Efterklang
April 6
This six-day production took us all the way to the small city of Vaasa, Finland. Even though I’ve told myself I’d kindly decline any more school productions, this one was technically a bit different. Most of the crew were familiar faces from my old school, but the project was directed by a Norwegian master’s student. I was assigned as the camera assistant, handling focus pulling, gadgets, and general tinkering.
Once we arrived on location and started prepping, I noticed some issues related to the 4K monitoring system. The filming equipment was sponsored by my old school, and we used a Canon EOS C300 Mark III with a Hollyland Mars 4K transmitter paired to a receiver connected to a Feelworld 4K 10" monitor for the 1st AC focus station. Also, for focus pulling, we used a Tilta Nucleus-M kit that I’m very familiar with.
The camera was set up with a 1080p monitor through the only HDMI output, and that worked flawlessly. The only other output from the camera was SDI, which I connected directly to the Hollyland. I selected 3840×2160 as the SDI output, but the transmitter just showed “no video”. I ran multiple wiring checks but couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Some forums suggested that the Canon C300 can’t send two separate signals at once, that is 1080p through HDMI and 4K through SDI.
I removed the camera monitor and switched to the 4K monitor that was meant for focus pulling, and that worked fine. The signal was stable and transmitted properly. The problem, however, was that the second 4K monitor didn’t receive any signal. The search for the error continued, but with no results, and we were forced to push through the production with 1080p monitoring. Some shots were more advanced than others, and since we used an Easyrig for the majority of the shots, my marks were often inaccurate. However, we managed to keep things moving and had plenty of time to capture new, more accurate takes.
Looking back, I realize I probably should have connected one monitor to the MON SDI and the other to the standard SDI output, and removed HDMI altogether. I feel a bit disappointed in myself for not testing that solution.
We used a set of vintage Carl Zeiss lenses that could really use rehousing. I’ve shot with this same lens set before on the short fiction film “Babydoll”, and I know how beautiful they can look. But they’re in rough shape just like most of the equipment from my old film school.
I’m pretty beat and tired. We just wrapped, and I’m on a train back home to Helsinki as I’m writing this. We spent six days working at a solid pace, had really good catering, and stayed at a beautiful summer cabin villa in the middle of the forest by the sea. I’m going to miss that kind of peace and silence, the kind you only find in a place like that.
The pictures below were taken by the crew during the production.
