Shooting at Skywalker ranch for Lucasfilm with the 5DmkII and 7D
 

Read all about my adventure here:

The tale of Lucasfilm, Skywalker Ranch, Red Tails, Star Wars and Canon DSLRs | Philip Bloom

the blog details all gear used including lenses.

Another nice job Phil...and thanks for showing these guys what the camera can do. I have been kind of tired of people dogging the camera, say it cant' be true HD, and its got low resolution, blah, blah, blah,,,,,,I am glad to hear the big boys are looking at it and liked it.

What a fantastic opportunity Phil! We are at a pivotal crossroad in cinematography technology and you've had the great fortune to have a front row seat. Excellent imagery as always. I was just discussing this crossroad with a friend today who was lamenting the pros and cons of his 5D. I told him all we need now is to take the best of the EX-1 and the 5D for a price under $10k and watch them fly off the shelves. The Scarlet looks great but I think we could get there for less. Your work here obviously shows we're nearly there now. Good stuff!

Congratulations! Nice work and it must've been totally mind-blowing visiting Skywalker Ranch. I'm so impressed with what an experienced shooter and the 5Dmkii & 7D can do.

It's a little surreal but my only idea (until now) of Skywalker Ranch comes from the movie Fanboys (Fanboys (2008)). hahahaha

Keep up the good work Phil!

WOW!!!!! What a fantastic moment in your life!!! Way to bring the good stuff when it was on the line!! So, to all the people that say the camera is junk or not a real video camera.... Ummmmm the guy who kinda started ALL of this... Thinks it's pretty cool when someone as talented as PB is behind the lens. Now I'm sure he could also do this with a flip cam, but the fact that he did it with a 7D gives me hope for my own lost creative soul....

A wonderful story wonderfully told.

And your video is all the proof anyone should need.

Congratulations.

Sweet.
 

Well done! The video was gorgeous. What an amazing place. You helped me make some gear purchases, too. While I have the IndieSlider, it's big. And heavy. And while longer, for lots of shots that "mini-track" seems to be enough.

Wonderful! My God I'd like to see that on the 40 foot screen.

The 5DII has an incredible advantage in the cockpit; it's a natural for the "Red Tails" shots.

Lovely work as well Phil. And timely as well as this is the kind of thing I hope to be shooting by this time next year on the 7D.

I'd curious if you could comment on what lenses you shot with on this project.

And of course the $64k question. Given the potential for these folks to pull Canon into the fold, any thoughts on what they might like to see? We saw a Panavised F900, and I'm sure they will want to mount some serious glass on the Canons too. Not to mention seeing a little more bit rate for the in-cockpit action. I wonder if they might be able to light a fire...

Beautiful footage - and one heck of a cool experience.

The fog is simply magical. One morning, about three months ago, my wife and I were driving along the Columbia River towards the coast just after sunrise on a clear day. The fog was hanging over the various wetlands, and the morning light made everything sparkle. Add in the rustic buildings and you've got the picture. We've taken that drive a number of times, but only once did we have those conditions. And, of course, my son had the camera a couple hundred miles away. I so wanted my camera, a couple of free hours, and some hip waders!

Anyway, the fog in your piece reminded me of that day. It was awesome that you were able to be there when the conditions were just right. Heck, it was awesome that you were invited to be there at all!

indieslider do a small version too i believe. i have the big one and its too big and heavy. never use it!

The video is beautiful but man oh man, those star timelapses are truly spectacular.

Holy cow, Phil you lucky duck! HA! That's amazing, and of course, who else would they call about the 7D/5D/Ex1?

Awesome film! Super jealous, but awesome film. It is very inspiring as usual and makes me want to go out now and shoot, but alas, I am designing print pieces all day for Lakewood. Maybe tomorrow...

Congratulations! Once again you have inspired and energized everyone who owns or is thinking of owning one of these cameras.

Pat

Thanks so much for sharing this.

It was inspirational. I would be giddy as a child in a toy store, I imagine that is how you felt.

I get my 7D on Tuesday and am considering buying your DVD. Does the special Star Wars offer come off of the $135 price?

How big is the download?

Thanks again for all you do to help others learn these skills.

Shawn

The lenses are listed on the linked page.

yep it's 20% off the price

P

How long is this offer for, Phil?

Also, I caught a glimpse that the post had a 30% off offer earlier, but now it's gone

Common Philip knock it down to $50 and we'll all buy one (right gang....)

Sorry couldn't resist.

Please don't think that I don't appreciate the time and hard work you have put into helping and inspiring all of us. Your opportunity at ILM is well deserved.

Have fun, good luck and keep us all up to date on your incredible adventure.

Congratulations.

I'm blown away by that video on so many different levels, and way down the list is the camera/technology part, which is amazing all by itself... Wow. It may sound odd but that was powerful sir, from a variety of perspectives, and I'm honestly thankful I searched around and happened upon it.

I thought I knew how to shoot a little video, have a decent eye and so forth, but if Mr. Lucas' people happened to contact me by mistake and asked me to shoot the ranch with that camera... After I got up off the floor, I wouldn't have handed them something that looked like that with any camera. Actually I shudder to think what I might have handed them, derailed a fledging technology. :)

I know this isn't the theme of the thread, but I'm inspired to take better pictures and learn more about my tools after watching that video, fantastic work.

Back on the technology side, very cool, and first thing pops in my mind is this the future of shooting video? Looking forward to reading about these things.


Congratulations and thanks for raising the bar.

Phil.


This young guy and some other teenagers are already flying the Canon 5DMk2 at Santa Clara CA and not all that far from Skywalker Ranch as the crow flies. - Talking Australian distances of course.

YouTube - Sam Mason Teaser


Just came home from a pro-bono camera assist on an indie short film "Trigger", underway here being shot on the 7D with double-system sound to a Zoom H4N. Except for a couple of things like pinstriped shirts and wooden latticework on a heritage building, they are rapt with it.

The crew have shot a previous scene for it with the Sony EX1 and Letus Extreme.

sorry that was a typo!

thanks for the really lovely post Jay.

it's about 700mb i think Shawn.

Nice real estate video:D

Great work Phil. People can buy the same kit, but they'll need a bottle of awesome juice to go with their shiny new lenses if they want to do the same level of work.

Phil,
Where can I buy the dvd ( not the download), and do I still get the 20% discount?
Thnks
Bruce Yarock

Is Philip Bloom a danger to your computer?
 

Ok, maybe not the person (a bit of a hyperbole) but I did google "5D Mark II vs 7D for HD" and your website was in the top 3. BUT - underneath your link was a google warning not to click your link because it has maleware.

Has this issue been addressed ?

I attached a picture of it.

Happy New Years All!

Fantastic Phil. ... and Quentin Tarantino popped in - as he does. I do have a question: how did you do the slow zoom during the timelapse? Jon

We have a gallery with a website that displays the same warning. I removed and reinstalled the entire site. Did not get rid of the problem. When I followed the link that Google provides the webmaster of the site, they could not tell me what the problem was, or if I actually had a problem, they just said there might be a problem. The issue for me is that in the next sentence they offered to sell me services that would protect me from this sort of thing. Anyone else see a problem with this or is it just me being paranoid.

If anyone finds out what the resolution for this "warning" is I'd appreciate. We now return you back to the program currently in progress...

Beautiful piece Phil! I love the floor traveling in the beginning. Very nice indeed.
Didn't you find shaky the 70-200 on travelings or pulling focus?
When I try to pull focus it becomes very unsteady.

I've never been so jealous in my life, and i've just decided to buy the 7D, thanks for makeing the decision easier

I can only hopw to one day shoot such great images

Did i mention I was jealous!

James

Fab footage, as usual, Phil, especially the time-lapse evening clip of the house.

Things in life tend to happen for a reason rather than mere coincidence.

It is small but important events like this which sew the seeds for great changes.

I wander what would have happened if the first viewing of your Skywalker Ranch footage taken using the 5D MkII & 7D had not quite 'hit-the-spot' for the viewers on that day! :)