by FilmInk Staff
Found footage thriller captured with URSA Mini Pro 12K and Pocket Cinema Camera 6K.
When shooting the found footage psychological thriller CAIMAN, Director and DP Joseph Davis Castleberry had to find cameras that not only could deliver cinematic images while standing up to extreme shooting conditions but also play an active role in the film themselves. For this, he turned to Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K digital film cameras, relying on them for their high resolution images, fast sensor readout speeds and versatility. Shooting in Vieques, Puerto Rico with a small team and limited gear presented unique challenges, and the cameras delivered both the look and mobility needed to pull it off.
Finding the Right Camera for Found Footage
CAIMAN follows a grieving widower who returns to Vieques island to hunt the creature he believes killed his fiancée. Castleberry, who owns Chicago based production house Lumin8 Productions, found the feature film to be one that pushed his creative limits and presented certain production challenges, which intrigued him.
“Once I read the script by Charles Borg, I was hooked. Since it was a found footage film, I ended up wearing several hats: director, DP, camera operator, AC and even appearing on screen at times,” Castleberry explained.
He continued, “During preproduction, one of the first major decisions was how to shoot the film. Since the camera would be ‘in character,’ choosing the right gear became critical. Every technical decision had to serve both story and realism, and we had long technical and creative conversations around lenses, lighting, and camera choice. We also had to factor in the reality of shooting in a distant location like Puerto Rico, which was hot and humid, with a small crew and limited resources.”
Found footage was a new territory for Castleberry, so he committed to studying the genre closely during preproduction. “Over two months, I watched more than 50 found footage films and dug into fan reviews online to understand what viewers connected with and what they didn’t. That research helped me come up with story suggestions and ultimately shaped the film’s look, along with the equipment needed to achieve it, making the case for a high performance camera, like the ones offered by Blackmagic Design. We needed something that would give us a cinematic handheld look, handle tough conditions, and keep us mobile.”
Castleberry ultimately chose the URSA Mini Pro 12K as the A camera, while also opting to use a Pocket Cinema Camera 6K for select scenes.
“For the fast paced shooting and tough conditions with the humidity and heat, I initially chose the URSA Mini Pro 12K. Its fast sensor readout, efficient cooling, and RGBW sensor allowed me to shoot in full sensor 4K with the lowest compression settings. This provided incredible quality for post production while maintaining relaxed data usage. Across the 20 day shoot, we used only about 14TB of data,” he said.
“I also needed a second camera for near no light and for more aggressive scenes where the camera would take a few hits. That’s where the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K came in. I’d previously used the camera, pushing it to its limits in a variety of settings, like rain, high heat, and below zero snow, and it never quit. It made perfect sense for this project, which involved throwing the camera into the sand from several feet,” he added. “Now to be clear, I’m not recommending you put your Pocket Cinema Camera 6K through the wringer, but mine has handled some wild conditions that I wouldn’t expect most gear to survive, and it held up flawlessly.”
“The next big decision was the look of the film. After watching dozens of found footage movies, I noticed most were shot on spherical lenses. But I imagined Joseph, the character behind the camera, as one of those DPs who gets caught up with trending gear,” Castleberry explained. “I figured he’d probably pick up a budget friendly set of anamorphic lenses, thinking it would give his work that ‘cinematic’ edge, so I committed: we were going anamorphic. It was a challenge, especially when shooting in tight spaces like cars and charter planes, but it was worth it.”
Balancing Low Light and High Action
Castleberry noted that certain scenes were particularly challenging due to lighting conditions.
“There were a few moments on set where I quietly celebrated behind the camera,” he detailed. “One in particular stands out: an intimate two person scene at a table in a dark room lit only by candlelight and a single 60 watt kicker tucked deep in a corner, dialed to five percent just to add the slightest bit of fill. I pushed the URSA’s ISO all the way to 3200, but thanks to the sensor design, the low compression settings, and a diffusion filter, the footage turned out beautifully. It had a tight, textured grain and a smooth, cinematic glow that felt right for the scene.”
According to Castleberry, the URSA Mini Pro 12K also shined during another scene on a pier that was hot, humid and bright. “Our two lead actors walk along a pier, moving through patches of sun and shade with the ocean and clear sky behind them,” he explained. “This is where the URSA Mini Pro 12K really proved its worth. Its strong highlight retention handled the shifting light with ease, and the cooling system kept it running smoothly, something that could have been a disaster with the wrong camera, but it was an easy to tackle moment for the URSA. As a director and DP, I’m always bracing for what’s going to go wrong, but in this case, the camera left me with nothing to worry about.”
The film’s climactic ending was when the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K was truly tested. Castleberry detailed: “Our final scene was shot well after sundown on a beach, with nearly no stage prep at all; very guerrilla style. I configured the Pocket in a lightweight, easy to move shoulder rig to handle the fast paced action. The scene had several challenges: it started inside a car racing down a gravel road, then shifted to me jumping out onto a pitch black beach. There were long, continuous takes running through the sand with very limited light, only using a small 60 watt cube light mounted on the camera with a grip gear to create a focused spotlight effect. To top it off, I knew the camera was going to be deliberately dropped onto the ground and even thrown into the ocean. Needless to say, I put this camera through the wringer, but it got us the footage we needed.”
About Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, colour correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci colour correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com/au
