Shooting an indie with the SONY F35: Netflix only accepts 4k content?

P

PIMP

Well-known member
Hello group:

My friends and I are going to start working on a feature and we are looking down the road to see what we plan to do with it once it is complete. Obviously Netflix is one of the options on the table however I have been informed they are strict about the content they choose to acquire. Simply put the SONY F35 is not on the list of cameras they accept. Uprising SONY F35 footage isn't even allowed. So are we going to have to shoot with another camera (not happy shooting RED) Any advice will be appreciated.
 
PIMP said:
Hello group:

My friends and I are going to start working on a feature and we are looking down the road to see what we plan to do with it once it is complete. Obviously Netflix is one of the options on the table however I have been informed they are strict about the content they choose to acquire. Simply put the SONY F35 is not on the list of cameras they accept. Uprising SONY F35 footage isn't even allowed. So are we going to have to shoot with another camera (not happy shooting RED) Any advice will be appreciated.
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My understanding is that is if Netflix themselves finance it. As of last year I know the Alexa wasnt allowed if netflix was financing the whole show. Yet theres alot of movies shot on the Alexa currently on netflix

If its an acquisition/sale after the fact the rules are not as hard and fast IIRC. Most of if not all of the big movies on netflix are 2k. And most of the ones that claim to be 4k but have major VFX sequences are 2k upresed. I remember everyone talking about Force Awakens being a 4K DCP, and my pals at ILM were like "we worked at 2k."

Theres other options beyond netflix as well, and budget considerations to deal with for 4k. I was on a show that went to Marvista for foreign distro, they wanted 1080 prores 422 (yes, 422 of all things) as the final master. We worked at prores 444 2048x1152 for that whole show and we still had storage concerns / costs. Remember, when you shoot digital you'll need 3X copies of the digital negatives for insurance to cover a data / footage loss incident.

If you wanted to shoot F35, I'd say grab some ultra primes or similar class glass and if you have to upscale at the end of the pipeline you'll be in slightly better shape than with vintage glass, will give you a little more optical info to work with for the upscale. If its going to a film market, I'd bet all anyone will care about is if there is a UHD deliverable available. F35 + ultraprimes + red giant instant 4k = damn close to red 4.5k MX resolution wise to my eye.
 
You don't have to worry about 4k recording (or even upscaling), unless you're shooting something commissioned by Netflix or Amazon. If they haven't commissioned it, you don't need to deliver it, and it's no hindrance to selling it to either of them after the fact.

If they want it, they'll take it.

So if you want to shoot with the F35, shoot with it. A 1080p deliverable is the least of your worries.
 
As others have said, the 4K rule is for stuff they pay to have you produce. Right now, that should be the least of your worries. Get the movie made and tell a great story. That's the key.
 
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