By site editor Dan Chung:
NAB 2015: News Shooter – Arri from Teradek on Vimeo.
On our Teradek live show at NAB last week we caught up ARRI Alexa Mini product manager Michael Jonas to get an update on the progress of the camera. Since we first saw the prototype at the BVE show in London earlier in the year, it has evolved into a camera that is almost ready for full production. The company were showing a cage setup that wraps around the camera, making it much easier to handle. After receiving some criticism of the Velcro mounted battery plate Jonas showed me at BVE, ARRI have also designed a new prototype battery plate that more solidly attaches to the cage.
Hollywood DPs Rodney Charters ASC and Bruce Logan ASC joined us for our discussion and both were excited at the prospect of being able to shoot with the smaller camera. Indeed, Charters likes it so much he has ordered two. Jonas told us the camera is on course to ship by the end of May.
ARRI also had real world short films shot with the camera that show what it is really capable of in the air. Our friends Kat and Emma of the Helicopter Girls used the camera on a Multirotor to film a beautiful short in Mürren, Switzerland.
They also used the Mini on a MoVI with Easyrig and Flowcine Serene, as well as a simple Fig Rig, and even did some handheld shots. The crew included DP Heiko Knauer, MoVI operator Mark Berry and UAV Pilot Denis Stretton. A Teradek wireless system was also used for the shoot. The results are certainly impressive.
