New mini doc on RED Epic and Phantom Flex: The Redneck Hippy

Don’t forget you can win incredible prizes like Adobe CS5.5, Kessler Shuttle Pod, Zacuto EVF by donating £10 or more to fund Prostate cancer research in my HUGE MOVEMBER giveaway. Click here for more!!

 

Yesterday I had the chance, thanks to Mike Sutton and Rule Boston, to shoot with the rather incredible (and incredibly expensive Phantom Flex) the day before Masters in Motion started.

I knew I had a few hours with the camera and wanted to film something that wasn’t just a thigh rubbing exercise in extreme slow motion! I wanted to use it in a storytelling capacity. So what could I shoot that looked cool in slow motion…much had already been done before, including what I ended up doing…it’s difficult to find something new to shoot in extreme slow motion. I chose firearms…why? Am I a gun nut? Nope…I hate them. I have seen the devastating effect of them close up many times in my war zone past in News, and a number of friends have died from being shot… But I still wanted to do a short film on someone who loved guns, whose life was guns. I don’t know this life. I don’t “get” guns. I am curious about people who use them though! What is it they like about them so much? I wanted to understand a little clearer the fascination with them…

I did a twitter call/ facebook call to find a subject whilst I was in Austin, Texas. I had a few leads but the best one was from my friend, and fellow Masters in Motion presenter Joe Simon. He knew an “old BMX dude” who shoots a lot of guns and would be up for it! Perfect!

So we took off Sunday noon 60 odd miles away from Austin to meet Jeff Pierce, who likes to simply go by Pierce, at his ranch in the middle of nowhere. After a little tour of the place I sat Pierce down and filmed a 40 minute interview with him using the RED Epic. There were issues with the sound. First off version 5+6 of Red Cine Pro X had an audio playback issue which freaked the hell out of me. Then when I went back to V4 (they just released 7 after I alerted them to this bug) I noticed a bloody buzz on the audio. I couldn’t hear this in the headphones. So I will go back to this and clean it up.

The slow motion shots were shot with the EPIC at 300FPS and the extreme stuff on the Phantom. In 1080p we shot up to 2564FPS…in 720p for one shot that was doubled! Insane. The camera itself is a heavy bugger, especially with that Optimo zoom on it! But the operation was pretty simple. Record for about 2 seconds, getting the ACTION and hitting the trigger at right time was essential. That 2 second (max at that frame rate) recording was saved in the RAM, we trimmed it and saved it to the Cinema. 2 seconds recording at 2564 will create about 107 seconds of footage. Nuts!

The Flex is a pretty special camera. That slow motion is ludicrously good. But my god is it expensive..and heavy! But nice and easy to operate unlike previous Phantoms I am told, and it was even easier having Mike Sutton from Rule Boston on hand. My Phantom cherry was popped!

For the EPIC, I shot just with Canon Glass…that EF adaptor for the camera is SO good! Power for the EPIC was RED Volts. My god they get eaten up fast! 20 minutes per battery…ouch…I have 12 of them now! I also used the Heliopan Vari ND to keep the shutter speed to 180 degrees. Lenses were the Canon 85mmF1.2, 16-35 L, 50mm F1.2 and 70-200 F2.8 IS.

Colour grading I used Magic Bullet Colorista II and Magic Bullet Looks 2. You can can get 20% off with the code BLOOM20 at checkout for any Magic Bullet product at www.redgiantsoftware.com

Pierce was an absolute godsend. He was the perfect subject for this. Even though he said he hadn’t spoken this much in weeks! A great character and big thanks to Joe Simon for hooking me up.

Was either the Flex or the EPIC necessary? No. I could easily have shot this on a DSLR, as the best thing was not the crazy slow motion (which does look amazing!) it was Pierce. The slow motion was a device used to enhance the story not overwhelm it, and for me this was key.

Music is by Drew Barefoot from withetiquette.com

I will add to this blog later on as usual! I need to sleep!

The Redneck Hippy from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

The Optimo and the FLEX
Shooting Pierce

I did try my hand with this gun...my video gaming came in handy as I hit every target!

129 comments

      1. philips articles are often changed later, because he includes answers. so iam sure that this wasn´t up there, when patrick asked (i belive, that phlip hates that question and trys to come around it, as long as he can ;))

  1. Hi Phil, fantastic piece and glad to hear that Michael kept a slot open for you to use the Flex! Just one question, why did you decide to shoot at 360 degrees instead of 180? Real glad that you managed to shoot with the Flex!!

  2. Brilliant video, he’s a great subject. I love watching interviews like this where you have an interesting person talking about something they have a passion for, you get drawn in even if you don’t have a interest in the subject yourself. I think that’s the skill of a great documentary filmmaker, to make an interesting film out of a subject that many viewers probably wouldn’t have any personal interest in or may even be strongly against. The slow-mo’s pretty impressive too!

  3. Its disturbing seeing media which promotes guns and the attitudes of people who use them.

    Been a fan of your site and products for a couple of years now but will have to give your site and your products a miss as I don’t support this kind of stuff.

    1. jeez David. Did you even READ the blog before making this comment? I am sorry to be so blunt but after 3 hours sleep and reading this it it ridiculous. This is someone’s lifestyle, I said IN the blog, i don’t get or like guns but I wanted to take a glimpse into someone’s life where guns are a part of it. If you can’t see this then you are incredible tunnel visioned and only want to see things in life that make you comfortable. Challenge yourself and see how other people live! I do…why can’t you!??! You don’t have to agree. It’s viewing and listening to someone else’s opinion. Your knee jerk comment is astonishing. Closed minds like yours make for an unhealthy existence.

      Am I a convert to guns after shooting this and watching this? NO! I Do I have a desire to go out and shoot someone with a gun after watching this…NO! If I did then I would have to be a pretty screwed up individual to be begin with.

      I still think they are a bad thing but I understand a little better people who use them and why. This is a glimpse into another person’s life. As a documentary filmmaker I document…I don’t pass judgement in the film. I leave that for the viewer to decide…

      If you find after watching it you hate guns still then great! That’s your decision but at least you have listened to what someone else has to say! Am not forcing you to like guns, am not promoting them. I am, as said, documenting someone else’s view.

      Thanks

      P

      1. david is a little over the top here, especially when i saw the short after reading his comment. but after reading and before watching, i thought there is a point to it. most viewers won´t read the blog and everything they get is, what is shown in the short… but then i saw it and it´s not promoting anything… if it would be about a fucked up alcoholic talking about the taste of a cold beer, i wouldn´t think of going to the fridge – you know what i mean?

        guns are invented to kill, but it´s not what makes them interesting to people. it´s more the same like magic power in the real world. it´s kind of supernatural and we want to be supernatural all the time – when we have fun – when we do our work – when we hit on a chick – it´s that little harry potter in us 🙂 and some people choose guns for that. the problem is, that guns can be used for there natural purpose and that can easily happen, if they lie around everywhere and any time (so it´s not always people kill people – guns in moods do to).

        but i think david´s comment is also about, that we are surrounded by guns all the time, even if it´s not a part of our real life. it´s hard to find a movie without it and that illustrates a massive lack on creativity (or blame the producers and audience for it). even i choose often to watch a actionmovie, because you know what you gonne get, instead of opening your mind after a hard day´s work.

        as a writer, i try to avoid anything, that contains guns or murder and it´s quite tuff to make a movie without it (i couldn´t resist here and there). thats because we are so used to it and are influenced heavily by the theme, even if it´s not a part of our real life… and it´s insanly easy to walk a way, that has been walked on so much – you don´t need to know anything about life. it´s almost the opposit to creativity and that makes it so omnipresent.

      2. LoL! I couldn’t believe that?! Anyway, My brother in-law, boss, father in-law all collect guns and just have a liking to them. I hate guns and think there is a problem with gun control. Is this documentary offensive? Hell-to-the-no! it’s a look at someone’s life… there are people like this all around you, there is nothing you can do about it and voting isn’t going to change it either. It was a documentary for christ sake!!! And to say you are going to give his products and site a miss just because he did a GOOD documentary in my opinion is just bonkers. Documentaries are just that: a glimpse into other things, other lives, other worlds, and other points of view.
        Nice reply by the way Philip.

      3. I agree Phillip. Outside of the fine demonstration in quality of the gear the content is interesting. I like this guy. I was compelled to watch the entire piece. People are afraid of things they don’t understand. I Love guns! Grew up with them and have a huge appreciation for the craftsmanship and design of most. Canon lenses look great. The slow-mo of the action was a nice touch.

        Cheers
        D

      4. I absolutely dig your outlook on life! The world is too big to live with such a small mind! We don’t have to agree with people but we should respect that they have an opinion just like the one we may disagree with them on. Your work is inspiring on levels far deeper than running a camera.

      5. The world would run a bit smoother if people could just take the time to understand where exactly this stuff comes from …I am a redneck hippie but you wouldn’t know it from my propensity for big ass words and white collars….

        Hey Phil –just great –just great–this is fine story telling –You’ve gained a nice rapport with your man there and you’ve got the real goods from him–the real goods and your reportage –your film making is the lubricant that can give the two sides a fighting chance of understanding each other.

        Way to go keep up this provocative story telling –it is so important to get the truth out. Swept under the carpet the truth can never bring peace.

        I packed a quarter of a moose out of the bush when I was thirteen. I shot the animal and that experience alone gives me great respect for life and death and a reality check on where our food comes from. There is SO much hippocracy out there. I love the honesty this guy shares about how real a “redneck is” and can be and how if you dig deep enough there is a redneck hippie in all of us.

        I have more respect for your honest story telling–so you’ve gained a new fan…and I didn’t have to read the blog to get it…you win some you loose some…’aint life strange. Here I thought you were just a windbag Brit.

        I am in the early stages of working on a balanced film right now about hunting and how it connects us in a very deep way. slight of heart will have to cover their eyes but perhaps their ears will still listen…

        cheers ol’ man –keep shootin’
        ha
        George
        Hidden Light Media

    2. I wonder how many of the people who are so disturbed by this video with a man shooting a gun, watch movies and TV show with guns? I think you’re all hypocrites. I don’t own or plan to own a gun but I’m not going to act like I’m Ghandi either. Don’t be fake!

  4. This was a great film, really. The Phantom shots were brilliantly edited amongst the interview shots.

    I’ve been having this argument somewhere else, and its due to the clipped highlights that seems to happen so easily on the Red footage, in which I’ve also noticed on your other two Epic shorts and other Red shot films. I don’t mean full blown whites, I mean white electronic noise, with a very hard transition.

    Could you be so kind as to give us your take on this? Does it bother you, or have you tried to correct it in grading, but couldn’t? Or is it, on the other hand, accepted as being part of the ‘look’?

    Much appreciated.

  5. Awesome job !
    Loved the grade and the different angles during the interview.
    Slow mo are great !!!
    U made me wanna shoot at the beginning, now I think I got there u come up with that kind of great stuff and just make me wanna stop 😉
    Thanks that was great and inspirational
    J

  6. Philip, with all that recent buzz about new/concept canon cameras and canon interchangeable mounts for Red’s, do you still think there is a huge point in investing in Zeiss ZF/ZF2? I’m about to buy a set of 35/50/85 1.4 and your opinion is very important for me.

      1. Let me reformulate the question. Does it worth investing in ZF2 versus ZE? I can see what great picture produces your L glass and it makes me want to go with ZE’s See as a canon shooter I don’t think I’ll be able to get used to Nikon’s rotation. And to tell the truth I think that more camera companies (or third party companies) will start to produce interchangeable EF mounts/adapters to stay in competition.

  7. Hi Mr Bloom,

    great piece as usual, would love you to get your hands on a Weiss Cam. Really is fantastic, far friendlier than a phantom and cheaper too. be interested to hear your thoughts on which is better and why. Partial to the Weiss cam myself, due to the ease of use and great image quality, but be interested in hearing your thoughts.

  8. Really really nice, loved those close up shots whenever pierce was talking, was that 85L ? (3:00) Captured his facial expressions / landscape awesomely!

    Big props for not overdoing the phantom stuff , loved the glimpses of it. Was actually keen to see pierce talk more / show off his gun collection at the range or something – again excellent stuff under no doubt limited time!

  9. I’m at Masters in Motion in Austin and got to see Philip Bloom talk about this piece and see the rough cut. Great experience to see something just shot the day before and get Phil’s insight into his technique, workflow, and general philosophy.

    The thing that impresses me the most about Phil is his incredible work ethic. The guy is a freakin’ machine. He’s working while he’s working!

    Not only was he attending the earlier presentations, and even participating by asking questions, but he was editing this piece at the same time!

    The guy never stops. He’s constantly filming and then editing the material right away.

  10. Excellent, That guy is pretty much exactly like everyone I grew up with. OK, he might be a bit more well spoken and his taste in beer is suspect. haha

    Did you get a chance to fire off a few rounds Philip? I would have, and enjoyed the heck out of it.

  11. Wonderful doc – thanks for posting it, Phil!

    Questions:

    – What did you use for sound?

    – Any other lighting than the natural ambient light?

    – How many assistants do you usually have on similar productions?

    Thanks man.

    Alex

  12. Very pleasent to watch, really nice job! Natural Light looks just beautiful! I really want to move to Scarlett now from my 5d, to achive a simmilar look… OK I better go back to editing my documnetary now
    Thanks Philip

  13. Hi Philip,
    I really liked that piece. One of my favourite of yours in fact. It was quite long but watched it all the way through and felt like only a few minutes.
    Not sure about the crop on this one though. Thought it was a bit extreme for this subject but that’s just me.
    Excellent job.
    Carl

    1. Thanks Carl. When shooting 300fps you are locked into that aspect ratio and Epic 2k does not look good resized. So as I was shooting some of the guns slow motion on epic (first ramped shotgun shot was epic) that was format i went with

  14. I was surprised that even at that high frame rate, I still didn’t notice the bullet coming out of the barrel. The shells flipping out of the chamber were sweet looking though.

  15. People like this all over where I’m from. It has a certain charm…I find shooting guns can be fun in a redneck hippie kind of way.

    Slo mo looked great… was any of that at 720p for higher speeds? There looked like some artifacting but could just be the stream.

  16. Excellent work! Pierce was a natural and good sport for doing the interview. Bangin’ and Clangin’…classic. If you ever get a chance, check out the show on the History channel in the US called Top Shot, some of the most amazing high-speed HD camera work you will see of bullets breaking things. I’m a city boy, but I owned my first .22 when I was 10 years old, we learned out to shoot safely and never had any problems. Cheers.

  17. Way to take on a subject that puts even you at risk. It’s scary isn’t it, how people think if you shoot it (camera) you’re for it. Nice work with rare toys by someone with bullocks. Please continue…

  18. Very nice work! I grew up hunting and fishing, and I have redneck friends, but I myself have spent most of my adult life exploring different spiritual paths (just moved out of a 4 year residence in a Buddhist temple).

    I am pretty much a big hypocrite– I don’t kill things, but I eat meat. I think if everyone who eats meat had to kill the animal it came from, there would suddenly be a great abundance of vegetarians in the world.

    Love that you are (as much as possible) and impartial observer (hunter and gatherer? : ) And the tech and style that you use create a space for people to be open-minded, compassionate, and accepting of something they might not be intimately familiar with. I’m working on a doc that I may one day finish about mental illness, and I hope I can bring at least a smidgen of the same. Thanks for the inspiration.

  19. ‘I have seen the devastating effect of them close up many times in my war zone past in News and a number of friends have died from being shot…’

    Which war zones Philip, what networks and when?

  20. I hate guns and would love to see the day they’re illegal in the US. That being said, I do really enjoy shooting them. It’s surprisingly entertaining. Eh, I suppose the world is full of such contradictions.

    1. Forgot to mention that it’s a great video. Your subject is a very likable character and you do a great job highlighting that in a very aesthetically pleasing way.

  21. I love interviews where the person faces the camera. If there is not a person asking the question on camera the angle doesn’t work for me.

    Well shoot, great piece for an afternoon. You are truly inspiring.

  22. Great work again, Philip. I think this is my favourite one so far. The subject is an extremely likable guy and even though, like you, I am no lover of guns I feel that after watching this video I better understand why some people enjoy them so much.

    I think this is my new favourite film that you’ve done.

  23. If I remember correctly, you put out a FB casting call looking for a subject while you were in TX. The fact that you found this guy is astonishing.

    You strike a finite nerve here in the sense that (at least in the U.S.) we are polarized as a culture and it is breaking us down. More stories are needed like this to reinforce that we’re more like each other than we believe.

    I’ve watched a million docs, yet your tech prowess and direction make ‘people’ in and of themselves fascinating. I have wanted to make films all my life, but all too often I walk out of theaters disappointed. Instead, like many others I come to this site to remember why films are important. Your work continues to grow, and it’s an awesome learning experience to have someone share their process.

    1. “You strike a finite nerve here in the sense that (at least in the U.S.) we are polarized as a culture and it is breaking us down. More stories are needed like this to reinforce that we’re more like each other than we believe.”

      Absolutely! Couldn’t agree more.

  24. Crazy good work, it made something dismissed by most into an elevated subject matter. People are interesting no matter what they do or not do.

    Queston: How is audio recorded? In high speed cameras is the audio saved like in Film at the over-cranked rate or you slowed a second device audio to fit the piece?

    The Slow/fast shotgun action is superbly edited!

  25. Hello Monsieur Bloom!

    Only men talking here … Quite boring stil! 😎

    I shall skip the “polemic” to straightly say that I like your own video style. And, I learn a lot hanging arround your web pages. It is very interesting to get the best and the freshest news about video and film making.

    Then, thank you for your kindness which comes within all you share with anonymous fellas like myself on the net.

    Thank you also for the time you spend at presenting your work anywhere you can. Thank you to be so open minded and dynamic with a very clean presentation…

    Best Regards from France (poor english but great feelings),

    Clô!

  26. Well done Philip. I’d like to see more of this kind of stuff from you. I like the angles and perspectives you chose with the subject. Were the shots with him sitting on the porch all with ambient light only? The closeup detail in his face is really fantastic, wondered if you used some fill light or not.

    When are you back in NYC?

    Cheers,
    Ron

  27. Wow, phil ,I love that camera…You be one lucky duck…Loved both these last two flics..Pity about the camera’s teething issues…but man when it works it is the bomb is it not.

    Phil a quick question I think you are doing a lot of your editing right now on CS5.5 did you go to windows version on a fast windows laptop for that or did you stick with a mac version of the software?

    cheers
    Mark

  28. Excellent slo-mo! And nice to catch up with “Old Man” Pierce like this. (Shit, we’re all turning into “Old Men”, which, I guess is better than the alternative.)

  29. This video is a beauty..

    I really loved the composition of the first shot, love the extreme close up on his face and of course the slowmotions are mind blowing.. Some of them even look like post production effects, they’re surreal : D

    Anyway video of a great quality, one of my favorite you’ve done so far.

    Peace

  30. Love his quote…”drink a few beers, smoke a little smoke” this guy has so much fun with the simple things, friends, full moon, guns, beers.
    Just his narration tells so much about Austin, TX. Probably laid back, honest people.
    Your footage Phil and editing makes the story. Nice job.
    Nice guy.

  31. Some of the nicest firearm slow-mo I’ve seen. Continuously amazed by how you can pick up almost any camera and produce something impressive, while I still struggle with cameras I’ve had for years.

    Now, please take this with the utmost respect for you as a person:

    Hating firearms because of witnessing warzones is the same as hating cameras because of seeing Michael Bay films.

    They’re all inanimate tools to be used or seriously, horribly misused. It’s not the machine, but the operator.

    1. Hi Kevin

      Appreciate the comment and I know where you are coming from but seeing shitty Transformers movies is not going to make me scared of cameras. Seeing my friends gunned down and killed makes me scared of guns…

      Best

      P

    2. a gun is a inanimate tool for inanimating people – playing with it, is the actual misusage and killing is, what it was invented for.

      if everybody needs to be serious and responsible, to make something harmless, is it a tool like everything else? should i be available to everyone? one time is enough.

      how many people got shot in the usa? a little city every year. do countries with strict laws have more or less issues?

  32. I for one applaud you for delving into this subject matter even it was to showcase the slo-mo 🙂

    The doc world could use a lot more people who are curious about why people do things they as the filmmaker don’t prefer (or hate) and provide a look into something outside of the realm of their normal lives.

    Thanks Philip and kudos for a beautiful piece.

  33. Hi Philip,

    Another amazing piece of work. Ive always wondered do you shoot the interview then cutaways (when they look into the camera) or the other way round?

    Your work continues to inspire me and I’m often telling my friends about your work and blog.

    Cheers,
    Alex

  34. Hi Phillip, lovely piece. With the batteries having such a short lifespan would it not make sense to get a v lock back plate and run the system off more powerful Batteries, or are you waiting for the backplate to come out of backorder?

  35. Wow that looks amazing and I just don’t mean the slow motion. I love the tone of the skin and whole look of the piece. The slow motion is amazing and looks so good it almost looks cgi makes me think some of the movies I thought were cgi stuff was real just used this type of camera to capture it. I love the speed ramps where he fires and you see the shell pop out then he it speeds up as he cocks the gun.

  36. Hi Philip, another great mini doc! As said in earlier comments, it’s amazing how you can pick up a camera and master it. I’m already pretty pleased with myself when I thought of checking the ND filter on a rented cam 😉

    Can you please tell more about the hardware requirements for editing 5K epic footage? Maybe do a blog on it?

  37. Phil, lovely piece of work. Really nice. I often go to gun ranges in the US and I am very worried about your lack of eye protection when firing that gun! ;0)

  38. I didn’t get from the description weather this was a scheduled interview with the subject, or if you just showed up and asked to interview him? If so, I have a question about that process. While directing the interview, if the subject stammers over a sentence or you need them to repeat what they just said due to Audio issue or whatever else, as the interviewer have you ever found it hard to request that since it was already an impromptu thing anyway? Because sometimes I feel if I have to do that I lose the mood of the interview and the person sort of ‘remembers’ they are being interviewed and you have to get that thought out of their head again… get them comfortable. Do you know what I am talking about?

  39. It was awesome seeing, hearing and hanging out with you this past weekend at the workshop! Thanks for your insight and the walk around the Epic, too bad we didn’t see Pierce at the skate/bike park!

    I loved seeing this piece on the big screen, it’s amazing what the size difference in viewing does. Coming from the DSLR world, what does shooting the shutter at 180 degrees, refer to? Angle of view? Shutter speed?

    Thanks again Philip, for a cool, cool weekend! In the words of Cristina, “you are the $%*+!”

      1. yes it’s very good, just like if someone says your “sick”! Like I told Khalid his lighting was sick, and he said, “aw cool, thanks man, I appreciate that!”

  40. Hi Philip.

    I´ve been thinking of David comment about the your video promoting guns and your reaction to it. I understand you both. When I read the rest of the comments on this video everything concerns the techniqual stuff, nearly nothing about the content and the package (and thats a bit sad of course to ignore the content). I guess Davids reaction came from the the feeling you wanted to give when you put this background music on it. The music has a sympathetic tone and thats what you give to us. That this is a good honest man and what he´s saying is OK, because it´s from the heart and the musics attitude lack prestige. But even if you´re open minded and fight for free-speach you still present this mans value by controling the way you give it to us. You pass judgement when you put this music on. As simple as that. And I guess you know that, because you use music on all your videos and the are there for some reason.

    Yes, your site is mostly about technique, and you are very generous man to share it to us, but what we film is really in the end what it´s all about, isn´t it? I myself do documentary work every day and thing of these ethical questions every second.

    1. Hi Peter

      Unless you broadcast a live crowd asked questions of a subject then every choice you make can be determined as biased. Every question you ask. Every selection of answers you put in etc

      I try my best to be as objective as is humanly possible

      With regards to music….I chose the most neutral music I could that fitted the character and his surroundings. Never intended to be a commentary on that person. Just to help drive it along

      Thanks for comments

      P

  41. Beautifully shot, edited and a great guest, I wouldn’t say he was old though he only looked around early to mid 40’s, if that’s considered old I’ll be old in a 10 years 🙁
    Great music and just wow really, fantastic Mr Bloom should be what we all say before we start asking about gear because it was truly beautiful.
    Pierce seems like the kind of dude you could sit around a campfire with and just listen to him ramble nothings all night I mean that in a good way he was cool, like the dude from the big lebowski, infact he was the big lebowski.
    Oh but why we’re on the subject of gear could you shed some light on the Heliopan Vari ND you mentioned, i.e. what is the model and where was it used which cam.
    anyway thanks again.

  42. Freaking loved it. The “to gun or not to gun” is MU. The cinematography and snapshot of someones life was done with grace and a keen eye. I will possibly never go to Austin Texas, and will most certainly never have the pleasure of meeting this guy, but because of this short film, I know have abetter understanding of him and his situation.
    Thanks.

    Inspired me to make a short doc just for kicks…. have the perfect subkect sitting next to me…. 🙂

Leave a Reply