What Functions Do You Use with ARRI Alexa?

Cameras 2 Comments

ARRI Alexa Plus User Customizing Buttons Screenshot

Using custom lists and user buttons on digital cinema cameras is a great way to increase your efficiency on set.

But in the case of the ARRI Alexa, you only have five customizable buttons with different options. With limited real estate, choosing which functions you customize can speed you up — or slow you down.

So how do you decide what functions make the cut?

There is no hard and fast rule for this, it will depend entirely on how you work with the director of photography and/or camera operator. There are, however, a few things you’ll want to keep in mind when setting up your custom buttons:

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Be a Faster AC #12: Customize the Camera

Cameras 4 Comments

Be a Faster AC #12 Customize Your CameraCreative Commons License photo credit: Sean Davis

From our ongoing exploration of ways to become a faster and more efficient camera assistant, today’s tip is:

12. Customize the Camera

The camera is sacred to the camera assistant, but that doesn’t mean it has to be treated like an ancient artifact. If you’re so afraid about damaging the camera that you only touch it to start rolling on a shot, then you’re missing out on some great ways to speed yourself up.

When I first sat down to write this tip, I was going to talk about using custom lists and user buttons available on most digital cameras. And while that’s certainly one way to customize a camera, I realized there are many more:

  • Place velcro on the mattebox to hold marking pencils
  • Adjust handles/cheeseplates/rods to fit your working style
  • Use cable ties to pre-rig essential cables to the camera
  • As mentioned above, customize user buttons and menus
  • Remove unneeded accessories to lighten the load

There are a million different ways to tweak a camera to fit into the type of environment you’re using it in. Many of them won’t work for you, but plenty will, so don’t be afraid to experiment and find what those are.

Also, customize the camera in ways that benefit the director of photography or camera operator. If they move faster, you’ll move faster too.

Always remember that cameras, though they are expensive and deserve to be treated with care, are ultimately tools which we use to create a film — so don’t be afraid to make them even more effective and efficient than they already are.

What customizations do you make to your cameras?

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Do You Use ARRI Alexa Custom Lists and Buttons?

Cameras 1 Comment

ARRI Alexa Side Screen

The ARRI Alexa has had a meteoric rise in the digital cinema camera game. The ARRI name helped get people excited, but the sexy images and ease of use are what caused them to fall in love.

The camera assistants I know who have worked with Alexa basically worship the camera. A major part of that reason is its ability to be heavily customized for each production.

If you aren’t already taking advantage of it, the Alexa’s custom list values and custom user buttons could save you plenty of time on set and you’ll fall in love too.
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Get Your Free Copy of the ARRI Alexa Pocket Guide

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The ARRI Alexa Pocket Guide Title Page from The Black and Blue

You asked for it and now it’s finally here: the ARRI Alexa Pocket Guide.

You get the most essential information about the ARRI Alexa onto one sheet of paper that can fold up and fit in your jean pockets.

I even went the extra mile this time around by making a mobile-formatted version perfect for smartphones.

Your download is absolutely free, so if you like it, do me a favor and hit the “Like” or “Tweet” button over there on the bottom left and tell your friends.

Check out the ARRI Alexa Pocket Guide here.

Arri Alexa Software 3.0 Loses Its Beta Tag

Industry News 0 Comments

ARRI has stripped the “beta” tag off the 3.0 Software Update Packet (SUP) for it’s flagship digital cinema camera, the Alexa. The update was originally released early because it enabled so many features that Alexa owners had been dying for such as in-camera playback, audio recording, and a false color exposure check. I don’t want to write too much about this since I went in depth about the 3.0 software previously.

To download the 3.0 SUP, release notes, or new user manual, visit the ARRI Digital site.

ARRI Alexa Frame Line Composer

Toolkit 0 Comments

ARRI has another valuable tool available on it’s website, a powerful resource for those shooting Alexa. This time around it’s the Alexa Frame Line Composer, a web-app that lets you customize frame lines on a computer and export them to the camera via SD card or save as images. Much like the Alexa Simulator web-app, the Frame Line Composer tries to translate features from the camera itself into a format that is viewable on the internet.

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Arri Alexa Software Update 3.0 Available in Beta Release

Cameras 3 Comments


ARRI announced yesterday that they are opening up participation in a public beta phase for ARRI Alexa Software Update Packet (SUP) 3.0. There are some great new features packed into this one so Alexa owners might want to fire up those cameras, register at Arri’s site and download the update. Of those new features, the most anticipated is certainly in-camera playback of Pro Res files recorded to SxS cards as well as in-camera audio recording — though no playback on audio. But that’s not all Arri has coming down the pipeline…

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Independent Film and Hollywood: How Technology is Closing the Gap on the Great Divide

Behind the Lens, Featured 2 Comments

It seems these days that the gap between independent films and Hollywood couldn’t be greater. Where the bread and butter of indie films has always been small character dramas, Hollywood is finding more ways to expel these stories from its gables and make spectacle, “tentpole,” films its area of focus. It’s interesting, though, that films like Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, The Fighter, and 127 Hours are pulling in huge per-screen averages while heavily marketed fare like Tron: Legacy sinks lower in box office every week. Audiences hunger for the story of the indie film but lust for the spectacle of Hollywood. And while the two are seemingly impossible to meld together, it seems that Hollywood inches closer to indie filmmaking with every chance it gets through technology, while keeping an arm lengths away when possible.

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RED Epic vs. ARRI Alexa vs. Canon 7D

Cameras 30 Comments

As we leave 2010 behind, there’s no doubt that the digital cinematography race is getting tighter with options across the board. Three of the major players in this game are the RED Epic, the Arri Alexa and the Canon 7D. The Epic offers astounding 5k resolutions, Alexa offers a subtle dynamic range that Roger Deakins thinks is as close to film as anything, and Canon’s DSLRs offer affordability. But how do these cameras stack up against each other when handling light? After all, the art of cinematography is “writing with light.” So, whose pen has the most power?
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The Best of 2010: Top Posts of the Year

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2010 has been a whirlwind year in the film industry. 2010 brought the proliferation of 3D (and digital cinema) taken to new heights. It saw major filmmakers like Roger Deakins and Peter Jackson put up flags in the digital camp. And at the end of one decade and the start of another, The Black and Blue experienced unprecedented growth. Simply put, a lot happened. So as 2010 winds down, let’s take a look back at some of the best articles, stories and posts that came out from this past year.

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