"The New" -- An Island Adventure in Dominica -- FS700+7Q at DVinfo.net

Josh Becker · May 22nd, 2014, 08:45 AM

So a few months back I had the opportunity to travel to an island in the Caribbean with Trent Hilborn, a friend and director. We were told to simply do one thing--to capture and tell whatever story we wanted.

We hiked miles of mountains to a boiling lake, we floated through a gorge on a kayak, sought out wildlife, and became friends with many amazing people on the island. It was the experience of a lifetime.

From the technical side of things, I was happy that Convergent Design released the 4K/ProRes update for the 7Q a mere three days before we took off.

Equipped with the FS700+7Q, GH3, and a few GoPro Hero3's, we created this:

Dominica - "The New"

Most of the "grand vistas" are 4K, obviously the major slomo is 2K 240, and there are some 4KtoHD shots in there. There are two GH3 shots, and a couple GoPro shots (underwater, of course).

Honestly, after working with the 4KtoHD footage, I think prefer it over the RAW. It's so sharp, grades so well, and just looks incredible overall. 2K RAW has great range and the high FPS is great, but from a quality standpoint you sacrifice the alias/moire-free image that you get from the 4K and 4KtoHD. The shot of the smashed bus in the beginning has some bad aliasing in it, as a result of the line-skipping on the FS700.

Here are some behind the scenes pics... I felt very Luke Skywalker with the camera strapped on like this. But I'll be damned if I was carrying that thing out in front/side of me. Roughly 50 lbs of gear on my for the hike. I am not an intelligent man.

The director surveying the scene after hiking 8 miles one-way out to the boiling lake:

The gear. Certainly the first time the boiling lake had ever been captured in 4K.

Me with the camera, our hiking guide holding the 7Q in the foreground. I somehow found it necessary to bring, and use, all of my lenses on the hike.

Hopping into the kayak to float through the gorge. In the video, the shots of the front flip off the waterfall, the swimmers (above water) followed by the shafts of light/mist were all shot in 4K 24 w/ Nikon speedbooster on Rokinon 35mm T1.5. The gorge is incredibly dark with bright shafts of light coming into it. I was pretty amazed with what we were able to capture in there.

Let me know what you guys think of our finished piece. If you feel so inclined, keep an eye on my website/blog, where I'll definitely be posting more work and gear talk in the future.

Thanks for taking the time to check this out!

May 22nd, 2014, 08:45 AM	#1
Josh Becker New Boot Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 23	"The New" -- An Island Adventure in Dominica -- FS700+7Q So a few months back I had the opportunity to travel to an island in the Caribbean with Trent Hilborn, a friend and director. We were told to simply do one thing--to capture and tell whatever story we wanted. We hiked miles of mountains to a boiling lake, we floated through a gorge on a kayak, sought out wildlife, and became friends with many amazing people on the island. It was the experience of a lifetime. From the technical side of things, I was happy that Convergent Design released the 4K/ProRes update for the 7Q a mere three days before we took off. Equipped with the FS700+7Q, GH3, and a few GoPro Hero3's, we created this: Dominica - The New on Vimeo Dominica - "The New" Most of the "grand vistas" are 4K, obviously the major slomo is 2K 240, and there are some 4KtoHD shots in there. There are two GH3 shots, and a couple GoPro shots (underwater, of course). Honestly, after working with the 4KtoHD footage, I think prefer it over the RAW. It's so sharp, grades so well, and just looks incredible overall. 2K RAW has great range and the high FPS is great, but from a quality standpoint you sacrifice the alias/moire-free image that you get from the 4K and 4KtoHD. The shot of the smashed bus in the beginning has some bad aliasing in it, as a result of the line-skipping on the FS700. Here are some behind the scenes pics... I felt very Luke Skywalker with the camera strapped on like this. But I'll be damned if I was carrying that thing out in front/side of me. Roughly 50 lbs of gear on my for the hike. I am not an intelligent man. The director surveying the scene after hiking 8 miles one-way out to the boiling lake: The gear. Certainly the first time the boiling lake had ever been captured in 4K. Me with the camera, our hiking guide holding the 7Q in the foreground. I somehow found it necessary to bring, and use, all of my lenses on the hike. Hopping into the kayak to float through the gorge. In the video, the shots of the front flip off the waterfall, the swimmers (above water) followed by the shafts of light/mist were all shot in 4K 24 w/ Nikon speedbooster on Rokinon 35mm T1.5. The gorge is incredibly dark with bright shafts of light coming into it. I was pretty amazed with what we were able to capture in there. Let me know what you guys think of our finished piece. If you feel so inclined, keep an eye on my website/blog, where I'll definitely be posting more work and gear talk in the future. Thanks for taking the time to check this out!