Boot Camp

Shane Hurlbut, ASC, and his Elite Team lead the HD-DSLR revolution into battle

By Neil Matsumoto

The call time was 6:30 a.m. Come again? Although quite the norm for film crews, this was strictly foreign territory for a journalist, especially for a camera workshop. But this was no ordinary workshop. This was bootcamp. Starting out as a grip truck driver, director of photography Shane Hurlbut, ASC, worked his way through the camera ranks to eventually... Read more

At A Glance: The Zacuto Z-Finder

Finding Your focus

By Neil Matsumoto

Let’s face it, you pretty much have to be a Zen master in focus-pulling to shoot high-def video with an HD DSLR camera. While shooting wide-open on a moving subject, it’s near impossible to maintain sharp focus, especially for daylight exterior shots. The biggest factor is the camera’s monster-sized sensor that gives a shooter razor-thin shallow... Read more

Going To Battle

Cinematographer Shane Hurlbut, ASC, transforms the Canon EOS 5D Mark II into a moviemaking machine

By Mark Edward Harris

Explosions, beautiful bikini-clad girls, yachts and Navy SEALs. What else could a man want? If you’re the DP, it starts with an equipment list to turn these elements into exciting footage. Shane Hurlbut, ASC, a native of Ithaca, N.Y., is helping to lead the charge into the convergence of the still- and video-camera worlds. For his latest project,... Read more