LONDON — Codex’s Onboard S recorders are being used to capture the high-intensity racing sequences, as well as other material, for the upcoming DreamWorks SKG film Need for Speed. Cinematographer Shane Hurlbut (Terminator Salvation, Act of Valor) is using eight of the lightweight recorders to support the more than 35 cameras that are being used to shoot the film.
Directed by Scott Waugh and set for release in March of 2014, Need for Speed stars Aaron Paul, Michael Keaton, Dominic Cooper and Imogen Poots. Hurlbut’s camera package includes four Arri Alexas, 13 Canon C500s, 10 Canon 1D-Cs and 15 GoPro Hero3s.
“Each of these cameras does something spectacular,” he explains. “Arri Alexa is my day/exterior camera. Canon C500 is my day/interior, night/interior, night exterior camera. The smaller cameras give me the ability to embed in some incredibly tight and small places, including in our $2 million super cars. We’re taking advantage of the physical characteristics and sensor attributes of the various cameras to tell the story.”
Codex Onboard S recorders facilitate the use of diverse camera systems through their ability to capture various camera formats, as well as their durability and compact size.
“Codex recorders are my go-to device for the C500, without it you can only capture 1080p,” Hurlbut notes. He adds that Codex recorders are essential to recording high-speed media with the C500, something he is doing frequently in this production. “120fps, 72fps and 48fps are rolling on every stunt event that we have and that is 58 out of the 67-day schedule.”
Hurlbut has developed a method of organizing and working with cameras that allows him to react quickly to any production situation. On Need for Speed, he has cameras pre-configured to rigs and stored in what he calls “the gun rack” so that they can be deployed at a moment’s notice.
“If we want to pull, we have a Porsche rig; if we want to push, we have our own Bandito camera car that can follow cars at up to 150 mph,” he says. “We have a Russian arm car, a slider car and a plethora of smaller rigs. They are all built the whole time so we can switch in the blink of an eye. It allows us to be nimble, even when working with a lot of cameras.”