SOLD The one, the only: ARRI ALEXA [Classic]

NorBro

NorBro

Major Contributor
I just want to take a second and thank NorBro from DVXuser for changing my life. Without him posting that marketplace listing on the forum, I would have never had my hands on my very own ARRI Alexa, shot my first real feature film and won this award. With tears in my eyes, thank you all, goodnight.
-Your award-winning speech

You've tried the rest, now try the best.

$2900 with code NorBro, shipped before supper.

ARRI Alexa.jpg
 
recycling center has a nice special going this week, let me know if you want to grab it before it goes
 
Okay i love the marketing you are giving this NorBro. If I had not already invested in an Alexa Plus body this year I might have tried to figure out how to grab this from ya. Wishing you the best on the sale, that price is insanely generous for what that beast can give you!
 
haha, I saw on YT you picked one up, maybe a second for multi-cam? 😉

[And I'm sorry about your rabbits, bro; I used to watch many of your camera tests/vlogs and you always spent time with them/loved them.]
 
Norbro said he would give it to me for free but on condition that I use it to film cat videos. It’s a generous offer but I’m still thinking about it.
 
You guys joshin me...but you have no idea how lovely these images are from this sensor.

I'm not just talking because it's (or was) a Hollywood camera, but grading these frames of just cats is worth the $3K, ha.

Ridiculous, ridiculous dynamic range, skin tones - and most of all - what no one ever talks about besides at the deepest parts of the internet - is the motion cadence.

I am convinced it's truly processing 24 frames per second where I have a suspicion and opinion that other manufactures might be a little fast on the clock.

If I still worked in video production it's all I would be using.

A damn shame it took me so long to get one right at the end of that part of my career.
😿
 
dawg, I couldn't be turned off any more than I am by video production and filmmaking because of AI.

Now the video world doesn't stop because of it and there is a great purpose for many to continue to do it, a necessary one to fill niches, but just not me.
 
NorBro said:
You guys joshin me...but you have no idea how lovely these images are from this sensor.
Click to expand...
I might have a LITTLE bit of an idea!

My last TV job as an operator was on a show called "No Ordinary Familiy", one of the earliest to shoot on the Alexa (which was just called that then, the Classic was added after subsequent models were introduced). I'd done a string of shows with that DP and him being a big Arri fan, we'd had the D20 and D21 while most shows were using Genesis or F35. The big difference with the Alexa was the internal recording. As well as A camera operating the show I'd shoot double-up units, so I got to really explore the image-making capabilities of the camera. I remember one day on the backlot shooting an exterior that was half in shade. The DIT showed me how he could open up the shade side (via gamma lift, I'd suspect) and it blew me away.

This was the Classic on my Steadicam. At that time HD transmitters were rare beasts, so I was still hard-wiring the image to monitors--my dual lightweight BNC jumper visible with the red tape coming off the rig.
NOF Steadicam Large.jpeg

I left that series to shoot a pilot, which marked the official beginning of my move-up to DP. The next few years most of my jobs were shot on Canon 5D and 1DMKIV, but after landing Key & Peele, I was able to bring in the Alexa Classic on second season and stuck with it through the run of the show. Seen here between takes in 2014, laying hands on my operator's rig for old time's sake!

k&p_steadicar2.jpeg

Unlike everything I shot on the Canon DSLR's or other intermediate cameras like the F3, when I look back at the Alexa footage it really holds up.

Someone buy NorBro's camera!!!
 
Thanks, CP!

I don't think I ever asked you, but do you know anything about the post in K&P?

Sometimes I go back and watch some of my favorite episodes on YT and I always thought it had such a beautiful subtle grade that reminded me a little bit of the C300 Mark II pastel-like colors but only in the most perfect circumstances when certain people got the grade to look like that.

It's such a clean, non-saturated look that is so different from anything else, almost impossible to explain. It's smooth, and real, if you will.
 
CharlesPapert said:
I might have a LITTLE bit of an idea!

My last TV job as an operator was on a show called "No Ordinary Familiy", one of the earliest to shoot on the Alexa (which was just called that then, the Classic was added after subsequent models were introduced). I'd done a string of shows with that DP and him being a big Arri fan, we'd had the D20 and D21 while most shows were using Genesis or F35. The big difference with the Alexa was the internal recording. As well as A camera operating the show I'd shoot double-up units, so I got to really explore the image-making capabilities of the camera. I remember one day on the backlot shooting an exterior that was half in shade. The DIT showed me how he could open up the shade side (via gamma lift, I'd suspect) and it blew me away.

This was the Classic on my Steadicam. At that time HD transmitters were rare beasts, so I was still hard-wiring the image to monitors--my dual lightweight BNC jumper visible with the red tape coming off the rig.
View attachment 5712812

I left that series to shoot a pilot, which marked the official beginning of my move-up to DP. The next few years most of my jobs were shot on Canon 5D and 1DMKIV, but after landing Key & Peele, I was able to bring in the Alexa Classic on second season and stuck with it through the run of the show. Seen here between takes in 2014, laying hands on my operator's rig for old time's sake!

View attachment 5712813

Unlike everything I shot on the Canon DSLR's or other intermediate cameras like the F3, when I look back at the Alexa footage it really holds up.

Someone buy NorBro's camera!!!
Click to expand...
Great throwback and cool pics.

Charles, were the 5D and the 1DMKIV really that popular in Hollywood circles? I always thought they were more of an independent operator / small production company camera at the time.
 
DustinSchmidt said:
Charles, were the 5D and the 1DMKIV really that popular in Hollywood circles? I always thought they were more of an independent operator / small production company camera at the time.
Click to expand...
The 5dMKII definitely had its moment. It wasn't being used as a primary camera on too many well budgeted shows (there was that one episode of House however) but it got plenty of use as an additional camera for stunts and specialty cameras. Certainly had some popularity in the commercial and music video side. Shane Hurlbut used the 5D to great effect in "Act of Valor". Generally speaking, it was more of a small-size thing than anything else, but the affordability factor meant it could live on the truck and easily be slugged in as an additional angle when needed. Many TV shows and features carried at least one.

The 1DMKIV was a much rarer beast. I worked with Vincent Laforet on the introductory film "Nocturne" and was blown away by the low light performance, and I also liked that it output an HD signal vs the SD one of the 5D, so I invested. I used the 1D on many music videos (had it on a Technocrane quite a few times, always a funny sight) and shot three TV pilots on it, the final one of which was Key & Peele. Issues with moire and the lack of desirability of H264 compression for green screen work resulted in my losing my interest in the platform after that, and I sold off my setup within a year or two. But it was a fun heady time up until then (roughly 2009-2011).
 
NorBro said:
Thanks, CP!

I don't think I ever asked you, but do you know anything about the post in K&P?

Sometimes I go back and watch some of my favorite episodes on YT and I always thought it had such a beautiful subtle grade that reminded me a little bit of the C300 Mark II pastel-like colors but only in the most perfect circumstances when certain people got the grade to look like that.

It's such a clean, non-saturated look that is so different from anything else, almost impossible to explain. It's smooth, and real, if you will.
Click to expand...
The director and I supervised the grade for the entire run of the show. No two sketches got the same grade, we pushed and pulled depending on the material at hand. We didn't lean too much into grubbing up the image--I didn't do much playing with lenses and generally didn't go heavy on filtration unless called for by the sketch itself (a sketch paying homage to Casino got the requisite 1/2 black promist, a la Richardson's recipe). I think compared to much of the current vogue to vintage lenses etc., the show generally has a cleaner and tidier look. The exception of course is when the sketches were intended to feel period, especially when I brought in the old tube video cameras.
 
For the most part, the grade seemed pretty consistent to me across the board besides with what you mentioned or something special like changing a mood like with the a cappella group.

Do you remember working on every single episode (like things about them) or are most getting foggy now?
 
Last edited:
NorBro said:
Do you remember working on every single episode (like things about them) or are most getting foggy now?
Click to expand...
The technical details are getting foggy for sure, other than the most memorable setups. I'm really glad to have the archived threads here at dvxuser, because there are many details therein that I wouldn't remember now offhand, although it only represents a fraction of the series.

Final slate:

finalkandp.jpg
 
NorBro said:
haha, I saw on YT you picked one up, maybe a second for multi-cam? 😉

[And I'm sorry about your rabbits, bro; I used to watch many of your camera tests/vlogs and you always spent time with them/loved them.]
Click to expand...
Thanks man. It's been a hell of a year so far... thought I was loosing my steam as a filmmaker last week only to realize a supplement I was trying to help manage stress and anxiety just emotionally stilted me. Loosing Steely & Binx was a major blow but we still have 3 buns kicking so whenever I get down about the 2 that passed, I go and spend time with the ones still hoping around my camera equipment :D. I also put a picture of steely on my Alexa and named the camera after him.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top