Feature film shot with the BMPPC

Update: The film is up on streaming services.



I'll be frank: I got emotional and had tears into my eyes when I first saw the trailer of "Cosmos", a sci-fi feature film that will soon debut in various festivals. It was shot with the BMPCC using just ProRES LT (the two brothers directors said that they did lots of testing, and the LT version of ProRES was more than enough for them to get what they needed). They shot 90% of the film using a 28mm lens with a focal reducer and wide angle adapter (effectively making it barely a 40mm angle of view in 35mm equivalent). But it seems to have worked just fine for them! They did all the post-production by themselves (except the music), and they even had to learn Blender 3D to add some FX shots. I believe this is the first feature film shot exclusively with the BMPCC, no?

Trailer:

Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with the film, I just discovered it a few days ago, and I really wanted to share it with you here, because this to me felt like a milestone in an already golden history of the BMPCC.

What a great find! The trailer is amazing!

I did see this couple of weeks back and was really taken back by what the BMPCC can do in the right hands.
Even though the camera plays a big role in the production of a film, these guys have proved that any tool in the right hands can produce amazing results.

Thanks Eugenia! It is great they have made this. It's also very inspirational for people who dream of making something own someday with no budget. Skills, determination and lot of work helps alot to make it happen.

I believe this is the first feature film shot exclusively with the BMPCC, no?

There have actually been a few others; the first might have been this one from 2015: https://nofilmschool.com/2014/12/shoot- ... c-sundance (it's confusing because they refer to it as a "2010 short turned feature" and shot entirely on BMPCCs but that's impossible unless they completely reshot the film, because the BMPCC didn't exist in 2010).

Also see viewtopic.php?f=2&t=55096

Google searches for "feature film shot on BMPCC" turn up a few others.

I believe this is the first feature film shot exclusively with the BMPCC, no?

There have actually been a few others; the first might have been this one from 2015: https://nofilmschool.com/2014/12/shoot- ... c-sundance (it's confusing because they refer to it as a "2010 short turned feature" and shot entirely on BMPCCs but that's impossible unless they completely reshot the film, because the BMPCC didn't exist in 2010).

Also see viewtopic.php?f=2&t=55096

Google searches for "feature film shot on BMPCC" turn up a few others.

The short was filmed in 2010 that the later (BMPCC) feature was based on.

So, I found another feature film shot on the original BMPCC, and it seems that information hadn't been out until today. The movie is currently available to be watched for free via the "Indie Rights" Roku channel. It's called "Market Value", IMDb page: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3923024/ It's a full two+ hour movie, and I was impressed as to how well it was shot. Performances were good too.

Trailer:

The "Cosmos" feature was released today! I just finished watching it (streaming). It's amazing what you can do with the old BMPCC and just $8000 budget. The (Blender 3D) VFX, story, acting, production values were all amazing. Highly recommended watch for everyone who loves sci-fi and the Blackmagic cameras!

I have been following their journey for some time. It's great to finally see this film. I purchased it off of iTunes. This is what a lot of indy filmmakers dream of doing with their camera, and these guys did it with the BMPPC.

Looking at an accomplishment like this makes me laugh at the people asking for 20 stops of dynamic range, 8K, etc. These guys wrote a damn good story and shot a real feature film with $8000 with minimal equipment. It's a true accomplishment.

It also says a lot about Blackmagic's vision when they created the original BMPPC.

Adam

I agree, what the two director guys accomplished, is amazing. Cosmos is a must-see film. It did need a tighter editing (10-15 mins needed cutting), but overall, the production value is off the roof. I wish that Blackmagic was to do a feature about these guys, because they truly made a miracle: a Hollywood-like, popcorn flick, on a shoestring budget. Basically, the dream of the vast majority of the people who buy a BMPCC. "Cosmos" is the best example of it.

Also, this feature film is coming out this December, shot on the BMPCC 4k:

Respect for this guys v

They haven’t wasted months and years pixel peeping on this forum.

They knew well the quality they can get from this gem if used for its strengths and they created real cinema with it.
Acting is superb, lighting, story is a killer.

To my eyes this is all the pixels and DR it is ever needed to create cinema.

Comes down to courage boldness and skill.

Sell all Ursa’s take time off work and and start making films with old pocket 1080p.

Hats off to them

BMD should send them pair of BMPCC 6K gift for XMAS

This one was shown at Cannes last year; except for the drone footage it was all shot on the original BMPCC using Voigtländer primes.

Very nice! When is it coming out?

Very nice! When is it coming out?

It was released last September in Europe. See here for excerpts of reviews (and a Vimeo version of the trailer, which looks even better): http://www.andreas-horvath.com/lillian/

Watching the trailer pretty much convinced me about the Voigtländers, which I've been considering for my original Pocket and my Micro Cinema cameras. I currently have a hodgepodge of lenses that don't match well and a set of Voigtländers would be a great solution, especially since I could use them if I ever get a BMPCC 4K or some other future MFT-mount camera.

The Lillian exteriors are dandy, but the production values don't showcase the camera well indoors. "Looks like video" wouldn't be unfair, though the same would be true of other and better cameras with that lighting and production design (or lack of it).

It's the perennial conundrum of no-budget movies: virtually every camera today looks good outdoors under the right light, but it will always fall apart inside, where the drama takes place. That was one of the nice things about 16mm 400 ISO B&W; lots of grain and automatic abstraction. But even in the age of 12K, $999 1080p color is unforgiving of reality.

Very nice! When is it coming out?

It was released last September in Europe. See here for excerpts of reviews (and a Vimeo version of the trailer, which looks even better): http://www.andreas-horvath.com/lillian/

Watching the trailer pretty much convinced me about the Voigtländers, which I've been considering for my original Pocket and my Micro Cinema cameras. I currently have a hodgepodge of lenses that don't match well and a set of Voigtländers would be a great solution, especially since I could use them if I ever get a BMPCC 4K or some other future MFT-mount camera.

Brad,
Thanks for highlighting this movie. Having done my share of driving through the American west, I look forward to seeing this. I'm hoping my next trip will be the "loneliest highway" (Hwy 50 through Nevada) but maybe this film will discourage that...
Steve

It was released last September in Europe.

I think it only had a festival run, not a proper release. I'm in the US, so I don't think there's a way to see it yet.

I'm in the US, so I don't think there's a way to see it yet.

https://www.vodclub.online/film/lillian/

Whether you can register and pay from the U.S., without some creativity, I don't know. But it can be found there and elsewhere. The filmmaker is well known, not a novice.

There's quite a bit more info about the film here, from the distributor:

https://cercamon.jimdo.com/new-films/lillian/

I’ll take creative choices of color-grading, focal lengths, and acting styles aside.... but man, does it take a while to tell the story.

I was pretty quick to ignore the fact that it was an old BMPCC or that they filmed all the interior car shots in a blacked-out garage— which is a testament to the quality and care to make it NOT look like an amateur film.

BUT man, it felt like it dragged and had lots of long-winded conversations. Yes, I know the story is more about the relationships between the three guys.

Overall, it is a phenomenal achievement by the team and a reassuring sign that budget and resources shouldn’t hinder ambition.

There's quite a bit more info about the film here, from the distributor:

https://cercamon.jimdo.com/new-films/lillian/

The truth is, I was frustrated by it, looked at just for the camera. Compared to the drone footage (4K?), the BMPCC stuff is at times a bit muddied and with unaccountable color casts and/or grading. Whether this was choice or necessity (the camera) is unclear.

One more: Around the 30th minute of the Assembled:WandaVision documentary on Disney+, you can see a bit of the BMPCC 4k/6k shooting a scene where fake-Pietro runs towards the family to supposedly snap a picture together. There's an Alexa on the left, and what I believe to be a bmpcc 4k or 6k on the right.