Art of Flight

“The Art of FLIGHT” has a completely unique, ultra high definition look in large part because of the state-of-the-art digital cinema and film equipment used in the film’s making. Here’s some of Brain Farm Digital Cinema’s arsenal used in capturing “The Art of FLIGHT.”


Cameras and Camera Systems

Cineflex V14
The Cineflex HD is the leading stabilized gimbal that allows a camera to capture the smoothest shots even in the most rugged conditions. It is lighter and smaller than other known stabilized camera systems making it superior for aerial production or coverage from other land or water specialty vehicles. It relies on an extremely accurate gyro-stabilization system also used by the military and police that provides amazing accuracy, sharpness and stability. The Cineflex system is primarily used on helicopters for aerial cinematography.

Phantom HD Gold
Brain Farm’s Phantom HD Gold high-speed camera system shoots ultra slow motion with 35mm depth of field either at HD or 2K resolutions. It is the ultimate specialty camera for capturing rapidly moving action and slowing it way down to give an innovative new look to any project. The camera can capture at any frame rate from 1 to 1,052 frames per second in increments of one frame per second at full 1080p HD resolution. For the layman, a shot at 1052 fps takes a 4-second piece of action and turns it into a 4-minute clip.  This shows the viewer incredible detail in action that cannot be seen with the naked eye.

Arri 235 35mm film Camera
Travis Rice and the Brain Farm crew love the look of film, especially for filming in the snow. The ARRIFLEX 235 is a small and lightweight camera designed for handheld and remote applications where size and weight are crucial. It is a perfect lightweight 35mm film camera for taking far into the backcountry.

Panasonic Varicam 3700
Two Varicam’s were used throughout the project to capture the stories behind the scenes. Designed to capture feature films, television and commercials, the 3700 is Panasonic's workhorse camera producing uncompromising cinematic image quality with the exceptional reliability and faster workflow. The 3700 has become an indispensable tool for Brain Farm. It’s used on "run and gun" projects delivering the distinct, prized look of film and capturing all the storyline pieces for the TV series based on the making of “The Art of FLIGHT.”

Sony F3
Brain Farm used the newest member of Sony's CineAlta line-up, the PMW-F3. The F3 inherits its DNA from the F35, which has been used for years in high-end digital cinematography. The F3 is equipped with a newly developed Super 35 CMOS image sensor, PL lens mount, and SxS card for 1920 x 1080 full-HD recording. This is the ultimate lightweight digital cinema workhorse.

RED Epic
The RED Epic is the hottest digital cinema to hit the market in the last year. It has an amazing 13 stops of dynamic range and the ability to shoot at 5K. Brain Farm used the Epic while shooting the intro of the film.

Canon 7D
The Canon 7D is a smaller camera that shoots full HD quality. It mounts on cars or inside helis, to capture unusual angles in tight places. The 7D is also used for motion controlled time-lapse sequences.


Specialty Camera Support

Cinema Truck
Brain Farm’s fully customized Ford F350 Crew Cab, rigged for use with the Cineflex V14 camera system, creates an invaluable tool to capturing moving images. The camera operator has full control from the Cineflex control deck and a built-in 17" Panasonic LCD monitor in the passenger-side front seat. The Cinema Truck is especially useful for capturing action on the road, on the racetrack or wildlife from long distances. For “The Art of FLIGHT” the truck was mounted with snowcat like tracks called Mattracks for on-snow shoots in both the Aspen-Snowmass and Revelstoke, BC’s backcountry. Brain Farm mounted a 12-foot Intelli-Jib in the back of the truck to give it that extra amount of movement for unique shots.

Cinema Ranger
The Cinema Ranger is a Polaris Ranger XP Limited AWD that has been customized for the use of the Cineflex HD stabilized camera system. With mounting options on top or on the rear hitch, the Cinema Ranger is another unique extension of the Cineflex camera system for digital cinema production. Mattracks can also be mounted on the Cinema Ranger for use in the snow.

IntelliJib Arm
The IntelliJib Arm is a 12-foot jib arm that Brain Farm hauled miles and miles into the backcountry by snowmobile to make sure that the cameras can get the smoothest shot possible from many different angles. With over 200 lbs of counterweight and a heavy setup, this was a major undertaking.  It has the Varizoom Talon head for wireless motion control. There are stunning shots of Mark Landvik doing a miller flip behind a tree, made possible by the IntelliJib arm and Talon head.