Child Dreams,” an international
documentary shot on location in Los Angeles and Tel-Aviv, Israel. Working along side
D.P. Robert Brinkmann, the two clicked right away. Wexler credits this chemistry to the
language of film. “When you know the language of film it’s easier to communicate by
sign language or mouthing something than with working with people with zero
experience.”

Wexler is excited about the technological advancements in digital cinema. “I think the
industry is going in the direction of smaller digital-SLR-all-in-one-camera to a certain
price point. A high dynamic range and 35 mm depth of field- that’s what everybody
wants.” But with smaller formats also come smaller budgets and producers trying to cut
corners. “Everything’s getting smaller. If you’re going to replace a format make sure it’s
as good or better than the original.” David likes to adapt the smaller cameras to handle
and feel like bigger cameras. “Anytime I go handheld on a smaller camera I always bring
my Zacuto rig with me.”

“The reason why I ultimately picked Zacuto products is because they’re premium and
well made. I’m very particular about my gear. If I’m going to buy gear it’s got to be
true, tried and tested. It needs to work in the field and have a company that stands by it
and Zacuto is certainly that company.” David uses the Zacuto HH Newsman Unit. What
does he like best about the products? The ergonomic feel, smooth moves, how the
camera holds steady. He adds, “The Zacuto products were integral in what I’m looking
to get in terms of quality, and the look and feel of how we approached the two
documentaries. Wexler is not only impressed with Zacuto’s products, but finds their web
program, FilmFellas, a resource other filmmakers should utilize as well. “Zacuto keeps
people abreast on what’s available and new technologies. It’s a worthwhile place for
people to go, a worthwhile venue for people to check out.”

David’s words of advice for anyone just getting into the business involve rolling up
sleeves and taking the hands on approach to learning. “I think being in the business and
working in the business is your film school. Contact people whose work you admire.
People are always willing to give advice. Learn by doing.”

“As a D.P. you want to be as versed in as many shooting formats possible and need to be
informed.” Bottom line? Get your hands on the equipment.

Website: www.DavidMWexler.com

Email: fortvincimus@mac.com

David Wexler: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0923296/

For more information on “The Child Dreams” visit: www.helnweinmovie.com

Behind The Scenes Images:

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Every film production is an education for the people involved. What makes the new feature film Trailerpark so special is the fact that it’s being made by students at Ohio University, as part of an advanced narrative production class. Their teacher, Frederick Lewis, obtained the shooting rights for Russell Banks’ acclaimed 1981 short story collection of the same name. The film has been in production since the winter quarter of last year, and is due to have a premiere screening for the university on June 7, before playing at the Lake Placid Film Festival in New York.

“It’s a very exciting opportunity to be a student working in a professional environment and getting to see how a set is run,” said director of photography Andrew Poland.

The project presented various daunting challenges, with intersecting plot-lines balancing thirteen lead roles, and requiring key scenes to be shot on a frozen lake and around a burning trailer. The students built their own trailer park ten miles from the university, and got access to nine mobile home trailers. Poland and his peers developed a specific shooting style within each of the characters’ trailers, and enjoyed the opportunity to experiment with various film techniques. Yet Poland knew early on that acquiring the necessary gear to shoot the project would be a nightmare.

“I knew that with the gear our school had, it would be incredibly difficult borrowing the needed equipment from friends,” Poland said. “I’m a college student, so I have to make difficult decisions everyday paying for lunch or dinner. And when I got in contact with Steve [Weiss], he was gracious enough to lease us a full Zacuto (DOF documentary) package for the duration of our production, and it’s been absolutely amazing. The versatility of the equipment has proven to be wonderful in time pinches. If we’re moving from trailer to trailer, [we can] change the size of the rig based on the size of the space that we’re working in. We can take half the rig off and it’s still just as effective as the full rig.”

For more information on Trailerpark, including links to behind the scenes footage, visit http://www.trailerparkmovie.com/

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As a DP, I shoot a wide variety of projects, and with all the choices of format available today, I end up shooting with many different camera systems. It can make good business sense to invest in some of this gear, but versatility is extremely important, which is what led me to choose the Canon XL H1 as my newest addition to the package.

I love the ability to record uncompressed to an outboard hard drive system, or use it as a small self contained system to record HDV directly to the tape, (which is why we selected it for a recent underwater documentary). Stripped down, it made for a very manageable system in the underwater housing, and for topside photography, it had the versatility to also serve as a full production camera. The Zacuto Universal Support System really helped in this regard, with a great interface to the myriad of accessories I already own, such as Chrosziel matte boxes, follow focus systems, and Anton Bauer batteries. Even lovers of the Canon XL line will admit that they are difficult to hand hold for very long; (the only downside of the very high quality lens is that it makes the camera front heavy).

The Zacuto system solves this problem by allowing the Anton Bauer to be mounted to the support system, resting over the operator's shoulder; (it not only solves the balance issue, an Anton Bauer will usually run an H1 camera all day long). The Zacuto system also offers integrated mounts for various devices like remote drives, (such as the Firestore), a radio receiver, or just about any other studio configuration you care to add. Check out their ZipGear follow focus system as a perfect example of simple but elegant engineering. Versatility is important to a DP, and can be even more important as an equipment owner; this makes the Canon XL H1 with Zacuto accessories pretty hard to beat.

James Mathers, a Los Angeles based DP
President of the Digital Cinema Society
Digital Cinema Society

 

It was a great shoot – I only risked death 4 times by putting the camera as close as possible to the various blades throughout the factory. If I don't risk death at least twice on a shoot I am not happy. The opening shot was Galen's idea – shooting straight up at the cool ceiling. Or was it my idea? In the end and what I love about cinema is that it is completely collaborative."

"I am very happy with how the piece turned out and proud of Ed's work in particular. This was my first time using this camera, and the combination of the 35mm lenses and the low-light sensitivity really allowed us to capture the environment of the factory in a way that showed off the unique details and textures, and made for very appealing and naturalistic images. I hope others enjoy reading about our experiences with the gear"
Galen Summer, Director, Summertime Productions
website: summertimeproductions.com
email: galen.summer@gmail.com

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Zacuto is very proud to be associated with the Novart Media Films, feature film "Next to Babilonia".

"I'm Sebastian Mantilla and back in 2006, Novart Media Films from Barcelona, company for which I work for as director, aquired Zacuto productos for a production in Morocco. Well we made it through the most difficult conditions: dusty wind, heavy rain, and very high temperature, thanks to Zacuto gear! I was resposible for cinematography and Zacuto supported my Canon XL-H1 through the desert!

We shot the feature film "Next to Babilonia" which has been around in festivals, and therefore I wanted to share some good news, the film has won Best First Feature at Madrid International Film Festival- FILMA MADRID 2008 and soon is going to be considered for theatrical distribution! The prize was given out by famous DOP Vilmos Zsigmond."
 

Sebastian Mantilla
Novart Media Films, S.L.
c/Cartagena 230 5º 2ª
08013-Barcelona

website: www.novartmedia.com
website: www.nexttobabilonia.com
email: info@novartmedia.com

Zacuto is very proud to be associated with Life is a Dream Productions, feature film "Gray in White and Black". The cinematography is of the best we've seen go through Zacuto. Incredible attention to lighting, camera movement and screen direction. Congratulations to Michael Toth, Chris Gentry & Sasha Rendulic as well as their entire crew. A great group to work with.

“Our feature film GRAY IN WHITE AND BLACK is constructed as three separate yet connected stories, each offering different cinematic elements and styles. We collaborated with Steve Weiss and his great team at Zacuto Films on the first part of our film (Cast In Gray) in 2004, choosing the Panasonic AJ-HDC27 Varicam cinema package, which proved versatile in achieving a film look with overall image quality and colors in dominantly tertiary spectrum, sometimes more in a gray tonality, with black and white accents in lighting, production and costume design.

We sat down with Steve again in Summer 2007 as we prepped for shooting the second story of our film (More Like Black). At that time, the director and I were developing more choreography, with camera movement and angles driven by the dramaturgy of the story and character development, yet still continuing the overall image quality and color tonality.

Our budget was limited and we were prepping for a two-camera shoot on this one. Steve recommended the new Panasonic AG-HPX500. Zacuto’s package included superior optics with Canon HD cine zoom lenses, plus prime lenses, and Zacuto’s famous support systems. This package, with camera setups for film look, and some effects filtration to soften the video edges, gave us satisfactory results on our Panasonic 17” HD monitor as our image reference. The four on-board 16GB P2 cards (40 mins. of uninterrupted recording in 720/24p mode) gave us 160 mins. of filming capability. The cards were immediately downloaded and first rough cuts were done on location for dailies and other needs. During prep and testing, I discovered that the camera’s relative sensitivity put it at an 800ASA rating which helped in night exterior scenes including available lighting and adding minimum film lighting to preserve the atmosphere and style of the scenes."
Sasha Rendulic, "GRAY IN WHITE AND BLACK"
Cinematographer based in LA
website: www.sasha-rendulic.com

"The next and final shoot for our film is in the works and we are confident the pros at Zacuto will see to our needs in what is of utmost importance for me… image quality delivered in tandem with the cinematic goals of our entire team."
Christopher Gentry, Producer – "GRAY IN WHITE AND BLACK"
LIFE IS A DREAM PRODUCTIONS INC.
phone: 773.517.4118
email: cgentry@lifeisadreamprod.com
website: www.graywhiteblackfilm.com

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 Zacuto supplied support gear including a prototype ZipGear, Zacuto baseplate, Zacuto DoubleMount, and more.  A fairly low budget project (estimated in the mid 6 figures), Zacuto sold support equipment, prototyped lens gears and even lent a follow focus to the production to help with critical focus achieved by using a RedRock M2 DOF adapter.

“Everyone serious about shooting a small format camera must own a Zacuto Baseplate. The solid workmanship and attention to detail and quality made my transition from the Film world that much easier.”
Andrew Kuepper, DP Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour.

“One of the first feature projects shot with a Panasonic HVX200 P2 camera, Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour is beautifully lit and an excellent example of what a great DP can do with a great camera”. “Andy and I spent many hours in 2005 discussing un-invented products and how he would use them to achieve shots in this movie.” “From these talks, several new Zacuto products emerged, most notably the Zacuto ZipGear.”

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Steve Weiss, Zacuto Co-Designer"At two weeks into the production, Andy called me begging for some kind of lens gear (none existed at the time), we shipped him the prototype gear but at the time we had no fasteners, so Andy melted the ends of the gear together to make it work…That was the first ZipGear, which is now a universal .8 pitch gear that can gear any lens for use with a follow focus."
Jens Bogehegn, Zacuto Co-Designer

“The Zacuto Baseplate provided an extremely flexible support system, adapting to a number of novel situations we found ourselves in, especially with its innovative use of the rails behind the camera… If you squint your eyes, you would swear you were shooting on an SR3.”
Andrew Kuepper, DP Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour.

Zacuto congratulates Andy for showing us what we’ve always known; that it’s really more about the DP’s talent, mixed with great gear, that makes for great images.

Andrew R. Kuepper, DP
email: andy@filmandtv.biz