VENICE: Top Gun 2 shot on the SONY VENICE (Claudio Miranda) (a few questions)

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AlienRock

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The upcoming Top Gun sequel is being shot on the Sony Venice based on this photo. https://twitter.com/BRUCKHEIMERJB/status/1004433006822612992

If I'm not mistaken, it will be the first feature shot on the Venice.

Claudio Miranda is the DP, which brings me to my questions:

1. Is the Venice/Claudio Miranda the best fit for this type of movie? Miranda's work with Sony cameras (Oblivion, Tomorrowland, Tron, Only The Brave) are beautiful but a bit on the cold side. Can he switch up his style and go for the warmer, more summery/punchy look of Top Gun?

2. And is Claudio Miranda better off using the Venice then say an Alexa LF or Alexa 65?
 
I've kept mum on this for a while now, as I was asked to keep quiet about it. But the cat's out the bag now, so I suppose it's fine. I was lucky enough to steal half an hour with Claudio at the ASC Masterclass a couple of months ago, and I can now tell you, that if you ever want to see some INSANE on-set photos, all you need to do is have a look through the photos on an ASC member's phone! :p we had a great chat about making pictures and particularly about this little film he was prepping for, called 'Top Gun'.

They've gone with the Venice for a number of reasons. One being the detachable sensor block - which allowed them to squeeze a previously inconceivable amount of image quality into the cockpits of these fighter jets (think of it as the fanciest dash mount you've ever seen). Another being the effective global shutter of the Venice (I'm still confused as to how it's not a "global shutter", but also not a "rolling shutter", but whatever weird techiness lies behind it, it's effectively a global shutter (I tried an insane wobble test on one, and there's zero perceivable skew - so as far as I'm concerned it's a global shutter). And when you're using things called the 'CineJet' to capture air-to-air footage, that's apparently useful!

As to your questions, personally Claudio's in my top 5 DPs of all time list, so I think he'll do just fine. But he's also the man who shot the video clip for "The Thong Song", so I suspect a bit of beach volleyball is within his abilities!

As to 'better off' with the Venice? I think the reasons he mentioned sum it up pretty well. In their testing he said he was actually leaning towards the Sigma Cine primes, so I'll be very interested to know what they went for in the end.
 
My gosh. This is a treasure trove of info. I'm really pumped for Top Gun 2, so thank you so much. Hope I don't get you in trouble though haha.

As for the Venice's use in Top Gun 2, I'm now entirely convinced that it's the right choice for the film thanks to your in depth explanation. Can't wait to see what Claudio has in store.
 
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Grug said:
They've gone with the Venice for a number of reasons. One being the detachable sensor block - which allowed them to squeeze a previously inconceivable amount of image quality into the cockpits of these fighter jets (think of it as the fanciest dash mount you've ever seen).
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Good God. I can only imagine how immersive the cockpit scenes would look like. Probably some beautiful stuff that would not have been achieved on the 35mm cameras used on the first Top Gun.
 
From the online demos so far, the VENICE can hang with the Alexa LF and 65 in everything up to (but perhaps not quite) highlights. In terms of super-saturated pleasing color, including skintones (very hard to do), the VENICE looks to be a good match to the Alexas, and could possibly exceed them (would need to see side-by-side tests). In terms of alias-free super high detail and low noise performance, VENICE looks to be the top True 4K camera right now (6K sensor outputting alias-free 4K). The remote sensor block adds another useful function not available with any other high-end camera (though Reds are fairly small (Alexa Mini is not a True 4K capable camera)). In 2018 Sony could put the full power of the VENICE (and a lot more) into the size of a DSLR body if they really wanted to (probably could have done it in 2016 or even earlier).
 
44008050132_2c32b0a54f_b.jpg
 
Grug said:
I've kept mum on this for a while now, as I was asked to keep quiet about it. But the cat's out the bag now, so I suppose it's fine. I was lucky enough to steal half an hour with Claudio at the ASC Masterclass a couple of months ago, and I can now tell you, that if you ever want to see some INSANE on-set photos, all you need to do is have a look through the photos on an ASC member's phone! :p we had a great chat about making pictures and particularly about this little film he was prepping for, called 'Top Gun'.

They've gone with the Venice for a number of reasons. One being the detachable sensor block - which allowed them to squeeze a previously inconceivable amount of image quality into the cockpits of these fighter jets (think of it as the fanciest dash mount you've ever seen). Another being the effective global shutter of the Venice (I'm still confused as to how it's not a "global shutter", but also not a "rolling shutter", but whatever weird techiness lies behind it, it's effectively a global shutter (I tried an insane wobble test on one, and there's zero perceivable skew - so as far as I'm concerned it's a global shutter). And when you're using things called the 'CineJet' to capture air-to-air footage, that's apparently useful!

As to your questions, personally Claudio's in my top 5 DPs of all time list, so I think he'll do just fine. But he's also the man who shot the video clip for "The Thong Song", so I suspect a bit of beach volleyball is within his abilities!

As to 'better off' with the Venice? I think the reasons he mentioned sum it up pretty well. In their testing he said he was actually leaning towards the Sigma Cine primes, so I'll be very interested to know what they went for in the end.
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I found a pic of the cockpit setup. Amazing stuff.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DrfskcOVAAA6id2.jpg
 
Did anyone ever find out if they used Sigma primes? That was a rumor early on.
 
That trailer is pretty insane. The air manuvers make star wars look tame, and star wars is cgi!
 
James0b57 said:
That trailer is pretty insane. The air manuvers make star wars look tame, and star wars is cgi!
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i am in no way a fan of the first film but that trailer was insane as hell and i might actually go see this in the theater! bummer Tony Scott never got to direct this one.
 
Wow.

Of all of the long-delayed sequels and reboots to have come out in the past five years, I'm pretty sure that this is the only one I have been excited about.

For comparison, here's the trailer for the original (I didn't remember it having so many shots with color grads in them, but it was the 1980s): https://youtu.be/xa_z57UatDY
 
Bravura photography! Claudio never disappoints. I’m looking forward to this one, looks like it’ll be quite a ride.
 
Mike Krumlauf said:
i am in no way a fan of the first film but that trailer was insane as hell and i might actually go see this in the theater! bummer Tony Scott never got to direct this one.
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Those words don't even make sense together in the context of this conversation. You're talking about the original Top Gun, right? That's like saying you don't like Tombstone or Gladiator. I think I have to go sit down and digest this for a minute.
 
Run&Gun said:
Those words don't even make sense together in the context of this conversation. You're talking about the original Top Gun, right? That's like saying you don't like Tombstone or Gladiator. I think I have to go sit down and digest this for a minute.
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I actually dont like Tombstone or Gladiator so better have that bottle of pepto ready hahahahaha
 
When I first worked in consumer retail in 1986, the Top Gun was the hottest video to demo for home theater systems because of its Surround Sound. Someone'd come in, you'd put the surround speakers behind them, see them duck from the woosh overhead.
 
DLD said:
When I first worked in consumer retail in 1986, the Top Gun was the hottest video to demo for home theater systems because of its Surround Sound. Someone'd come in, you'd put the surround speakers behind them, see them duck from the woosh overhead.
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I remember a salesman at a theater store in chicago did that to me in 2000 with The matrix. Prob the first memory I have hearing surround outside of a theater, so cool! Now i have The Matrix in 4K with surround and can replay the memory with even better PQ :b. Nothing beat seeing The Matrix in the theater in 99.. remember it vividly.. was unlike anything i had ever seen. ahh when 35mm was still king in cinemas
 
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