Director of Photography Bengt Jan Jönsson frames a shot of the Bratz handheld game console.

One of the first U.S. commercial productions to shoot with the ARRIFLEX D-20 film-style digital camera was for a series of commercials showcasing new lines of Bratz toys. Directed by Luis Ruiz for Silo Films, the upbeat spots incorporated live actors interacting with different Bratz toys ranging from the popular fashion dolls to flashy remote control cars and console games. Already highly familiar with the high definition video format, Director of Photography Bengt Jan Jönsson jumped at the chance to be one of the first filmmakers to use the D-20 when it was made newly available through Clairmont Camera on the West Coast. Jönsson has gone on to book the camera for several more commercials, including additional work for Bratz and a Lucasfilm/Star Wars DVD campaign.

The director of photography thought the ARRFLEX D-20 would be an ideal camera for the Bratz campaign because of its ability to shoot with PL-mount lenses. “I’ve been shooting a lot of toy commercials over the last 10 months and we often shoot with Revolution or probe lenses. We had never been able to properly use probe lenses with great results on the smaller 2/3-inch chip video cameras, so we would always shoot 35mm. The problem is you get a magnification factor when you’re using a smaller chip. The lensing was slightly too long and it didn’t give us the effect that we needed and would expect from a probe lens. When ARRI announced they’d created a full-chip, PL-mount camera with a spinning mirror and reflex video system, I knew I had to try this. It allows lensing with the probe lenses. It’s basically all the reasons why we would use film, but we are shooting on tape.”

Director Luis Ruiz demonstrates the action to his young actors.

Preceding the shoot, Jönsson and Digital Imaging Technician (DIT) Michele de Lorimier and First Assistant Camera Tom Vandermillen put the camera through several tests.  Explains the DP who studied at the American Film Institute, “I went to Clairmont [Camera] and shots tests for about an hour or two. I put the Revolution lens on the camera and shot around this little diorama that they had. Tom and Michele went in and knew what they wanted – it was like a regular prep. Then I had the footage travel through post. I was sure that we could make it work.”

Jönsson points out the production team never hesitated to shoot with the new technology. “To be honest, there hasn’t been that many changes with our approach by using the D-20. It’s still an ARRI. The buttons are the same, the expectation and the eyepiece, the lenses, look and ergonomics are the same. When this came out, I talked to the director and he was all game and we tried it.  I don’t think we could have had a better scenario to try the D-20. The agency, director and production company all trusted what I had to say about the camera and what I wanted to do.”

For a spot showcasing a new line of BRATZ remote-controlled cars, Jönsson strayed from the typical bright, poppy children’s commercial look to render a more elegant, edgy style. “The spot with this remote controlled car had a very slick, urban, evening feel. We wanted to add this mood to it and at the same time, we lit the car to make the car look as nice as possible. For the car and set, we used a large double-diffused 20’x20’ overhead silk. It created really soft and smooth light that drew focus on the lines of the car, and allowed the car to maintain the light over long distances” he says. The camera and revolution lens then “flew” through the streets mounted to a Super Technocrane.

Shooting toy commercials commonly involves child actors interacting with the products. In the Bratz commercials the kids operated remote controls, played consoles and posed with dolls. Some spots featured a range of actors with different skin tones all in the same shot. “When working with kids, resetting very quickly is crucial. The idea of not having to cut is pretty great,” notes Jönsson. “It’s the appropriate camera for us to be using on these spots. As budgets seem to drop, we’re not worried about purchasing raw stock, processing raw stock, transferring raw stock, going back and re-transferring raw stock – although we still do a ‘telecine’ because we’re doing final corrections.”

Since the D-20 utilizes the same lenses and accessories as the ARRI 35mm film cameras, Jönsson’s crew quickly adapted to the D-20. “Honestly, I don’t think most people know that it’s the D-20! The D-20 is a film camera with a digital back on it – what cinematographers and crews are used to. It says ARRI on the side and it uses 35mm lenses so they don’t really think it’s a different camera. It has a small profile on the tripod and you don’t have to tweak it too much, whereas the Sony F-900 and some other cameras, there is a lot of tweaking. The only difference is that you don’t turn the camera off after takes. This is only a problem when you go back to shoot a 35mm commercial, and mistakenly think you’re still on the D-20, and end up burning up a few hundred extra feet of film after a take,” he laughs.

First AC Tom Vandermillen prepares the D20 for the next shot.

Jönsson did, however, see some small differences in the filmmaking process. “Where it does become slightly different is that for the gaffer, DIT and I, we find ourselves conferring around the monitor a little bit for lighting. Sometimes what I see through the eyepiece, the chip isn’t picking it up the same way. That’s the biggest difference, we all confer off the main monitor.”

For Vandermillen, who pulled focus, having an accurate monitor was crucial to make sure the images were sharp. Says Jönsson, “The one area that did stray from conventional ‘analog’ filmmaking was in terms of focus. Because we are using this Revolution lens with these very small toys, focus is very critical. Sometimes you aren’t very sure if you’ve got it in focus or not. We can either get it off playback or to be really sure, Michele can back it off and we can watch it, which is very helpful. Tom is very used to the film world where he has to be able to tell me if he got it or not – he has to rely on his intuition. But it’s nice to go back and 99% of the time he’s right since he’s such an amazing focus puller. I think it can be a comfort zone for him to be able to check.”

The large lighting setup required to properly illuminate the set for the Revolution lenses prevented crew members from working directly by the camera during shooting. “I can’t have anybody up near the lens or blocking a light, because we are very close to the product. Tom used a wireless focus controller about 10 feet away from the camera with a 24-inch monitor in front of him so he could pull focus off of the monitor. You couldn’t do that with the same precision with a film camera, because he’s seeing the actual image. You nail your takes easier and cleaner and you can move on to the next scene faster.”

Jönsson attributes his excellent crew with making the shoot virtually problem-free. “My key grip Chuck Bukey and Gaffer Jamie Davis understand the realities of shooting and they’ve been happy to work with the D-20. Michele’s been great especially since we are some of the first people to really go hard core with the D-20 on the West Coast. She and I are constantly on the phone before and after shows talking about what we’ve learned and how we want to make things different. But we’re dedicated to the whole idea that ARRI is putting out, just trying to change our photographic approach to make that tool and us work the best image possible. With the direction that movies are going towards, I think ARRI has the right idea.”

An Tran

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