The team received hundreds of submissions, and narrowing them down to five finalists was a challenge in itself. In fact, the original contest rules stated that only four finalists would be chosen, but the quality of submissions was so high that adding a fifth finalist made perfect sense. Once the finalists were notified, they had about four months before their final films were due. For some behind-the-scenes insight on the final projects, check out these profiles of each of the finalists over at VRI's blog and the official Phantom Miro facebook page.
The five final films we received were varied in subject, but all were beautiful to watch and obviously the products of very hard work. You can watch all five films below. Stay tuned, because the Grand Prize winner and runners-up prizes will be announced at a special event in NYC tonight!
A Closer Look - Tim Wu & Natasha Kermani
"For visuals on this piece, we wanted to focus on the Miro's unique size and weight; what could we pull off with this guy that you couldn't with a Flex or Gold? So from the beginning, camera movement was a priority... With the Miro being as light and portable as it is, it became possible to create camera movement using rigs designed for much smaller cameras."
A Closer Look from AbelCine on Vimeo.
Anchor Me Here - Laura Egan
"Throughout our five days with the camera, we shot entirely with available light, always with a two to six person crew, and often far removed from a source of power. We captured MIG welding at 1530fps, T/8, with a shutter speed of 1/550,000 - less time than it takes light to travel a kilometer in space. We filmed liquid nitrogen at daybreak. We shot firemen at dusk, long after magic hour... The camera always delivered."
Dance of the Honey Bee - Peter Nelson
"A typical honey bee beats its wings between 200-230 times per second. To capture them in various forms, I filmed at many different frame rates from 24fps right up to 1536fps. I wanted to use a range of frame rates to show the 'normal' frenetic movement of bees, slower blurred looks and super slow motion where I could show their wings beating really slowly and observe their flight and movement."
Fly On Out - Robert Kolodny
"I really wanted the cinematography to be highly cinematic. In my experience, it is rare to see more complex motion shots in high speed...I wanted to add the language of cinema into the equation and bring that extra dimension to my Miro footage. We mixed smooth push-ins, pull-outs, linear dolly movement and Steadicam motion with locked off wides (sometimes going very very wide) and macro extreme close ups."
The Great Sundering - Nathan Pardee & Kristine Guzman
"The goal was to not just explore the possibilities of slow motion cinematography, but how slow motion can be enhanced by a small form factor. Being able to fit in between, and even under delicate, cramped buildings was a task that no other slow motion camera on the market could accomplish. Because of this freedom to put the camera just about anywhere, we were able to create movements and angles that would only be possible using far more expensive rigs and expansive set pieces."
