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Horror fans will devour Area 51 Outbreak. The new movie from genre specialists Dark Abyss Productions imagines an alien species landing on earth to make it their new home and to commit genocide of the human race in the process.
It is one of a slew of low budget features produced by British indie Dark Abyss and its sister production house Jagged Edge that would make past master Roger Corman proud. Titles like Sky Kraken, Rise of the Loch Ness, Cannibal Troll, Exorcist Vengeance, Cyber Bride and Conjuring the Plastic Surgeon have become a firm favourite on the straight to DVD circuit, particularly in North America, and now the producers have decided to up the ante with even higher production values.
“We had really wanted to put an emphasis on the cinematography and to that end we reached out to work with an experienced cinematographer like Vince,” explains Rhys Waterfield, producer at Dark Abyss Productions of his decision to bring DP Vince Knight into the fold.
Knight has worked internationally for a decade on productions spanning commercials to fashion films, music videos to features including the 2019 feature Madness In The Method starring Vinnie Jones, Kevin Smith, Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain.
“No matter how good the cinematographer is, to make our movie look awesome we also needed high quality kit and that’s why Vince put us in touch with VMI,” Waterfield says.
The first film they worked on together was Jurassic Valley and the most recent is Area 51 in which aliens arrive on planet earth through a wormhole in the fabric of spacetime and set about terraforming earth and killing anyone in their path.
Waterfield is also co-writer (with Dark Abyss/Jagged Edge founder Scott Jeffrey), director and VFX supervisor on Area 51.
Knight owns a RED DSMC2 HELIUM 8K and chose this to shoot the film paired with a set of KOWA anamorphics lenses supplied by VMI.
“The main thing I wanted for Area 51 was to keep the package light and compact from small Matt boxes, to shoulder mounts so I can move and shoot quickly,” Knight says.
That’s important because the hectic pace of the film schedules can see entire features shot in less than two weeks.
“When you’ve got to shoot an alien movie in ten days there’s no time to spare especially when a lot of the shots involve CGI and need careful planning. Shooting 6K and above on RED also gives post the room to apply VFX.”
The package from VMI also included a DJI Ronin gimbal, a selection of Aputure lights, matte box, ND filters, wireless focus monitor, Teradek wireless transmitter, plus batteries, grip and a dolly.
“It really makes a difference having a good kit house,” Knight says. “Any issues can be sorted quickly. “I’ve been working with VMI for years and they’ve always been a super big help to all my projects. They don’t just give a great deal but they are friendly, honest and reliable. I always feel like they understand the project and the budget I am working on and will go the extra mile to deliver the best package for me.”
Knight has been fascinated by cameras and filmmaking as a teenager, graduating from film school at Bournemouth University with only one thing on his mind.
“I got my first job as camera assistant and then worked as DP on a series of short films and commercials but I’ve always wanted to be in narrative feature and longform storytelling.”
Waterfield has had more of a crash course in the filmmaking business. Until last year he was working on corporate strategy at a big energy company but says he’d always looked on with envy at what his friend Scott was up to.
“I made the decision to leave the relative security of the corporate world in the middle of the pandemic to join Scott to try and grow the company,” he says. “Of course, it was personally risky. I left the 9-5 of an office job for something that was really foreign to me but about which I am passionate. Myself and Scott are probably working 8-8 every day seven days a week but it’s so rewarding.”
Waterfield has already applied his business acumen to helping change the focus of the productions toward fewer shows of greater quality with higher production values.
“Once a film is complete and it looks amazing we will all have a tangible product that we created and that will live on forever. In my last job I might have created an Excel spreadsheet that eventually winds up in the bin.
“We had some really cool ideas in mind for Area 51 involving some complex set ups including a car chase and sprinting with crowds using the gimbal. At the same time, I also wanted shots which were frantic to achieve a mood of mesmeric suspense.”
Area 51 Outbreak has had such a good response among distributors that the team are now turning their attention to their biggest budget production yet, a sequel of sorts to Area 51 but this time set on another planet and set to be filmed on location in Iceland.
“The feedback about Area 51 is so positive and has gone well beyond our expectations it has given us the confidence to aim for the next level,” Waterfield says. “We can’t wait to get started.”
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