Battlestar Galactica cinematography

[Joe Vinson]

So I've been catching up on Battlestar Galactica, and I've been pretty impressed with the 'look' they've carved out for themselves. They went for the trendy realistic/documentary feel -- gritty, lots of shaky handheld work (which carries over to the CG effects as well). The lighting is very harsh, as you might expect on a military ship; bright overhead spotlights. Highlights are frequently blown out. (It would be ugly if it didn't fit so well.) The interiors are otherwise very low-light (but not too noisy/grainy like Firefly was). Does anyone have any insight on their cinematography? Are they shooting digital or 16/35mm film? How do they make the highlights "glow" -- is that done in post, or a trick of the lighting?

[Finner]

They use sony HD 900 to start (now I think 950) series cameras set at 18db gain. A high majority of the look is burned right into the intitial footage.

[Joe Vinson]

Thanks very much!

[Mitch Gross]

This season and the straight-to-DVD feature this month sport some material shot on the Phantom HD as well. Cuts nicely with the F900.

Mitch Gross
Abel Cine Tech

[Casey Green]

They have also used the ARRI 435 for slow motion above 60fps, and the Panasonic HVX-200 and DVX-100B for specialty reasons such as small underwater setups and a news footage look.

[Cail Young]

and the Panasonic HVX-200 and DVX-100B for specialty reasons such as small underwater setups and a news footage look.

Indeed, the episodes featuring a future news crew used a slightly-modified DVX100 as a prop - I just about cracked a rib when I saw it :D

[Casey Green]

heheh yep - they also had boom mics as props for some of the news interview scenes. ?! Totally took me out of the suspension of disbelief.

Overall the show is fantastic, but every once in a while, they do these really cheesy things. :umm:

[Bob England]

Oh? You mean like when they say frack?

[T. Glen Phelps]

What the frack do you mean?

[Clint Johnson]

Has anyone seen the HD DVD for season I yet? I watched it on Space: the Imagination Station in standard definition and I've been hinting around that the HD version would be a great Christmas present for someone who... say... was interested in cinematography, science fiction, television and production in Vancouver.

I'm sure my family can think of somebody who fits that description.

And don't be dissin' Firefly, the episode "Out of Gas" is one of my favorite works of camera and grading jobs for television ever.